Sunday, December 17, 2017

Ed-Tech List Information

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 06:00:20

You are subscribed to the Ed-Tech list at the University of Miami. I
created this list to distribute information about Educational Technology.

Here are a few reminders.

1. If you want to unsubscribe you can do it a number of ways. A. Send me
an e-mail and I will remove you from the list. B. Go to
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leave the list" link, and follow the instructions. C. Send the message
"UNSUBSCRIBE ED-TECH" (in the body of the list, not the subject) to
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address that you are subscribed as.)

2. If you know someone who would like to subscribe tell them to do one of
the following. A. Send me an e-mail and I will add them to the list. Tell
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Bill Vilberg bill.vilberg@miami.edu Home: 305-255-9138 Work: 305-284-3949
Cell: 786-218-3052

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

FYI

 

Enough With the Laptop Ban Debate!

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2017/11/29/debate-over-banning-laptops-resurfaces-academics-seek-more?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=16ba33b37c-IDL20171115&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-16ba33b37c-200157049&mc_cid=16ba33b37c&mc_eid=69ce9c7eb4

 

With due respect, this issue is so minor in comparison to the provisions of the proposed Higher Education Act, which would radically revamp higher education in the United States.

 

See attached this morning's WSJ article.

 

MD

 

From: UM Educational Technology List [mailto:ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Vilberg, Bill
Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2017 8:20 AM
To: ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

 

Ed-Tech members,

 

Every professor creates the best learning environment for students. Some allow or fully embrace electronics in the classroom while others do not allow electronics to be used. Here is an interesting article listing research supporting the exclusion of electronics. If you don't let your students use electronics in class, you might share this article with them to explain, in someone else's words, why you are doing that. If you allow electronics you might share this as a warning of some of the limitations they might encounter.

 

Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
The New York Times

A growing body of evidence shows that college students generally learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. That is probably true in workplace meetings, too. Read the full story

 

Shared from Apple News

 

Sincerely,

- Bill -

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

[ED-TECH] ECAR 2017 IT Experiences of Faculty & Student Survey results - incl laptop/device use in the classroom

Hi-  You might find the results of the ECAR [EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis & Research] 2017 Faculty & Student Surveys regarding their experiences with IT relevant to the recent thread on laptop/device use in the classroom.    You can find the faculty & student reports and supporting materials (survey instruments, summaries, presentations, etc.)  here.   Survey topics include: general IT experiences on campus; teaching & learning environments; what faculty think about students & IT/What students think about faculty & IT. 

 

There will be a webinar discussing the results this Thurs., Nov. 30 from 1-2 pm.  You can register for the webinar here.   As an institutional member of EDUCAUSE, UM faculty & staff have full and free access to EDUCAUSE resources and webinars.   When prompted for a login, simply select the "Federated Login" option, then search for 'University of Miami'.  You'll be able to login using your CaneID credentials.    If you haven't explored what's available to you through EDUCAUSE, including signing up for 'teaching & learning' targeted newsletters, you can check out these resources here

 

Best Regards, cheryl

 

Cheryl Gowing

Associate Dean, Library Information Systems & Access

University of Miami Libraries

Coral Gables, FL  33124-0320

 

(305) 284-6018                 (305) 505-2898 (cell)

(305) 284-4721 (fax)       cgowing@miami.edu

Monday, November 27, 2017

Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

Thanks Bill, another good piece in Inside Higher Ed today:

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/banning-things-classrooms

Scot D. Evans

On Nov 27, 2017, at 11:06 AM, Vilberg, Bill <bill.vilberg@miami.edu> wrote:

Scott,


Thank you for your reply to the New York Times article on tech in the classroom. Your references are great. They add a lot to the discussion. And thanks for sharing it with the whole Ed-Tech list. Others will appreciate it as well.


- Bill - 



From: Evans, Scotney D.
Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2017 9:50 AM
To: Vilberg, Bill
Cc: ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
 
Thanks for sharing Bill. This is an issue I struggle with every semester, but I try to have open conversations with students about it so we can create a shared agreement about how laptops will be used in class. Creating a learning community and keeping them engaged is on us, with or without laptops. 

I suggest people have a look at this for an alternate viewpoint: https://medium.com/@thisissethsblog/no-laptops-in-the-lecture-hall-1847b6d3315 


"The solution isn't to ban the laptop from the lecture. It's time to ban the lecture from the classroom." -  Seth Godin

Also, we need to critically evaluate the "growing body of evidence" used in this clickbait story. The "science" behind these claims are shaky at best, so don't ban laptops because you think the evidence is clear - its not. Catherine Prendergast dissects some of the studies here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934291194976391169 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934491136776957952 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934545845034405888 



Scot

------------------------
Scot Evans, Associate Professor
School of Education and Human Development | Department of Educational and Psychological Studies 
Engagement, Power, & Social Action Research Team (EPSA)
Acting Director, Office of Civic and Community Engagement
Editor, Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice
5202 University Drive, MB 312 | Coral Gables FL 33146 | Telephone: 305.284.4142 | Twitter: @evanssd


On Nov 26, 2017, at 8:20 AM, Vilberg, Bill <bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU> wrote:

Ed-Tech members,

Every professor creates the best learning environment for students. Some allow or fully embrace electronics in the classroom while others do not allow electronics to be used. Here is an interesting article listing research supporting the exclusion of electronics. If you don't let your students use electronics in class, you might share this article with them to explain, in someone else's words, why you are doing that. If you allow electronics you might share this as a warning of some of the limitations they might encounter.

Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
The New York Times

A growing body of evidence shows that college students generally learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. That is probably true in workplace meetings, too. Read the full story


Shared from Apple News



Sincerely,
- Bill -

Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

Scott,


Thank you for your reply to the New York Times article on tech in the classroom. Your references are great. They add a lot to the discussion. And thanks for sharing it with the whole Ed-Tech list. Others will appreciate it as well.


- Bill - 



From: Evans, Scotney D.
Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2017 9:50 AM
To: Vilberg, Bill
Cc: ED-TECH@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
 
Thanks for sharing Bill. This is an issue I struggle with every semester, but I try to have open conversations with students about it so we can create a shared agreement about how laptops will be used in class. Creating a learning community and keeping them engaged is on us, with or without laptops. 

I suggest people have a look at this for an alternate viewpoint: https://medium.com/@thisissethsblog/no-laptops-in-the-lecture-hall-1847b6d3315 


"The solution isn't to ban the laptop from the lecture. It's time to ban the lecture from the classroom." -  Seth Godin

Also, we need to critically evaluate the "growing body of evidence" used in this clickbait story. The "science" behind these claims are shaky at best, so don't ban laptops because you think the evidence is clear - its not. Catherine Prendergast dissects some of the studies here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934291194976391169 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934491136776957952 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934545845034405888 



Scot

------------------------
Scot Evans, Associate Professor
School of Education and Human Development | Department of Educational and Psychological Studies 
Engagement, Power, & Social Action Research Team (EPSA)
Acting Director, Office of Civic and Community Engagement
Editor, Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice
5202 University Drive, MB 312 | Coral Gables FL 33146 | Telephone: 305.284.4142 | Twitter: @evanssd


On Nov 26, 2017, at 8:20 AM, Vilberg, Bill <bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU> wrote:

Ed-Tech members,

Every professor creates the best learning environment for students. Some allow or fully embrace electronics in the classroom while others do not allow electronics to be used. Here is an interesting article listing research supporting the exclusion of electronics. If you don't let your students use electronics in class, you might share this article with them to explain, in someone else's words, why you are doing that. If you allow electronics you might share this as a warning of some of the limitations they might encounter.

Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
The New York Times

A growing body of evidence shows that college students generally learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. That is probably true in workplace meetings, too. Read the full story


Shared from Apple News



Sincerely,
- Bill -

[ED-TECH] New faculty learning communities open for applications

Ed-Tech members,


If you have not participated in a Faculty Learning Community in the past, consider applying for one of the exciting groups planned for this Spring.


  • Media-Based Assignments: Leveraging the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and other software to enable students to create and edit images, data visualizations, audio, video, and multimedia projects.
  • 3D Printing/Maker Technologies: Incorporating opportunities for students to transform course content, projects, and new ideas into physical models, sculptures, and mechanisms.

The short application is due by December 15, 2017. Read the Veritas announcement at https://tinyurl.com/ybt4v5my and go to https://tinyurl.com/ycdxhrek  for the full program description and application form.


- Bill - 

William (Bill) Vilberg
Assistant Director of Learning Platforms
Information Technology
University of Miami
305-284-3944

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Re: [ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

Thanks for sharing Bill. This is an issue I struggle with every semester, but I try to have open conversations with students about it so we can create a shared agreement about how laptops will be used in class. Creating a learning community and keeping them engaged is on us, with or without laptops. 

I suggest people have a look at this for an alternate viewpoint: https://medium.com/@thisissethsblog/no-laptops-in-the-lecture-hall-1847b6d3315 

"The solution isn't to ban the laptop from the lecture. It's time to ban the lecture from the classroom." -  Seth Godin

Also, we need to critically evaluate the "growing body of evidence" used in this clickbait story. The "science" behind these claims are shaky at best, so don't ban laptops because you think the evidence is clear - its not. Catherine Prendergast dissects some of the studies here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934291194976391169 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934491136776957952 and here: https://twitter.com/cjp_still/status/934545845034405888 

Scot

------------------------
Scot Evans, Associate Professor
School of Education and Human Development | Department of Educational and Psychological Studies 
Engagement, Power, & Social Action Research Team (EPSA)
Acting Director, Office of Civic and Community Engagement
Editor, Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice
5202 University Drive, MB 312 | Coral Gables FL 33146 | Telephone: 305.284.4142 | Twitter: @evanssd


On Nov 26, 2017, at 8:20 AM, Vilberg, Bill <bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU> wrote:

Ed-Tech members,

Every professor creates the best learning environment for students. Some allow or fully embrace electronics in the classroom while others do not allow electronics to be used. Here is an interesting article listing research supporting the exclusion of electronics. If you don't let your students use electronics in class, you might share this article with them to explain, in someone else's words, why you are doing that. If you allow electronics you might share this as a warning of some of the limitations they might encounter.

Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
The New York Times

A growing body of evidence shows that college students generally learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. That is probably true in workplace meetings, too. Read the full story


Shared from Apple News



Sincerely,
- Bill -

[ED-TECH] The New York Times: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.

Ed-Tech members,

Every professor creates the best learning environment for students. Some allow or fully embrace electronics in the classroom while others do not allow electronics to be used. Here is an interesting article listing research supporting the exclusion of electronics. If you don't let your students use electronics in class, you might share this article with them to explain, in someone else's words, why you are doing that. If you allow electronics you might share this as a warning of some of the limitations they might encounter.

Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.
The New York Times

A growing body of evidence shows that college students generally learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. That is probably true in workplace meetings, too. Read the full story


Shared from Apple News



Sincerely,
- Bill -

Monday, November 13, 2017

[ED-TECH] How do your students study/learn?

Fellow educators,

I am in NYC on a long weekend and came across a fascinating (to me) article/study on how university undergraduate students study. As an educator, it makes me wonder what I could do to better help students with their learning. Could I make changes in the course or include this information in class?

The study is based on STEM students, but the report has information for everyone, I believe. You can jump down to the findings and gain a lot of ideas, or read the whole article and check out some of the references. 

Where I found out about it:

What Do Students Do When They Study?


Actual report:

Examining study habits in undergraduate STEM courses from a situative perspective | International Journal of STEM Education

https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-017-0055-6

By the way, I have announced my retirement from UM. I will have been here 19 years as of mid May 2019. I will be retiring then and moving to Hattiesburg, MS. Some of you may still remember me as "Mr. Blackboard" and a member of the Instructional Advancement Center. I hope I have helped you all in your mission to improve your teaching and your student's learning. It has been, and continues to be, my pleasure.

Sincerely,
- Bill -

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

[ED-TECH] Grading

Dear Professor,
When is the last time you sat down with one or more of your peers and discussed grading in your learning systems (courses)? Not just how you deal with attendance, participation, extra credit, quizzes, and such, but the basic role of grades in helping the students learn.
I know it is a very busy time of year, and you should not make major changes in your learning systems (courses) once classes have started. So consider this piece as a seed to start you thinking. Use it to reflect on while you work through this semester. Discuss this with your students. We are always trying to help our students learn. This is one aspect you may not have considered. 
----- Begin Article -----

Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning A Challenge to Current Grading Practices

students taking test

There's a lot to be gained from considering ideas and arguments at odds with current practice. In higher education, many instructional practices are accepted and replicated with little thought. Fortunately, there are a few scholars who keep asking tough questions and challenging conventional thinking. Australian D. Royce Sadler is one of them. His views on feedback and assessment are at odds with the mainstream, but his scholarship is impeccable, well-researched, and logically coherent. His ideas merit our attention, make for rich discussion, and should motivate us to delve into the assumptions that ground current policies and practices.

Teaching Professor Blog Sadler's 2016 article proposes three radical assessment reforms. I have space in today's post to explore one: "accumulation of marks" or grading systems where students collect points across the course. This is probably the most commonly used grading system in North America. Here's Sadler's position: "Whether the actual path of learning is smooth or bumpy, and regardless of the effort the student has (or has not) put in, only the final achievement status should matter in determining the course grade." (p. 1087)

He makes three arguments against "accumulating performance measures." First, continuing summative assessments rob students of the opportunity to learn from failure. Students need opportunities for "false starts," "bumbling attempts," and "time spent going up blind alleys." (p. 1088). Those are the very experiences that lead to deep understanding. Developing competence takes time. It requires experiences that occur across months, not days.

Sadler's second objection involves how final grades "mishmash" the data, mingling credit for behaviors like effort, engagement in preferred activities, completion of exercises, and participation with evaluations of academic achievement. "These behaviors and activities may well assist learning, but they do not constitute the final level of achievement or even part of it . . . . The cost of using marks to modify behavior is contamination of the grade." (p. 1088)

Finally, although earning points throughout the course motivates students and keeps them working, that focus ends when they've acquired enough points to satisfy their grade needs. Moreover, this grading approach reinforces the idea that everything students do in the course merits points. But even more significantly, "A steady stream of extrinsic rewards is a poor substitute for developed intrinsic rewards where students take primary responsibility for their own learning." (p. 1088) These are not grading systems that encourage autonomy and self-direction in learners.

The alternative? Sadler advocates formative assessment, clearly separated from summative evaluation. Purely formative assessments have high stakes for learning and zero influence on the final, end-of-course assessment. So, students do all the regular course assignments and exams (save the final) but not for credit. Sadler also believes students should be much more involved in assessing their work. In a 2010 article, he offers ample evidence that few students act on the feedback teachers provide—something many of us have experienced with our own students. It's another example of how teachers tell students what they should be discovering for themselves. "Students need to become competent not only in making judgments about their own works, but also in defending those judgments and figuring out how those works could have been made better." (p. 1089)

As for the final summative assessment at the end of the course, Sadler pushes us to think in new ways here as well. Student knowledge and understanding should be tested in more authentic ways. Final assessments should allow students to take advantage of "the technologies and tools of production currently used in most workplaces . . . ." (p.1090) Time limits should be more generous, with responses written and then revised. "The quality of a student's response as appraised against standards rather than against other students' work is a clearer indicator of their capability than the speed of task completion." (p. 1091)

Clearly, these ideas hold students responsible to a far greater degree than current practices do. Sadler acknowledges, noting that these reforms "shift a significant measure of responsibility from the educational environment [teachers, program directors, the institution, for example] to the students themselves." (p. 1091) Most of our students are not prepared to accept this level of responsibility, and there are institutional barriers associated with class sizes and teaching loads.

These aren't easily implemented reforms. But that shouldn't prevent us from considering the ideas, debating their merits, and if we concur in principle, searching for small changes that might move assessment practices in these directions.

References:  Sadler, D. R., (2016).  Three in-course assessment reforms to improve higher education learning outcomes.  Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41 (7), 1081-1099.

Sadler, D. R., (2010).  Beyond feedback:  Developing student capability in complex appraisal.  Assessment & Evaluation, 35 (5), 535-550.

Previous blog posts that highlight some of Sadler's work: 

The post A Challenge to Current Grading Practices appeared first on Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning.




https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/challenge-current-grading-practices/

Sent with Reeder



Sincerely,
- Bill -

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

[ED-TECH] 22 minutes of your time, please

Friends,

This is a personal request from me. Please watch this 22 minute video at https://youtu.be/P54sP0Nlngg from Monday night's Vice News show. It has footage and interviews from the Charlottesville events last weekend. No talking heads telling you what it means. Just videos of an interviews with people who took part. Great journalism. Great information. Great story telling. It is worth seeing and thinking about.

— Bill —

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

[ED-TECH] Amazing PowerPoint add-in does live closed captions

Microsoft has released an amazing add-on that provides live closed captioning during a PowerPoint presentation. I saw it on Monday and it just went live for everyone. Take a look and try it out. For normal speech it is amazing. Don't know how it will handle the technical terms we often use in higher education.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Ed-Tech List Information

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 06:00:42

You are subscribed to the Ed-Tech list at the University of Miami. I
created this list to distribute information about Educational Technology.

Here are a few reminders.

1. If you want to unsubscribe you can do it a number of ways. A. Send me
an e-mail and I will remove you from the list. B. Go to
http://listserv.miami.edu/archives/ed-tech.html, click on the "Join or
leave the list" link, and follow the instructions. C. Send the message
"UNSUBSCRIBE ED-TECH" (in the body of the list, not the subject) to
listserv@listserv.miami.edu. (This will only work if sent from the
address that you are subscribed as.)

2. If you know someone who would like to subscribe tell them to do one of
the following. A. Send me an e-mail and I will add them to the list. Tell
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Announcements list (Bb). B. Go to http://www.snurl.com/bbforms and fill
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listserv@listserv.miami.edu.

3. Searchable archives of the list are available at
http://listserv.miami.edu/archives/ed-tech.html.

Bill Vilberg bill.vilberg@miami.edu Home: 305-255-9138 Work: 305-284-3949
Cell: 786-218-3052

Tuesday, May 09, 2017

[ED-TECH] Tips for saving time with polling and quizzing

Dear Colleague, 

Have you considered using a student response system (student polling) in any of your classes? There is a webinar on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 2pm at which a former English professor will discuss "ways you can incorporate polling without sacrificing your valuable class time or those lesson plans you've spent years perfecting. [She] will also discuss ways in-class polling and quizzing can be used to save time, giving you even more freedom for instruction." 

Register here:

-- 
Bill Vilberg

On May 9, 2017 at 9:05:48 AM, iClicker | REEF (email@iclicker.com) wrote:

i>clicker

Webinar: Polling in No Time

IC.IMG-PH.MikeShapiroHeadshot.jpg

Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 2:00 PM ET

Presented by:
Natalie Dougall | Faculty Consultant

Register Now

Want to bring in-class polling to your classroom but feel like there's just no time? Join us on Wednesday, May 17 at 2PM EDT. Faculty consultant and former English professor Natalie Dougall will present ways you can incorporate polling without sacrificing your valuable class time or those lesson plans you've spent years perfecting. Natalie will also discuss ways in-class polling and quizzing can be used to save time, giving you even more freedom for instruction.

Register Now

i>clicker - Active Learning Simplified.
CT 2015 Platinum Winner CT 2016 Platinum Winner
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Wednesday, May 03, 2017

[ED-TECH] Innovate, Innovate, Innovate!

Dear colleagues,

As the semester ends, this is a time to reflect on your classes during the last year and think about things you would like to try next year. Faculty are "reflective practitioners" (1) You practice, select, adjust, and repeat. It is time to reflect.

What problems did your students have? What techniques have you heard of that you would like to add to your toolbox? What management changes could be made in your classrooms?

Innovation is not about how you use technology. Innovation is not reserved for the few. Innovation is not solely a "product". (2) Every time you try something new you are innovating. So take 30 minutes and reflect on one of your classes. Identify one thing you would like to do that might increase learning. Then start planning to put it in practice in the fall. 

Congratulations on completing an EXCELLENT semester and year. Now, how can you do better next time?

References

-- 
Bill Vilberg