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Showing posts from 2010

Online backup

I use SpiderOak to backup and sync a file between my work and school computers. I have synced between three computers so that when I make changes to a file it is automatically reflected in the other computers. It has been handy for doing work in various places, but most of all it was great when my computer crashed and I had to wait a few weeks for a new one to arrive. I had all my work from the semester in a file in "the cloud" and had access to it from all the computers I use on campus. I am very happy. If you are interested, you can sign up with this link:  https://spideroak.com/download/referral/eda7c4689a1a6f74e7d04a5d8c5e3e61 It will give you an extra gigabyte when you sign up (and I'll get one too if you use that link). I backup my computer using Apple's TimeMachine software and that was a breeze to reinstall all my information once my computer got here. But while I was waiting, I had no down time. All my important documents were available instantly on my

The problem project problem

Assignment: Interview a project manager about a project that failed The PM asked that I not use names because he was involved with a six-figure project that was aborted midway and he felt there might be some who would still be sensitive about it. It was an instructional design project that was meant to create a learning atmosphere that represented the classroom of the future. He said the two main things that derailed it (and which tend to interfere with most projects) were communication problems and the ambiguous nature of the problem at hand. Communication The main problem that occurs in instructional design situations is that individuals working on a project tend to think they understand each other and are in agreement, but in reality they are not. The PM I spoke with described a situation where he felt he had explained well a vision of what he imagined the design should be like and the designers came back with designs that didn't match at all what he was thinking, but wh

Elaboration theory

"Sequencing is only important when there is a strong relationship among the topics of the course" (p. 431) "Theoretical analysis shows principles that elaborate on other principles (which provide more complexity and/or guidance on the same phenomena)" (p. 441-2) Elaboration can occur by answering several different kinds of questions, such as: What else happens? or What else can cause this? When does this cause have this effect? Which way (direction) do things change? Why do they change? How much do they change? (p. 442)  For heuristic tasks, the focus is on principles, guidelines, and/or causal models that experts use to decide what to do when (rather than using a set of steps) (p. 444) Epitomizing utilizes: a whole version of the task rather than a simpler component skill; a simple version of the task; a real-world version of the task (usually); and a fairly representative (typical or common) version of the task. (p. 444) subsequent elaboration shou

Goal Based Learning and Expectation Failure

Some thoughts and background on Roger Schank's ideas about learning from case based reasoning. (Schank, R. C., Berman, T. R., & Macpherson, K. A. (1999) Learning by Doing. Instructional-design Theories and Models: A new paradigm of instructional theory  C. M. Reigeluth, ed. Volume 2. (161-181)) Schank says students should be taught how to do something. "When students learn how, they inevitably learn content knowledge in the service of accomplishing their task. Then, they know why they need to know something, and they know how to use the knowledge" (p. 165, Schank, 1999). "Students should learn content and skills in order to achieve goals that they find interesting and important and that relate to the subject matter" (p. 166). Expectation failure When something does not meet a person's expectations, it primes them for learning. If they don't care about the expectation failure, they won't remember or learn why the expectation failed. If th

Problem-Based Learning

This is an overview of Problem-Based Learning as outlined by Howard Barrows. (Barrows, H. S. (1996). Problem-based learning in medicine and beyond: A brief overview.  New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 1996 (68). 3-12. ) Reasons for the development of PBL: "Students were disenchanted and bored with their medical education because they were saturated by the vast amounts of information they had to absorb, much of which was perceived to have little relevance to medical practice" (p. 4, Barrows, 1996) Barrows believed that conventional instructional methods inhibit clinical reasoning ability in students. Basic characteristics of PBL: Student-centered Small student groups 5-9 individuals Each group has its own tutor Groups are shuffled after each curricular unit Teachers are facilitators/guides No lecture Doesn't provide "factual information" Tutor asks questions in the way the student should ask themselves questions They model the self-dire

Grantwriting tips

I found this article with some tips on grant writing. A few thoughts from the article seemed worthy of sharing: "You might be a good writer, but if you can't attract the attention of the person who is making the award decision, then your words will be useless," said Bellew. "You really have to be able to paint a picture and create a story around your school's needs, and in a way that matches what the awarding organization wants to accomplish." And: "I spend hours poring over the grants that are available out there, and finding ways to match them up to the districts' needs," said Bellew, "and figuring out how to make the money stretch across multiple initiatives." I like this: Bellew makes up a grant calendar that she uses to track available grants, record grant submissions and document both successes and failures. I have not been great at tracking things in my life. I do OK, but I get the impression that those who are able to keep

Project management

Rapid Prototyping You have to do at least five to consider it a prototype They should be inexpensive, fast, multiple Contractual checkoffs Check off points should be put into the contract to protect yourself They allow you to say: I need your input here -- if we don't get it and are late, it's your fault I can't stay on schedule, I can't be held responsible if you don't stay on schedule by meeting your part of the process They are meant to limit scope creep by giving you an out: "That's not in the contract. We can do it, but it will cost you more and will take longer." Subject Matter Expert will likely be the biggest slow-up

The "so what" problem

The presenter of our department seminar had just finished his presentation and opened up to the attendees for questions. A member of the audience asked: "So, what?" It rankled a little. By that one phrase, the presenter's entire discourse had been undermined and called into question. He felt obligated to justify his ideas over again as though the fact that his prominence in the field and the fact that he had been an invited speaker did not warrant a fundamental respect, a respect that would acknowledge that what he had said had merit at some level. I had recently heard of a professor in the past who tended to ask "so, what?" of virtually every presenter at the department's seminar. It didn't sit well with me then and I had been ruminating on the idea, trying to decide why it bothered me so much. Then I heard it happen in my presence. I think it rankles because asking "so, what?" is a cheap shot -- unsophisticated and condescending. The cr

Don't let the locomotive lead

Victor Hugo in Les Miserables says this (only in French; this translation by Isabel Florence Hapgood) "... people have already begun to understand that, if there can be force in a boiler, there can be no force except in the brain; in other words, that which leads and drags on the world, is not locomotives, but ideas. Harness locomotives to ideas,—that is well done; but do not mistake the horse for the rider." I suspect many times we want the technology to do the teaching or to find answers in technological solutions. But the technology should only be harnessed to drive some other greater and more profound purpose. Unfortunately, I think we sometimes ignore a look at what that purpose is. It seems like many agencies think a large GDP is the end goal. Or simply that we're better than everyone else in the world. That's a pretty dismal way to look at success. I pine for something more. What is education supposed to do for you? For me? For the American Child?

Self-Efficacy

Introduction Self-efficacy theory is concerned with specifics. In any given situation, it can be used to understand why a person undertakes a task, why they persevere in the task (or not), and to offer ways individuals can “exercise some influence over how they live their lives” (p. 10). Individuals develop a sense of self efficacy for myriad aspects of their lives on a continuing basis. They assimilate data from four main sources for their efficacious self concept, namely, enactive mastery events, verbal persuasion, vicarious experience, and physiological cues. As individuals interpret and internalize the meanings they attribute to the data from these sources, their sense of self efficacy increases or diminishes for any given task based on that interpretation. Nature of efficacy Theoretically, as these efficacies are internalized, they become strong predictors of performance. In general, as a person's sense of efficacy for a specific task increases, they are more likely to enga

Attention

While working on a literature review, I stumbled on a little article by Lisa Lucas in the The National Teaching and Learning Forum that I want to remember. It has two tips for maintaining engagement in a classroom. First, "intentional closure." By that, the author means wrapping up a class in a way that makes the student try to glean the essential meaning and important points from the class. To do this, Lucas suggests having students write down two questions that try to get at the important points of the class. The questions will be used at the beginning of the following class period to help students recall and reengage in the subject. By letting the students know they will have to write questions at the end of each period, the students become more engaged and take better notes on the subject matter. Second, "writing responses." Rather than asking questions and having students raise their hands to answer (which often leads to awkward silence), Lucas will ask t

Comments on design blueprints

Review of Jenni's design blueprints : I think the scope of what you’re wanting to do is good and I see it as clearly adding value to the Digital Dialog tool. Having a profile image is valuable for adding depth and presence to the online interactions. A couple of things I see that you might want to consider: First, when you are in the profile screen, you have a link to upload a new photo under the image. In the settings window, you have a link to the edit profile page under the image. It might be better to move the edit profile link elsewhere just so you can be consistent with your menu options. Also, you said that all the changes would be saved without needing a “save” button. I think that’s great, but you might want to consider a little message that appears letting the user know it has been changed successfully. I think your project will be a good addition to the Digital Dialog project.

Design blueprints

I created my design blueprints in Prezi, so here is a link to the Prezi online. Prezi

Lit review progress

Here's something I struggle with: Skimming. Most people I have heard talk about literature review advocate a plan of skimming and diving deep -- gloss over some literature and delve into other literature with more depth. I struggle with this because I feel that if I cite an article that I haven't read in its entirety, it is tantamount to cheating. In high school, a teacher could tell if you didn't read the material -- you would draw false conclusions, give inaccurate descriptions. You'd get a talking to. I got accused of watching the movie of a book rather than reading it for one of my undergrad courses and had to meet with the professor after class. (It turned out the professor had not read the book in a decade, so he was mistaken in his memory of certain things.) I understand it's pretty accepted practice to skim articles. It just doesn't feel right. Most of the time in graduate school, we only manage to get the cliff notes version of so much we read because

Some interesting quotes on creativity from Keith Sawyer

Here are a few quotations from Keith Sawyer's Group genius: The creative power of collaboration along with my thoughts pertaining thereto. "There's no creativity without failure. Since group flow is often what produces the most significant innovations, these two common research findings go hand in hand." p. 55 Failure is an interesting concept. Not succeeding in a particular undertaking can be seen as failure, but in reality it can become a building block for success -- a lesson learned. In this view, learning can be seen as a series of failures until you succeed. The process of failure could almost be conceived of as synonymous to learning. Once you have stopped failing, you have learned. Which thought brings to mind an image of an education system that defines success as good grades and failure as bad grades. If the grading system is inconsistent or arbitrary or based on inaccurate or problematic assessment methods, you end up with people who learn to succeed

The funnel of the introduction

The funnel shape of an introduction to a dissertation or research proposal represents a broad statement about a topic that then becomes increasingly focussed toward the final question of interest in the particular research proposal. Here is a possible funnel to my question of interest: Americans seem to have embedded in their collective conscience the image of the rugged individual rising to the top through sheer force of will and on their own merits or because of their lone genius. But current research suggests that lasting innovation and successful businesses result from effective collaboration of many people together rather than from solitary contributions of brilliant individuals. As a result, many organizations espouse a growing need for people in the modern workplace to be able to work in teams in order to innovate solutions to rapidly changing problems in myriad disciplines. Research from the last decade or so has shed new light on the attributes of group creativity an

Question Exercise

I'm involved with Dr. West's research into innovative communities and so I am dealing with a more direct here-and-now research study that seems to have a more ready question than the one I have been batting around thus far. It's an area that intrigues me, but I'm not certain whether or not it is something that can consume my interest long-term. I am hoping getting my feet wet with Dr. West will help me know better. Here is a question we are interested in answering and I hope to perform the exercise on it to see where it can go: What [characteristics], [strategies], and [methods] [distinguish] [effective] [leadership] within an [innovative community]? What [characteristics], [strategies], and [methods] [distinguish] [effective] [followership] within an [innovative community]? What [characteristics], [strategies], and [methods] [represent] [ineffective] [leadership] within an [innovative community]? What [characteristics], [strategies], and [methods] [distinguis

Literature review

I met with Dr. Gibbons to talk about some approaches to my question. He suggested some readings for me to peruse. I narrowed down my question a bit after some of my reading. I need to finalize a question, but I'm feeling more confident in the direction.

Funding your passion

A new question: What qualities of engagement can instructors glean from the domains of film, novels, dance, and music to help them to fully and consistently engage their students in deep learning and maintain that engagement? My interest in storytelling as a pedagogical tool stems from an interest in engagement -- starting with how stories portrayed in a variety of media can make one feel . They draw one in, not just in attention, but in whole identity. People tend to invest themselves fully in stories and many other aesthetic endeavors. It has been suggested that certain qualities of aesthetic experience, patterned after narrative structure, can inform instructional design. It seems that this area of study has some good beginnings, but directly transferable concepts that a teacher or instructional designer could put into practice do not seem to be readily available yet. Admittedly, I have much reading to do before I have a good grasp of where this concept stands in the literature.

Who's your teacher?

This week's assigned reading from the mouth of a prophet: Mosiah 23:13-14 13 And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the hands of king Noah and his people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust no man to be a king over you. 14 And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments. The phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" comes to mind. In a more cynical, but perhaps not unwarrented, vein, I have heard my father adapt the phrase to leave the absolute off the beginning: "Power corrupts absolutely." This calls to mind a scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants -- Section 121:39: We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as th

Rilke

Tim O'Reilly made mention of this poem in a post  that I was directed to recently. I think the poem is very rich and taps into what education and learning mean to me. Success and Failure -- the grade 'A' means success to some, but in some ways it can mean failure because maybe we haven't learned how to be great. Pushing against something hard is success when it reshapes you. But all I say seems to pale to the imagery of the poem. The Man Watching Rainer Maria Rilke I can tell by the way the trees beat, after so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes that a storm is coming, and I hear the far-off fields say things I can't bear without a friend, I can't love without a sister The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on across the woods and across time, and the world looks as if it had no age: the landscape like a line in the psalm book, is seriousness and weight and eternity. What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights us is so great!

The questions

In light of my previous post here are some questions that interest me: How does narrative structure aid the learning process? Is there any difference in life satisfaction at the start of junior high school between those who have had a curriculum devoid of recess during elementary school years and those who have recess? Can stories be integrated into a curriculum for increased retention of knowledge? Can stories aid transfer of learning from one realm to another?

Passion for ideas

The Shower, Dish Washing, and Lawn Mowing Test - When your hands are busy and your mind is not, where do your thoughts go? As an introduction, I would like to cite some thoughts I shared with my parents (and the world at large) last year: As you know, I tend to shoot from the hip. I don't know precisely where my degree will take me, but I do know that there are a lot of empty tin cans piled up in front of me at the shooting range. Good ones, too. Big family-sized cans with fancy labels. So, as I shoot from the hip, I'm bound to hit something good. Especially if I keep shooting and don't run out of ammo. Or maybe I should work a little more on my aim. I hope at this point my aim is getting better. I might not have hit a can yet, but boy  the dust is flying nearby! I ponder a lot of things that pertain to education. I think of the problems that need to be overcome. As I root through the problems seeking for solutions, I always seem to come back to the idea that people shou

Eternal assessment

In my assessment class we have been discussing question types for measuring student knowledge. One of the criteria for multiple choice and true/false type questions is to have plausible alternative responses. That is, the correct answer should not be obvious unless you actually know the answer. If this life is a test of our willingness to follow the will of God, it seems likely that he would allow the alternatives to the truth to be plausible to allow for a valid and reliable assessment. To one who has gained an affirmation of the truth from the Lord through the Holy Ghost, the truth -- the right answer -- is apparent. To the muddled mind, the answer might not seem so clear. Alternative behaviors seem plausible to those who do not know the truth. But the teacher for this test will let you know the answer -- the truth -- if you seek it.