Digital Literacy for St. Cloud State University
https://www.educationdive.com/news/5-k-12-trends-to-watch-in-2020/568720/
The Babson Survey Research Group, an organization that tracks online enrollment, notes that between 2012 and 2016 the percent of online enrollment in universities increased 17.2 percent while overall enrollment decreased. But that expansion doesn’t necessarily correlate with how the public perceives the quality of online courses, historically questioned for its lack of rigor and limited measurable learning gains.
A Gallup poll conducted back in 2015, found that 46 percent of Americans “strongly agree” or “agree” that online colleges and universities offer a high-quality education—up 30 percent from when the poll was conducted in 2011.
However, researchers caveat these findings, noting that these perception changes happen within particular pockets and are sometimes the result of strategic practices, such as universities not listing the medium of learning on student transcripts.
The last academic leader perception survey released by the Babson Research Group was in 2016.
“We’ve had more and more of the group in the middle that said, ‘I’m not sure’ move into a pro online learning stance,” says Seaman, speaking of the academic leaders he surveyed in the past. “The negative group [those who viewed online learning negatively] had not wavered at all. The positive group did not waiver at all, but we had a steady migration flow of academic leaders in the middle.”
Lowenthal has also researched student perceptions of online learning in the past, finding that learners tend to give such courses more negative evaluations than in-person courses. He says that the findings may represent the lack of experience some educators have teaching in online classrooms. He expects that to change over time, noting that good teachers in person will eventually become good teachers online.
++++++++++++
more on online learning in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=online+learning
https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2020/01/a-comparison-of-6-blogging-services-for.html
++++++++++
more on blogs in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=blog
five of the biggest education stories of the year
Stagnant Student Performance and Widening Achievement Gaps
a vociferous debate over what to blame, from subpar reading instruction to poverty to uneven implementation of the Common Core
A Crisis in Elite College Admissions
Declining Trust in Higher Education
a survey from the Pew Research Center found that 59 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican believe colleges have a negative effect on the country.
Betsy DeVos, continued to draw criticism for rolling back oversight of for-profit colleges and weakening protections for bilked students.
The Democratic Party Backed Away From Charter Schools
Charters in cities like New York and Boston have shown promising achievement gains. But the sector has come under increasing fire on the left for harsh discipline practices, contributing to school segregation and serving fewer students with special needs. Teachers unions tend to oppose the schools’ expansion, since most of them are not unionized.
Democrats Continue to Debate School Segregation
school segregation remains a defining feature of the American education system today,
++++++++++++++++++
I will be in D.C. on January 29 at Politics & Prose, 7 p.m. SAVE THE DATE!
Diane Ravitch – Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools | Politics and Prose Bookstore https://t.co/9QyYE76gAh
— Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) January 2, 2020
Jones, C., Watkins, F., Williams, J., Lambros, A., Callahan, K., Lawlor, J., … Atkinson, H. (2019). A 360-degree assessment of teaching effectiveness using a structured-videorecorded observed teaching exercise for faculty development. Medical Education Online, 24(1), 1596708. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2019.1596708
enable faculty to receive a detailed 360-degree assessment of their teaching
The faculty in Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine (WFSM) saw an opportunity to incorporate a focused teaching practicum for faculty within a multiple-specialty faculty development program. 360-degree assessments involve a combination of feedback from subordinates, colleagues and superiors. 360-degree feedback has been considered an essential tool in transformational leadership because the evaluation process avoids bias through diversity of viewpoints represented, and it is rarely applied to teaching assessments. Specifically, we designed a teaching practicum using a Videorecorded Observed Teaching Exercise (VOTE) to provide self-, peer- and learner assessments of teaching
Our design of videorecorded microteaching sessions embedded into a faculty development program presents a feasible, well-received model to provide faculty development in teaching and a robust 360-degree assessment of teaching skills.
Two strengths of our program are that it is feasible and reproducible.
In addition, costs for these sessions were low. VOTE video capture costs ranged from $45 – $90 per session depending on the audiovisual capacity of the room used for recording. Costs for this activity included an audiovisual technician who performed the room setup and videorecording. However, a handheld videorecorder or mobile device could be used for these sessions as well.
++++++++++
more on video 360 in this iMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=360
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-12-18-pearson-ceo-john-fallon-to-retire-in-2020
Digital education assets were not spared, either. That same year, Pearson also sold PowerSchool, one the most widely used student information system in K-12 schools and districts today. (my note: about LMS, including PowerSchool, pls watch this animation: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2019/12/22/bar-chart-race-lms/)
At the time, Fallon said PowerSchool was “an administrative system rather than a tool for learning, teaching or assessment,” and which did not jibe with Pearson’s transformation strategy.
The company offered a similar reason for selling its U.S. K-12 courseware assets, which Fallon described as “textbook-led” and one that “does not fit in with our digital transformation strategy.”
+_++++++++++++
more on Pearson in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=pearson
Welcome to Kialo Edu, the tool used by educators world-wide to teach critical thinking and facilitate thoughtful classroom debate. Kialo Edu is a free version of Kialo, the world’s most popular argument mapping site, customized for classroom use. Try it! https://t.co/c2U5ZEYcz7
— Kialo Edu (@KialoEdu) November 1, 2019
+++++++++++++++++
more on mindmapping in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=mind+mapping
Tara García Mathewson, The Hechinger ReportDec 10
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55006/the-teachers-role-in-finlands-phenomenon-based-learning
Phenomenon-based learning is a lot like project-based learning, a more familiar term in the United States. Both prioritize hands-on activities that give students control over the direction of the project and both emphasize assignments that relate to the real world. They also emphasize student mastery of transferrable skills rather than a narrow set of facts identified by teachers.
Teachers have to make sure students know the foundational knowledge they need on a given topic to even consider developing a research question within it. They need to teach students how to craft appropriate research questions that can lead to interesting and engaging, and hopefully even original, research opportunities. And they need to pause the student-directed investigations to teach and model the skills students should be using on their own along the way.
+++++++++++
more on the FInland Phenomenon in this iMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=finland+phenomenon
Bowdoin College education chair Doris Santoro, author of the book “Demoralized,” define the concept in moral terms. systemic pressures, such as top-down initiatives or punitive evaluation systems, can deplete teacher autonomy. As a result, teachers may feel they can no longer tap into what “makes their work morally good,”
+++++++++
more on burnout in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=burnout