Social Media Revolution 2013

Many of these videos about the impact of social media are available.  I like the following because of the scholarship by the developers of the video (see end of video for thei organizations).  I try to implement some social media in my history course like podcasting and Twitter.  One suggestion I have for fellow educators is to ask your students what is meaningful to them and their suggestions for thoughtful use in the classroom.  Even students report social media fatigue, so be measured in its use.  Click on arrow in middle of video screen to start.

Learning Modules, Not More Academic Term DE Courses

There are more successful reports being published about shifting from requiring students to enroll in academic term length developmental-level courses to having them only work on the learning modules they are weak.  Inside HigherED reported on how Tennessee has embraced this concept with large-scale deployment within their high schools.  Click on this link to read the article.  I will share about what I have learened about a Gates Foundation-funded approarch called "EdReady" and the pilot tests with preparing high school students for college-level algebra.  In another year another EdReady course will begin pilot testing with a combined approach for reading and writing. 

New Studies on Use of iPads to Increase Student Outcomes

Therer was a nice article that linked to eight others on the effectiveness of iPads for improving academic outcomes for students.  Most of the stuides were from elementary and secondary school.  http://www.securedgenetworks.com/secure-edge-networks-blog/bid/86775/8-Studies-Show-iPads-in-the-Classroom-Improve-Education

Financial Challenges for Learning Assistance

A cluster of challenges face learning assistance centers with financial pressures. Ignorance and misunderstanding of learning assistance place it in a precarious position as campus administrators make difficult budget decisions. As a result of the perceptions of stigma and limited research on effective practices, the field has faced intense scrutiny throughout recent history. As a result, some learning assistance activities such as developmental courses are eliminated and their functions hoped to be assumed by four-year institutions with less selective admissions policies and two-year colleges. Some raise the issue of why tax dollars should be spent on academic preparation activities that should have been addressed in high school.

Public Tax Dollars and Learning Assistance

Advocates for eliminating learning assistance claim that students should have developed their skills and knowledge in high school and that therefore no need exists for developmental courses or other services at colleges, especially at four-year institutions. Why should taxpayers pay for something twice? Actually, taxpayers have not paid for such services even once. Depending on the national data used, between one-third and one-half of secondary students com­plete a college-bound program of study while in high school (Manzo, 2007; Perkins, Kleiner, Roey, and Brown, 2004). About three-quarters of high school graduates enroll in college (Adelman, 2004). The gap between those who attend college and the smaller percent that complete preparation for college demonstrates the need for comprehensive learning assistance.

The paid-for-it-twice argument has other problems. Secondary students who complete a college preparatory curriculum vary widely in their mastery of the knowledge and skills. Therefore, students passing enough classes to grad­uate from high school may still require developmental courses and other forms of noncredit learning assistance in college. Another problem considers the skill level of returning adult college students. Even if they successfully completed college preparatory courses in high school, atrophy of the skills and memory loss over intervening years require their access to learning assistance services (Richardson and King, 1998).

An important event in the history of U.S. higher education occurred in 1890 with creation of the College Board. Its purpose was to establish bench­marks for graduation from high school. The board believed that secondary schools would increase academic rigor through the benchmarks reflected in the Scholastic Aptitude Test. These benchmarks would ensure new college applicants could avoid enrollment in academic preparatory academies. Although the College Board is a powerful influence in education, its quest for eliminating postsecondary learning assistance is unfilled (Boylan, 1988). After a century of intense effort by many stakeholders, nearly 30 percent of all enter­ing college students enroll in one or more developmental courses in English, mathematics, or reading (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). Many others participate in noncredit learning assistance activities.

Rather than considering budgets for learning assistance programs as expenses, others consider those funds as investments for achieving institutional objectives. A large body of research and evaluation studies clearly demonstrates the impact of learning assistance on increasing student persistence rates toward graduation. Enrollment management organizations such as Noel-Levitz and others recommend implementation of comprehensive learning assistance pro­grams as a part of plans to curtail student dropouts and significantly increase instructional revenues, far in excess of modest investments to maintain or even expand learning assistance programs (McCabe and Day, 1998; Swail, 2004). In addition to building institutional revenues through tuition payments by students persisting to graduation, the number of college dropouts and stu­dents with poor job skills have other consequences. Michigan estimated the annual loss to the state economy of $600 million annually because students dropped out of college and failed to develop needed skills for employment in high-demand occupations (Greene, 2000). Similarly, a national study by Phipps (1998) documented the positive impact of learning assistance on the national economy.

Excerpted from my recent book, Access at the Crossing:  Learning assistance in higher education (Jossey-Bass).

Two Year Colleges Experiment with MOOCs to Replace Developmental-Level Courses.

The lead story in Inside HigherEd focused on several community colleges that were experimenting with MOOCs to replace the need for offering traditional face-to-face developmental-level courses.  [Click here for link to article]  While experimentation with online delivery of developmntal-level courses dates back several decades, the stories features stories of community colleges developing MOOCs.  Most of the attention about MOOCs has focused on large colleges and universities developing alliances with Courseara and others.

The surpirse to me is the modest funds being placed into the development of these MOOCs.  There also seems pride in developing courses for the least cost.  Several of the features colleges are using open educational resoucres such as Khan Academy to build their courses.  Some of the courses have been developed by the instrituion, others received modest $50,000 grants from the Gates Foundation.  I am old enough to remember when the Anneberg Foundation funded online courses development for PBS in the 1980s.  Development costs for a single course might exceed $10 million or more.

Experimentation is a good thing.  While I have great doubts about the efficacy of MOOCs (or any online instruction) to serve the needs of the least prepared students, I am even more worried to see the paucity of funding for their development.  I hope the experiment does not turn into a disaster and results in lack of success for the most vulnerable of college students.

Disruptive Innovation: Embedding Learning Technology into the Classroom (Kellogg Institute Workshop)

On July  15 and 16 I presented a workshop at the Kellogg Institute on embeding learning technology within the classroom and campus learning center.  Click on this link to connect with a special web page that contains all the handouts, PP slides, and web links to other resources.  Most of the technologies shared are those I actually use with my gobal history course at the University of Minnesota.  Others are ones that I plan to pilot text over the upcoming years.

One basic principle to remember when contemplating use of a new learning technology is a basic one, why?  How will the technology help achieve student outocmes better than what is currently used?  How difficult will it be for the instructor and the students to use the technology?  Students have told me repeatedly that they like learning technology in the classroom as long as it is meaningful.  Never make the assumtion that it is easy for students to use without tutorials and support.  It is a learning curve for both the instructor and the students.

I am geeky by nature, but make a point to conduct focus groups with students before I introduce new technologies into the classroom.  These focus groups often give me insights into new emerging technologies that they are using that could be adapated for use within the classroom.  It has taken me a decade to add the learning technolgoies into my class, generally no more than one new thing during an academi semester.  I hope you find one or two ideas to experiment with from all the materials provided through this web site.  Best wishes with your work.

Embedding Universal Learning Design in the Classroom Workshop, Maricopa Community College System, June 4, 2013

On June 4th I conducted a workshop with a group of educators from the Maricopa Community College System in Arizona on how to embed Universal Learning Design in the Classroom and within Student Services.  Below are links to some of the resources shared during the workshop that help explore this topic.

Click on this web link for a separate web page of all the resources shared during the conference.

Additional resources are available through a blog page maintained on this topic.  The web site contains audio interviews with some peer study group leaders, links to online resources, and links to training programs from nationally-known organizations.  Click on the following web link, PALgroups.