University opens without any teachers

By Matt Pickles, BBC

A university without any teachers has opened in California this month. It’s called 42 – the name taken from the answer to the meaning of life, from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. They aim to do this by combining an extreme form of “peer-to-peer learning” with project-based learning. Both are popular methods among education researchers, but they usually involve the supervision of a teacher. Students at 42 are given a choice of projects that they might be set in a job as a software engineer – perhaps to design a website or a computer game. They complete a project using resources freely available on the internet and by seeking help from their fellow students, who work alongside them in a large open-plan room full of computers. Another student will then be randomly assigned to mark their work. Like in the computer games the students are asked to design, they go up a level by competing a project. They graduate when they reach level 21, which usually takes three to five years. And at the end there is a certificate but no formal degree.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37694248

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19901

A Return to Best Practices for Teaching Online

By Mary Grush, Campus Technology

Technology advancements have made online learning environments seamless, and our daily and nearly continuous exposure to online modes for communication in almost all areas of our lives seems to have made almost everyone comfortable working online. But is the distinction between online learning and campus-based instruction disappearing? And are all teaching faculty necessarily prepared to teach online? The lines between online learning and campus-based courses might appear to be blurring over time, but it’s important to realize that there are, and always will be, differences. Asking faculty to move their courses online may be deceptively simple. That’s why co-authors Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad have refined a list of 14 best practices based on core learning principles to help faculty succeed in creating effective online courses.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/10/25/a-return-to-best-practices-for-teaching-online.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19889

Want to become a journalist? Facebook wants to help you

by Nicole Gallucci, Mashable

The days of using Facebook to procrastinate could soon be behind you. In a blog post on Tuesday morning, Aine Kerr, Manager of Journalism Partnerships for Facebook announced that the social network is launching a series of online training courses for journalists. What will the courses focus on? Well, as Facebook continues to make inroads in the media industry, the company is offering users a crash course in how to perfect their social media skills to survive online journalism in 2016.

http://mashable.com/2016/10/25/facebook-online-journalism-classes/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19877

What Makes a Great Makerspace?

By John K. Waters, THE Journal

“A makerspace is more of a mindset than a toolset,” said Casey Shea, curriculum coordinator for maker education for the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). “Many of the most successful makerspaces I’ve seen started with very little equipment and a lot of creativity. It’s a fundamental mistake to think that dropping a 3D printer into a room will turn it into a makerspace.” Shea has been involved with the maker education movement almost from its inception. He was teaching math at Analy High School in Sebastapol, CA, north of San Francisco, during the 2011-2012 school year when Dale Dougherty, the publisher of Make Magazine and founder of the Maker Faire, approached him about an experimental maker education project. Shea ended up leading a class of about 30 young makers, who met at the magazine’s nearby headquarters twice a week.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/10/20/what-makes-a-great-makerspace.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19872

An Open Repository of Learning Space Design

by Meg Loyd, Campus Technology

The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange (FLEXspace) was born out of that initial work at SUNY. And thanks to the support of a cross-institutional team of core contributors, the effort grew into a highly searchable, peer-reviewed repository of technology-enhanced learning spaces, freely available to the higher ed community. It has since been expanding its mission and services to address the need for extensive global conversations on learning impacts and to provide other, new formats for productive information exchange. FLEXspace uses the Artstor Shared Shelf platform to create its open education resource and share it with the higher education community. The online repository focuses on innovation, design and technology, providing extensive examples and high-end photos and illustrations as well as descriptive information and data. Shared Shelf provides a highly accessible, trusted environment that safely and securely stores institutional data, and contributions will remain intact and available in FLEXspace for the long term.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/10/12/an-open-repository-of-learning-space-design.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19864

3 Easy Ways to Embrace High-Impact Learning

By Rebecca Pope-Ruark, Chronicle of Higher Ed

According to Randy Bass, who leads innovative learning initiatives at Georgetown University, we have moved into the “post-course era” at a time when the traditional credit-hour model has been called “inadequate” and even “irrational.” We know from high-impact-learning experiences such as internships, study abroad, and undergraduate research that students learn when they are challenged to live with, and make sense of, complexity. If focused, immersive engagement, rather than seat time, is important for learning how can we introduce high-impact experiences into our traditional course settings, working within or around the traditional credit hour?

http://www.chronicle.com/article/3-Easy-Ways-to-Embrace/238111

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19852

Teaching Multiple Online Sections/Courses: Tactics and Techniques

by Rodger Bates, Bryan LaBrecque, Emily Fortner, OJDLA

The challenge of teaching online increases as the number of sections or courses increase in a semester. The tactics and techniques which enrich online instruction in the tradition of quality matters can be modified and adapted to the demands of multiple instructional needs during a semester. This paper addresses time management and instructional design strategies as well as prior planning requirements. It also reviews the integration and management of multiple online courses and discusses recommendations.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall193/bates_labrecque_fortner193.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=19844