ITES industry observers, especially in the developing-world, would tell you with much conviction how it has evolved from picking up low-hanging fruits and doing low-end jobs to much more of non-core activities of businesses in general—from Aviation to small-time e-commerce providers (some claim almost all industries are either outsourcing or willing to outsource all or some of their non-core activities). Outsourcing companies, both big and small, have now moved to much higher notches—from analytics to finance and more. And within these streams, they are focusing on areas that were earlier no-go zones to outsource. The industry not only helped thousands find jobs and create large companies, but also led to an integration of these societies with the global economy. This also led to various reforms within the governments of these countries as it helped create related infrastructure and promote the use of modern technologies. So this has been going on well but a quiet revolution began a few years ago, which helped involve many more people who were otherwise restricted or left out because of internal situations and lack of economic growth in their respective countries. That revolution is Freelance Outsourcing (aka Online Outsourcing, e-lancing). Talent hidden in locations where businesses did not venture due to various reasons, is now out, taking up jobs that would have otherwise never reached them. Elance-oDesk (the two companies have since come together) and many others like guru.com have proved to be a meaningfully genuine model of bringing together individual skills and businesses requiring them. The objective of this blog post is not to describe how it works, as it is so well crafted by these companies themselves. However, it is, suffice to say, that the deal between individual talent and businesses seeking it works like a breeze. It is here that the outsourcing companies—both BPO and KPO in IT as well as ITES and other spaces—will be faced with a challenge. With time, there will be more and more experienced people working in the organized IT/ITES and the industry at large who will be tempted to explore the freelance outsourcing model to make money and build careers as well as businesses (for there are many independent entrepreneurs emerging in the area of freelance outsourcing already). As freelance outsourcing is still in its nascent stage, the real threat to outsourcing businesses still seems a distance away. But only for now. India, by the sheer advantage of its IT/ITES base, picked up speed on this front as well along with the Philippines. Russia, Ukraine, and Pakistan have also emerged as important players. Even a country like Bangladesh has made strong strides in this area. In 2014, it was the fourth top earning country on Elance-oDesk (now rebranded as Upwork). Freelancers earned approximately $3 billion between 2009 and 2014 through the two global online staffing platforms. The interesting question that arises here is how did this happen? What did the governments, industry, education systems or NGOs do to help people get there? Well, there is nothing perceptible that any of these agencies did to cause this trend. All that was needed was a platform for people to meet and exchange ideas around what the business needs were and what an individual could offer. The rest, as they say, is history. There is great learning here for governments, businesses, academia, and social workers. All that today’s talent, equipped with modern tools of expression, organization, and discovery perhaps needs is an avenue of the kind freelance outsourcing provides. It is a very typical ‘build it and they will come’ case. For learning strategists, it throws even bigger challenges. Will the old models of learning work in such a scenario (by old, I mean the instructional design trends and all the "e" prefixed solutions of the last two decades)? How do we figure out a mechanism to build more of these resources? How do we ensure that they get to the next level of performance? Here is a point to ponder: What formal training do people receive to learn how to use Twitter and Facebook? About the author: S M Nafay Kumail is Director—Learning Strategies at InfoPro Learning Inc. Nafay is co-author of ‘e-Learning an Expression of the Knowledge Economy’ (McGraw-Hill 2002) and a regular commentator on learning, knowledge management, and new media trends. The post Freelance Outsourcing: A Disruptive Wave for Outsourcing Businesses and a Challenge for Designers of Learning appeared first on .

I am currently writing a chapter on policy uptake for OER and MOOCs, drawing in particular on research from the OPAL and POERUP projects. The current version of the chapter has the following conclusion: As stated at the start of this chapter, OER and MOOCs are challenging traditional educational institutions and their associated business models. OER and MOOCs are an example of what Christensen terms ‘disruptive innovation’ (Christensen 1997). A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. It is about change, about something new, about the unexpected and about changing mindsets. OER and MOOCs are disruptive in that they are challenging traditional educational institutions, to rethink their business models and to rethink the ways in which they design and deliver courses. It is unclear what the future of OER and MOOCs will be, and whether or not they will have a fundamental impact on the educational landscape. But if they make traditional institutions rethink their values and distinctiveness and what is the learner experience of attending one institution other another then that is for the good. My feeling is that there will be a spectrum of educational offerings from entirely free resources and courses, through to the Oxbridge model of the one to one tutorial. This spectrum will offer learners a variety of possibilities to engage with learning, matched to their individual preferences and needs. 

I gave a talk at an EPIGEUM Blended Learning meeting today in London. After an introduction by the CE Terry Sweeney, David Lefevre (co-founder and chairman) gave an overview of EPIGEUM, it’s origins and focus of activities. This is an interesting business model for course production and delivery. Courses are designed by a team of experts and take up to a year to develop. Institutions pay a licence fee, which goes towards keeping the courses up to date. Course teams consist of authors, reviews, editors, technical support, etc. A list of current course offerings and people involved can be found here.   Courses consist of a mixture of text, video and interactive material. They can be completed individually or it is possible to include peer to peer activities, tutor-led activities or face-to-face activities. Building a course consists of four stages An initial meeting about the curriculum plus comments and feedback to the authors A one-day workshop with authors, reviews, editors and the technical team to scope out and work up The teams then begin the process of writing up a paper-based version of the course, which is then reviewed. Finally the interactive version is created and reviewed, followed by an implementation workshop. The pedagogical approach is described as ‘rich, engaging and born digital’. The claim is that the courses are built around a proven pedagogically sound structure to form rich coherent learning experiences, interactivity is used as a tool for learning and the materials consist of rich multimedia content. A new suite of seven blended learning courses is about to be developed. I will be working with Mark Brown and Norm Vaughan to oversee the development. Each course will consist of:  7 hours of interactive online material 30 hours of independent research and reflective activities 15 hours of peer-to-peer activities A useful presentation providing an overview of the EPIGUEM approach is available on Slideshare.

Student created #infograpic on Internet Safety. This was created during our 8th grade ICT class Internet Safety Unit.  Citation: Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/ Cyber Bullying Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html Teenagers who go online to cheat in school 2012 | U.S. Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/234369/teenagers-who-go-online-to-cheat-in-school/

This weekend #TxGoo met and, as I usually do when educators I admire get together, I stalked them like cray! Aimee Bartis tweeted out a curious link to a video concerning "stich.it".  I was immediately floored!  There are so many potential uses for this tech gift from the gods.  Students can make interactive webpage presentations that end in a poll or assessment.  Teachers can help students focus their mind on particular articles or passages and then assess using Google Forms or poll everywhere.  It’s a very nice canvas to paint upon. Here’s a "Coop’s Tech Corner" Stich.It I sent to my campuses: http://stich.it/siMTM1MTU= And the video: Filed under: In The Classroom, Technology Tagged: classroom tech, ed tech, education technology, it, online resource, presentation, stich, stich.it, technology, web based presentation

A common theme I’ve encountered in a number of meetings and informal conversations with faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni is a growing awareness of the rapidity of change in higher education—in how we teach, in how we learn, in from whom we learn, in where we learn, and even in in what times of the day and night we learn!  These concerns are addressed well by the new learning avenues explored by the shared online learning insights of Debbie Morrison on the distinction between the creation of personal learning experiences (PLE’s)  and personal learning networks (PLN’s) . I am also increasingly influenced by the  "the learning flow" concept advanced by Jane Hart. Even as I proctor an exam while writing this blog post I am learning online—checking my Twitter account especially for posts by Julie Lindsay, Jane Hart, Michael Sheehan, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, "brian@ieducator," Richard Byrne, edutopia, the GlobalChronicle, the NYTimesLearningNetwork, Silvia Tolisano. Thank you, fellow educators across the world for all you share and how you teach and inspire me. Teaching and learning clearly are not constrained to the classroom.Filed under: Carroll Reflections, Carroll University USA, Curious David, Global Education, Jane Hart's Top 100 Learning Tools, Learning Maps, LucidPress, Movenote, Personal Learning Environments, Personal Learning Tools, technology tools Tagged: Education, Higher Education, Jane Hart, PLE, PLN, Technology Learning Tools, Top 100 Learning Tools, Twitter

Ever want to try out blogging with your students, but you weren’t sure how? Well it’s never too early to… Continue reading » Source: starrsackstein.com Great article! We utilizing blogs with our students as well! Great communication tool; especially in ICT class.  See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

Picture via @epipeum on Twitter As part of today’s EPIGUEM Blended Learning Meeting, Mark Brown (from Dublin City University) gave a talk on blended learning. Mark will make his slides available on slideshare in due course. The focus was around three questions: What do we mean by blended learning? How do we translate the principles of blended learning into practice? How do we ensure our staff stay at the cutting edge of innovation in blended learning? He crafted his talk around a metaphor of dance, structuring his talk into three parts: let’s dance, dancing with purpose, and choreographing the best moves. He argued there was an analogy between design and dance, both based around a balance between art/craft and science. Let’s dance He argued that the problem is not making up steps but deciding which ones to key, quoting Mikhail Baryshinkovo. He quoted Garrison and Kanuka (2004, pg 96) who state that blended learning is the integration of face-to-face with online learning. He also quoted Vaughan’s definition (2012), which is around fundamentally redesigning for effectiveness, convenience and efficiency. But Mark argued it was important to ensure that blended learning was also about transformation. He quoted Sfard’s work on ‘adaptive blends’, i.e. that no two students are the same and that each have distinctive needs. He also quoted Barbara Means Meta Analysis of Blended Learning, I can’t find the link right not but will add later if I do find it. He argued that we need to be BOLD (Blended On-Line Digital) in our approach, and that we need to re-conceptualise campus-based teaching.  Dancing with purpose He stated that there were a number of elements that need to be considered when designing blended learning offerings, interactions between teachers-learners, learners-learners, and learner-content, as well as the place, pace and mode of learning. He suggested that there were four key means of learning and that all were important: listening (instructional), sharing (connectivsm), making (constructionism) and doing (constructivism).  He identified four ‘spaces’ for learning: on campus/in class, off campus/in class, on campus/out of class and off campus/out of class. He concluded by arguing that we need to blend with purpose for a seamless learning experience. Choreographing the best moves In the final section he listed three useful frameworks for effective design and quality assurance of creating blended learning offerings The quality matters rubric standards   The EADTU E-xcellence Next The 7Cs of Learning Design framework (yeah!)  He concluded by stating that a transformational learning design culture consists of the following elements: Making explicit choices Adopting a principled approach Winning the hearts and minds of teachers Providing the design tools for new pedagogies Giving responsibility for quality back to the teacher Building distinctive leadership at the programme level. 

Models are interesting things. They both are and are not the thing they represent.  So, for example, a model of Jupiter points to but can never be the real Jupiter.  A painting, an appropriately colored Styrofoam ball, or a set of mathematical equations can serve as a model of that glorious planet, but in most  cases the model fails to be what it aspires to be. Models, of course, help us manage the unmanageable.  They bring down in scale magnificent objects so we can play with them in ways that would be impossible without the model.  We splice up reality, magnify it, and study a part to better understand the whole. As long as we keep in mind that the model is a model…an abstraction of reality, then it serves its purpose. The great reason, I think, that there are so many passing fancies in education is because educators mistakenly take models as reality.  To return to my example, once we get convinced that our Styrofoam ball of Jupiter is so real that it practically IS Jupiter we feel comfortable forgetting about the real Jupiter.  Eventually, our model’s flaws are exposed and we become disappointed in "Jupiter" when in fact we should be disappointed in our model. When we adopt a system in education that seems to be backed up particular data (and most data is particular…that is, it is of a certain group of students in a certain demographic area with certain strengths and weaknesses) and that data is then generalized into a system, we must remember that the system should not be treated as a replacement for our classroom’s reality. Veteran teachers are always commenting "Wait a couple years and this will be gone." Agreed! We recoil from "fads" when we mistake movements like the flipped classroom, genius hour, New Jersey writing project, and so on for reality.  Not every kid or teacher or lesson needs to flip their classroom (and I’m not suggesting that flip fans argue this).  The circumstances of your classroom should determine which system or combination of systems should be used to best address the needs of your students. The pendulum swings so often in education because some try to gain money or notoriety from a system and push ONLY that idea.  Much of the blame can also be placed at the teacher’s and administrator’s feet as well!  Those educators who think that a one size fits all approach to education will ever work will likely and unnecessarily frustrate themselves and their coworkers. Education (capital E) is the fulfillment of the human condition.  We are born both with a nature, but with the ability to negate our nature as well.  In that struggle you will find all the glory and blame of what it means to be mortal. Education is definitional to the identity of each of us as well as our entire race.  It alone will finally determine whether we are simple animals or something more.  Filed under: In The Classroom, Political Philosophy Tagged: 20% time, classroom fads, classroom training, ed training, education, education fads, education pendulum, education systems, fads, flipped, flipped classroom, genius hour, google, iPad, iPhone, lesson fads, lesson plans, pendulum, thrasymachus

Though I won’t have time until this summer to deeply explore the 2014 Horizon Report which I alluded to in an earlier post, I wanted to share some initial reactions here: I concur with the Report’s assertion of the growing ubiquity of social media. The challenge for me is to find the right balance between the kinds of deep thinking which I believe "more traditional teaching methods" correctly implemented can foster and an ability to capitalize on the enabling capabilities of social media for producing, communicating,creating, and collaborating.  I don’t find that my present institution has the appropriate classroom infra-structure for leveraging these social media tools within the physical classroom and traditional class-room meeting time. I agree with the Report’s suggestion that that it is inevitable that higher education must allow and facilitate an integration of online, hybrid, and collaborative learning. Though I have always been interested in "adaptive" learning and personalizing the learning  environment, I find the promises of "an emerging science of learning analytics" overblown, premature, and creepy in terms of degrees of invasion of privacy. I applaud and embrace the identified trend of students as creators rather than merely as consumers though I would urge that one not lose sight of the importance of quality control of their products. I concur that the time is ripe for university programs to support aggressively "agile, lean  startup models" that promote a culture of innovation in a more wide-spread, cost-effective way as long as there are built in assessment procedures which validly document the weaknesses and strengths of these (maybe) new approaches. Too often I have seen institutions chase after the latest educational fad and fail to benefit from organizational memory of prior, similar failed ventures. For me, online learning is a useful complement rather than a viable alternative to most forms of face-to-face learning. As I’ve written earlier, I regularly and increasingly use "nontraditional" learning tools to supplement my personal professional development and my digital literacy. I am still sorting out, however,  how to embed and assess that literacy among my students.  In what venues I should foster those kinds of skills and intrude them to top learning tools. I am increasing wary of a "digital divide" that ironically exists between K-12 and higher education instructors with the latter—and their students—being the more deficient! What do you think? I’m also interested in readers’ suggestions about what I should write: Take Our PollFiled under: Apps, Blogging, Carroll University USA, Controlling Technology, Curious David, Global Education, Jane Hart's Top 100 Learning Tools, technology tools Tagged: Education, Higher Education, Technology Learning Tools

(2013). The Effects of Text Messaging and Instant Messaging on Literacy. English Studies: Vol. 94, No. 5, pp. 582-602. doi: 10.1080/0013838X.2013.795737 Source: www.tandfonline.com See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

The VMPass project is developing a framework for the accreditation of informal and non-formal learning, a topical issue, which is generating a lot of interest at the moment, particularly because of the implications of learning through free resources and course, such as OER and MOOCs. A related project, OpenCred, has carried out a detailed review of accreditation of informal and non-formal learning, which is complementary to VMPass. A key feature of VMPass is the concept of a learning passport. This consists of three parts: information from the OER provider, the learner and the accrediting institutions. We are currently validating the learning passport and are looking for volunteers to look at the learning passport and complete a short survey on their views on it. If you are able to complete this please email me at gconole@gmail.com. Thanks in advance! 

You do not have sufficient freedom levels to view this video. Today I explored the Apps on my Mac that begin with the letter  "A."One of my favorite (but underused) apps( that I am glad I use since the advent of Heartbleed ) is 1Password. It allows me to quickly and securely access my myriad accounts and quickly find things, like this Animoto video of a year ago that I had forgotten I had made to celebrate the wonderful creative work of some of my students. Another app I take for granted (behind the scenes but there when I need it)  is Adobe Reader. But do I really need AlarmClock Pro any more?—Perhaps, if I remembered that it has a time-zone converter and an uptime recorder that can embarrass me with a record of how long I’ve been sitting at my machine! "How many different music players do I need," I ask myself as I rediscover my AmazonCloudPlayer? How many flashcard makers are necessary (which one best suits my needs or those of my students) as I find Anki again, untouched, and with a new version:). And, heaven forbid,  there is always the temptation to visit the MAC App store especially since it is built into the Mac Mavericks Operating System. I REALLY should learn how to use AUTOMATOR and its distant cousin, TextExpander—and their incredible capabilities for improving the efficiencies of my work flow and my commenting on student papers. To achieve that mastery I most likely shall first seek out the sage guidance of David Sparks and his incredibly well-written books, ebooks, and screencasts. Hmm, I see that he uses Vimeo for his screencasts. I’ll have to revisit it when I get to my "V’"‘s.How about—oh, the audacity of suggesting it, Audacity? I have several times attempted to master it because of an interest in creating podcasts and wanting to support open source software endeavors, but alas, because it just crashed my machine, it has been banished to the trash. Besides, if i ever reach the "W’s" among my apps, I suspect that "Wiretap Studio" will serve the same function—and better. Enough, even though I hear the buzz of "B’s."    Filed under: Apps, Carroll University USA, Curious David, Humor Tagged: Carroll University USA, Education, Screencasting, Technology Learning Tools, Top 100 Learning Tools

Thrasymachus:Awesome write up! Thanks so much for putting this out there… Originally posted on Digitally Enhanced by Janetta Garton: A teacher recently asked me, "How can I easily distribute a digital template to students that they can then edit?" gClassFolders for Google Drive is the answer. Not only will it provide an easy way to distribute files to students, it also generates assignment folders for individual students organized by period and course, to be used by students to submit work. A big thank you to Bjorn Behrendt and Andrew Stillman for their work in developing and updating this script! Teacher View This script creates these folders in the teacher’s account: Class View: This is one folder for the course to house files that are only VIEWABLE by everyone in the class. So anything you place in this folder will be viewable by all students enrolled in this course, regardless of what period they are attending. Example: Syllabus, worksheet templates Class Edit:  This is one folder for the… View original 157 more wordsFiled under: In The Classroom

Internet addiction? Check out this infographic on how internet access ranks in our lives. Source: www.broadbandexpert.com See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

Someone asked me today about how to run a 7Cs Learning Design workshop. Here are my suggestions. An ideal number for the workshop is 25 - 30, with participants working in teams of five. At the beginning of the workshop, they need to agree a course or module to work on. Give each participant a handout with the outline of the workshop and associated resources. Give an overview of the 7Cs of Learning Design framework. Get the groups to work through the activities, get feedback from each group after each activity. Carry out an evaluation at the end: what did they like about the workshop? Room for improvement?  Three words to describe the workshop. Action plan as a result of attending the workshop. 

This is that interesting time of the academic year when I am trying to bring the semester to a soft-landing and concomitantly prepare for  the fall semester. This summer I hope to revisit several books that have especially informed me about uses of digital tools for teaching—especially  Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, Susan Manning and Kevin E. Johnson’s The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching, Steve Johnson’s Digital Tools for Teaching, and Julie Lindsay and Vicki A. Davis’ inspirational Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time. The writings of Alec Couros through his informative Becoming a Networked Learner and Curtis J. Bonk have impacted  how I teach, how I learn, and how I "reach out" to others  via social media. The challenge continues how  to find balance between tool use and being controlled or constrained rather than enabled by the tool. I see that Jane Hart has opened nominations for her 8th annual Top-Tools-for-Learning  List.  I think I’ll withhold my vote until early this fall so that I have more time  to better answer the following critical questions: Which of these tools will enhance my research and my communication capabilities? Which of these tools do I want all my students to know how to use? (Which, on the other hand,  are better suited for my  advanced research assistants?) Which of these tools will be around in four years? Which of these tools serve me best when I am engaged in my role as partner of Schneider Consulting? Among subsets of tool types, which best serve my needs? How much learning time do I or my students need to invest to use these tools? How portable are these tools across the browsers I most frequently use? How portable are these tools across the hardware and different operating systems I most frequently use? How much of the attractiveness of these tools to me is simply due to their "wow factor" and the fun they engender? Will mastering this tool increase the likelihood of my becoming a more effective teacher or enhance my ability to learn.   You do not have sufficient freedom levels to view this video.  Filed under: Blogging, Controlling Technology, Curious David, Jane Hart's Top 100 Learning Tools, Personal Learning Environments, Personal Learning Tools, technology tools Tagged: Technology Teaching Tools

Thrasymachus:Great post. I think this is one of the many reasons I love education as well as baseball. Realistically or not, there is a chance at ‘rebirth': correcting old wrongs, strengthening what we do right, & throwing in a little innovation where appropriate. I think hope, if translated as rebirth, is such a strong stabilizer in education. When we internalize this and pass it on to our students (ie. Keep trying & few things are ever final) then they get a second or third wind during the school year. Originally posted on STAAR Techers: FIND YOUR SPARK! Be a firecracker for your students! It has been a great summer so far! It is amazing to have time to spend with family and friends. It is also time to reflect on the past school year. I have been thinking about the the wonderful things that transpired last year. What can I do differently that will impact my students on whole new level? As teachers we should adapt, change, or modify lessons from year to year. Do not stay stagnant! I was given the opportunity to attend Ipadpalooza 2014. It was beyond amazing. It is refreshing to learn from different perspectives. I met many amazing educators that I have been collaborating with on Twitter. I think making personal connections with our virtual connections enhances our collaboration. They had such great sessions to bring back home. What I love about this type of PD is that you… View original 280 more wordsFiled under: In The Classroom

Image source As part of the VMPass project we are writing a set of guidelines for completing the VMPass learning passport. A draft of these is described here, along with an example of a completed learning passport. Comments welcome! VMPass Learning Passport Guidelines  The VMPass project is developing an accreditation framework for informal and non-formal learning through resources such as Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). The accreditation is achieved through completion of a learning passport. This consists of information from: the institution that provided the open learning material, the learner, and the accrediting institution. This document provides guidelines on how to complete the learning passport. Section 1 needs to be completed by the institution providing the open learning offering. It begins with information about the institution and the offering, such as the type of institution the nature of the course, level, estimated number of hours required and the number of credits possible. Information is also needed on any quality assurance processes applied.  Learning outcomes are then listed in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. A detailed description is provided of the learning activities, what the learner is required to do and the percentage of time spent on each learning activity. An indication is provided of how pedagogically open the course is, from low (i.e. a linear didactic approach) through to high (i.e. there is a significant amount of freedom in terms of how the learner can work through the material). An indication is given of how the credit can be used. Section 2 needs to be completed by the learner; this includes their name and contact details, as well as an indication of how they plan to use the credit. The learning activities that the learner has completed are listed, along with evidence of achievement of these. It is preferable if the evidence is available online and a URL provided to link to this.  Section 3 needs to be completed by the assessing/certifying institution. This is includes information on what type of institution along with a contact person. Information is then provided about the assessment and the learning outcomes assessed. Any quality assurance procedures for the assessment are described. The name of the certification awarded and the grade is given, along with an indication of what it is equivalent to.  Also this certification is mapped to the qualification framework used in the institution. The level and descriptions of the grading scheme is described. An example of a completed learning passport can be found here.  

  1) Earth Day concerns should be unifying every day concerns . 2) We must do more than merely virtually explore the wonders of our precious planet. 3) Preserving, savoring, celebrating, protecting, and nurturing Mother Earth should be a super-ordinate, cross national,unifying effort of international  concern. 4) We are all earthlings. 5) There is much to learn. 6) Mother Earth is fragile and the Pale Blue Dot is tiny in the cosmic scheme of things. 7) So much beauty must be shared, preserved, protected and passed on.    Filed under: Curious David, Environmental Protection, Global Education, social psychology, technology tools, Unifying Global Causes Tagged: abroad, Earth Day Reminder, global, Higher Education, superordinate goals, Unifying Global Concerns

Thrasymachus:What a freaking genius idea! Love it!!! Originally posted on Adjusting Course: Podcast Format Each week we’ll feature two guest hosts that participate in a digital duel. The podcast focuses on pedagogy, innovation, and educational technology. Our purpose is to engage practitioners in a FUN and interactive experience comprised of dialogue and reflection around a single guiding question.  The show is uptempo and fast-paced. If you blink you just might miss it, but that’s by design. Here’s why… Creativity is often cultivated by constraints. The time restrictions of the podcast require succinct communication, and participants will certainly need to be creative to share their "take" in 30 seconds or less. After all, if you can’t explain something to somebody in 30 seconds or less you may not understand the issue as well as you think! Viewers are asked to vote for the most compelling response each week, and add any comments/questions on Twitter using the hashtag #30SecondTake. Voting The best part about the podcast is that… View original 229 more wordsFiled under: In The Classroom

So I am making progress on my new Learning Design book, albeit slow… I have been working on the Consider C chapter, i.e. looking at the reflective and assessment aspects of learning. A central tenet of importance is Bigg’s concept of constructive alignment, i.e. ensuring that the assessment elements cover all of the intended learning outcomes. A draft of the chapter is available on slideshare, comments very well. Would still like to find some more practical assessment strategies/designs, any suggestions very welcome!

You do not have sufficient freedom levels to view this video. Robin the Newf is a guest collaborator tonight. Because of her presence (at my feet) I’ve been ruminating tonight about canine companions. My father-in-law, Walter G. Schmidt,  also loved dogs. In fact his love of dogs was extolled in his eulogy given by the Reverend Charles Valenti-Heine: …"And that world, for Walter, included his beloved Canines. Lucy, Canis, Oaf, Chaucer, Trollope, and Freud, the last named because Walter was told that the companionship of a good dog was of greater worth to people than any other therapy! The one time I remember Walter speaking in church was when Trollope died, and he stood up during joys and concerns to opine: ‘If there is a place in heaven for Presbyterians, then surely there is a place for greyhounds.’ To which I add, amen! Rudyard Kipling warned us of how dogs can capture your heart! Do dogs match their owners in physical appearance? in personality? There is an interesting body of research dealing with these questions. Here is one citation. Here is another entire  article (Download Roy). Under what circumstances does pet ownership reduce stress? increase it? Why in the world did I spend $250 tonight on pet treats? Perhaps I still am affected by my first reading of Argos‘ blind enduring faith. Robin, the patient gentle giant, knows. These might be questions to give my Introductory Psychology students to encourage them to conduct a scholarly literature review.  Perhaps in the process I’ll teach them about Evernote, Diigo, Delicious,  Zotero, and  Google Scholar and have them help me compare the strengths and weaknesses of these tools in addition to comparing the kinds (and quality) of answers they get using Internet search engines versus library data bases. Here is some anecdotal evidence provided by one of my playful students that owners like me (though there is a debate between Robin and me as to who is the owner) may start looking like their dogs!  Trivia question from Robin: What was the name of the Newf who accompanied Lewis and Clark? Answer is here if you fail to find out—and even if you do.   Filed under: Curious David, Dogs, Jane Hart's Top 100 Learning Tools, Robin_the_Newf Tagged: Dogs, Education, Humor, literature reviews, teaching, Technology Learning Tools