Instructor’s Notes: Reflections on Lesson 7 Discussions

As I promised to the class, I would post non-KEY discussion question in Lesson 8.  These are my reflections on ETC655 teaching, designing, and experiences etc.

 

You are NOT required to respond to these non-KEY questions.  Be sure to respond to our KEY questions. 

 

Why am I doing this? With digital technology's rapid change, we speed up our learning.  In addition, ETC courses are offered in "accelerated" 8-week format.  We seem to catch up our digital learning constantly. Thomas Friedman said: "…the ancients believed that there was wisdom in patience and that wisdom comes from patience … Patience wasn't just the absence of speed. It was space for reflection and thought."

 

I hope you will join me in these non-KEY questions.

 

As usual, below are my reflections on each key discussion question to share with you and to advance your critical thinking and learning.

 

L7-KEY-1-InfoViz-Instructor's Reflections

Can SNA's social graphs be considered as InfoViz?  I think SNA social graphs could help us becomes better decision-makers.  If SNA social graphs are generated in real time, our decision-making could be real time as well.  In other words, we can provide real time and just in time support for each individual participant.

 

InfoViz is more foreign to many of us.  Here are my reflections for your references.

Information visualization refers to information design, "uses picture, symbols, colors, and words to communicate ideas, illustrate information, or express relationships visually" (Emerson, 2008, p4).  This is one of good definitions to InfoViz.

Research has concluded that InfoViz supports learning in: problem-solving (Ware, 2004); knowledge acquisition (Keller et. al., 2005); decision making (Chi, 2002; Spence, 2007); understand inaccessibly large amounts of data (Ware); recognize unanticipated associations among data (Ware); discover new explanations (Tufte, 1997); forming hypothesis about observed relationships (Ware); reduce cognitive load (Perkins, 1993); sense making (Chi); & allow technology to support knowledge co-construction (Perkins).

Card et al. (1999) argued that InfoViz theoretical structures should include six aspects:

• Memory and processing capabilities
• Information search paths
• Pattern detection
• Critical information
• Inferences
• Data manipulations

This theoretical structure serve as a fundamental and guiding framework for instructional designers when exploring the potential designs for integrating InfoViz tools into their online learning environment designs.

 

References

Card, S. K., Mackinlay, J. D., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Readings in information visualization: Using vision to think. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.

Chi, E. H. (2002). A framework for visualizing information. New York: Springer.

Emerson, J. (2008). Visualization information for Advocacy: An introduction to information design. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://backspace.com/infodesign.pdf

Keller, T., Gerjets, P., Scheiter, K., & Garsoffky, B. (2005). Information visualizations for knowledge acquisition. Computers in Human Behavior, 22, 43-65.

Perkins, D. N. (1993). Person-plus: A distributed view of thinking and learning. In Distributed Cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 88-110). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Spencer, R. (2007). Information visualization: Design for interaction (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Tufte, E. (1997). Visual explanations: Images, and quantities, evidence and narrative. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

Ware, C. (2004). Information visualization: Perception of design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publisher.

 

L7-KEY-2-MOOCs-Instructor's Reflections: Where are we now? And what is next?

When it comes to social responsibilities in education, "who" should have access to "what" at what "cost" at "where?"

• Who: Do MOOCs solve the education problems since many don't have access to online technology? If xMOOCs are right for us, what are teachers and schools supposed to do? What are the values of teachers and schools?
• What: Education, learning, content, instructions, teachers, or educational or learning facilities?
• Cost: Is free equal to "zero?" Does free solve all education/learning problems? Or is free priceless and infinite?
• Where: If cMOOCs do not impose any learning structures to learners, how are cMOOCs different from online interest groups?

Regardless of the types of MOOCs, perhaps the ideas of MOOCs are making its way through Everett Rogers' ideas, diffusion of innovations. An innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system.  The innovation must be widely adopted in order to self-sustain.  Individuals experience five stages of accepting a new innovation: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation.

Where are we now? And what is next?

 

L7-KEY-3-Gaming-Instructor's Reflections-1: Gaming Dynamics & Gaming Personalities

Gamification for learning and education is frequently perceived with a negative impact on learning because of the misconceptions of gaming, even gamification is different from serious gaming.  It is undeniable that gaming engages players in interactions and possible changing behaviors.  Educators should focus on the positive and effective digital game dynamics to support learning motivation, rather than using a game façade that relies on awarding points, badges or shooting enemies, aliens.  Positive and effective gamification could enhance learning and engage learners in a more social and context-rich decision making for problem solving in learning tasks.  

 

Have you heard about gaming personality?  Have you thought about how gaming personality may relate to gamification behaviors?

 

The key to design of effective gamification is to understand the learners' gaming personalities, preferences, or characteristics and the gamified instructional contexts within which they participate.  It is vital to expand the scope of efforts beyond deploying game mechanics and dynamics with gaming preferences. Social and cultural contexts of learning must be understood to advance gamification for learning.

Here is one my recent publications on Gamification to share with you:

Tu, C. H., Yen, C. J., Sujo-Montes, L., & Roberts, G. (2015). <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283004009_Gaming_personality_and_game_dynamics_in_online_discussion_instructions">Gaming personality and game dynamics in online discussion instructions</a>. Educational Media, International, 52(4), 1-18.

 

L7-KEY-4-AI & IoTs-Instructor's Reflection

Artificial Intelligent (AI): Work with AI, Intelligent Assistance

I would like to use Thomas Friedman's quote to closed our AI discussion: "Intelligent assistance involves leveraging artificial intelligence to enable the government, individual companies, and the nonprofit social sector to develop more sophisticated online and mobile platforms that can empower every worker to engage in lifelong learning on their own time, and to have their learning recognized and rewarded with advancement. Intelligent assistants arise when we use artificial intelligence to improve the interfaces between humans and their tools with software, so humans can not only learn faster but also act faster and act smarter. Lastly, we need to deploy AI to create more intelligent algorithms, or what Reid Hoffman calls "human networks"—so that we can much more efficiently connect people to all the job opportunities that exist, all the skills needed for each job, and all the educational opportunities to acquire those skills cheaply and easily." Thomas L. Friedman, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.

 

Yuval Noah Harari asked three critical questions when we fact AI.  Are you able to answer them?

• Are organisms really just algorithms, and is life really just data processing?
• What's more valuable — intelligence or consciousness?
• What will happen to society, politics and daily life when non-conscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves?

 

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

 

I think there are many ways we can examine AI in educational technology perspectives.

What can human do that AI can't?

• Social and emotional intelligence?
• Non-Linear Thinking?
• Is Self-Reflection unique to human?

 

Can AI have empathy?

Brian David Johnson indicated adults have always treated robots as slave.  Children create more complex social interactions with robots.  Children want their robot to sing with them and to dance with them.

Read: Brian David Johnson on Futurecasting, Threatcasting, and Building Our Children's Robots

 

I know we always look for the answers.  How we should face AI?

 

• Change our attitude?
• See AI as Intelligent Assistant?
• Teach Social and Emotional Intelligent (SEL)?

 

Further reading

• Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
• Thomas L. Friedman, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
• Empathy in AI Series: Part 1, What is Empathy?
• Fostering Social and Emotional Learning Through Technology
• The School of Life by Alain de Botton
• Brian David Johnson on Futurecasting, Threatcasting, and Building Our Children's Robots

 

Internet of Things (IoTs)

It is almost everything can be connected to Internet. Perhaps it is nothing new that everything can be connected to Internet.  As educators, I think we should focus on "how" to connect in addition to "what" to connect.  If we recall, when we studied ONLE/PLE in the beginning of the course.  There are THREE different types of network that every learner and educator should be able to connect and to build.  They are:

• People/human networks
• Tool/technology networks &
• Resource networks.

 

Could we say building these three types of networks is a new network learning literacy?

 

L7-KEY-5-LA-Instructor's Reflection

Learning Analytics (LA) provide statistical evaluation of rich data sources to discern learning patterns that enhance teaching and learning. At the individual learner level, students could apply a visual dashboard to track personal progress; analytics can be valuable tool for self-assessment and a powerful component of a personal learning environment. LA might facilitate better communication between students and educators while empowering students to monitor their coursework and take greater responsibility for their learning.  What are the implications for teaching and learning? What are the issues, challenges, and risks that students exposed to LA may encounter?  How about legal and ethical considerations, including privacy, security, and ownership in LA? Are measurements of LA neutral and reflect what we consider as good education, pedagogy, and assessment practices?

Keep challenging yourself!!