Arquivo da categoria: LDT Seminar Fall

LDT Seminar – Final – Fall Quarter Reflection

Assignment

  1. Evaluate your own contributions to seminar based on this rubric.
  2. Explore your own learning inside and outside of class in a brief reflection paper (1-2 pages).  

Below Expectations

Meets Expectations

Exceeds Expectations

Attendance*

Misses two or more seminars. Comes late or leaves early. Does not inform instructor of absence in advance.

Attends all of seminar, or misses one, with very good excuse (e-mailed to instructor ahead of time). Always on time.

Organizes extra learning opportunities for other learners.

Assignments**

Assignments are late, incomplete, or poorly executed.

Assignments are turned in on time. All outside work is turned in on time (or ahead of time). Assignments address the assignment components, but appear rushed or have errors.

In-class and out-of-class assignments are completed thoughtfully and thoroughly. In out-of-class work, attention is paid to content, spelling, grammar, and flow.

Participation

Rarely speaks, or rarely listens. Carries on side conversations or other off- topic activities (for example on the computer).

Mostly listens, but speaks sometimes. Or mostly speaks, but listens sometimes.

Speaks and listens actively in class. Builds on the ideas of others. Challenges own thinking and that of others. Seeks to make connections between concepts in class and to outside experiences.

Response

Self evaluation:

Attendance

Meets Expectations – Attends all of seminar, or misses one, with very good excuse (e-mailed to instructor ahead of time). Always on time.

The reason why I did not evaluate myself as “Exceeds Expectations – Organizes extra learning opportunities for other learners” is because I did not have the time or put in the effort to help my peers. Maybe if I was aware of this evaluation at the beginning of the quarter, I would have attempted to do so. Yet I see that I had the opportunity to teach Reuben some iOS development – which he expressed interest in. I simply did not have the time to do so. I expect that next quarter I might not have the time either but will make an effort to be more aware of these teaching/knowledge sharing opportunities. To counter this argument though, I’ve maintained a blog (www.lucaslongo.com) where I registered all of my reading and class notes as well as all the assignments I created during the quarter. Even though the blog’s main purpose was to document my work and have a repository for future consultation, I believe that my peers could potentially benefit from these notes. 

Assignments

Exceeds Expectations – In-class and out-of-class assignments are completed thoughtfully and thoroughly. In out-of-class work, attention is paid to content, spelling, grammar, and flow.

With the exception of the 3 out of the 4 final papers for Tech 4 Learners, all my assignments were turned in on time and thoughtfully created. I must say that I have never studied so attentively or engaged so deeply with the content while in an educational environment. 

Participation

Exceeds Expectations – Speaks and listens actively in class. Builds on the ideas of others. Challenges own thinking and that of others. Seeks to make connections between concepts in class and to outside experiences

My participation in class is a way in which I learn. Exposing my ideas and thoughts in class help me validate my understanding of the content. I see it as a technique to engage with the content and to stimulate myself to challenge what I already know. I honestly cannot remember a class in which I did not make a contribution. 

Explore your own learning inside and outside of class in a brief reflection paper (1-2 pages):

These past 10 weeks of classes have been the most intense learning experience I’ve ever had. The quarter system provides a sense of urgency and speed in absorbing the material that a semester system leaves lax. There is no opportunity to catch up – if you leave the ball drop, it seems impossible to recover. The fact that I was taking 18 units distributed amongst 7 classes also contributed to this feeling of a massive knowledge dump into my brain. Yet I feel that the teaching quality and pedagogical level of the course delivery was key in making this all possible. I surmounted the task and feel like I am definitely more knowledgeable after this quarter. 

One of the main reasons why I chose to come to Stanford and go for the LDT Master’s program was to understand how education really works, how we learn, how to teach, and what one must consider in diving into the complex task of education. This quarter showed me that I came to the right place. It also showed me that education is much more complex than I previously knew. My respect towards K-12 teachers grew exponentially as the quarter went by, along with my amazement and incredulity that the profession is not valued as the most challenging of them all. How is such a vital role in our society be undervalued in most cases? Why do teachers, who have the most profound effect on our children’s future, be one of the lowest paying professions around? Education is the one thing that no-one can take away from us. 

Reflecting upon each course I took, I can say that each minute spent in classroom, each line of text read, each group discussion, and each assignment completed added to what I desired to learn and to the way I see the world. Let’s go through each course to illustrate the main take aways:  

Topics in Brazilian Education

Even though I was born and raised in Brazil, I never attended the Brazilian educational system. When I was 3 years old I started attending the American school in São Paulo. When I was 12, I moved to Italy where I attended the British school in Milan. Back in São Paulo, a year later, I continued onto the British school in São Paulo. Undergraduate studies – Rensselaer in Troy, NY. Graduate school – NYU. Now Stanford. 

This created a vacuum in my knowledge about the Brazilian educational system and its history. This class was an eyeopener in terms of what has happened in recent history in Brazil and what still needs to be done. Even though the course was the least organized of all of my courses this quarter, it showed me that public education in Brazil is an afterthought for the government. Huge investments were made in higher education, but K-12 was marginalized. The feeling is that kids go to school to get fed and so that the parents can go to work and receive financial aid from the government. 

I now understand why the Lemann Fellowship exists. It’s stated mission is to improve Brazilian public education by providing funds to those who get into the top schools in the world. It previously seemed like an altruistic move but it’s more of a real and endearing necessity for Brazil. 

Introduction to Teaching

This course presented me with the formal techniques and considerations teachers must attend to in their profession. I was amazed at how complex teaching really is – especially at the K-12 level where teachers must not only have PCK, but must also differentiate between student cognitive levels and cultural backgrounds, manage the classroom behavior and dynamics, and perform formative assessment continuously – all at the same time. Teachers are my new heroes. Reading through Lampert’s “Teaching Problems and the Problems of Teaching” shows how complex teaching simple math division can be. It goes down to the choice of what number should be presented in an exercise. It requires planning, constant evaluation, and thinking on your feet constantly to ensure the learning objectives are met. 

The wealth of terminology learned in this class was also extremely helpful. I knew nothing about teaching before this class. I must confess I had either never heard of or did not know the full meaning of the terms we covered in class: didactic/direct instruction, facilitation, coaching, ZPD, transfer, metacognition, prior knowledge, scaffolding, APA Style, Bloom’s Taxonomy, modeling, guided practice, PCK, differentiation, formative assessment, summative assessment, the black box, teach for the test, learning progression, rubric, formal and informal learning environments, funds of knowledge, and teacher professional development. Wow… I can’t believe how much I’ve learned from this one class. Truly amazing. 

Tech 4 Learners

The main takeaway from this class was the danger of the technocentric view of education – which I must admit I suffered from. I came to LDT with a notion that I would be able to get all of my school’s content, put it online, and only need the teacher once I had to update the course content. This course showed me that a human teacher and human peers interacting in real life are essential for effective learning to take place. I definitely now see that MOOCs by themselves are not the way to go – there must be a component of human interaction, of peer communication, and of timely commitment towards a final learning objective. 

In parallel, this class gave me the opportunity to work once again with children with special needs. While at ITP, I took a course called “Inclusive Game Design” where we created a game for a child with cerebral palsy. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in designing a tool. To see the child interact with the game in the way we intended was simply breathtaking. This was repeated in this class where our rapid prototypes were able to evolve and adapt towards our goal of helping our learner. 

Terminology and concepts acquired from this class: backwards design, technocentrism, growth mindset and the perils of praise, four-phase model of interest development, joint media engagement, the protégé effect, and tangible user interfaces. 

Understanding Learning Environments

This course provided me with the foundations of learning theory and cognitive development along with the main theorists of our times. The most interesting concept for me was Lave & Wenger’s Legitimate Peripheral Participation concept and the notion that learning is what happens in the interaction of masters, apprentices, their actions, and the environment/context in which they are situated. It was interesting to see how much education is based on psychology, philosophy and cognitive development – something I can now see as obvious. I would have had to ask for elaboration if someone told me so in the past. Having read, even if extremely little of, Skinner, Piaget, Montessori, Vygotsky, Dewey, Freire, and several others gave me confidence to talk about education in a more meaningful manner. 

Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

This was yet another course that presented me with completely new knowledge. Being an engineer and working with software for most of my life, research was never something present – not to mention qualitative research. My initial reaction to this course was “wow, I can get a job that entails observing the real world in extreme detail and then writing about it in the most interesting manner possible!?” I was thrilled to learn that this kind of research even existed. It gave me a framework for looking at the world, to understanding bias, creating interview questions, capturing data, analyzing it and presenting it. It made me think about writing effectively based on evidence, creating propositions, elaborating theories, and extracting meaning. 

Key concepts: I as a camera, turtles all the way down, grounded theory, probing, coding, propositions and validity. 

LDT Seminar

This course made me reflect primarily on the reasons why I came to LDT. What is the problem I want to look at? Is it a real problem? Does it matter? How do I define the problem? It made me understand the importance of reading research, how to research and follow the reference sections for even further reading. It made me talk to experts and learners to understand what has already been done and what still needs to be done. 

It also made me appreciate my diverse and profoundly interesting cohort. How much everyone brings to the table. It left me wanting to know them better and more intensely. It showed me that we can’t always do it ourselves and that collaborating can generate something that is invariably greater than the sum of the parts. It made me think about my role in society and in the immediate community that I am living in. 

Human-Computer Interaction Seminar

This was the course that had the least impact of all this quarter, simply because of its lecture format with no group discussion or interaction – only quick Q&A sessions at the end of each session. The quality of the lecturers and the content presented was amazing though. The most memorable ones were: 

  • Wendy Ju: Transforming Design: Interaction with Robots and Cars
  • Janet Vertesi: Seeing Like a Rover: Visualization, embodiment, and teamwork on the Mars Exploration Rover mission
  • Sean Follmer: Designing Material Interfaces: Redefining Interaction through Programmable Materials and Tactile Displays

All in all this was an intense quarter which presented me with a wealth of knowledge I had never experienced before. I am extremely pleased with my decision in coming to LDT and am anxious for the next 3 quarters. I always say that I could stay in school forever. Somehow I feel that it is up to me to find a way to do so – maybe not by getting a third Masters degree or dive into a PhD (for now) – but get involved in a company, research group or organization where my thirst for learning is continuously fed.

LDT Seminar – Final – Learning Problem Statements v 2.0

Assignment: 

Based on the research, the expert interviews, and chats with learners, revise your learning problem. Include: WHO needs to learn WHAT and WHY it is important. Include citations from research, and insights gained from interviews with experts and learners. Post your updated “problems” here.

Response:

Problem Statement

Communities, companies and countries have to be able to share knowledge and educate their peers in order to thrive. The traditional methods of doing so are through books, talks, documentaries, and interviews. We want to learn from the best, understand how they do it and be more like them. But sometimes we just want to talk to someone, interact with them – learn from a human being – even if it is not the expert – maybe even better if it is someone who speaks more like I do. How can technology enable this?

Research Question

How might we scaffold “experts” to create engaging hybrid courses?

Keywords

  • Hybrid Online Learning
  • Instructional Design
  • Teacher Professional Development
  • TPACK
  • Metacognition
  • Self efficacy
  • Onboarding

How Might We?

  • Extract value from experts?
  • Identify what an expert knows that is of interest?
  • Ask for knowledge from an expert?
  • Increase the reach knowledge distribution?
  • Reduce teacher repetition of content?

Potential solution paths

  • TMS – Teaching Management System
  • Templates for teaching
  • Curated content
    • Modeling
    • Lesson plans
    • Exercises
    • Assessment
    • Individual activities
    • Group activities

Findings

  • Time based courses are the ones that perform better.
  • Necessity of human interaction – be part of a cohort
  • Teachers need additional training to handle interactions and drive engagement in online environments

Concepts to look further into

  1. Evidence Based Learning
  2. Hebert Simon
  3. Professional Development: look at Jeff Zwier’s work: http://www.jeffzwiers.org (Links to an external site.)
  4. Jonathan Osborne: course design and interaction. 
  5. Technology Integration Planning Model ( Robyler, 2006)
  6. Systematic ICT Integration Model ( Wang & ve Woo, 2007)
  7. Apple Future Classes Model (Dwyer, Ringstaff, Sandholtz & Apple Computer Inc., 1990)
  8. Social Model (Wang, 2008)
  9. Enhanced Pearson Model (Woodbridge, 2004)
  10. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge [TPACK] model (Koehler & Mishra, 2005). Koehler and Mishra (2005)

Interesting Citations

“While students rated the instructors very positively, the results also indicate that instructors still need to have their roles transformed pedagogically, socially, and technologically if they are to establish a more engaging and fruitful environment for online learning.” – Liu, X., Lee, S., Bonk, C., Su, B., Magjuka, R. (2005). Exploring Four Dimensions of Online Instructor Roles: A Program Level Case Study. Online Learning Consortium http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v9n4_liu_1.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

“This study found a change in the beliefs and teaching presence of the instructors from their initial resistance to online teaching to an approach which is mindful of the student experience and promotes a dialogical approach to online learning.” – Redmond, P., (2011) From face-to-face teaching to online teaching: Pedagogical transitions. ascilite 2011 Hobart: http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/hobart11/downloads/papers/Redmond-full.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

“In spite of the proliferation of online learning, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them.” – Vai, M. & Sosulski, K. (2015). Essentials of Online Course Design. A Standards-Based Guide, 2nd Edition. Routledge https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138780163

 (Links to an external site.)

“Technology alone does nothing to enhance online pedagogy. According to Jacobsen, et al. (2002), the real challenge is to “develop fluency with teaching and learning with technology, not just with technology, itself” (p.44).” – Keengwe, J. & Kidd, T. (2010). Towards Best Practices in Online Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no2/keengwe_0610.htm

 (Links to an external site.)

Research To Review

Essentials of Online Course Design https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138780163

 (Links to an external site.)

Towards Best Practices in Online Learning and Teaching in Higher Education http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no2/keengwe_0610.htm

 (Links to an external site.)

EXPLORING FOUR DIMENSIONS OF ONLINE INSTRUCTOR ROLES: A PROGRAM LEVEL CASE STUDY https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwjQ4te54tfIAhUL1GMKHcGSCxA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonlinelearningconsortium.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fv9n4_liu_1.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHtnYf76HkFI-YrIcLhxBWoNPXhRw&sig2=RQVCKYoBJvqv-Gtu8oyCdw

 (Links to an external site.)

(MY) THREE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ONLINE PEDAGOGY http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ909855.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

Source Effects in Online Education http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/thies/las15-source-effects.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

The Five stage Model http://www.gillysalmon.com/five-stage-model.html

 (Links to an external site.)

From face-to-face teaching to online teaching: Pedagogical transitions http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/hobart11/downloads/papers/Redmond-full.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

From On-Ground to Online: Moving Senior Faculty to the Distance Learning Classroom http://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/6/from-onground-to-online-moving-senior-faculty-to-the-distance-learning-classroom

 (Links to an external site.)

Why some distance education programs fail while others succeed in a global environment http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751609000281

 (Links to an external site.)

Case Study: Challenges and Issues in Teaching Fully Online Mechanical Engineering Courses http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-06764-3_74

 (Links to an external site.)

TPCK and SAMR – Models for Enhancing Technology Integration (2008) http://www.msad54.org/sahs/TechInteg/mlti/SAMR.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

SAMR and TPCK in Action http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2017/08/28/SAMR_TPCK_In_Action.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

SAMR: Beyond the Basics http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2017/08/26/SAMRBeyondTheBasics.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

From the Classroom to the Keyboard: How Seven Teachers Created Their Online Teacher Identities http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/download/1814/3253

 (Links to an external site.)

A structure equation model among factors of teachers’ technology integration practice and their TPCK http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131515000949

 (Links to an external site.)

Examining Technopedagogical Knowledge Competencies of Teachers in Terms of Some Variables http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815006990/pdf?md5=1d1ccf6d1fb7088d7fda105f66d677c6&pid=1-s2.0-S1877042815006990-main.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge-practical (TPACK-Practical) model: Examination of its validity in the Turkish culture via structural equation modeling http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131515001189

 (Links to an external site.)

Using TPCK as a scaffold to self-assess the novice online teaching experience http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587919.2015.1019964#aHR0cDovL3d3dy50YW5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20vZG9pL3BkZi8xMC4xMDgwLzAxNTg3OTE5LjIwMTUuMTAxOTk2NEBAQDA=

 (Links to an external site.)

What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge? http://www.editlib.org/p/29544/

 (Links to an external site.)

The role of TPACK in physics classroom: case studies of preservice physics teachers http://ac.els-cdn.com/S187704281201779X/1-s2.0-S187704281201779X-main.pdf?_tid=cf1faf84-81bf-11e5-8938-00000aacb35f&acdnat=1446509831_08753d5dcf76ed3f790bd4382aae1e31

 (Links to an external site.)

Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) for Educators https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lEbJAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=tPCK&ots=-p0TWk4RCI&sig=FElDYqBq7xyKcFWehvVRZ91LrNE#v=onepage&q&f=false

 (Links to an external site.)

When using technology isn׳t enough: A comparison of high school civics teachers׳ TPCK in one-to-one laptop environments http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885985X14000229

 (Links to an external site.)

Systematic Planning for ICT Integration in Topic Learning http://ifets.info/journals/10_1/14.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v9i1general1.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)

Paid Research Papers (worth buying?)

Effect of a TPCK-SRL Model on Teachers’ Pedagogical Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, and Technology-Based Lesson Design http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-8080-9_5

 (Links to an external site.)

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a Framework for Integrating Educational Technology in the Teaching of Computer Science http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-8080-9_11

 (Links to an external site.)

Instruction: A Models Approach, Enhanced Pearson http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Instruction-A-Models-Approach-Enhanced-Pearson-eText-with-LooseLeaf-Version-Access-Card-Package/9780134046884.page

 (Links to an external site.)

LDT Seminar – Final – Learner's Chat

Assignment: 

You know a lot about the challenge generally, now you want to get to know your target learner.  In pairs, spend at least 30 minutes chatting with two different target learners, one for each problem.  If your learner is a child, talk to a parent.  (Note: ALWAYS get parent permission when talking to minors.)

Write up a one-page brief documenting what you learned about this learner’s goals, context, challenges, and assets. Look for insights into possible opportunities to solve real problems.  Add your brief here.

Response:

Chatted with Matej and Omair about what would be the features in a LMS that would scaffold them into creating effective courses. 

Matej’s strategy when he started thinking about the process of creating his own courses, was to look at what others were doing, what kind of language they were using, and which ones resonated most with his style of thinking. The tool could provide easier access to successful examples with videos, curricula, lesson plans and so on.

Omair’s desire was to have a tool that would help him remember all the topics he must cover. Using keywords and a mind map for each piece of content, the system would alert him if any node was not covered yet. His main concern is covering the entirety of the content. 

The more I look at the problem, the more I see that I would need to focus on a subject matter due to the particularities of each, pedagogically speaking. To try to create an overarching generalized system that helps you create ‘better’ courses seems like an outreach and a  technocentric view of a solution. 

My initially narrow view of wishing to create a magical tool that would help me create a course by giving me tips and suggestions along the way might have the be reconsidered. 

I am starting to see that a larger challenge that has to be addressed is teacher professional development. How do we scale it? How do we integrate it into their daily routines? How do we use technology to aid lesson planning, course management, pedagogical activities, and student engagement?

Is there space to evolve from a Material Management System or a Learning Management System towards a “Teaching Management System” that coaches, facilitates and promotes interactivity amongst educators and amongst learners. 

I feel that now I have to interview more learners (educators) as to what this tool might look like, concentrate on a subject matter, audience and learning environment to convince myself that what I am looking at is a relevant problem which may cause positive impact on the educational setting. 

Zehavit Kohen – Promoting Life-long Learning Skill in our Teachers

Very interesting talk by Dr. Zehavit Kohen about how LLL skills along with teacher centered teaching, vs student centered teaching.

Teachers must learn to become LLL themselves to be able to teach more effectively.

I was interested in the LLL aspect of her research since those are the skills that are needed to motivate adults to continue education… who knows, online.

zehavitkohen.png

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LDT Seminar – Week 10 – Udemy Interview

 

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Interviewed two top execs at Udemy today about how might we help experts publish online courses.

Here are the questions and some notes:


In your own words, how would you describe Udemy’s role in the educational market?

  • Strong focus on continuing education content
  • Create high quality content to be able to attend the needs of the learners

What are the biggest challenges it faces in attending to the learner’s needs and goals?

  • Create mind set that learning is something you have to do continuosly.
  • How do we educate people about continuing with their own education.
  • How to install a growth mindset.

What is the relationship between Udemy and the educators who create content?

  • Closer relationship with a few high achieving teachers.
  • Udemy has private discussion groups on Facebook that are very active.

How does the platform scaffold educators to create better courses, besides the Udemy’s courses on the subject?

  • On-boarding
    • Send a test video to see if you’ve got all the settings correct
    • Tips and tricks on the side bars
  • Community of co-creation where they help each other out, peer-review and share techniques
  • Instructor’s handbook: what is the exact sequence for a course depending on the skill level of the student and the subject matter?

How does the course review process work?

  • 1500 reviews a month
  • Secret sauce as to how they do it 🙂

What proportion of courses received have enough technical quality to be accepted?

  • Most courses are rejected sent back for review, because they did not meet the required technical criteria (a/v quality, frame size, etc).
  • Content: no introductory material about what the course is about.

If you had unlimited resources, what features would you implement on Udemy?

  • No specific thing but keep on pushing towards the larger goal of takin

Questions we did not ask:

  • What are the main problems teachers have in using the tool?
  • What are the main problems learners have in using the tool?
  • What are the most popular course categories?

LDT Seminar – Week 9 – Class Notes

Who Am I? Talk this week:

mccandliss

Second half, Stanford’s Dr. Bruce McCandiss, PhD, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, talks about a new field of Educational Neuroscience that can do three important things:  

  1. providing a new view on understanding how experts are wired up,  
  2. a new view on how children come to a new learning challenge (i.e. reading) with a diverse set of resources and individual differences that matter, and
  3. a way of understanding the mechanisms by which learning experiences can drive changes in mental abilities and brain connections.  

Response:

With ever-evolging realtime, detailed 3D moving images of the brain working, we start to see where learning happens and most importantly, how it happens. Going off the far end first: will we be able to record learning and then play it back to other learners? What will be the ethical issues of cloning thought processes? Will it be possible to create human drones controlled by a central brain?

On a more practical level, being able to see absence of learning is one major potential application. Imagine if we could assess if a student has learned about a subject or not – without actually testing them – just by talking about the subject. With that, we can then look at their learning profile and attempt to teach about the subject in a way that is more adapted that brain. Formative assessment based on brain visualizations. Just another skill teachers will have to cope with 🙂

The question that remains for me is: how does an adult brain look like when it is learning? How much brain plasticity still remains? How can we improve it? Is the brain really like a muscle that when exercised, it has potential for making more connections?

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Oh yes – while we were responding to the lecture, Collin sung a little for us in class:

https://youtu.be/B4VM-L7E4Bk

LDT Seminar – Week 7 – Class Notes

Today we met at the d.School and started of with talks by:

  1. Shelley Williamson
  2. Anastasia Radeva
  3. Camila Farias

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Then we had a very interesting session lead by Dr. Susan Wise from the d.K12 Lab Network, the longest running lab in d.School.

We found a partner and designed a product for him… in all of less than hour. My product was for Marc Campasano. The idea was to make him have a greater appreciation for jokes by reading negative or serious statements. Went around the room and collected some jokes and some serious quotes… the jokes were fun… but the serious quotes had little affect on how much he enjoyed the jokes. Guess he appreciates them enough already 🙂

The one designed for me was quite a bit more interesting. Somehow he derived from my experience in shutting down a business, having several meetings and learning from it. His app would read my Calendar items and after each meeting it would prompt me for feedback on the meeting with questions like, “How did it make you feel?”, “What did you learn”, and so on… great idea!

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LDT Seminar – Week 7 – Expert Interview

I interviewed Candice Thille, Ann Porteous, Sara Rutheford-Quach, and Karin Forssell regarding my learning problem. The greatest take-away for me was the vast amount of research and practice that has already happened. The depth and width of the problem space is enormous yet it helped me immensely in understanding the need to become more specific and focus on areas that interest me the most and with which I have the most familiarity with.

Learners’ goals: From the learner’s perspective, I understood from the interviews that there is a real challenge in knowing how to effectively create, publish, run and/or lead an online course. Very few tools aid the content-expert in acquiring PK and PCK  during the process of publishing a course for example. There are few lesson planning tools embedded in the existing educational technologies out there.

Context: I was ‘forced’ to learned about all the distinct online course types and methodologies that exist in the market to be able to ‘talk-the-talk’ during the interviews. This showed how rich the field is and how much there is to advance in it still. A major take-away was that human interaction has to be designed into a course, be it teacher-student or student-student along with a temporal dimension so that the course is effective in terms of course completion and depth of learning.

Special Needs: The learner’s needs are very specific to the subject matter I found out through the interviews. A statistics course has different needs than a linguistic course and different needs than a programing course. The scaffolding required for each subject matter would be different. The teaching strategies are different. The activities recommended to be done with the learners will be different.

In conclusion, the interviews were a tremendous source of information and served a great purpose of directing further inquiry, research and the desire to repeat the interviews in order to evolve the debate once I can get a better grasp of the material. Inspiring.