WHITE PAPER: Grovo.com on Digital Skills Gap

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Keeping you update with education research around the Web!

Did you know that according to the Harvard Business Review, many of our students online (and offline) do not have the necessary skills to advance in the workforce? In my consultancy, I've written technology courses for 4th graders who need to be prepared as early as possible to enter a competitive, global workforce. That's right, I wrote 4th graders!

What about our existing higher education students? Many of them are returning to school after 20 years of working on the same job. Are they ready for the technological advances that are surely coming their way? Are we ready to teach our students what they need?

Read this white paper by Grovo.com to learn the 8 Core Digital Skills Essential for Teaching and Learning in the 21st century.

4 Types of Student Behaviors in Online Discussion Forums (Part 2)

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In Part 1 of this series, I talked about the behaviors I observed from my students in my weekly discussion forums. I identified four behaviors of my online students, namely - leaders, reactors, lurkers and slackers. So, as I ponder my students' behaviors online, I ask the question: Why do they behave this way? I used to think that student behavior in my online forums was mostly determined by their personalities. From my dissertation research and research "in the classroom", I've found that student behavior online has more to do with their motivation than with their offline personalities.  For instance, many of my "leader" students have told me that they are really shy in person. So, what makes them assume the "leader" behavior in the discussion forums?  Interesting.  I've continually looked at what motivates my students to participate in my courses (in particular, the weekly discussion forums) and how their participation affects their overall learning experience in my courses. Here's what I think. 

4 Types of Student Behaviors in Online Discussion Forums (Part 1)

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For my dissertation research, I studied the behaviors of users in online communities for 8 years.  I conducted a series of "ethnographic" studies on communities in which people shared career advice, shared personal stories, supported each other through hard times and tried new technologies together. I found that these learning communities provided support and enrichment opportunities for the participants. While teaching online, I've realized that the discussion forums in my courses have provided my students with the same opportunities as those participants I studied all those years ago.

WHITE PAPER: 3MediaPlay White Papers on Online Video Accessibility

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Image by Pixabay.
Keeping you update with education research around the Web!

3MediaPlay has a great set of informative white papers on making videos more accessible. Check out their white paper "bundle" HERE. (* You'll need to complete the short online form with your name and address)

10 Tips for Creating an Engaging Class Newsletter

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The other day, I was talking with another faculty member about class newsletters and he asked me how many times I email my students during the week. He was surprised when I told him that I have an email newsletter for the top, middle and bottom of the week. He told me that he only emails once a week mainly because he didn't know what to say in them other than remind students what to do for the week. For me, the class newsletter is not only an opportunity for me to interact with my students, but it is a great way for students to engage more with the class. 

20 Learning Activities for the Visual Learner

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When developing course activities, teachers must keep in mind that students learn in a variety of different ways. One common way that students learn is visually. Visual learners are those who process and assimilate information in a visual way. So, how can you design stimulating course activities that can enhance the learning experience for the student who is more visually-oriented? Luckily, web-based technologies make this task a little easier. As it turns out, there are many activities that can be designed (or redesigned) for the visual learner. In the list below, I've divided them up to make them easier to consider.

Technology Strategies for the Visual Learner

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Pixabay.com

When I was a student, my mathematics and computer courses required mostly analytical approaches to process information. The problem for me was that I was very visually-oriented. So, to compensate, I had to use many visual techniques and strategies to help me understand what the major concepts of a topic were, how they fit together and how they were related to other topics.  For instance, like most visual learners, I was uncomfortable learning topics sequentially. So, I had to develop my own systems for organizing information so that I could recall it whenever I needed to.