Eye on Learning

Classroom of the future? Post by ‎ شهاب ‎.

I often deal with learning theories in the classroom, physical and virtual.  In fact it was when I was first exposed to learning theories that first attracted me to specialise in "education."  Specializing in education typically involves taking courses on Educational Psychology, Testing and Measurement, Teaching Methods or Pedagogies, and so on.  After taking an Ed Psych and an Instructional Technology course, I fell in love with the Education world.  I took more courses in the College of Education at the university (NIU) where I studied and I loved it so much that I switched my interest from my undergraduate major in Biological Sciences to taking up a specialization in Instructional Technology at the post-graduate levels. Did you know that many events or things that we see in education are common sense but not for all people and not all the time?  Take learning for example.  How one person learns is different from how other people learn.  How o...

It might appear that I've not been around long enough to sit at my desk to blog, or to have been busy with other priorities or distracted by other activities. Well, yes and no. If you've been around on the Internet and are keeping track of the various learning technologies available, you would know how it feels to be overwhelmed by the choices, resources and information available online. Since I started using Facebook (FB), prompted by a colleague from Japan, way back in 2009 (I think), I realize that as I spent more time on FB I spent less time on my blog. What this means is that either I have to create a framework for myself on how to make my presence felt in the online education community or I get "pulled" by the tools that attract my attention at that time. FB is not the only tool I focused on the last couple of years.  The FB groups I created for my students, courses and those that arose out of felt needs to support post-workshop events , have cons...

15 Inspiring Examples of Free Online Education | Online College Tips - Online Colleges OERs have now become a significant feature in higher education today.  Anyone with Internet can now access thousands of interesting videos, books, and other useful learning materials to fulfill the desire of lifelong learners.  In addition, these resources can serve as supplemental learning materials to meet the needs of students all over the world.  It's amazing.

Learning is becoming more complex, or so, it seems. Depending on how one looks at learning, it could be done in a very formal structured way ("traditional") vs a somewhat informal unstructured way ("new"). I think some students in higher education institutions are going through some very challenging times. On the one hand, they are so used to learning the JIT way which is any which way that works at a particular moment in time. It could be through any ICT device or any print media; but more likely the former, where one can quickly look up for information. Typically, information would best come from Twitter or RSS feeds or FB posts, in fact, more so than from structured or well-designed web sites or portals. The minds of individuals, especially those of the young, work differently than those who are more matured. Perhaps they have been wired differently. Or, perhaps the way their minds function is a result of their environment, which can be described as c...

Mobile learning at OUM started with the formation of an research team on m-learning in August 2008. Its first task was to determine how ready OUM learners would be for mobile learning. We surveyed almost 3,000 learners throughout Malaysia and found that more than 80 percent of the learners said they would be ready for learning through their mobile phones. We first experimented with podcasts and moved on to using sms to support the blended mode of learning at OUM and found that the latter worked extremely well. For more information on the m-learning project at OUM, three papers have been uploaded at: http://www.scribd.com/collections/3238724/MOOC-on-mobile-learning-at-OUM for your reading. More than 21,000 learners have benefited from m-learning at OUM and the SMS for selected courses continue to be sent for free (burned by the university) to the targeted group of learners.

Teachers can use this as an LO for subjects such as biology, zoology, ecology, geography, etc.

Watch the interview of George Siemens by Howard Rheingold One of the originators of MOOCs for a more detailed and interesting description of how the idea for MOOCs came about in 2008, what MOOCs are, how they operate and, more importantly, how MOOCs may benefit users or participants of courses. You may enjoy the interview below:

Want to know more about MOOCs? Watch the two videos below. The first introduces you to MOOC. The second is what makes MOOCs successful. I registered myself for the eduMOOC2011 . The topics are great and the panelists are those who you want to listen to. It has at this point in time, already has an enrollment of more than 1,800 participants from 50 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. And, the course is free.

There's always something new to look forward to. MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses are the next thing to watch out for. You can be part of it, either actively or passively, as a participant in an online course that is attended by hundreds or thousands from more than a dozen countries over a period of time. These are typically hosted by an institution and participation is invited by various online modes or communication. For example, next Monday, we have the University of Illinois at Springfield making availabile a new not-for-credit MOOC devoted to examining the state of online education and where e-learning is heading. If you're keen to join, you may do so by registering for the eduMOOC2011 course at: http://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/ Coming up next is a MOOC organised by George Siemens from Athabasca University in Canada together with Stephen Downes and Dave Cormier. Siemens' is known for his ideas on connectivist learning and has become famous because o...

It's been a while since I last blogged. Not that there was nothing of interest to blog about. It was just that it was quicker to link the interesting resources found to my facebook. Anyway, I found something today that I thought must be posted here. It's impressive. CVs like we know it (paper-based) from years ago, have evolved. See the slides below to know what I mean. Personally, I would not mind receiving a CV in either of those media or approaches mentioned. Especially, if it's for a job that requires creativity, flexibility and innovativeness. Watch: Stop Sending CV's View more presentations from Active Media

Much has been said about the need to transform the way we teach and how students learn in school and institutions of higher learning. Yet, we are a bit slow in changing. A quick overview of the vision, need, rationale, knowledge, skills, assessment and the how have been made widely available on the Internet and these (click link below) are just several. http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/ed21cent/

Very clever I thought. Another way of approaching the design of instruction. To all instructional designers out there...what do you think? Try applying the SIX thinking hats and see if your ID tasks are easier to tackle. Of course, I don't think the six thinking hats are all there is to ID. Time proven principles should still come into play. For more details, read: http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/19/instructional-design-and-the-six-thinking-hats/

I love these tools. The iPhone was my first intro to Apple's "i" creations. They are unique, so good that others have copied and are still copying. Apple has set a benchmark that's attracting others to follow or beat. More important to educators is how to take advantage of these very tools that are in millions of hands, many of them, students. In 2-3 years time, I think educators have no choice but to seriously consider adopting these tools or become irrelevant. The possibilities as listed in the link below are only a beginning...visit: http://teacher.ocps.net/groups/ipodsintheclassroom/

Once in a while, you find a new and interesting way of visualising things. Hans Rosling has found a new approach. In fact, it's fascinating the way he does this. It has captivated the attention of the people I've show his approach (published in YouTube) to. Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo&feature=youtu.be For more good stuff, go to Gapminder and explore the world via what appears to be real statistics.

Another great set of slides....taken from the section highlighting the entries submitted for Slideshare's competition. B2B Social Media Palette View more presentations from Miikka Leinonen .

I don't know about you but I've always paid attention to how presenters design their slides. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So let your slide say a lot more than you do...if it's all possible. View: YOU SUCK AT POWERPOINT! View more presentations from @JESSEDEE . I found a few attractive slides as examples. Enjoy. Communication View more presentations from Ghaidaa Naguib . Social Media for Business View more presentations from Presentation Advisors . Anxiety View more presentations from csilvert . Creating Start-Up Success View more presentations from Alexander Osterwalder . What I've Learned Along The Way... View more presentations from 3Sixty Global Marketing Ltd . People who change the world: Conversation Managers View more presentations from steven van belleghem . Revolution in presentations View more presentations from nobuu.com . The Science of Social Media View more presentations from Dan Zarrella . FollowFridays - The Li...

I love the slides below. Understanding what education is and the mistakes we often see made in delivering education to the masses. The 5 big mistakes in virtual education View more presentations from guiramirez .

I never cease to find good, interesting and useful tools that I could use as a teacher. Check this out. A poster that you can create and insert multimedia elements. First, to understand what Glogster is all about, watch the following videos: Glogster in 90 seconds Detailed tutorial on Glogster: Glogster as a teaching and learning tool: Yet another tutorial on how to use Glogster

A hilarious look at what Twittering is all about.