Oregon State University Ecampus

This article offers broad predictions (and demands) for the future of education (sorry). Butttttt : I enjoyed several of the specific examples they tossed out (of how different schools are rethinking education). ... and they mentioned at least one higher ed example, so i don't feel too bad for foisting it on yall.

A handy "one pager" that would make a good starting point for anyone new to online education

An article about the emerging idea that independent game developers would fit well with the edu-games market. I think it's interesting to see a summary of the current edu-games rockstars, and to think about the future of working with 3rd parties. (honestly not sure if it's a growing market or a bad idea. While we drool over polished edu-games and simulations for some classes, it also seems like teachers ALWAYS want some customization for thier course. which most 3rd party developers aren't setup to deliver. sooo. maybe the real takeaway is that schools will all end up having an edu-games department! i hope... :)

This is a heady rant about motivating your user. (7 min). While some of the big words might be off putting, the simple game examples should be inviting. ? It serves as advice on making someone feel glad they performed a task you setup for them. The speaker is talking about video games, and behavioral engineering, but I think it relates to motivating online students. _________________________ tl;dr? the core takeaway is: points ain't rewards. Just because you gave someone points, doesn't mean they received them as a reward. Points only work as rewards when they are a "token" of whatever currency the player values. I think this is fascinating to keep in mind when trying to motivate students. (you might think of grades and degrees as tokens in different currencies) + I'm curious to learn how much the field of "instructional design" leverages behavioral engineering.

Great article by enthusiastic instructor that gives details about designing and delivering effective role-playing activities online. Relates activities to Bloom's taxonomy and gives tips for grading students.

Great description of using twitter in an English literature / history class in order to help students make the connections and see the bigger picture.

With apologies for the title -- some interesting graphs here that demonstrate the level of engagement at various video lengths. Makes the case for short videos. One thing that doesn't seem to be considered is how the video is integrated (or not) with learning activities.

"The History and Future of (Mostly Higher) Education:  How We Can Unlearn Our Old Patterns to Relearn for a Happier, More Productive, Ethical, and Socially Engaged Future* COURSERA/Duke University:  JANUARY 27, 2014-MARCH 8 2014 DRAFT SYLLABUS (Posted October 6, 2013)"

Lessons from a Texas A&M professor who flipped a 400-student "Introduction to Ancient Rome" course.

I'd love to hear some real world examples that address one point in the article: "Content delivery is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to do in class that keeps students engaged, and motivated to prepare for class." If anyone in our group knows of some specific tricks teachers usually employ for this, please let me know. (lil' quizzes? Q&A discussions? or something more interesting?) I'm wondering if there are other sorts of multimedia activities I could make that would serve similar function.

Warren, good question! The peer instruction approach of Eric Mazur et al. (see http://mazur.harvard.edu/research/detailspage.php?rowid=8) is a popular in-class technique. Here are some of other methods OSU hybrid faculty use to link online and face-to-face spheres: 1 - A low-stakes weekly quiz online prior to each class meeting. 2 - A discussion that flows from online to face-to-face and back again. 3 - A very short online essay turned in before each class meeting that builds on the online content, and is tied directly to in-class discussion or group work that follows. 4 - An interactive multimedia lesson online that provides a foundation for or extends in-class learning. (Examples: I recommend looking at Simon Driver and Megan McDonald's hybrid EXSS 444--I can connect you.) 5 - Group work online (e.g., formulating a debate position or a solution to real-world problem) that feeds into the next f2f class activity. 6 - A quiz at the start of each class meeting based on the online content. Whatever the method, a key is that the learning activities online channel rather directly into the in-class activities and vice versa. Think of it as a long ping-pong volley between learning activities in the online and f2f spheres from the first day of the term until the final exam or project.