Merlot: A Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching

Introducing Merlot, a multimedia educational resource for learning and online teaching that will appeal to almost everyone associated with higher education. The stated goal of Merlot is "to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by increasing the quantity and quality of peer reviewed online learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty designed courses."

According to the Merlot website:

Merlot is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their learning materials and pedagogy. Merlot is a leading edge, user-centered, collection of peer reviewed higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services.

In particular, I commend the Learning Materials available on the Merlot website, which includes over 27,000 resources supporting virtually every academic discipline in higher education. All content on the Merlot website is licensed for open-source access under Creative Commons, which means that Merlot's resource materials can be used freely by most educators. Merlot is also a place to find and meet new colleagues in every academic discipline.

Follow the link below to learn more about Merlot. Membership is free.

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Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning

A new study by the US Department of Education (2009) entitled, “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies,” reports that:

Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.

The methodology for the study was a meta-analysis of 51 study effects, 44 of which were drawn from research with older learners. The study also found that:

Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.... [Moreover,] elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes.

The report took care to note that more research is required before extending the implications of the study into education segments outside of adult learning, such as K-12 programs.

Educators making decisions about online learning need rigorous research examining the effectiveness of online learning for different types of students and subject matter as well as studies of the relative effectiveness of different online learning practices.

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Using Mind Maps as a Teaching and Learning Tool

"Mind mapping" can be an excellent tool for creating learner engagement, according to Prof Genevieve Pinto Zipp of Faculty Focus (2011):

Creating an environment that engages students in the learning journey is not always easy. Sometimes as faculty members we ask ourselves, “Are we taking this learning journey by ourselves?” Several years ago as I began my scholarly exploration of the utility of mind mapping as a teaching and learning tool to foster critical thinking, my colleague and I instituted a mind mapping learning activity which has helped to promote student engagement in the classroom.

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I have been using mind mapping software, both in and out of the classroom, since the 1980's. I currently use MindManager (Mindjet) as my brainstorming platform of choice. See below an example of a personal mind map I use on a daily basis to keep record and track of my goals, tasks, and responsibilties. I view MindManager as the "missing application" in the Microsoft Office suite.

Example "Mind Map" [click image to expand]

Source: Zipp, G P (2011, September 6), Using Mind Maps as a Teaching and Learning Tool to Promote Student Engagement, Faculty Focus.

A Better Way of Learning

According to Prof David Friedman:

One problem with the usual approach to education at all levels is that it mostly consists of having someone learn something not because he at the moment has any need to know it but because someone else told him to learn it, possibly on the grounds that the knowledge or skill will be useful at some time in the future. It is much easier to get someone to actually learn something if it is of immediate use to him. The best way of learning a computer language, in my view, is not to start by working your way through the manual but to start with a program you want to write. You then have an immediate incentive to learn what you need to write it, and immediate feedback as to whether you have succeeded.

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Prof David Director Friedman (1945- )

My personal learning experiences align with Prof Friedman's views. Moreover, the latest generation of hand-held computing devices is now affecting how learners prefer to acquire knowledge. The emergence and popularity of "on demand" learning systems is a case in point. I sense that education as we know it is about to change in revolutionary rather than evolutionary ways. For the record, I also sense that the end of "industrial age" education regimes is near. We live in exciting times.

Source: Friedman, D (2012, March 1), A Better Way of Learning, Ideas.

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The Future of Work is Serious Play

Writes Prof Jason Scott Earl in The Beginner (2012, Aug 30):

The great divide between the gaming community and management educators is quickly coming to a close. The past relationship between gamers and business management educators, whereby one dismissed the others based on what has now increasingly proven to be unsupported information, is changing. As research points out, there is a significant opportunity in adopting an engaging business simulation strategy and its potential impact on the world of management education. The truly disruptive innovation nature of online business simulations has the potential to dramatically impact emerging markets – such as online education – with new and more powerful ways of teaching and learning.

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Prof Jason Scott Earl

Virtual learning environments are the future of learning. Firms such as Rosetta Stone are already pioneering new methods for distributing knowledge via simulation technology. Everything we know about education will change as virtual learning systems eventually supplant the classroom approach to instruction. Those changes will affect not only "bricks and mortar" classrooms, but the current notion of online course room structures as well. Computer learning systems are set to revolutionize education as we know it.

Source: Earl, J S (2012, Aug 30), The Future of Work is Serious Play, The Beginner.

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Can Higher Education Change?

Prof George R Boggs of Inside Higher Ed (2013) argues that higher education needs to refocus its efforts toward its central purpose of student learning instead of acquiescing to the obtuse political demands of external interest groups who often pursue their agenda through accreditors and regulators:

Colleges and universities are too important for educators to deny the challenges and demands of today and too important for policy makers to pass laws because of pressure from special interests or based on their recollection of what college used to be. Decisions cannot be based on past practices when the world is changing so rapidly. The mission of higher education is student learning, and all of our policies, procedures and practices must be aligned with that mission if our institutions are to remain relevant.

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Just as Eastman Kodak was unable to keep pace with the times, I fear that many institutions of higher education in the US are following a similar path. Today's learners deserve better.

Source: Boggs, G (2013, September 12), Through the Learning Lens, Inside Higher Ed.

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Jumping Through Hoops Not Learning

According to John Warner (2013) of Inside Higher Ed:

I believe a generation of No Child Left Behind-style testing has trained our students to worry almost exclusively about the “whats” rather than the “whys.” They arrive in my class oriented towards learning the rules that must be followed to jump through each successive hoop. The difficulty of flipping the switch from rules to choices seems to increase with each successive cohort.

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John Warner (1970- )

I share John Warner's concerns as an educator. The question remains how to engage with this perspective of learning...

Source: Warner, J (2013, May 13), Thinking Context: School Is Not the Hunger Games, Inside Higher Ed.

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Try R Training

For those seeking to get started with the R programming language, O'Reilly Media is sponsoring a free online training course entitled, Try R. Follow the link below to learn more:

The Try R training program is delivered in an easy to follow "learning by doing" format divided into eight chapters as follows:

• Chapter 1: R Syntax
• Chapter 2: Vectors
• Chapter 3: Matrices
• Chapter 4: Summary Statistics
• Chapter 5: Factors
• Chapter 6: Data Frames
• Chapter 7: Working With Real-World Data
• Chapter 8: Installing Additional Packages

I completed the training and was delighted with the "learning by doing" approach of the program. Those new to R will find this offering to be an easy way to get introduced to how R works, as well as the power of the R programming language to perform vector and matrix analytics, which are fundamental to learning and applying advanced statistical methods. Again, Try R is a free training program sponsored by the experts at O'Reilly Media.

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10 Ways A Grammar/Spelling Checker Can Help

by Tomer Harel © 2010 Takanomi Ltd Company

Software that will find corrections for your spelling and grammar has many benefits. Some of these reasons are not so obvious, while others are quite apparent. Although social networking and texting has caused many people to stop using good spelling and grammar, professional people, employers and teachers still expect it. In fact, more emphasis is being placed on this in recent years due to the decline in good writing skills. Here are some of the advantages in using a program that will find and correct grammar and spelling errors.

1. Learning problems such as dyslexia or attention deficit disorder cause people to struggle in both spelling and grammar. A program that can do a grammar and spelling check on written work will help people find the mistakes that they tend to make. Those with learning disabilities sometimes have trouble focusing and/or catching their errors. A software program that will catch these mistakes will make it easier to communicate with others and help them avoid making embarrassing mistakes.

2. Another great advantage of having a grammar and spelling checker is the error-free work that will be produced. With a program helping them find their spelling and grammar errors, people no longer have to be anxious about their work. With a spelling and grammar checker, they can rest assured that their work will be correct.

3. Spelling and grammar really matters on the job. People don't usually spend enough time proofreading their work, which often backfires on them. Oftentimes, they may not know the damage that comes about by using poor grammar and spelling. However, the bottom line is that others will have negative feelings about them and their company if their words are not used correctly. People will be more likely to succeed at their jobs if they use good spelling and grammar skills. This can make it more likely for them to receive promotions and a raise from their employers.

4. Spelling and grammar checkers are especially helpful for those who are very busy. It takes time, but everyone should proofread their work. These programs can help save time by finding errors and making suggestions for correction.

5. Many people hate to write because they know they don't do a good job at communicating or they don't have good writing skills. A top-notch spelling and grammar checker can help to take away some of that stress. They can write papers for school, comment on a social networking site or send an email with the confidence that they are avoiding major mistakes in spelling and grammar.

6. People who don't have good spelling and grammar skills will often find other people to proofread their work for them. While this is helpful, they still must depend on others. Others must now take the time to do this work for them and they have to wait on others, trusting that they will do a good job. If they can find a checker program to do this for them, they will be able to become more independent and get their work done when they want to get it done.

7. Although many don't like to admit it, having good grammar and spelling skills is important. People often look down on those who don't write correctly, even belittling them. If an employee continues to make grammatical and spelling errors at work, their employee has the right to fire them, as this is a reflection on the image of the company. Using a quality spelling and grammar correction program will not only help workers to have more confidence in themselves, but they will gain the confidence of their customers, peers, teachers and employers as well.

8. Because so many people take good writing skills lightly, people can really gain the upper hand at school, on the job and elsewhere by using correct words, both in spelling and grammar. Teachers are very impressed with students who take the time to correct their errors and turn in papers with great grammar and spelling. A worker who will take the time to correct written errors is appreciated by his or her employee. It's a great feeling to know that more doors are open to a brighter career future by investing in a grammar and spelling checker.

9. Investing in a grammar and spelling checker will enable others to communicate effectively on social networking sites, emails, and letters. This can affect their personal lives because the greater their skill with words, the greater their ability to communicate with others. Friends and colleagues will be impressed at the ability of those who can write with meaning and depth.

10. For those just learning to speak English, a spelling and grammar checker is a great way to improve their skills while communicating with others. As they learn, they will be able to use their spelling and grammar program to find and suggest the right words. This can help them learn also, both in grammar and spelling. They will then be able to write things correctly, through the spelling and grammar correction that follows, and thus, improve their skills and communicate with others in English.

Republished with permission of SubmitYourArticle.com

Screen Monitors and Online Learning

Recently, I had the opportunity to view a learner's computer screen using the screen sharing features of a popular virtual video-conferencing service. What happened was that I received a telephone call form a learner regarding a spreadsheet assignment. Several moments into the call (and the learner's verbal description of their work thus far), I suggested that we open a video-conference so that I could see the learner's computer screen as we discussed the homework in more detail.

However, once the learner's computer screen became visible, I was surprised to see a relatively small window (probably a laptop screen) that the learner was relying upon to "see" the spreadsheet problem at hand. In fact, the learner was struggling to pan through the spreadsheet, which required significantly more columns and rows than the learner could possibly display.

The point of my story is to highlight the need to "see" what you are doing while writing or working with complex data, and to suggest that all online learners consider investing in a high-resolution monitor at least as large as that shown below:

Samsung SyncMaster T240HD (24" LCD; 1920 x 1200 pixels)

The above is a photograph of the high-resolution monitor here on my desk. Notice that the monitor displays two full pages of text (top to bottom and left to right). Also, spreadsheets are much more assessible (and understandable) in the larger screen display. I cannot imagine reading ebooks, documents, or complex spreadsheets (for hours) on anything smaller than that above.

So, if you are one of the millions of learners pursuing online education and you are relying upon a relatively small laptop monitor, then consider investing in a high-resolution computer monitor. Your eyes will thank you and your learning experience (and grades) will no doubt prove more rewarding.

PS: The above advice applies as well to online instructors struggling to read learner assignments on their laptop displays -- if I am describing your situation, consider ordering a high-resolution monitor now...

Discovering Statistics Using R

Open source enthusiasts seeking to become statisticians will want to check out, Discovering Statistics Using R (2012) by Prof Andy Field, Prof Jeremy Miles, and Zoë Field. According to the publisher:

Hot on the heels of the award-winning and best selling Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (3rd ed), Andy Field has teamed up with Jeremy Miles (co-author of Discovering Statistics Using SAS) and Zoë Field to write Discovering Statistics Using R. Keeping the uniquely humouous and self-deprecating style that has made students across the world fall in love with Andy Field's books, Discovering Statistics Using R takes students on a journey of statistical discovery using R, a free, flexible, and dynamically changing software tool for data analysis that is becoming increasingly popular across the social and behavioral sciences throughout the world.

Those seeking to practice statistics while learning to use R (Project R) will find Discovering Statistics Using R to be a useful and instructive guide for learning statistics while also conquering the R programming environment. Follow the link below to learn more about this terrific resource.

Source: Field, A, Miles, J, and Field Z (2012), Discovering Statistics Using R, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Are Unions Courting Adjunct Faculty?

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) recently sponsored a study in which 500 part-time and adjunct faculty members employed at two-year or four-year institutions of higher learning participated in a telephonic job satisifaction survey. The AFT released the report under the title, American Academic: National Survey of Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty (2010).

The report opens by recognizing the growing contribution and importance of adjuncts in US higher education:

Most Americans would be surprised to learn that almost three-quarters of the people employed today to teach undergraduate courses in the nation’s colleges and universities are not full-time permanent professors but, rather, are instructors employed on limited term contracts to teach anything from one course to a full course load. These instructors, most of whom work on a part-time/adjunct basis, now teach the majority of undergraduate courses in US public colleges and universities. Altogether, part-time/adjunct faculty members account for 47 percent of all faculty, not including graduate employees. The percentage is even higher in community colleges, with part-time/adjunct faculty representing nearly 70 percent of the instructional workforce in those institutions.

Yet, the majority of adjuncts teach in work environments where fair wages, job security, and benefits are scarce. According to the study:

There is widespread concern among part-time/adjunct faculty about bread-and-butter conditions. About 57 percent of the survey respondents say their salaries are falling short. Just 28 percent indicate that they receive health insurance on the job. Only 39 percent say they have retirement benefits through their employment. Even among those who receive health or retirement benefits, however, there are significant gaps in coverage. Unionized part-time/adjunct faculty members earn significantly more than their nonunion counterparts and are more likely to have some health and pension coverage.

A significant percentage of part-time/adjunct faculty members are concerned about job security. About 41 percent of those surveyed say that their job security is falling short of expectations. There was greater dissatisfaction among faculty working at public four-year institutions. Faculty teaching humanities and social science courses were about evenly split on job security, with 47 percent saying it was falling short, while only 38 percent of part-time/adjunct faculty members from other concentrations say that job security falls short.

While the above findings are startling, what is particularly interesting is that the AFT (a union of teachers) sponsored the research to begin with. Clearly, the AFT is doing its homework in hopes of expanding its membership amongst part-time and adjunct faculty. Couple this with the Obama administration’s urgings that all Americans seek to acquire a minimum of a year of college, and the prospects for expanded unionization on campuses becomes quite real. If the leaders at our nation’s institutions of higher learning continue to ignore the emerging compensation issues for adjuncts, then no one should be surprised when a reinvigorated labor movement appears on campuses in response.

Source: American Academic: National Survey of Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty, (2010), American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC.

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Personalized Learning Paths are the Future

Follow the link below to learn more about MindTap and the future of learning.

MindTap

Ericsson: The Future of Learning

Follow the link below to learn more about networked society and the future of learning according to Ericsson.

Networked Society

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Learning Statistics Online Recognized

According to David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal, new research has emerged that shows statistics students learn as much in online courses as they can in "bricks and mortar" classes.

In a carefully crafted, foundation-funded experiment that has received less attention than it deserves, Ithaka S+R, a higher-education think tank, enticed 605 undergraduates at six public-university campuses in New York and Maryland to agree to be assigned randomly to one of two courses. Half took a conventional introductory statistics course that met three hours a week. The other half took a computer-assisted course that met once a week and relied on an interactive, online statistics course developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Online Learning Initiative.... To compare outcomes, researchers had students take a standardized statistics test and a final exam that had some of the same questions.... The statistically sound result: Students in the online course did just as well as those who took the conventional course. No better, no worse.

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Online education is increasingly being recognized as a viable cost-effective alternative to more expensive "bricks and mortar" schools in America. At some point, society will have to consider how the advantages of online education might be applied in secondary schools...

Follow the link below to read the original research report produced by Ithaka S+R.

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Source: Wessel, D (2012, July 19), Tapping Technology to Keep Lid on Tuition, Wall Street Journal.

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Making Software Fun to Learn

Remember the days when learning to program and using software was fun? The logo below speaks volumes about what I am asking:

Beagle Bros software was produced for the Apple II line of computers back in the 1980's. The Beagle Bros catalog included a wide variety of comical software programs, utilities, and code snippets that appealed to both expert programmers and hobbyists alike. What made Beagle Bros unique was that their software was fun! The eventual replacement of the venerable Apple II with mightier machines eventually lead to the sunset of Beagle Bros as a software publishing firm. However, the Beagle Bros spirit and legacy lives on within many of us "old-timers" who learned to program while having fun on our Apple II computers back when desktops were still new.

These days, I make my living with Microsoft software solutions, which are generally a bore to learn and use. Thinking back, I miss the fun I had 30-years ago learning to program on my Apple II, including Beagle Bros software.

Follow the link below to learn more about the Beagle Bros legacy and contributions to desktop computing:

Beagle Bros Software Repository

PS: Microsoft should consider releasing a "fun version" of Visual Studio, if only for hobbyists...

The R Imperative

Prof Courtney Brown makes a succinct case for learning the R programming language.



I concur with Prof Brown. The R programming language is real. Much more to follow...

Project R

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Higher Education, Experience, and Skills

One of the questions I regularly pose to my economics students is whether a college education is a contributor to productivity. Intriguingly, what I get in response often parallels the views of Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal (2008, “The Declining Value Of Your College Degree”), who argues “college-educated workers are more plentiful, more commoditized and more subject to the downsizings that used to be the purview of blue-collar workers only. What employers want from workers nowadays is more narrow, more abstract and less easily learned in college.” In essence, the value of a college degree is said to be “not what it was.”

Nonetheless, a college education remains an important predictor of productivity (and earnings) in the marketplace. Even Ip concedes that “the average American with a college diploma still earns about 75% more than a worker with a high-school diploma and is less likely to be unemployed.” Given these facts, how can it be that students are so vexed by the value proposition of their education?

I have previously written about our new economy, the need for good people in our society, as well as the importance of polyvalence in the workplace. I argue here that there exists today a crying need for people with versatile skills sets in what is a transforming global economy and that the university offers the best opportunity to acquire the knowledge required to succeed in this environment.

This leads to the next contention I often hear from students, that “experience counts more than education?” My response to this view is, “not really,” because what is paramount is neither experience nor education, but skills, and if one is complacent in acquiring new skills experientially, embedded knowledge eventually becomes obsolete. The good news is that experience often translates into new more refined skills. The bad news is that breadth and depth of knowledge are not assured through experiential learning. Hence, attention is required to ensure one’s career track includes a multiplicity of experiences in organization and management across a diversity of functions, and eventually industries. In my view, the university offers the most efficient place to acquire breadth and depth of knowledge, as opposed to the workplace, where resources and opportunities for the same are typically limited. Experience that does not result in additional skills has little value in the workplace.

Finally, there is the matter of college graduates who are anomalously incompetent. This happens, and when it does, these people are released for cause. Those who finish a college degree program while somehow avoiding skill acquisition, do so at their peril. Acquiring new skills is the responsibility of all workers who wish to enhance or expand their careers, but especially college graduates. To attend a college or university and not acquire new knowledge along the way is a bewildering and perplexing outcome that defies good judgment.

Concluding, a college education is the most reliable track to improving skills, productivity, and earnings. And while experience can certainly result in new skills, the typical worker will find acquiring the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to enhance or expand a career through experience alone, challenging. A college degree is still the most profound symbol of embedded knowledge available in our society today.

Back to School

Along with my colleagues, I am back to school fully engaged in facilitating and encouraging active learning, thinking, and scholarship. Of course, with each new year comes changes in the nature of the college experience for both learners and educators. I suppose that higher education is incrementally "reinvented" in very subtle ways as each year passes.

This year, students and faculty alike are returning to the halls of higher education in an environment of economic uncertainty, both for the economy and for capitalism. Clearly, the world has changed since last year as unemployment and human suffering have reached levels not seen since the peak of the Great Depression in 1933. For these reasons, researchers and students have become increasingly anxious to consider and understand what is happening economically, including implications for the future.

Prof Walter Russell Mead, Bard College

I came across a very interesting article by Prof Walter Russell Mead entitled, Back to School, which includes some useful guidance for everyone engaged in higher education. Here's a taste of Prof Mead's advice for college students, today:

Choosing the right college is over-rated. Just about every college in the United States has more talented and interesting students than you will have time to get to know in four years. At every college in America you will not be able to take all the great courses from great faculty, read every worthwhile book in the library, or participate in all the rewarding extracurricular activities.... Choosing the right courses, on the other hand, is under-rated. In the old days you could take a lot of silly courses and guts and get away with it. But your generation is going to have to scramble and you need every edge you can get.

You can read Prof Mead's entire article by following the link below:

Source: Mead, W R (2010, August 31), Back to School, The American Interest Online.

The Minerva Project: An "Elite" Online Education

Online education has been slowly building its reputation in the US over the past decade. Not surprisingly, a new online university program lead by the Minerva Project is now seeking to compete with top-tier institutions for the best students. Here is how the Minerva Project describes its initiative:

The Minerva Project is the first elite American University to be launched in a century. Minerva's philosophy transforms every aspect of the university-student relationship in anticipation of students' changing needs in an evolving world. Across a full life cycle of admission to instruction to post graduation support, The Minerva Project is rethinking the role of an elite institution of higher learning.

Follow the link below to learn more:

Minerva Project

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