In November 2015, the Open University released the latest edition of its ‘Innovating Pedagogy’ report, the fourth rendition of an annual educational technology and teaching techniques forecast. While the timelines and publishing interval may remind you of the Horizon Report, the methodology for gathering the trends is different.
The NMC Horizon Team uses a modified Delphi survey approach with a panel of experts.
10 Innovative Pedagogy Trends from the 2015 Edition:
Crossover Learning: recognition of diverse, informal achievements with badges.
Learning through Argumentation: To fully understand scientific ideas and effectively participate in public debates students should practice the kinds of inquiry and communication processes that scientists use, and pursue questions without known answers, rather than reproducing facts.
Incidental Learning: A subset of informal learning, incidental learning occurs through unstructured exploration, play and discovery. Mobile technologies can support incidental learning. An example is the app and website Ispot Nature.
Context-based Learning:Mobile applications and augmented reality can enrich the learners’ context. An example is the open source mobile game platform ARIS.
Computational Thinking: The skills that programmers apply to analyze and solve problems are seen as an emerging trend . An example is the programming environment SCRATCH.
Learning by Doing Science with Remote Labs: A collection of accessible labs is ilab
Embodied learning:involving the body is essential for some forms of learning, how physical activities can influence cognitive processes.
Adaptive Teaching:intelligent tutoring systems – computer applications that analyse data from learning activities to provide learners with relevant content and sequence learning activities based on prior knowledge.
Analytics of Emotions: As techniques for tracking eye movements, emotions and engagement have matured over the past decade, the trend prognoses opportunities for emotionally adaptive learning environments.
Stealth Assessment: In computer games the player’s progress gradually changes the game world, setting increasingly difficult problems through unobtrusive, continuous assessment.
6 Themes of Pedagogical Innovation
Based upon a review of previous editions, the report tries to categorize pedagogical innovation into six overarching themes:
“What started as a small set of basic teaching methods (instruction, discovery, inquiry) has been extended to become a profusion of pedagogies and their interactions. So, to try to restore some order, we have examined the previous reports and identified six overarching themes: scale, connectivity, reflection, extension, embodiment, and personalisation.”
Delivering education at massive scale.
Connecting learners from different nations, cultures and perspectives.
Fostering reflection and contemplation.
Extending traditional teaching methods and settings.
Recognizing embodied learning (explore, create, craft, and construct).
Creating a personalized path through educational content.
Further Reading
Follow these links to blog posts and EdITLib resources to further explore selected trends:
Interested in the Innovating Pedagogy report? Read our review of the 2014 edition, and reflect which trends are closer to becoming common practice.
Males participate more frequently in courses taught by female instructors
Other studies show the opposite
Non traditional students participate more frequently
Instructors’ gender also returns mixed results
Class size as variable is important, smaller classes, more participation
Class participation – grading
Make the students grade themselves at the end of each class period. By making them grade themselves, they reflect and makes them more aware of their contribution.
0 – absent
1 – present but did not verbally participate
2 – verbally participated one time
3 – verbally participated more than once
4 – made an equitable contribution to discussion in terms of both quantity and quality
The well-known and established belief that smaller classes spur more participation.
Jay Howard maintain his sociological research in 20th centuries constants: physical classroom, no technology surrounding.
In the 21st century, clickers changed the opportunity for immediate feedback. They changed also the discourse of the traditional student participation and classroom discussion: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=clickers&submit=Search
Traditional forms and techniques for discussion and participation
Weih, T. G. (2015). Discussion Strategies for the Inclusion of ALL Students. Online Submission, http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED561060
Don’ts:
call on student
instructor’s personality issues:
Does the instructor really care of what students have to say
lecturing does not predispose to discussion
The 10 second rule: students discuss in pairs the concept/question
Think-Pair-Share: discussion strategy before or after lesson, similar to 10 second but longer
Quick writes: write their thoughts and then share. Loose paper, names on top,
Recorder-reporter. Post-lecture. The person reps the group, who is working on a specific question. Each group different question.
K-W-L. what we know, what we want to learn, what we learned. Teacher instructs students that K = what they know, W = what they want to learn and L = what they learned. . work in small groups, but each student works on h/er chart, thus if student disagrees with rest of the group, has record. L is left blank for after the discussion.
Simich-Dudgeon, C., & National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, W. D. (1998). Classroom Strategies for Encouraging Collaborative Discussion. Directions in Language and Education. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED435188
Using storytelling
Chen, W., & Looi, C. (2007). Incorporating Online Discussion in Face to Face Classroom Learning: A New Blended Learning Approach. Australasian Journal Of Educational Technology, 23(3), 307-326. Discussions and participation in hybrid environment
For each OTD topic, the instructor randomly assigns two to four student discussion leaders who are in charge of organizing OTD for the assigned week. Each of the discussion leaders is asked to generate one or two discussion questions related to the topic based on reading assignments. The use of student discussion leaders is a strategy to encourage active participation and help develop ownership of learning. Once student discussion leaders post their questions, other students are encouraged to contribute to the discussion by answering each question, commenting on the ideas of others, or asking questions of peers or the instructor for the next two days. When the week’s discussion is complete, the student leaders and instructor work together to summarize the discussion and evaluate each student’s participation and contribution to the discussion using a scoring rubric. (p.242)
Implementation (p. 243):
preparation : On the first day of the course, the instructor introduces topics, how-tos, expectations, grading procedures, and required reading assignments for OTD, and organizes discussion leaders for each online discussion (2–4 leaders for each)
Opening and Responding: Posted discussion questions become open at the time of the class and students who are not the leaders are required to post at least one response per question within 48 hrs. During this time, the leaders facilitate discussion by responding to comments, raising questions, or redirecting discussion to encourage active participation and ensure the discussion is on track
Summary and Assessment: The job of the leader is to moderate, summarize discussion threads, and assess them at the end of the discussion. When the week’s discussion is complete, the leaders meet with the instructor to debrief and evaluate each student’s participation and contribution to the discussion using a scoring rubric given by the instructor. After the meeting, each leader posts his or her summary of the discussion to BBCMS and reports at the next in-person class.
D2L
Beyond CMS (D2L)
Discussions and participation in online environment
Darabi, A., Liang, X., Suryavanshi, R., & Yurekli, H. (2013). Effectiveness of Online Discussion Strategies: A Meta-Analysis. American Journal Of Distance Education, 27(4), 228-241. doi:10.1080/08923647.2013.837651
Beyond CMS (D2L)
Lin, P., Hou, H., Wang, S., & Chang, K. (2013). Analyzing knowledge dimensions and cognitive process of a project-based online discussion instructional activity using Facebook in an adult and continuing education course. Computers & Education, 60(1), 110-121. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.07.017 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512001819
111 results suggest that using Facebook is not necessarily harmful to a student’s learning performance. Adequate learning activity design and pedagogical goal setting could, in fact, exploit the social and information-sharing function of Facebook, thereby supporting academic learning (Gray et al., 2010). this study seeks to advance the understanding of adult learners’ behaviors in online project discussions using Facebook.
In the process of project-based learning, learners must utilize different kinds of knowledge (e.g., discrete declarative knowledge and dynamic procedural knowledge) (Lou, 2004). Meanwhile, students can develop higher level of cognitive skills for a specific domain as well as the ability to apply adequate knowledge to a specific domain or context during PBL (Barron et al., 1998; Blumenfeld et al., 1991).
118 Select driving questions or controversial issues as project topics: Blumenfeld et al. (1991) noted that driving questions could facilitate students to explore the project topic. In the exploration process, students must first collect information and propose diverse viewpoints on the project topics. They could subsequently filter out and reach consensus during online discussions. This process involves diverse and converging phases that can move students toward higher-order thinking (Jorczak & Bart, 2009).
Allow ample time for online discussion: Results of this study indicated that student online discussions lacked diversity in both knowledge and cognitive process dimensions. One possible reason could be that the allotted time for online discussions was not sufficient. Considering the multiple roles that adult learners play in family and/or work, they may not be able to respond to the discussions in a timely manner. Therefore, allowing more time for students to discuss may provide opportunities for students to demonstrate more diverse and deeper thinking (Scherling, 2011).
Provide a structured rubric for online discussions: Well-designed discussion guidelines and evaluation criteria, i.e., posting protocols or rubric for grading, could serve as scaffolds for student online discussions, which may, subsequently, lead to more meaningful learning (Gilbert & Dabbagh, 2005). Following that, more diverse type of knowledge and levels of cognitive process could be expected to be shown.
Pay attention to the effects that individual differences may exert on the learner’s interactions: Our results showed that, in the context of online discussions, females and older learners are more likely to have off-topic discussions than their male and/or younger counterparts. These findings are in accord with previous research that suggested effects of individual differences on learning as well as on the use of SNSs (Glynn et al., 2012; Muscanell & Guadagno, 2012; Price, 2006; Yukselturk & Bulut, 2009). Therefore, considering the potential effects that gender and age may exert on online discussions, instructors are advised to consider individual differences when grouping students for online discussions, as a balanced group composition of evenly distributed age and gender could be a better approach than a skewed distribution of individuals.
social interaction, which was considered as irrelevant discussion, may also leading to meaningful thinking and echoes the viewpoints from previous studies, which suggest social interaction can be a critical element in the CSCL environment (Abedin et al., 2011a, 2011b).
Incorporating online discussion in face to face classroom learning: A new blended learning approach
Wenli Chen, Chee-Kit Looi
Abstract
This paper discusses an innovative blended learning strategy which incorporates online discussion in both in-class face to face, and off-classroom settings. Online discussion in a face to face class is compared with its two counterparts, off-class online discussion as well as in-class, face to face oral discussion, to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed strategy. By integrating online discussion into the flow of the classroom, learners are given dedicated time to foster a habit of critical thinking, reflection and articulating these online, which can subsequently seed further in-class oral discussions, and off-class online discussions. It is found that in-class, online discussion can provide a wider spectrum of discussion perspectives, equalise participation in discussion, and promote cognitive thinking skills and in depth information processing. However, the lack of face to face interactions and the need for sufficient time to do online postings pose challenges in implementing online discussion for face to face classroom learning.
From the Blended and Online Learning discussion list:
We’re working on a grant program at my unit to improve these lec-capture courses. One of the ways is to train faculty:
We’ve seen that these courses have very little student engagement, especially for online students for whom this is the main medium of instruction. It’s challenging for the instructors to keep the online student in mind as they teach their lec-capture class. This is not surprising, since they’re essentially being asked to teach 2 different audiences simultaneously – in class and online. However, given that this is not going to change in the near future for us, we’ve begun exploring ways to train faculty to do a better job given the constraints. Below are some ideas:
We are in the process of creating a sort of “checklist” to address things that can be done before, during, and after the class and ways of streamlining the process.
BEFORE
Make faculty familiar with the technology – do tours of rooms, tutorials, short workshops, etc.
Syllabus, Schedule and instructional materials are prepared before the semester begins.
Learning objectives, outcomes, and assessments are aligned and made transparent to the students.
Design pedagogy that is inclusive – for e.g., move discussions online, create groups that include in-class and online students, use language that directly addresses online students, etc.
DURING & at the END
Review a sampling of videos at the beginning, middle, and end by ourselves and then with the faculty and provide them feedback on the good, the bad, and the ugly – very discreetly. 🙂 It’s going to be a sort of a joint reflection on the class. We believe if we do this a few times with the faculty, they’ll get the message and will make greater effort to include the online student in their instruction. And doing it 3 times will also make visible the changes and progress they make (or not)
We also plan to survey the students at the beginning, middle, and at the end of the semester and share the results with the faculty.
Chunking of videos includes preplanning and post production tasks. Faculty can be trained to script their lectures more, create lecture based on “topics” to make chunking and tagging easier. Need to focus on end user experience (online student).
These are some of the ideas. We plan to start implementing them this summer. I’ll share with you our progress. 🙂
Rema
———————————————————–
Rema Nilakanta, Ph.D.
Director of Design & Delivery|
Engineering-LAS Online Learning
1328 Howe Hall
515-294-9259 (office)
515-294-6184 (fax) http://www.elo.iastate.edu
—————————-
On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 8:48 AM, Nilakanta, Rema [ELO] <rema@iastate.edu> wrote:
Good Morning!
Thank you all for filling out the survey on the use of lecture capture in higher education. I appreciate your time and interest in this subject.
Attached are the results. I’ve also provided an overview below. The main purpose of this survey was to get an overall idea of how lecture capture is used in HE. I was just curious to see if the way we use it is pretty much similar at other institutions. The finding was inconclusive. My next step is to dig a little deeper – perhaps repurpose this survey for faculty and students. The final goal is to improve these courses – make them as pedagogically sound as possible, given that this technology is here to stay at our campus, at least for the near future. It will certainly require designing faculty training, but I would also like to explore innovative and efficient ways of chunking lecture videos pre and post production.
Let me know if you have any questions or need further information.
Rema
OVERVIEW OF “USE OF LECTURE CAPTURE IN HE” SURVEY RESULTS & FINDINGS
I’ve listed some of the findings that impressed me. They do not follow the order of the questions in the survey. For details, please view the attached report.
Just a quick note – There were 39 respondents, but not all responded to every question. The respondents included instructional and IT support staff and administrators at all levels generally from 4-year public and private universities.
FINDINGS & THEMES
Echo 365 and Panopto are the most frequently used lecture capture systems, but Adobe Connect also has several users.
The computer screen and the instructor feed are most commonly captured (89% and 79%, respectively). However, some also capture the document camera, the whiteboard, and the graphics pen tablet (53%, 39%, and 32%, respectively).
Almost every one (97%) report that they support their recordings with additional course materials in an LMS, while many also use web conferencing to deliver lectures and hold office hours. A sizeable portion of respondents also use online textbooks and publisher sites in their course delivery. Only 18% use lecture capture as the primary means of course delivery.
The majority of respondents use full class recordings of an hour or more, while around half also use short segments of 20 minutes or less.
The majority of the respondents seem to indicate a campus wide use of lecture capture for different purposes:
o review of in-class lectures
o training and advising
o student presentations (students use the technology to create their presentations/demos/assignments)
o live streaming of seminars and on-site hosting of conferences for remote students and audiences.
Size of the support units ranged from 1 person to 150+ people spread across campus.
Similarly, there was a wide range for the number of courses that used lecture capture – as few as 1-2 to a 1000 and more, if one takes into account non-traditional uses.
Although the numbers show that a majority (77%) provide full IT support for their lecture capture systems, a closer look at the comments indicates there is a general tendency toward making faculty more self reliant by providing them support when requested, or providing them with fully equipped and automated rooms, personal capture solutions and/or training.
Majority seemed satisfied with the lecture capture setup, so did the students. However, it seemed that the knowledge about student satisfaction was more anecdotal than formal. Other observations include:
o For people satisfied with the setup, there were quite a few users of Echo 360 and Panopto.
o Panopto seemed to rise above the rest for its promptness and quality of service. Mediasite got mixed response.
o There seems to be an awareness of the need to get the lectures captioned.
o Along with automated lecture capture technology, there seems to be a rise in old ways of doing things – manual (human) recording of events continues and seems preferable, especially in the face of rising costs of lecture capture technology.
The top 5 challenges concerning faculty support can be summarized as follows:
o Training faculty to use the technology – turn on the mic, no recording of white board, do not change settings, take time to learn the technology.
o Funding and support
o Ensuring best practices
o Captioning
o IP concerns
Efforts to address these challenges were related to:
OPERATIONS
– Keep mic on all the time
– Use of media asset management systems, like Kaltura (MediaSite)
– Admins trained to check settings for rooms
– Disable download of recordings as default setting (addressed IP concerns)
TRAINING
– Create user groups around technologies
– Promote communication among instructors using a particular room
– Training of faculty by instructional design teams on the use of technology and best practices
Here are some questions that will assist in determining if engagement is leading to actual learning:
• Is the technology being integrated in a purposeful way, grounded in sound pedagogy?
• What are the learning objectives or outcomes?
• Are students demonstrating the construction of new knowledge? Are they creating a learning product or artifact?
• How are students applying essential skills they have acquired to demonstrate conceptual mastery?
• What assessments (formative or summative) are being used to determine standard attainment?
• How are students being provided feedback about their progress toward the specific learning objectives or outcomes?
• Is there alignment to current observation or evaluation tools?
a recent PEW research study found that while educators find technology beneficial in teaching writing skills, they feel it has also led to a direct increase in rates of plagiarism and infringement of intellectual property rights.
We want students to do “group work,” to collaborate, and to discuss. However, we have very specific realms in which we want this to happen: the group assignment, the in-class discussion, studying for exams, etc. At the same time, many of us want to put up barriers and halt any collaboration at other times (during assessments, for example). When collaboration takes place during assessment, we deem it plagiarism or cheating, and technology is often identified as the instrument that tempts students into such behavior.
A student may produce an entirely wrong answer, but if how they got there was through logic, reasonable assumption, educated guessing (not just plain old “guessing”) – and they were effective in communicating that process – then there is evidence of learning that I can take into account.
More on plagiarism, academic integrity and academic dishonesty in this IMS blog:
You might be required to allow the audio clips to play on your computer, If this is the case, following the directions of the pop up window. Choose the option “Allow and remember,” if there is such.
You will know that you have accomplished the task, when you see on your window an audio bar, where you can hit the Play button.
The list, where you can log in your answers, is on the left hand-side of the audio clips. Scroll down to reach it:
This session will present results from an evaluation of the integration of RealizeIT adaptive learning technology into three fully online courses: General Psychology, Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice, and College Algebra. Presenters will discuss the impact on students, faculty, and the university.
Adaptive learning systems provide each student with a personalized learning experience, adapting the presentation of the content, and possibly the assessment to the individual ability of the student
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Co-developed by Learning Technologies and the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Indiana University, a digital badge pilot (badges.iu.edu) was launched to support faculty professional development and growth. This session will cover the competency levels, topics of study, and the badging platform to document levels of achievement. Outcomes: Understand the basics of a three-tiered framework for digital badges * Review the online badging platform * Explore topics for faculty development
Mozilla Open Badges 101: Digging into Badges (a webinar)
personalized learning or competency-based does not resolve it. GPA does not respond to employers search
regimenting credentials. digital representation of of skill or achievement. represent achievements on the web. social status (foursquare). granular, evidence-based and transferable. badge ecosystem (across multiple areas), this is why open badges; open system. Open Badge Standard: issuer information; earner information; criteria URL; evidence URL; Standards Alignment; Taxonomy Tags
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Data Visualization: The What, the Who, and the How
Data visualization tools are becoming much stronger and are now targeted at a much wider audience. This panel will explore what we should be trying to do with data visualization, who will be doing it, and how we might support and steer it. OUTCOMES: Identify multiple opportunities for use of data visualization * Learn about multiple user communities, including those not centrally managed * Explore ways to support users and steer them toward good practiceshttp://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/E15/SESS029/Data%2BViz%2BEducause%2B151028%2BFINAL1.pptxslides 7: What works well for technically savvy developers may not work for faculty or staff without those same credentials.
Data Wrapper
Raw
Infogram
Tableau
Oracle suite of OBIEE (Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition) has been very successful for CSU
Cognos (IBM) is another tool that is very popular for developers and has been used by USG central office
D3 (For Data Driven Documents)
Fusion Charts
Chart js
Google Charts
slide 11: Two primary design goals supported through Data Visualization:
Discovery and Exploration
–What story is the data telling you
–Identify patterns and exceptions
Decision-making
–Compare, contrast, choose
–Explain, make a point, decide
slide 15:
qTo communicate
qPresent more clearly or more forcefully than would be accomplished with text or tables
qReports, dashboards, infographics, etc.
qTo discover
qAllow us to see what would be difficult or impossible to see if not presented in a useful visualization
qRealm of research but moving into the mainstream
qCan same visualization serve both purposes?
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iPad, You Pad, We All Pad: Transforming Teaching and Learning
California State University Northridge, Lynn University, and Jackson State University have all deployed one-to-one iPad tablet initiatives, with the objectives to increase student engagement and learning, improve the quality of teaching materials, and decrease student costs. This session will discuss the transformational educational opportunities afforded by the iPad and highlight technology and pedagogical lessons learned. Outcomes: Learn about the transformational impact of one-to-one iPad initiatives in the classroom * Understand the need for extensive faculty development and faculty adoption strategies * Appreciate deployment and support challenges====================
The Avalon Video and Audio Repository for Libraries and Beyond
The Avalon Media System provides an open-source streaming media solution, based on Hydra/Fedora repository technologies, focused on delivery of library media collections, but it is finding other uses, including support for publication, teaching and learning content, and digital scholarship. As a result, new features enhance support for additional research and instructional use cases. Outcomes: Understand the problems Avalon solves * Understand the extended use cases addressed with Avalon, both present and intended future * Learn how best to engage with the Avalon project.========================
The Karuta Open Source Portfolio, currently under incubation by the Apereo Foundation, offers dramatic flexibility for designing portfolio workflows with rubrics to assess learning outcomes. Karuta is LTI enabled for integration with the LMS for easy access and transfer of evidence of learning. Subsequent releases will add functionality for showcasing as well as reporting. Outcome: Learn how Karuta can flexibly support your programs and institution through leveraging its functionality
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Supporting the Discovery and Adoption of Open E-Textbooks
The California Open Education Resources Council comprises faculty from the three CA higher education systems working together to identify open textbooks for high impact courses. The selected open textbooks are in the process of being peer reviewed and curated in the CA Open Online Library. Outcomes: Identify quality open textbooks for general education, high-impact courses * Learn how to interpret textbook peer reviews with a faculty-created rubric * Understand how to reference these resources for the discovery of quality no- or low-cost materialshttp://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/E15/PS58/COOL%2BEducause%2BPoster%2B2015.pdf
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Seminar 12P – Six Secrets for Evaluating Online Teaching (separate registration is required)
What makes online teaching different from face-to-face teaching? How can we tell when it’s done well? Faculty members, administrators, and IT leaders will learn six evaluation “secrets” from the authors of the new book Evaluating Online Teaching. You will leave this seminar with use-them-now strategies, tools, and templates to take back to your campus. OUTCOMES: Distinguish online content and practices that “count” as teaching behaviors * Design self-, peer-, and administrative-evaluation analytic tools * Develop a 6-stage, campus-wide program for evaluating online teachinghttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/seminar-12p-six-secrets-evaluating-online-teaching-separate-registration-required
Learn how the University of Pittsburgh is creating a scalable classroom model for active learning on a traditional campus. Administrators, faculty, and instructional technologists and designers recently collaborated to reimagine legacy large-enrollment lecture halls. The focus of this session is on the learning space design process across the disciplines. Outcomes: Identify and apply the principles of active learning associated with learning space deign * Understand the design process * Assemble an effective learning space design teamhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/reimagining-learning-space-design-across-disciplines
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Thinking Digitally: Advancing Digital Literacy with Personalized Learning Tools
The session will outline a scalable framework for integrating digital literacy in higher education curriculum, supported by tools that allow for active and personalized learning. Research and examples from Georgia State University’s experience implementing a pilot program will be used as a catalyst for interactive discussion and idea generation. Outcomes: Understand the value of incorporating digital literacy into curriculum * Select from emerging personalized learning technologies to support digital literacy across diverse academic scenarios * Adapt a methodology for developing partnerships to advance digital literacy across the organizationhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/thinking-digitally-advancing-digital-literacy-personalized-learning-tools===============
A discussion of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and drone activities that either take place on campus or impact a campus from the outside. The state of federal aviation regulations and guidelines for drones will be covered. Attendees can share their experiences with official and rogue drone activities at their institutions. Outcomes: Learn about the drone devices in use, from miniature to massive * Understand the impact of drones on academic institutions, for better or worse * Learn what drone activities are legally allowable, banned, or discouragedhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/whats-droning-overhead
Resources – Higher Ed Drone Policies
The Ohio State University
Iowa State University
Indiana University
University of Kansas
Penn State University
University of New Mexico
The Association of College and University Policy
Administrators (ACUPA, acupa.org)
Join this lively discussion and discovery of innovative and functional uses and support for mobile computing. We will explore creative ideas for projects using mobile devices in teaching, learning, and administration. Topics may include hardware, applications, tools, special uses, wireless and mobile connectivity, web services, support issues, and security.
My name is Zachary Feit, and I am with Via Response. Awhile back we had spoken about our student response platform and you had expressed interest in taking a look at a better time. I was emailing to see if this was still something of interest.
Via Response provides a cloud-based student response platform that enables students to use any mobile devices instead of legacy clickers to interact with instructors during classes (including students participating from remote locations). Because we are cloud-based, Via Response is much easier to use for faculty because all questions, assessments, grade books and student data for all sections are stored in a single location that they can access from any browser. Via’s architecture also eliminates the FERPA compliance issues that are common with clicker devices that store student/grade data files on instructor computers or thumb drives.
I would be delighted to give you a 15 minute demo that goes over our system and its benefits to both teachers and student.
You can either email me back or call me at the number provided below. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.
real-time impact on curriculum structure, instruction delivery and student learning, permitting change and improvement. It can also provide insight into important trends that affect present and future resource needs.
Big Data: Traditionally described as high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information.
Learning or Data Analytics: The measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.
Educational Data Mining: The techniques, tools and research designed for automatically extracting meaning from large repositories of data generated by or related to people’s learning activities in educational settings.
Predictive Analytics: Algorithms that help analysts predict behavior or events based on data.
Predictive Modeling: The process of creating, testing and validating a model to best predict the probability of an outcome.
Data analytics, or the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data, is driving decisionmaking in many institutions. However, because of the unique nature of each district’s or college’s data needs, many are building their own solutions.
For example, in 2014 the nonprofit company inBloom, Inc., backed by $100 million from the Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, closed its doors amid controversy regarding its plan to store, clean and aggregate a range of student information for states and districts and then make the data available to district-approved third parties to develop tools and dashboards so the data could be used by classroom educators.22
Tips for Student Data Privacy
Know the Laws and Regulations
There are many regulations on the books intended to protect student privacy and safety: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
— as well as state, district and community laws. Because technology changes so rapidly, it is unlikely laws and regulations will keep pace with new data protection needs. Establish a committee to ascertain your institution’s level of understanding of and compliance with these laws, along with additional safeguard measures.
Make a Checklist Your institution’s privacy policies should cover security, user safety, communications, social media, access, identification rules, and intrusion detection and prevention.
Include Experts
To nail down compliance and stave off liability issues, consider tapping those who protect privacy for a living, such as your school attorney, IT professionals and security assessment vendors. Let them review your campus or district technologies as well as devices brought to campus by students, staff and instructors. Finally, a review of your privacy and security policies, terms of use and contract language is a good idea.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Students, staff, faculty and parents all need to know their rights and responsibilities regarding data privacy. Convey your technology plans, policies and requirements and then assess and re-communicate those throughout each year.
“Anything-as-a-Service” or “X-as-a-Service” solutions can help K-12 and higher education institutions cope with big data by offering storage, analytics capabilities and more. These include:
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): Providers offer cloud-based storage, similar to a campus storage area network (SAN)
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Opens up application platforms — as opposed to the applications themselves — so others can build their own applications
using underlying operating systems, data models and databases; pre-built application components and interfaces
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): The hosting of applications in the cloud
• Big-Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS): Mix all the above together, upscale the amount of data involved by an enormous amount and you’ve got BDaaS
Suggestions:
Use accurate data correctly
Define goals and develop metrics
Eliminate silos, integrate data
Remember, intelligence is the goal
Maintain a robust, supportive enterprise infrastructure.
Prioritize student privacy
Develop bullet-proof data governance guidelines
Create a culture of collaboration and sharing, not compliance.
