Searching for "elearning"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/761389994491701/
“What the invention of photography did to painting, this will do to teaching.”
AI can write a passing college paper in 20 minutes
Natural language processing is on the cusp of changing our relationship with machines forever.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-can-write-a-passing-college-paper-in-20-minutes/
The specific AI — GPT-3, for Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 — was released in June 2020 by OpenAI, a research business co-founded by Elon Musk. It was developed to create content with a human language structure better than any of its predecessors.
According to a 2019 paper by the Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence, machines fundamentally lack commonsense reasoning — the ability to understand what they’re writing. That finding is based on a critical reevaluation of standard tests to determine commonsense reasoning in machines, such as the Winograd Schema Challenge.
Which makes the results of the EduRef experiment that much more striking. The writing prompts were given in a variety of subjects, including U.S. History, Research Methods (Covid-19 Vaccine Efficacy), Creative Writing, and Law. GPT-3 managed to score a “C” average across four subjects from professors, failing only one assignment.
Aside from potentially troubling implications for educators, what this points to is a dawning inflection point for natural language processing, heretofore a decidedly human characteristic.
++++++++++++++
more on artificial intelligence in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=artificial+intelligence
more on paper mills in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=paper+mills
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/759650214665679/
Have any of you used Urkund, the plagiarism check tool? How did you find it?
++++++++++++
more on plagiarism in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=plagiarism
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/746716582625709/
a discussion from the Higher Ed Learning Collective:
In my teaching career I worked at two colleges in Wisconsin. One public and one private. Both have Learning outcomes for each course, program/major outcomes for each major, and Institutional outcomes for the college (aka Employable skills, Career essentials, or Abilities).
Recently a friend of mine started teaching an online class at the University in a different state, and she kept asking them to give her learning outcomes for the course. After some back and forth emails it turned out that this other state university doesn’t have them.
It blew my mind
, how do they know what the scope and depth of teaching should be in that course? How do they get their accreditation?
I am curious to know if it is just in Wisconsin or selected states/countries that it is a common practice to have outcomes? Also how do you teach without them?
++++++++++++
+++++++++++++
We have LOs over here in MN.
My guess is that they’re buried deep in some filing cabinet in your friend’s university and most folks just ignore them.
+++++++++++++
Usually the instructor is required to create the outcomes for the class, but they are usually based on meta-outcomes from the department. That’s how it has been at all institutions I have worked at. With that said, I have worked with colleagues, full professors with Ph.D.s that didn’t understand the principle of learning outcomes, and unless forced to put them in the syllabus, they either would not do it on their own or when having them, would not follow them. And forgot about triangulation of LO to activities and assessments.
++++++++++++
Accreditors look for program LOs but not at course level. (We learned this after a faculty member was fired for pushing back on LOs on the syllabus, and when the Uni said “SACS requirements”, SACS responded w/“um no, not really…”) Since then, we’ve collected data as part of our assessment plan & can say w/confidence that students don’t read them…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/740080259956008/
If you miss Piazza, have a look at Prulu, which is still free
https://prulu.com/
https://campuswire.com/
“As I create and modify my course syllabi, I want to make sure my students use APA 7th ed. when writing their formal assignments. For those of you who also use APA, what do you say in your syllabi? What matters to you with your students giving proper credit to sources, images, or videos? I’m trying to do better and expect better”
I never assume the they learned the format, and I build in an APA workshop. I use OWL Purdue and go over a sample paper first, then the APA PowerPoint. Then I give them a low stakes assignment (like a discussion post) to practice.
I talk about documentation more as a convention of their discourse community, not just citations. There is a certain structure and way of writing in APA, that along with citations, represent the values of a particular discourse community. Those are the things that matter to me. (I also get more buy in from students.)
I was happy to discover that APA now has decent examples online, free, at their website. So in my instructions to students, I linked to the main page and also 3 specific pages with commonly used items, such as newspaper articles online, and YouTube videos. So step 1 is providing tools. Step 2 is clearly expressed grade penalties.
I actually don’t say anything my syllabus. What I do is in my LMS: give them a template and links to the Purdue OWL and other relevant websites. I have also written a “Dr. Kaminski’s APA 7th Ed Guide”. It’s more of my pet peeves and what they should be focusing on that students often miss. I give a lot of grace on the first (low stakes) written assignment, with more focus on the APA portion than the actual content. After that, I’m expecting them to have it down.
I say it (and link to resources) in my assignment sheets and have a spot in my rubric to reflect what I am asking of my students.
I post resources to our LMS. Mostly the usual subjects (APA, Purdue OWL, etc). I often add a short video on the bias-free writing chapter because that’s often not covered in their intro to research writing courses. For citations, I’m more a stickler for complete information than semicolons and whatnot. I don’t feel good about deducting points for anything that students were taught with APA 6 that is different in 7 since we changed the rules on them.
I provide a free workshop at the beginning of the semester to explain the ‘why’ and provide practice. It carries a rather high weighting in our rubrics so…some understanding and ‘free points’ if they use it appropriately.
I have a different document I refer to in the syllabus titled “Writing Expectations”. I briefly explain the importance of using APA and the characteristics of academic writing (e.g. paraphrasing, avoiding over usage of direct quotes, and other things I see in student writing). The second page is an APA job aid that shows the basics for citations, reference lists, and leveled headings.
+++++++++++++
more on APA 7th edition in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=apa+7
Why Smart Bosses Let Employees Turn Off Their Cameras During Zoom and MS Teams Meetings
The pressure to perform for the camera is draining–and distracts from pursuing meaningful outcomes.
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/why-smart-bosses-let-employees-turn-off-their-cameras-during-zoom-ms-teams-meetings.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/738496626781038/
Almost never did everyone feel that everyone else in the meeting was looking at them — or at the very least could be looking at them — at all times.
And then there’s the pressure to respond quickly: A 2014 study showed that delays in replying to a question or prompt as short as 1.2 seconds made other people in a teleconference perceive the responder as less focused.
Great bosses lead and manage by meaningful expectations and meaningful deliverables.
++++++++++++
more on webcam policies in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=webcam+policy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/738016123495755/
I’m planning on having students build a concept map throughout the semester. This is my first time doing this without them being able to just do it on paper and hand in random pieces of paper taped together to make it able to grow as much as they need throughout the semester in any direction. A google search for “free concept map generator” reveals that there seem to be about a gazillion options out there. Does anyone have any experience with any that they would recommend using or not? (Trying to avoid the time sink of sifting through the options and/or unnecessarily burdening my students with this decision.) Thanks in advance!
responses/suggestions:
Creately Concept Map Maker: https://creately.com/lp/concept-map-maker/
Padlet: https://padlet.com/
Cmaps: https://cmap.ihmc.us/
Lucid chart: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/
google draw , Google Jamboard
+++++++++++++
more on mind maps in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=mind+map
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/726309151333119/
My note: a genuine reflection of faculty’s opinion; beyond the promotion…
I have been given an opportunity to use OERs for a new position. (Still adjunct.) Before i spend more time down this rabbit hole, what are the pros and cons?
++++++++++++++++
more on OER in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=oer
https://www.flearningstudio.com/free-ebook-how-to-best-use-animation-in-e-learning-for-instructional-designers/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6747693444963164161/
How to use animation effectively in eLearning: an insider’s guide for instructional designers
link to the “Grammarly” thread:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/717390118891689/
Hi all, I don’t use Grammarly, but I hear that a lot of people find it useful. I am also hearing that some instructors/universities find its use problematic. Several years ago, a student that I knew was not a good writer was accused of plagiarism by another instructor. She claimed that her nearly flawless papers were written with the help of Grammarly. I am curious to know if you encourage or prohibit Grammarly in your classes and if your department or university has a policy concerning its use.
My summation of this thread:
naturally, opinions are for and against:
pros –
it helps/forces students understand the need to proofread
partially replaces the very initial work of instructor
cons –
algorithms/technology are/is not perfect
it does not replace a living person (sic!!!)
e.g. it detect passive voice, but does not teach the replacement
++++++++++++
more on grammarly in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=grammarly