General Session – Learning Sciences & Learning Analytics: Time for a Marriage by Roy Pea.
There were several items that I agree with Roy and several that I question. First, I agree that our approach to teaching and learning needs to be student-centered. Encouraging and life-long and life-centered learning makes sense to me. It’s time to make an LMS that uses data collected on students to create environments that help to inspire, learn, and remediate where necessary.
Roy went on to talk about 5 suggestions to improve learning:
- Develop connected learning maps. While I think this is a good way for students to reflect on and organize their learning. I think that the work done on the common core is off base. These standards were made by authority figures. If we are going to use student-centered education. Students must be involved in creating the core.
- Design for Engaged Social Learning – I like this b/c it fits in with what we know about constructivism. For engaged social learning to happen, we need to let students try & often fail without stopping them.
- Develop multiple competences – cognitive interpersonal intrapersonal. Roy discussed encouraging deep learning, but all of the work on standards and curriculum coverage tends to make this something that students have to do on their own.
- Use richer pedagogical models.
- Understand learner goals. I think that we often think that what we are teaching is the most important thing. But allowing students to have more influence on their learning creates motivation and better results. Motivation is important to learning success.
- Forge interdisciplinary team. I agree that it takes a village. Need to set up environments that encourage this type of collaboration to flourish.
Session: Engaging Students through Digital Badges – Danielle Mirliss & Michael Soupios
Started using badges to incentivize, engage, & promote lifelong learning. Badges are a way to pull together several different incentive areas. At Seton Hall, badges are one part of how gamification is being employed.
Life of a badge:
- Planning
- Creation & graphic design
- Advertising
- Awards & tiers
- End user display
Here is more information on the badging system used at Seton Hall: https://tltc.shu.edu/badges/index.php. Still in the pilot phase. Looking forward to hearing the results.
Session: Digital Badges by Carli Casilli (from Mozilla) Kyle Bowen (from Purdue)
Carli talked about Open Badges. Open badges allow for a standard so that the badges are more mobile & flexible. Earners are at the center of the badge process. Evidence URL gives the badge more credibility. Here’s where you can get started with open badges: http://openbadges.org/en-US/.
Carli talked about obstacles involving badges:
- Badge zealotry – I got the feeling from the twitterverse that many are tired of hearing about badges.
- Badge overload – Too many badges lessens the value and effect
- Siloed backpacks
- COPPA
A site to learn how to create on the web with badges to mark progress: https://badges.webmaker.org/
Kyle Bowen followed up by talking about Passport: http://www.itap.purdue.edu/studio/passport/.
Session: MOOCs on Campus: Experiences from the Front Lines by Lynne O’Brein (Duke) & Deirdre Woods.
I was surprised about the low turn out for this session. But I was disappointed by things that I was hearing. It was obvious that these two institutions hadn’t been in the online teaching & learning business for very long. I have taken UPenn & Duke MOOCs & enjoyed them, for the record. Nice to have chance to do free course for prof dev & lifelong learning. I’m flad to see institutions who have been elitist open doors, but I’m afraid that these institution with high reputations may be getting in the game to make remove competition. These institutions don’t need online learning to function since they cost so much and serve such a small section of the population. Are they going to price everyone else out so they can be the only ones left? I’m not so sure after listening to them, that I see them being legitimate about teaching the mass, more than an other motives. It struck me when Woods talked about students needing to consume content. I don’t think she get teaching & learning at all. Glad I went definitely gives me a new perspective.
Session: Giving credit where & when it is due: adventures in digital credentials & badges by Finkelstein
I was impressed that we were allowed to text Finkelstein, but he only flashed the number quickly and repeated the number later, quickly.
I liked how Finkelstein was funny and real. For instance, he admitted that there are legitimate questions about legitimacy in regards to badges. He also mentioned that the legitimacy of badges lies with issuer & receiver more than with badges themselves. Badges are not bad in and of themselves, but like most things may be used improperly. Badges may work better in areas where it’s important to acknowledge progress outside of higher ed. He also mentioned that just b/c something has a badge doesn’t mean that assessment or rigor should not b considered. He also mentioned that no one is interested in receiving a badge from a system that is easily gamed. Make sure badges r legit & truly earned.
Session: Debate Club: what are the roles of the MOOC in higher ed
Very disappoint that the panel was made up of ed techs who have been working on MOOCs. We needed a true debate. Can’t say the session was totally pointless. It just wasn’t a debate.