Future of Learning Top Reads for week of Aug 10 2020
“2 Princeton grads set up a ‘bubble’ remote college campus in Hawaii,” by Juliana Kaplan, in Business Insider
“That ‘unbundling’ will take the form of two bubble ‘campuses’: one in Waikiki, Hawaii, and the other in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Both are in hotels that Bragg and Russell said they have bought out.
“ ‘Something like this could have never been done before — mainly because the separation of a college experience from colleges was never possible. They held the college experience for ransom, and now that they’ve shifted to online learning, there is an opportunity to do something like this,’ Bragg said. He added that, pre-pandemic, a complete buyout ‘wasn't necessarily an interesting thing for a lot of the hotels, or at least they didn't know they had the interest for this thing. And so on both sides, the levels of coordination are a lot higher than was ever possible before.’”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
COVID-19 should have forced you to ask, “What is our value proposition?” For the vast majority of schools, physical presence learning was part of that equation.
I wouldn’t anticipate a mass migration from physical presence campuses to “pandemic bubbles.”
But when COVID-19 passes, will there be a market opportunity for someone to unbundle social growth and development that happens because of physical presence interaction from classroom learning?
Place your bet now and update it as new information comes in.
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“How 5 Colleges Are Tackling Virtual Orientation,” by Elin Johnson, in The Chronicle of Higher Education
“Indiana is using Canvas, an online-course-management system, to create a three-step module with quizzes and videos to get students the information they would typically learn in orientation. Students will have Zoom meetings with academic advisers instead of in-person sessions. Every incoming student will speak one on one with, and attend synchronous question-and-answer sessions with, current students. There will even be online karaoke and trivia games.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
The bad news is that nobody can really do in-person orientations right now.
The good news is that the orientation playing field has been leveled.
Is your online orientation a bunch of information transferred to Zoom?
Or have you reimagined orientation as a digital experience that ensures that your students feel known, seen, and understood?
The former is transactional. The latter is relational.
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“Reading the Virtual Classroom Is Hard, but It Can Be Done,” by Youki Terada, on Edutopia
“Importantly, the researchers noted that the instructors they interviewed ‘emphasized their use of data for continuous improvement’ as well as their use of surveys as a ‘helpful feedback tool, and the usefulness of such data for immediate and remedial action, unlike the end-of-semester data.’ The researchers cite a 2019 study, among others, to highlight the importance of using ongoing feedback to improve teaching.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
As the author goes on to say, “Reviewing these surveys, I’ve identified a set of questions that are commonly asked:
How comfortable do you feel using technology for our virtual classroom?
Have you encountered any technical issues, such as not being able to connect to the internet or not being able to hear me or other students talking?
Are assignments clear? Are you able to access them?
Are you having any trouble finding assignments, links to articles, or other documents online? Is the virtual space well organized?
Do you feel like your voice is heard?
Do you feel like you belong in our virtual classroom?
What can I do to improve our online classroom?
The article also links to pre-constructed surveys.
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