Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
This is the third article in my series on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in higher education. In the first article, I used an AI tool called GPT-3 to write the introduction to the article, then went on to discuss it and other similar AI tools and how their use could affect higher education. In this article, I am going to discuss one specific new tool, ChatGPT.
You may have already heard about ChatGPT. It has been all over the news since its introduction in late November. ChatGPT is a chatbot built on top of GPT-3’s language models. It has since been updated and improved with the release of GPT-3.5. I know this is a lot of technobabble, so what is it really? ChatGPT allows a user to ask questions and receive answers using natural language. Basically, this means that you can type in a question in regular, non-technical language and you will get back a response that reads like something a person would write, not a computer. It is designed to be used in areas such as customer service and technical support, where it is important to be able to provide quick and easy access to information. It can also be used in education for tutoring or research assistance, for example.
However, ChatGPT is capable of a lot more than those kinds of simple interactions. It can write poetry and song lyrics. It can write screenplays and other kinds of stories. It can even write music. It is really amazing to think about what it is capable of. But it can also be used to write essays and answer test questions, and this is why it is making the news.
One of the first questions many people ask is whether or not the answers are actually any good. The answer is yes and no. It frequently depends on what you are asking it to do. Sometimes the responses are very good; other times, they can be really bad. The important thing to note is that it is constantly being improved, and it is getting better at an astonishing rate. In education, the question most have is, “isn’t this cheating?” Maybe or maybe not. That depends on the instructor.
For now, the general reaction seems to be, yes, this is cheating. That is a natural response to new technology. It has always been like this. When I was in high school, that was the reaction from math teachers to scientific and graphing calculators. But the reality is that this technology is not going anywhere, and it will only get better, so we need to embrace it, understand it, and learn how to use it to enhance instruction.
If you are interested in trying out ChatGPT, you can find it here: https://chat.openai.com/. If you are interested in learning more about AI tools in higher education, we will be doing an online presentation during Faculty Development Week on February 6th at 11:00 AM. Be on the lookout for more details soon.
Showing posts with label Emerging Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emerging Tech. Show all posts
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
EDUCAUSE 2022 Students and Technology Report: Rebalancing the Student Experience
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
This week, I would like to draw your attention to the 2022 Students and Technology Report from EDUCAUSE. Entitled “Rebalancing the Student Experience,” the report presents the results of a national survey of 820 undergraduate students in the USA. Much like the renewed focus on work/life balance among American workers, students want the same from higher education. The report presents its findings in four key areas:
The Modality Preferences section reports data that is not a surprise to those of us in instructional technology. Since the pandemic, student preference for online course options is increasing. In 2020 (pre-pandemic), 35% of students reported a preference for completely face-to-face courses, compared to 29% in this year’s report. In contrast, in 2020, 5% of students reported a preference for completely online courses, compared to 20% this year. Percentages for mostly face-to-face and mostly online courses show similar results.
The Access to Technology section of the report echoes previous research in that most students have the devices they need for school, and that they own and have access to their devices whenever they need them. The majority of students (86%) also report using a laptop or desktop computer as their primary device. While most students (62%) report that their choice of device was based on personal preference, only 52% of those with a reported disability and 44% with pandemic-related housing issues reported basing their decision on personal preference.
The final section of the report, Student Success, also echoes previous research, with 30% of students reporting that completing their degree was the greatest measure of success for higher education. The other 70% is divided among such indicators as securing a job, achieving personal growth, and securing a high salary. The report also investigated how students felt supported by their institutions as well as how they felt the institutions did not support them. Among the ways students felt supported are academic support, career services, online courses, and extracurricular activities. Among the ways students felt institutions did not help are financial aid, inadequate access to technology, inadequate disability accommodations, and insufficient availability of courses.
The report concludes with several recommendations for institutional leaders. These include investigating how technology is supporting and causing stress for students, discontinuing support initiatives that are not being used and developing new ones, and engaging faculty and staff to disrupt the “face-to-face versus online” dichotomy. The entire report is available here: 2022 Students and Technology Report from EDUCAUSE. I recommend reading the full report. It is an interesting read.
Citation for the report:
Jenay Robert. 2022 Students and Technology Report: Rebalancing the Student Experience. Research report. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE, September 2022.
This week, I would like to draw your attention to the 2022 Students and Technology Report from EDUCAUSE. Entitled “Rebalancing the Student Experience,” the report presents the results of a national survey of 820 undergraduate students in the USA. Much like the renewed focus on work/life balance among American workers, students want the same from higher education. The report presents its findings in four key areas:
- Technology Challenges and Solutions
- Modality Preferences
- Access to Educational Technology
- Student Success
The Modality Preferences section reports data that is not a surprise to those of us in instructional technology. Since the pandemic, student preference for online course options is increasing. In 2020 (pre-pandemic), 35% of students reported a preference for completely face-to-face courses, compared to 29% in this year’s report. In contrast, in 2020, 5% of students reported a preference for completely online courses, compared to 20% this year. Percentages for mostly face-to-face and mostly online courses show similar results.
The Access to Technology section of the report echoes previous research in that most students have the devices they need for school, and that they own and have access to their devices whenever they need them. The majority of students (86%) also report using a laptop or desktop computer as their primary device. While most students (62%) report that their choice of device was based on personal preference, only 52% of those with a reported disability and 44% with pandemic-related housing issues reported basing their decision on personal preference.
The final section of the report, Student Success, also echoes previous research, with 30% of students reporting that completing their degree was the greatest measure of success for higher education. The other 70% is divided among such indicators as securing a job, achieving personal growth, and securing a high salary. The report also investigated how students felt supported by their institutions as well as how they felt the institutions did not support them. Among the ways students felt supported are academic support, career services, online courses, and extracurricular activities. Among the ways students felt institutions did not help are financial aid, inadequate access to technology, inadequate disability accommodations, and insufficient availability of courses.
The report concludes with several recommendations for institutional leaders. These include investigating how technology is supporting and causing stress for students, discontinuing support initiatives that are not being used and developing new ones, and engaging faculty and staff to disrupt the “face-to-face versus online” dichotomy. The entire report is available here: 2022 Students and Technology Report from EDUCAUSE. I recommend reading the full report. It is an interesting read.
Citation for the report:
Jenay Robert. 2022 Students and Technology Report: Rebalancing the Student Experience. Research report. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE, September 2022.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Maximize Engagement with Articulate Rise 360
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Director - Technology Learning Services
Although UHCL doesn’t have a campus-wide license for Articulate 360, the members of our IDT team have the software and are ready to support faculty and staff with designing and developing interactive lessons and tutorials for use within and outside Blackboard Learn.
Although UHCL doesn’t have a campus-wide license for Articulate 360, the members of our IDT team have the software and are ready to support faculty and staff with designing and developing interactive lessons and tutorials for use within and outside Blackboard Learn.
What is Articulate 360?
Articulate 360 is a suite of software applications that can be used to create and deploy media-rich and interactive instructional content. The two primary Articulate apps are Rise (a great option for creating simple projects or for learning basic Articulate knowledge and skills) and Storyline (a much more robust and slightly more complicated tool, best for creating complex lessons and interactive elements). For this article, we’ll focus on Rise 360, which Articulate describes as “the fastest and easiest way to create fully responsive courses for any device.”Rise 360 Sample Courses/Demonstrations
To better understand Rise 360’s capabilities and begin thinking about how you might leverage it to support your teaching, we recommend the following resources:- Rise Example: Creating Social Change: A Guide for Everyday Citizens
- Rise Example: Food Allergy Awareness
- Rise-Based Interactive Infographic: Beer Brewing 101
- Rise-Based Example: AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is UDL (Universal Design for Learning)
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Improving PowerPoint Presentations: More on Text
Contributed by Jane Nguyen, Instructional Designer I (CSE)
Last week I ended my article on improving PowerPoint presentations with the tip that you should not have too many words on a single slide. A rule of thumb is to have a maximum of 30 words per slide. Even if you have several paragraphs that you want to convey, and they are all related to the same idea or subject, break up the information over many slides rather than try to fit them into one or two slides.
At the same time, balance this with not going from slide to slide too frequently, which can be distracting to a listener. Generally, 1 to 2 minutes of talking per slide is a minimum that ensures you aren’t going “too fast.”
Furthermore, for presentation purposes (meaning you plan to deliver the presentation to students as opposed to the Power Point functioning as detailed notes for them), don’t put all the words on the slides anyway. Instead, keep them in Word document notes that are for you as you present. If you want, you can make your notes available to students afterward. The slide itself should only have keywords, phrases, or names (such as of a theory or concept) that help keep the listener focused as you present.
Another frequent inclusion on Power Point slides is bullet point lists. (The keywords, phrases, and names of concepts/theories mentioned above could be in bullet point lists.) It is recommended that you have no more than 6 bullet points per slide. Thus, if you have twelve bullet points, you’ll need at least two slides to present them.
Consider using the “animations” function in Power Point to have those bullet points appear one at a time instead of all at once. Words or phrases appearing to the audience as you talk about them can help to focus learners so that they are not “reading ahead” to your other topics as you try to talk about them and keep them focused on the current one.
To have bullet point items appear one at a time, just select all of the bullet point text items, go to “animations” in the toolbar/menu, and select an animation type. There are many. I tend to like “random bars,” but you can select from many others that are visually appealing but not distracting. As soon as you apply that animation to the items you’ve selected, you’ll see in a right-hand menu an ordering of the items: 1 through 6 or 1 through 5 (however many bullet point items you have). You can change the order of the items (and/or have an image appear with an item) as you see fit.
At the top, you have an option to choose what will make the item appear. Choose “on click.” This will make it such that your first bullet point won’t appear until you mouse-click, your 2nd bullet point won’t appear until you mouse-click again after that (after you’ve talked about your first item), and your 3rd bullet point won’t appear until you click after that (after you’ve talked about your 2nd item). And so on. It is a very nice touch to give your PowerPoint a true “in the moment” presentation feel.
A final text tip:
You may be tired of hearing this one, but it bears repeating. Provide good contrast between the text and the background. It’s hard to not want to choose favorite colors regardless of what is most readable. But readability is paramount. Place light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background.
Next week, I will talk about images and how to place them for optimal engagement. Until then, check out this short write-up that offers yet more Power Point recommendations: Top 10 PowerPoint Tips to Make Your Slides More Effective.
Last week I ended my article on improving PowerPoint presentations with the tip that you should not have too many words on a single slide. A rule of thumb is to have a maximum of 30 words per slide. Even if you have several paragraphs that you want to convey, and they are all related to the same idea or subject, break up the information over many slides rather than try to fit them into one or two slides.
At the same time, balance this with not going from slide to slide too frequently, which can be distracting to a listener. Generally, 1 to 2 minutes of talking per slide is a minimum that ensures you aren’t going “too fast.”
Furthermore, for presentation purposes (meaning you plan to deliver the presentation to students as opposed to the Power Point functioning as detailed notes for them), don’t put all the words on the slides anyway. Instead, keep them in Word document notes that are for you as you present. If you want, you can make your notes available to students afterward. The slide itself should only have keywords, phrases, or names (such as of a theory or concept) that help keep the listener focused as you present.
Another frequent inclusion on Power Point slides is bullet point lists. (The keywords, phrases, and names of concepts/theories mentioned above could be in bullet point lists.) It is recommended that you have no more than 6 bullet points per slide. Thus, if you have twelve bullet points, you’ll need at least two slides to present them.
Consider using the “animations” function in Power Point to have those bullet points appear one at a time instead of all at once. Words or phrases appearing to the audience as you talk about them can help to focus learners so that they are not “reading ahead” to your other topics as you try to talk about them and keep them focused on the current one.
To have bullet point items appear one at a time, just select all of the bullet point text items, go to “animations” in the toolbar/menu, and select an animation type. There are many. I tend to like “random bars,” but you can select from many others that are visually appealing but not distracting. As soon as you apply that animation to the items you’ve selected, you’ll see in a right-hand menu an ordering of the items: 1 through 6 or 1 through 5 (however many bullet point items you have). You can change the order of the items (and/or have an image appear with an item) as you see fit.
At the top, you have an option to choose what will make the item appear. Choose “on click.” This will make it such that your first bullet point won’t appear until you mouse-click, your 2nd bullet point won’t appear until you mouse-click again after that (after you’ve talked about your first item), and your 3rd bullet point won’t appear until you click after that (after you’ve talked about your 2nd item). And so on. It is a very nice touch to give your PowerPoint a true “in the moment” presentation feel.
A final text tip:
You may be tired of hearing this one, but it bears repeating. Provide good contrast between the text and the background. It’s hard to not want to choose favorite colors regardless of what is most readable. But readability is paramount. Place light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background.
Next week, I will talk about images and how to place them for optimal engagement. Until then, check out this short write-up that offers yet more Power Point recommendations: Top 10 PowerPoint Tips to Make Your Slides More Effective.
Recommendations for Student Submissions of Video Presentations and Other Large Files in Blackboard
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - Technology Learning Services
Submissions of video presentation and other large files (especially those exceeding 100MB) in Blackboard can often present challenges for users arising from several external (non-Blackboard) causes, including the user’s ISP, user-side bandwidth issues, and user-side slow internet speeds. This article will present two options for faculty and students that can alleviate such problems.
Large File Submissions Via OneDrive Share Links
Because all UHCL students have access to O365 (including OneDrive) both on and off campus, they can save their large files in their UHCL OneDrive. To submit their large files in Blackboard, students can use the Share feature on their OneDrive file and present their work as a clickable hyperlink. Instructors can click that link in the student’s Blackboard submission to access and download the student’s file from OneDrive. For more information, please refer to our team's support document Submitting Large Files in Blackboard Via OneDrive Links.
Student Video Submissions from Echo360 to Blackboard
Students can use Echo360 Universal Capture: Personal to create video presentations and save them in their Echo360 Library. They can then submit their video as a hyperlink in a Blackboard assignment drop box, discussion, or another area in a course. Our team has created a short “crash course” video, Student Presentations Using Echo360, for students on all of these Echo360 topics.
Faculty who would like to learn more about either or both options should contact the Support Center at SupportCenter@uhcl.edu or via telephone at (281) 283-2828. The Support Center staff will create a help ticket for you that will be assigned to a member of our IDT team, who will then contact you to schedule a consultation.
Submissions of video presentation and other large files (especially those exceeding 100MB) in Blackboard can often present challenges for users arising from several external (non-Blackboard) causes, including the user’s ISP, user-side bandwidth issues, and user-side slow internet speeds. This article will present two options for faculty and students that can alleviate such problems.
Large File Submissions Via OneDrive Share Links
Because all UHCL students have access to O365 (including OneDrive) both on and off campus, they can save their large files in their UHCL OneDrive. To submit their large files in Blackboard, students can use the Share feature on their OneDrive file and present their work as a clickable hyperlink. Instructors can click that link in the student’s Blackboard submission to access and download the student’s file from OneDrive. For more information, please refer to our team's support document Submitting Large Files in Blackboard Via OneDrive Links.
Student Video Submissions from Echo360 to Blackboard
Students can use Echo360 Universal Capture: Personal to create video presentations and save them in their Echo360 Library. They can then submit their video as a hyperlink in a Blackboard assignment drop box, discussion, or another area in a course. Our team has created a short “crash course” video, Student Presentations Using Echo360, for students on all of these Echo360 topics.
Faculty who would like to learn more about either or both options should contact the Support Center at SupportCenter@uhcl.edu or via telephone at (281) 283-2828. The Support Center staff will create a help ticket for you that will be assigned to a member of our IDT team, who will then contact you to schedule a consultation.
AI Tools and Their Effect on Higher Education
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. This is due to the many benefits that AI can offer to both students and educators. Some of the ways in which AI is being used in higher education include:
In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article titled “Will Artificial Intelligence Kill College Writing?” Jeff Schatten discusses the effect AI tools such as GPT-3 will have on higher education and what it will mean for the future. At present, the tools are good, but not great. On some topics, GPT-3 can generate a pretty good paper, but others give questionable results. However, results are improving at a very fast rate.
One immediate concern for many instructors will be that these tools generate original writing; they are not plagiarizing from other sources, meaning that anti-plagiarism tools cannot detect an AI-generated paper. Another concern is that these tools are available at almost no cost to users, making them accessible to most students.
The initial reaction to this will be to panic. If we can’t detect when students are turning in work they didn’t actually do, how do we assess their work? In the end, as with all technological advances, it will mean a change of approach in how we teach students. Instead of saying, “How can we fight this?” we need to ask, “How can we use this?” That’s where innovation will be essential. AI is just a tool. How can we use that tool to enhance instruction and better serve our students? This is just one of the areas the Instructional Design and Technology team is following so we can help our instructors help our students.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. This is due to the many benefits that AI can offer to both students and educators. Some of the ways in which AI is being used in higher education include:
- Online learning: AI can be used to create personalized learning experiences for students. For example, the edX platform uses AI to provide students with customized recommendations for further study based on their previous performance.
- Assessment: AI can be used to automate the grading of student essays and other assignments. This can save educators a significant amount of time and allow them to provide more detailed feedback to students.
- Research: AI can be used to help researchers identify relevant papers, find new patterns, and make predictions. For example, the Google Scholar search engine uses AI to rank search results by relevance.
- Administration: AI can be used to automate administrative tasks such as scheduling and emailing. This can free up time for educators so that they can focus on more important tasks. Overall, the use of AI in higher education can provide many benefits to both students and educators. It can help to improve learning outcomes, save time, and make the overall educational process more efficient.
In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article titled “Will Artificial Intelligence Kill College Writing?” Jeff Schatten discusses the effect AI tools such as GPT-3 will have on higher education and what it will mean for the future. At present, the tools are good, but not great. On some topics, GPT-3 can generate a pretty good paper, but others give questionable results. However, results are improving at a very fast rate.
One immediate concern for many instructors will be that these tools generate original writing; they are not plagiarizing from other sources, meaning that anti-plagiarism tools cannot detect an AI-generated paper. Another concern is that these tools are available at almost no cost to users, making them accessible to most students.
The initial reaction to this will be to panic. If we can’t detect when students are turning in work they didn’t actually do, how do we assess their work? In the end, as with all technological advances, it will mean a change of approach in how we teach students. Instead of saying, “How can we fight this?” we need to ask, “How can we use this?” That’s where innovation will be essential. AI is just a tool. How can we use that tool to enhance instruction and better serve our students? This is just one of the areas the Instructional Design and Technology team is following so we can help our instructors help our students.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
IDT Crash Course Video Library (Aug 31, 2022 Newsletter Article)
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - Technology Learning Services
Have you heard about the IDT team's "Crash Course" Videos? In recent semesters, our team has created an expanding library of short (typically 5-10 minute long) videos on a variety of instructional technology tools. You may access the full library in our blog post, "Crash Course" Video Library.
Our latest additions include the following:
Have you heard about the IDT team's "Crash Course" Videos? In recent semesters, our team has created an expanding library of short (typically 5-10 minute long) videos on a variety of instructional technology tools. You may access the full library in our blog post, "Crash Course" Video Library.
Our latest additions include the following:
A few of our older videos that faculty have used in these early weeks of the new semester include the following:
- Rally/PTZ Cameras and Zoom: A Brief Tutorial [2:24]
- Rally/PTZ Classroom Cameras Overview [4:26]
- Embedded Questions in Videos [6:03]
- Automatic Transcripts and Closed Captions in Echo360 [4:29]
- Setting Zoom to Work with Echo360 [2:55]
- Providing Audio and Video Feedback to Students [1:46]
Tips for Creating Effective and Engaging Videos
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
Video content is an important component in online course design. Videos can be as simple as a lecture in front of a whiteboard or as sophisticated as an interactive “how-to” demonstration. In this article, I am going to discuss a few tips to make your videos more effective and engaging for your students.
First, you need to decide on the objective of your video. It is important to focus on one concept. If the unit you are teaching is complex, divide the content into multiple videos. Studies have shown that student engagement drops significantly after about ten minutes, so try to keep your videos between five and ten minutes long.
Before you start shooting your video, make a plan. It can be as simple as an outline or as sophisticated as a storyboard. Think about what kind of video you are making. If it is a simple lecture or PowerPoint presentation, an outline should be fine. If you are going to present a complex demonstration or similar type of lesson, a storyboard can be a big help. Even if you are not a great artist, simple sketches can help you visualize what you want to shoot.
Once you have developed your plan, write a script. Try to keep the language natural. Be yourself. Try not to sound like you are reading from a book. Make sure to rehearse your script as well. Rehearsal will help your speech flow naturally and help you eliminate “ums”, pauses, and mistakes that can distract from your lesson. Also, include instructions for yourself. If there is something you need to trigger in your PowerPoint, or you need to switch to a different application for part of a demonstration, include those instructions in your script.
When you are ready to start shooting, you need to think about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects, such as your “studio.” Your studio can be any space you have available, such as your office, a classroom, your living room at home, or even outside, but there are a few things you want to think about as you are setting it up. First, what is going to be behind you? Try not to shoot in front of a blank wall, but also try to avoid an area that is too busy, which can be a distraction. Also, if you are shooting at home, make sure that there is nothing in your shot that you don’t want to be seen on camera.
Next, you want to think about your lighting. Avoid overly bright lighting, particularly from behind you. Bright lighting can wash you out and make other things in the shot, like a whiteboard, hard to see. Bright backlighting will cause you to be a silhouette on camera. You also want to avoid a room that is too dark. If you need to add lighting, there are many affordable video lighting options available on Amazon and other online sites. Another good investment is an external microphone. While the microphones built into devices will work, an external microphone will provide greatly improved recording quality and help ensure that you can be heard clearly.
It is important to show yourself on camera, at least occasionally. Even if your video is a simple PowerPoint, show yourself on camera, even if it is just at the beginning and end of your video. Student engagement is improved when the instructor appears in the video. When you are on camera, be yourself. Relax. Your students want to see you, and it is OK not to be perfect. Resist the urge to go back and edit out all the mistakes. Correct yourself and move on. Students like to know you are not perfect. Also, if you have the space, move around. Don’t just stand in one place throughout the whole video.
Another way to keep students engaged in your video is to incorporate images, animation, and video. Even if the images are decorative, they can still help keep students interested. There are some great online tools that can help you create simple animated demonstrations. Even the incorporation of short video sequences can have a dramatic effect on your video. As you are creating your video try to keep in mind that students may be viewing your video on a wide range of devices, from a cell phone to a big-screen TV. Make sure your graphics and animation will look good by previewing your video on a variety of devices.
Maybe the most important tip for creating an effective video is to create opportunities for student interaction. There are a number of ways to do this. One suggestion is to use Echo360 to incorporate questions into your videos for students to answer. It will also allow them to submit questions they may have for you and allows them to pin the question to the specific point in the video where the question came to them. Another suggestion is to have them answer questions about the video in a Blackboard discussion board post for discussion with other students.
If you have any questions or would like some help creating videos for your courses, please contact OIT's Support Center. A member of the center's staff will create a help ticket and route it to your designated Instructional Designer.
Monday, May 16, 2022
The World Is My School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning—Part 1
Contributed by Jane Nguyen, Instructional Designer I (CSE)
In the instructional design degree program I’m in, we recently read a piece called “The World is My School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning.” It’s definitely one of the better Ed-tech and pedagogy articles I’ve read in a long time. I’d like to share some of its ideas with faculty at UHCL and consider how they can be applied in current courses.
One of the key points from the article is that “mass education” and standardized learning content have had limitations over the past two centuries. It’s worked just fine for some, especially those who are highly motivated by external gain (usually financial), such as learners in developing countries. However, for learners in industrialized countries like the U.S., where a minimum of prosperity is almost a given whether one learns or not, we would do well to foster intrinsic motivation as much as possible.
As such, learning needs to be more personalized, much in the way it was hundreds of years ago when the standard way people learned was one-on-one in private tutoring.
Over the next 20-50 years, we can expect an increase in artificial intelligence that will voice direct an individual about his or her personal learning interests, preferences, and needs. But since education can’t wait for technology to catch up to the needs of students now, here are some ideas to personalize learning in your online courses:
Encourage digital note-taking of texts you have your students read AND have them revisit their notes. More importantly, ask them to make sure that more than half of the notes they take on readings are reactions and questions and not just recaps. Too often, students are reading information once and never doing any deep reflection on the reading or on their thoughts about it. For substantial learning to occur, “we need to have repeated exposure to the information, along with some time in between for reflection. We need to give our brains a repeated opportunity to process the information we take in so that it becomes knowledge, understanding, and wisdom” (Anderson, 2011, p. 13).
The future of learning might include a “Learn This” button just like we currently have a “Tweet This” or “Share This” button on social media posts, and students would automatically be prompted with questions about what they just read.
For now, consider personalizing learning in this way. We already use Socratic questioning that usually comes from instructors. Instead (or in addition), have learners self-generate questions to analyze concepts, prod at the depth of knowledge, focus on principles, issues, problems, etc. Any time students read something, let them choose something from the text they want to learn more about and have them generate their own question or questions about those concepts and immediately have to answer them in writing or an audio clip.
Students will naturally choose concepts that most interest them and that they think is most crucial to learn. You might have some students learning more about one idea or line of thought than other students, who are focusing on something else, but the student will have learned based on preference, interest, and judgment of importance. A student who is majoring in healthcare might pick up on part of the article that addresses implications for medicine or those who work in service of the community, whereas a business major might pick up on part of the reading that is focused on how the phenomenon in question has implications for the corporate world and why. Different students care about different aspects of a given subject, and this varies based on many factors aside from college majors. The point is that the learning will be more personalized and thus more interesting for the student. They are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to learn, which makes the experience more personal and effective.
Of course, the article’s explanation of these ideas infuses much more futuristic use of artificial intelligence. I recommend reading it when you have time. It also insists, however, that we can begin to personalize learning even without artificial intelligence by using traditional methods (or with tech tools that are already used, such as digital note-taking, optimized with best pedagogical practices).
In my next installment, I will discuss other ideas from the article about personalizing learning. I realize not all of a given course’s content can be personalized. That’s okay. As long as you are allowing for some personalization where possible and appropriate, you are making strides toward the future of learning and helping to foster intrinsic motivation.
Reference
Anderson, M.H. (2011). The World is My School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning. The Futurist, January-February 2011, 12-17.
In the instructional design degree program I’m in, we recently read a piece called “The World is My School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning.” It’s definitely one of the better Ed-tech and pedagogy articles I’ve read in a long time. I’d like to share some of its ideas with faculty at UHCL and consider how they can be applied in current courses.
One of the key points from the article is that “mass education” and standardized learning content have had limitations over the past two centuries. It’s worked just fine for some, especially those who are highly motivated by external gain (usually financial), such as learners in developing countries. However, for learners in industrialized countries like the U.S., where a minimum of prosperity is almost a given whether one learns or not, we would do well to foster intrinsic motivation as much as possible.
As such, learning needs to be more personalized, much in the way it was hundreds of years ago when the standard way people learned was one-on-one in private tutoring.
Over the next 20-50 years, we can expect an increase in artificial intelligence that will voice direct an individual about his or her personal learning interests, preferences, and needs. But since education can’t wait for technology to catch up to the needs of students now, here are some ideas to personalize learning in your online courses:
Encourage digital note-taking of texts you have your students read AND have them revisit their notes. More importantly, ask them to make sure that more than half of the notes they take on readings are reactions and questions and not just recaps. Too often, students are reading information once and never doing any deep reflection on the reading or on their thoughts about it. For substantial learning to occur, “we need to have repeated exposure to the information, along with some time in between for reflection. We need to give our brains a repeated opportunity to process the information we take in so that it becomes knowledge, understanding, and wisdom” (Anderson, 2011, p. 13).
The future of learning might include a “Learn This” button just like we currently have a “Tweet This” or “Share This” button on social media posts, and students would automatically be prompted with questions about what they just read.
For now, consider personalizing learning in this way. We already use Socratic questioning that usually comes from instructors. Instead (or in addition), have learners self-generate questions to analyze concepts, prod at the depth of knowledge, focus on principles, issues, problems, etc. Any time students read something, let them choose something from the text they want to learn more about and have them generate their own question or questions about those concepts and immediately have to answer them in writing or an audio clip.
Students will naturally choose concepts that most interest them and that they think is most crucial to learn. You might have some students learning more about one idea or line of thought than other students, who are focusing on something else, but the student will have learned based on preference, interest, and judgment of importance. A student who is majoring in healthcare might pick up on part of the article that addresses implications for medicine or those who work in service of the community, whereas a business major might pick up on part of the reading that is focused on how the phenomenon in question has implications for the corporate world and why. Different students care about different aspects of a given subject, and this varies based on many factors aside from college majors. The point is that the learning will be more personalized and thus more interesting for the student. They are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to learn, which makes the experience more personal and effective.
Of course, the article’s explanation of these ideas infuses much more futuristic use of artificial intelligence. I recommend reading it when you have time. It also insists, however, that we can begin to personalize learning even without artificial intelligence by using traditional methods (or with tech tools that are already used, such as digital note-taking, optimized with best pedagogical practices).
In my next installment, I will discuss other ideas from the article about personalizing learning. I realize not all of a given course’s content can be personalized. That’s okay. As long as you are allowing for some personalization where possible and appropriate, you are making strides toward the future of learning and helping to foster intrinsic motivation.
Reference
Anderson, M.H. (2011). The World is My School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning. The Futurist, January-February 2011, 12-17.
NEW! Zoom Quizzes
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - OIT Technology Learning Services
Thanks to one of the eagle-eyed faculty members who contact our team, we've recently learned that Zoom has expanded upon the capabilities of their Polling tool to create a new Quizzes tool for instructors who teach synchronously in Zoom. Look for the IDT team to announce training sessions on Zoom Quizzes this summer. In the meantime, while our team dives into this exciting new feature, we do have a couple of resources to share with those who are eager to learn more about Zoom Quizzes:
Thanks to one of the eagle-eyed faculty members who contact our team, we've recently learned that Zoom has expanded upon the capabilities of their Polling tool to create a new Quizzes tool for instructors who teach synchronously in Zoom. Look for the IDT team to announce training sessions on Zoom Quizzes this summer. In the meantime, while our team dives into this exciting new feature, we do have a couple of resources to share with those who are eager to learn more about Zoom Quizzes:
- Zoom Support Page - Advanced polling and quizzing for meetings
- Video from Stony Brook University - Zoom Polls/Quizzes (New Features!)
Monday, April 25, 2022
NEW! Zoom Whiteboard Is Now Available
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Ph.D., Director - OIT Technology Learning Services
Per Zoom's April 19, 2022, blog post, Zoom has "completely rebuilt our whiteboard experience to bring you the all-new Zoom Whiteboard, a cross-platform, persistent, online, visual collaboration solution that’s built right into the Zoom desktop client, Zoom Meetings, and Zoom Rooms for Touch devices. Take your collaboration to the next level with features like; shapes, connectors, sticky notes, adding images, and more."
The IDT team has activated the new whiteboard tool and it should now be available to all users in UHCL's Zoom system. We recommend the following resources to anyone who is ready to learn more about the Zoom Whiteboard feature:
Per Zoom's April 19, 2022, blog post, Zoom has "completely rebuilt our whiteboard experience to bring you the all-new Zoom Whiteboard, a cross-platform, persistent, online, visual collaboration solution that’s built right into the Zoom desktop client, Zoom Meetings, and Zoom Rooms for Touch devices. Take your collaboration to the next level with features like; shapes, connectors, sticky notes, adding images, and more."
The IDT team has activated the new whiteboard tool and it should now be available to all users in UHCL's Zoom system. We recommend the following resources to anyone who is ready to learn more about the Zoom Whiteboard feature:
- Video: The All-New Zoom Whiteboard
- Article: Getting Started with Zoom Whiteboard
- Article: Zoom Whiteboard User Guide
Monday, April 18, 2022
Newsletter Article – XR Series: A Look at Two Highly Rated VR Applications
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
A couple of weeks ago, I got to try out the new XR Lab in the Neumann Library. The demonstration was just a simple VR game where we threw baseballs at numbered targets, but it effectively showed what VR could do. This experience led me to wonder what kind of educational applications are available and their capabilities. In this article, I will look at a couple of VR apps that are currently available and have loads of content, and, best of all, are free.
The first app is Within. Within is an immersive cinematic virtual reality application with an extensive entertainment and educational film library. However, rather than watching them on a flat two-dimensional screen, Within enables you to look around and see the story unfold as if you were there. One example is the Mozart 360 series, which presents a performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass from the perspective of a member of the orchestra while presenting text information about the music. Other examples include 700 Sharks and Dolphin Man, which take you into the ocean to observe marine wildlife in their natural habitat, and My Africa, the story of life in the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya from the perspective of a young Samburu woman. Within films cover a variety of subjects, including History, Culture, Climate Change, and many others.
The second app is Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions allows you to travel worldwide, to cities, cultural locations, museums, natural wonders, and more, without leaving the room. Museums include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C., among many others. Location tours include such places as the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, and many more. Google curates the content into themed tours, collections, and topics and provides a weekly highlights section to bring attention to new and currently relevant content.
Both Within and Google Expeditions provide large and unique libraries and present content in a way that only VR can. By immersing the user completely, the user doesn't just view the content; they experience it, allowing a more profound, more fulfilling experience.
To learn more about these applications or discuss how AR/VR/XR might be used to enhance your current or future teaching needs, don't hesitate to get in touch with OIT's Support Center and request a meeting with a member of the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) staff. You can reach the Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.
A couple of weeks ago, I got to try out the new XR Lab in the Neumann Library. The demonstration was just a simple VR game where we threw baseballs at numbered targets, but it effectively showed what VR could do. This experience led me to wonder what kind of educational applications are available and their capabilities. In this article, I will look at a couple of VR apps that are currently available and have loads of content, and, best of all, are free.
The first app is Within. Within is an immersive cinematic virtual reality application with an extensive entertainment and educational film library. However, rather than watching them on a flat two-dimensional screen, Within enables you to look around and see the story unfold as if you were there. One example is the Mozart 360 series, which presents a performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass from the perspective of a member of the orchestra while presenting text information about the music. Other examples include 700 Sharks and Dolphin Man, which take you into the ocean to observe marine wildlife in their natural habitat, and My Africa, the story of life in the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya from the perspective of a young Samburu woman. Within films cover a variety of subjects, including History, Culture, Climate Change, and many others.
The second app is Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions allows you to travel worldwide, to cities, cultural locations, museums, natural wonders, and more, without leaving the room. Museums include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C., among many others. Location tours include such places as the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, and many more. Google curates the content into themed tours, collections, and topics and provides a weekly highlights section to bring attention to new and currently relevant content.
Both Within and Google Expeditions provide large and unique libraries and present content in a way that only VR can. By immersing the user completely, the user doesn't just view the content; they experience it, allowing a more profound, more fulfilling experience.
To learn more about these applications or discuss how AR/VR/XR might be used to enhance your current or future teaching needs, don't hesitate to get in touch with OIT's Support Center and request a meeting with a member of the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) staff. You can reach the Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.
Monday, April 4, 2022
Arizona State University Creating a Virtual Universe
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
If you have been following my series on Extended Reality (XR) technology in higher education, you have seen several examples of how other universities use various technologies to develop unique immersive learning experiences. An ambitious project at Arizona State University (ASU) has instructors and students working together to create virtual worlds that they hope to connect to into a virtual universe.
ASU professors Heather Haseley and Dan Munnerley call this virtual universe the "ASU-niverse." Collaborating with Dreamscape Immersive, a Virtual Reality (VR) entertainment company led by Hollywood producer Walter Parkes, they are developing a platform called Dreamscape Learn. Using technology from Zoe Immersive, Dreamscape Learn provides tools that will allow students with minimal coding experience to create unique and immersive educational experiences.
One Dreamscape Learn project has Biology students investigating an alien world called the Intergalactic Wildlife Sanctuary. In the virtual environment, students use tools to study alien life forms and ecosystems to discover and solve environmental problems. Another project, called Theta Labs, has students from various departments creating an experience where students must travel into the future or past to fight climate change. Both projects use VR technology to give students a hands-on experience that provides a much deeper learning experience than more conventional teaching methods.
These are just two early examples of projects using Dreamscape Learn. ASU has plans to use the platform throughout the university. They are also looking into using the technology for social experiences, such as meeting in virtual lounges to watch movies, allowing students to interact in ways that go beyond just video conferencing.
References
Faller, M. B., & Beach, E. (2021, December 17). ASU students create time-travel experience in Dreamscape learn. ASU News. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://news.asu.edu/20211203-creativity-asu-students-create-time-travel-experience-dreamscape-learn
If you have been following my series on Extended Reality (XR) technology in higher education, you have seen several examples of how other universities use various technologies to develop unique immersive learning experiences. An ambitious project at Arizona State University (ASU) has instructors and students working together to create virtual worlds that they hope to connect to into a virtual universe.
ASU professors Heather Haseley and Dan Munnerley call this virtual universe the "ASU-niverse." Collaborating with Dreamscape Immersive, a Virtual Reality (VR) entertainment company led by Hollywood producer Walter Parkes, they are developing a platform called Dreamscape Learn. Using technology from Zoe Immersive, Dreamscape Learn provides tools that will allow students with minimal coding experience to create unique and immersive educational experiences.
One Dreamscape Learn project has Biology students investigating an alien world called the Intergalactic Wildlife Sanctuary. In the virtual environment, students use tools to study alien life forms and ecosystems to discover and solve environmental problems. Another project, called Theta Labs, has students from various departments creating an experience where students must travel into the future or past to fight climate change. Both projects use VR technology to give students a hands-on experience that provides a much deeper learning experience than more conventional teaching methods.
These are just two early examples of projects using Dreamscape Learn. ASU has plans to use the platform throughout the university. They are also looking into using the technology for social experiences, such as meeting in virtual lounges to watch movies, allowing students to interact in ways that go beyond just video conferencing.
References
Faller, M. B., & Beach, E. (2021, December 17). ASU students create time-travel experience in Dreamscape learn. ASU News. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://news.asu.edu/20211203-creativity-asu-students-create-time-travel-experience-dreamscape-learn
Filmer, S. (2022, March 22). Arizona State University launches immersive learning experience with VR biology classes. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/inno/stories/partner-content/2022/03/22/asu-launches-immersive-vr-learning-experience.html
Kaser, R. (2021, December 1). Dreamscape partners with Zoe Immersive on VR learning experiences. VentureBeat. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://venturebeat.com/2021/12/01/dreamscape-partners-with-zoe-immersive-on-vr-learning-experiences/
Kaser, R. (2021, December 1). Dreamscape partners with Zoe Immersive on VR learning experiences. VentureBeat. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://venturebeat.com/2021/12/01/dreamscape-partners-with-zoe-immersive-on-vr-learning-experiences/
Pedrosa, C. (2021, December 27). Welcome to the ASU-Niverse - The Arizona State Press. The State Press. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/12/spmagazine-welcome-to-the-asuniverse#
Monday, February 21, 2022
How is Augmented Reality Being Used at Other Universities?
As part of my ongoing series on Extended Reality (XR), I will look at Augmented Reality (AR) and how it is being used at other universities. AR uses a device such as a headset, glasses, or even a cell phone or tablet to superimpose digital images or information over the real world. For example, a user wearing special glasses in an art museum to receive enhanced information about a painting they are viewing or using their cell phone to get walking directions to a location in a city they are not familiar with.
Wayne State University recently ran a pilot program to investigate the use of AR to help treat phobias. The program used augmented reality headsets (Microsoft’s HoloLens system) to place digital images of spiders into a room with a participant with arachnophobia. A clinician using specialized software was able to control several variables, including the type of spider and its size, color, motion, and speed. Throughout the program, the participants were put through varying levels of exposure to the spiders and various settings, from large open spaces to dark confined spaces. The project team plans to test similar use of AR technology in treating other phobias such as dogs and large crowds.
Professor Paul Mensink of Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, uses AR to allow his students to study the physiology and anatomy of the basking shark, the second largest fish in the ocean. Using technology from EXAR Studios, the professor brings the shark into the classroom, allowing the students to walk around it to get a feel for its size and study its external anatomy. Students will then be miniaturized and swallowed by the shark so they can examine it from the inside. The professor hopes to enhance learning and engagement by giving students an experience they can’t get any other way.
Dr. Safdar Khan, an orthopedic spine surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, uses AR to assist in minimally invasive spine implant procedures. Using the Augmedics xvision system, the surgeons use an AR headset to superimpose an image of the patient’s spine onto the patient’s back while on the operating table. The system also shows the location of surgical tools in real-time as the surgery is taking place, allowing the surgeon to be more precise and use smaller incisions. It also allows the surgical team to operate more efficiently, shortening the length of the surgery and decreasing the use of anesthesia.
These are a few examples of how universities are using AR technology to increase learning and engagement and improve areas outside of education.
References
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. (2021, September 14). Ohio State offers augmented reality spine surgery, a first in Ohio. Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom/pressreleaselisting/ohio-state-offers-augmented-reality-spine-surgery
Sommeran, S. R. V. (2022, January 25). Western Prof gets students to swim with sharks, virtually. University Affairs. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/western-prof-gets-students-to-swim-with-sharks-virtually/
Wayne State University recently ran a pilot program to investigate the use of AR to help treat phobias. The program used augmented reality headsets (Microsoft’s HoloLens system) to place digital images of spiders into a room with a participant with arachnophobia. A clinician using specialized software was able to control several variables, including the type of spider and its size, color, motion, and speed. Throughout the program, the participants were put through varying levels of exposure to the spiders and various settings, from large open spaces to dark confined spaces. The project team plans to test similar use of AR technology in treating other phobias such as dogs and large crowds.
Professor Paul Mensink of Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, uses AR to allow his students to study the physiology and anatomy of the basking shark, the second largest fish in the ocean. Using technology from EXAR Studios, the professor brings the shark into the classroom, allowing the students to walk around it to get a feel for its size and study its external anatomy. Students will then be miniaturized and swallowed by the shark so they can examine it from the inside. The professor hopes to enhance learning and engagement by giving students an experience they can’t get any other way.
Dr. Safdar Khan, an orthopedic spine surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, uses AR to assist in minimally invasive spine implant procedures. Using the Augmedics xvision system, the surgeons use an AR headset to superimpose an image of the patient’s spine onto the patient’s back while on the operating table. The system also shows the location of surgical tools in real-time as the surgery is taking place, allowing the surgeon to be more precise and use smaller incisions. It also allows the surgical team to operate more efficiently, shortening the length of the surgery and decreasing the use of anesthesia.
These are a few examples of how universities are using AR technology to increase learning and engagement and improve areas outside of education.
References
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. (2021, September 14). Ohio State offers augmented reality spine surgery, a first in Ohio. Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom/pressreleaselisting/ohio-state-offers-augmented-reality-spine-surgery
Sommeran, S. R. V. (2022, January 25). Western Prof gets students to swim with sharks, virtually. University Affairs. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/western-prof-gets-students-to-swim-with-sharks-virtually/
Monday, January 31, 2022
Getting Started with Microsoft Sway
Contributed by Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Director - Technology Learning Services
One software application gaining much "buzz" during Faculty Development Week 2022 is Microsoft Sway. Based on faculty feedback, our Support Center staff is planning to offer Sway training in the near future, In addition, instructional designer Jane Nguyen is creating video tutorials that include how faculty might use Sway to create the interactive syllabi discussed in her recent presentation.
While we await both of those support options, I wanted to provide any "do it yourselfers" out there with some information about how you can learn more about, and get started with, Microsoft Sway:
- Microsoft Support Page: Getting Started with Sway
- Microsoft Sway Quick Start Tutorials
As you may already know, the IDT team moved to Sway for our weekly newsletters in late 2021. We look forward to sharing more information with you about our lessons learned in the near future!
Friday, December 3, 2021
How Is Virtual Reality Being Used at Other Universities?
Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the new Extended Reality (XR) Lab that the Neumann library is building as part of its current renovation project. In that article, I discussed the three main types of technology that fall under the term Extended Reality: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). In this article, I will focus on Virtual Reality and its use at other universities.
During the pandemic, Penn State University Landscape Architecture Professor Travis Flohr found that teaching a studio course over Zoom made it difficult for his students to communicate and collaborate as they had in face-to-face courses. Flohr worked with colleagues Tim Johnson and Ken Tamminga to create an online VR studio that replicates the on-campus studio space. The VR space is a 360-degree reproduction that allows students to explore the area and includes people, furnishings, and even sounds the students would experience in the actual studio. The VR studio also consists of four workspaces, including desks, pin-up spaces, a lecture hall, and a lounge.
At the University of Maryland, Dr. Rashawn Ray is working with Google to develop a VR police training program. The program aims to train police to deescalate situations by interacting with a VR person programmed using an algorithm designed to replicate human behavior. Dr. Ray hopes to reduce the rate of fatal police shootings, particularly for Black Americans.
Stanford University has recently introduced a course that will be taught entirely online. The Communications course, called “Virtual People,” uses software called ENGAGE that allows instructors and students to interact and build their own virtual environments. Professor Jeremy Bailenson and teaching assistant Cyan DeVeaux have students engage in such activities as visiting a guided meditation in space, building imaginary scenes, and even creating performances using virtual avatars. Bailenson and DeVeaux are using the course to collect data to help develop the use of VR environments in education.
These are just a few examples of the ways universities are using VR to create new educational opportunities. In future articles, I plan to look at how Augmented and Mixed Reality are being used as well.
References
Burton, R. (2021, November 30). University of Maryland researchers, Google to offer virtual reality police training. WJLA.
Dietrich, K. (2021, November 4). Stuckeman School professor uses virtual reality to expand studio environment. Penn State News.
Kornfein, A. (2021, December 2). Stanford launches first class taught completely in virtual reality. The Stanford Daily.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the new Extended Reality (XR) Lab that the Neumann library is building as part of its current renovation project. In that article, I discussed the three main types of technology that fall under the term Extended Reality: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). In this article, I will focus on Virtual Reality and its use at other universities.
During the pandemic, Penn State University Landscape Architecture Professor Travis Flohr found that teaching a studio course over Zoom made it difficult for his students to communicate and collaborate as they had in face-to-face courses. Flohr worked with colleagues Tim Johnson and Ken Tamminga to create an online VR studio that replicates the on-campus studio space. The VR space is a 360-degree reproduction that allows students to explore the area and includes people, furnishings, and even sounds the students would experience in the actual studio. The VR studio also consists of four workspaces, including desks, pin-up spaces, a lecture hall, and a lounge.
At the University of Maryland, Dr. Rashawn Ray is working with Google to develop a VR police training program. The program aims to train police to deescalate situations by interacting with a VR person programmed using an algorithm designed to replicate human behavior. Dr. Ray hopes to reduce the rate of fatal police shootings, particularly for Black Americans.
Stanford University has recently introduced a course that will be taught entirely online. The Communications course, called “Virtual People,” uses software called ENGAGE that allows instructors and students to interact and build their own virtual environments. Professor Jeremy Bailenson and teaching assistant Cyan DeVeaux have students engage in such activities as visiting a guided meditation in space, building imaginary scenes, and even creating performances using virtual avatars. Bailenson and DeVeaux are using the course to collect data to help develop the use of VR environments in education.
These are just a few examples of the ways universities are using VR to create new educational opportunities. In future articles, I plan to look at how Augmented and Mixed Reality are being used as well.
References
Burton, R. (2021, November 30). University of Maryland researchers, Google to offer virtual reality police training. WJLA.
Dietrich, K. (2021, November 4). Stuckeman School professor uses virtual reality to expand studio environment. Penn State News.
Kornfein, A. (2021, December 2). Stanford launches first class taught completely in virtual reality. The Stanford Daily.
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Increased Faculty Interest in Echo360 - Training and Support Options
Our team has been excited by the growing interest from faculty regarding the Echo360 video creation, storage, and deployment services. First offered to UHCL instructors for the start of the Fall 2020 term, there have been nearly 250 faculty/staff who have used Echo360 to some degree, resulting in a current inventory (as of December 2021) of nearly 6000 videos in the system. For those not already familiar with Echo360's features, it is a cloud-based service that "combines video management with lecture capture and active learning to increase student success."
Among Echo360's many features, the following are primary options for its current use at UHCL:
Echo360 Universal Capture - used to create instructor-generated lecture and demonstration videos and to stream classes (from UHCL classrooms or remotely)
- Zoom Integration - enables faculty to have recorded Zoom sessions also saved directly in their Echo360 Library for long-term storage
- Video storage for videos created outside of Echo360
- Video deployment into Blackboard courses (including student videos to be submitted as part of discussions, assignments, etc.)
Training and Support Resources - Beginning in Summer 2020, our team has offered or hosted a number of virtual training and informational sessions about Echo360. The following recordings of some of those sessions are a great place to start if you want to learn more about this system:
- Echo360 - First Steps: Class Sessions and Blackboard Integration
- Echo360 - Creating Lecture Videos with Universal Capture (Personal)
- Echo360 - Managing Your Existing Videos
- Adding and Using Embedded Questions in Videos (Echo360)
- Locating and Using Analytics in Echo360
If you have additional questions about using Echo360, please contact the Support Center at supportcenter@uhcl.edu to have a help ticket created. Our team will then have someone get back to you to provide additional support
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