A keynote presentation at the University of North Florida’s 3rd annual Academic Technology Innovation Symposium
Innovation and integration of learning technologies needs to be about more than automation and compliance.
Read MorePorter, W. W., Graham, C. R., Bodily, R. G., & Sandberg, D. S. (2016). A qualitative analysis of institutional drivers and barriers to blended learning adoption in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 28, 17:27. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.08.003 Retrieved from http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1096751615000469
An article from the future! (it’s not 2016 here yet, but articles from next year are already showing up. Go go, Gibson!)
Interesting paper, tying technology adoption stuff into professional development and support. This leads directly into our Learning Technologies Coaches program. Good timing.
Read MoreWe have been doing a lot of work on ePortfolios within the Educational Development Unit. The most visible result of that work is the EDU’s in-development department ePortfolio. As we talked about what we wanted to do in order to document the activities of the department, and to connect these activities to our strategies and priorities, it became clear that an ePortfolio was the best way to do that. And it also became clear that we needed more flexibility than was possible in the D2L ePortfolio tool. So, we built it as a site on UCalgaryBlogs, which runs WordPress.
Read Morepost updated with official response from Fitbit
I contacted Fitbit Support to ask them about this article, describing security vulnerabilities in the bluetooth radio of the wearable Fitbit devices. I’d sent it through their website, so I don’t have the exact text, but it was something like:
Do you have any information for Fitbit users in response to the Engaget article? (with a link to the article)
Their support team responded later that day with this:
Read MoreWe’re looking for a rare combination of technical skills and strength in collaboration and consultation on the use and integration of a wide array of technologies in the new Taylor Institute building. It’s going to be an extremely important role, working with everyone in the Taylor Institute, and from across campus, to effectively use the shiny new stuff that’s being installed in the building (literally - right now, installation is under way!). Mobile collaboration huddle stations. High end audiovisual systems - with laser powered projectors! Working with folks who are making cool stuff in the Faculty Design Studio. And lots of other stuff that we’ll all be figuring out together once the building opens in April 2016.
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Patrick sets up the rehearsal for The Extinction Therapist Beakerhead rehearsal session
Patrick Finn is an incredibly inspiring prof, and we’re lucky to have him here at UCalgary.
His work on helping to transition from critical to loving thinking is extremely important. I’ve watched his TEDxYYC talk a few times, and revisited it again after this week’s Beakerhead theatre workshop rehearsal of The Extinction Therapist - an event led by Patrick, with actors presenting their early interpretation of Clem Martini’s unfinished script. The play was interesting, weird, and thought-provoking - all things we need more of.
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possibly Jim and Tim at work running Reclaim Hosting. Or some other guys.[/caption]Edtech (and tech in general) is largely hostile to humans. It has evolved to try to lock people in so that data about them can be sold and resold. This is why Reclaim Hosting is so important - Jim nails it with a mini-manifesto for the company:
Tim and I aren’t “businessmen” (though I joke about it), we’re edtechs who have an intimate understanding of higher ed. We have a strong sense of where technology and teaching converge in interesting ways, and remain committed to augmenting what we’ve helped build at UMW and share it far and wide.
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In late 2013, our Provost struck a Learning Technologies Task Force, to develop a plan to sustainably implement and support learning technologies across all faculties at the University. The result of that task force was the production of the Strategic Framework for Learning Technologies in the summer of 2014 - a document that lays out some high level priorities and specific strategies to address them. Much of the document directly guides the work of my team (the Technology Integration Group in the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, Educational Development Unit) - I keep a copy of it handy, and have a poster version of the priorities and strategies pinned to the wall in my office. One of the interesting aspects of the Framework is the emphasis on combinations of learning technologies and spaces - that we need to consider the physical as well as digital aspects of the learning environment.
Read MoreA 15km ride from UofC to Deepest NW Calgary - only a couple of blocks worth of marked bicycle lanes, and a couple km of separated pathways. I used a helmet-mounted GoPro Hero 4 Silver set to shoot a 4K timelapse with frames recorded every second, played back at 30fps. Nice.
Read MoreThis video by Michael Wesch is fantastic. Thanks to Mike Caulfield for the link!
Empathy is a powerful thing. Big Data and analytics misses this aspect of teaching and learning.
Read MoreJim wrote about his thoughts on the most important advancements in educational technology. I think he’s onto something - the exact tech isn’t important. Nor are the logos on the shiny things we build and/or buy. My personal stance is that we’ve seen 2 major changes on our campus - neither of which are directly related to specific technologies.
The first shift is nothing new - it’s also not constant or consistent. It’s about individualized ownership/control/access to technologies. Some new tools are cheap enough that people grab their own copies - even gasp without asking permission, or even notifying anyone. Some tools are good enough that The University grabs a few copies and hands them out more freely for people to do stuff. I’ve seen people do things with creating online resources for their courses that was simply not possible even a few years ago - and even if technically possible, involved the need to spin up projects, find funding, management, designers, etc…. Now, an instructor can sit at her computer and create really good resources for her courses, on her own, without needing to ask permission. And students can do the same. That’s a fantastic shift.
Read MoreI was asked what we needed to buy for instructors to explore integrating technology into their courses. Although we have many 3D printers on campus, I wanted one set up in the Educational Development Unit so that instructors could come and experiment with it in a safe place on neutral territory. I also wanted to expose people to an emerging technology so they would be able to incorporate it into their evolving understanding of literacy and of the types of things that are now possible. Simply having a 3D printer in the Unit would help even through simple exposure and osmosis. And, once people start to try things, there would be opportunities for cross-pollination and discussion beyond the simple technology. I also wanted to try something that wasn’t just replicating what was being done elsewhere on campus - we have some absolutely fantastic Maker spaces provided by our libraries, and several departments and faculties provide labs for student project development.
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