Category: General

Google has a new experimental service called Google Keen. It has been described as Google’s version of Pinterest. It is a way to fashion a collection of resources and then this collection. Here is a quick demonstration. If you are Pinterest user, you probably understand it is a very versatile service resulting in recipe collections, photo collections, etc. Keen appears to offer the same flexibility. Google experiments always make be nervous because offerings I think are interesting sometimes just disappear. Experiment now. Invest heavily with caution.

My demo which is available at the end is based on a trip we were able to take nearly exactly a year ago to southern Africa. The small selection of photos shown here were from the Chobi River region.

The Keen dashboard looks like this. After connecting to Keen, I get this display after naming my creation. Google will use what I call my Keen and the description I add to offer suggestions for elements I might include. These will be displayed under Explore.

With the ADD button, I can contribute resources myself. These can be links, photos, and other types of content. For this demo, I uploaded a few images from my collection.

The collection looks something like this.

The Share button from the dashboard offers several options. I used the URL for this collection to link from the My Demo you see below.

My demo

Richard Mayer has long applied the careful rigor of experimental design to the study of multimedia instructional variables. Some of his recent research has centered on video presentation and seems well suited to informing the presentation component of online instruction. Mayer and colleagues have pulled together several specific tactics that should be helpful.

1. Dynamic drawing effect

This suggestion is focused on situations in which an instructor is demonstrating a procedure. The easiest example is probably the solution to a math problem. The research contrasts approaches in which the instructor draws on a whiteboard while explaining vs. instructor points to drawing completed before explanation. Mayer’s analysis of the research indicates it is more productive to display the process step by step rather than display the entire series of steps and then explain the entire process. I would be tempted to propose that this might also inform the display of bullet points in a PowerPoint-type presentation, but some other interesting research suggests this is different. This related research shows the instructor as he/she works through a problem, shows the instructor’s hand as the problem is solved, or reveals the steps only. It appears that the hand vs. no hand difference is meaningful and Mayer uses this difference to criticize the Sal Kahn style videos.

Watching the content unfold is important, but it also seems that the connection to the human is important.

2. Gaze guidance principle

The gaze guidance principle concerns the visibility of the focus of the instructor’s attention – on the audience, on the content, or switching between. Mayer summarizes the research to conclude that visible switching is important. Thinking about the way I taught in a large lecture situation, this would argue I did it wrong. I faced the students with large projected displays appearing behind me. I would see the content of the display on the computer screen in front of me, but students would not see me switch my gaze because I did not have to do this.

3. Generativity principle

This one does not surprise me. Video presentations should be accompanied by student actions – taking notes, writing summaries, attempts to duplicate an action that has been demonstrated.

4. Perspective principle

Imagine a cooking show or a demonstration of a similar type that might be generated by the instructor. Where is the best location for the camera – over the shoulder of the presenter (first person) or facing the instructor (third person). It appears that the over the shoulder shot is most effective.

I would describe Mayer’s approach as atheoretical. He starts with the examination of a logical and scientifically careful comparison of two alternatives. Determines if the alternatives produce reliable differences in learning. If so, he then tries to propose a theoretical model to explain the outcome. I tend to think in terms of cognitive explanations and motivational explanations. Mayer seems to identify what might be described as a social explanation for some of these principles which might have cognitive or motivational benefits. 

A focus on data-based practice is widely proposed as the ideal way to select instructional strategies. Instructional tactics have been studied greater detail than most educators likely realize. The environment necessary to establish significant differences in impact must be controlled carefully to eliminate alternative suggestions in this research. The transition from such research to the messiness and variability of the classroom can be problematic. For example, whatever content is used as the focus on learning experiences and how understanding, retention, and application of this learning creates a complexity of application that is probably impossible to understand completely. Even if an advantage of method A over method B can be established, it is not clear if a continuous diet of method A would lose its advantage for what would commonly be described as boredom (a motivational construct). Still, it would seem valuable to identify specific practices that work in controlled settings and at least emphasize these tactics in practice.

Mayer, R. E., Fiorella, L., & Stull, A. (2020). Five ways to increase the effectiveness of instructional video. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-16.

Google Jamboard is an online, interactive whiteboard available from Google and integrated with other Google services (i.e., Drive). My tutorial explains the basics of use and offers some general ideas for classroom (online) use. I would suggest you click on the video and watch it in a larger size.

Educators have developed creative ways to use this service. If you find my tutorial helpful, search for Jamboard and you should be able to locate plenty of ideas.

Exploring social media I happened across this post describing a service called ClassroomQ. The idea makes a great deal of sense for the time we are in and the challenges educators must address. The idea is simple, but meets an obvious need. ClassroomQ provides students, say students in a hybrid every other day approach to reduce face to face class size, a way to get the attention of teachers when the students are working at home. The service adds a button that the students click and the service adds the student’s name to a cue. The teacher consults this cue when time allows and the teacher then knows who has been waiting the longest to have an issue addressed.

I decided to see if I could create my own version, but I should say ClassroomQ has a free version and I don’t want to demo my version without giving credit.

I was able to produce an alternative to this service using Google Forms and Sheets. The process was straightforward. Here is a quick version of how I did it. I started in Google Sheets to create a new sheet with three identified columns – name, email, and request (column attribute needs to be set to the type of data collected – text). A menu option in Sheets allows the Sheet to generate a Form. I then opened the form to add an image (the student raising her/his hand) and to make small adjustments in appearance. This form could be made available in multiple ways. As a demonstration, I am providing it as a URL (below). The idea is that you could create a similar setup and offer the URL or an embed code to your students.

The form as displayed for the student looks like this.

The following link shows the entire form.

https://forms.gle/8o3ecfr3oVYp99nh

After the form has been created, I returned to the form and added a column of checkboxes. Adding this after the form allows something in the sheet that is not in the form. The idea is that the teacher would use this form to identify the students who have requested assistance and check off the student when the teacher has responded. Educators probably don’t need student emails so this column may not be required.

Today, I watched the first three panels from a White House event focused on the importance of opening schools in the Fall. Other then the session consisting of the President and wife, I have been unable to locate video of the other sessions for sharing [summary].

Many of the sessions relied on a recent report from the Academy of American Pediatricians which argued that school plays many important functions in the lives of the young and the health risk to children and adolescents is quite small. Given the health benefits of face to face education (activity, food, identification of out of school problems such as abuse, mental health benefits related to being with peers and adults outside of the home) and the terrible educational performance of online education, it was important that the young experience face to face education. 

There is a conflict between optimal academic and social/emotional learning in schools and strict adherence to current physical distancing guidelines. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that schools “space seating/desks at least 6 feet apart when feasible.” In many school settings, 6 feet between students is not feasible without limiting the number of students. Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space, particularly if students are wearing face coverings and are asymptomatic.

The statement on social distance is similar to the position taken on other guidelines. I would describe this position as “it will be difficult to implement many of the suggestions familiar to most aware of CDC guidelines so take these guidelines as recommendations and not requirements”. The report from the pediatricians acknowledges that it has focused on young people and not the adults (teachers, school personnel, parents, etc.).

Here is the summary of the AAP findings from the NYTimes

Secretary of Education DeVos was part of the first panel of the day and later had more direct contact with Governors.

The issue I have with the presentations made by the WH panels and the AAP is that the positions taken did not involve discussion/interaction with other experts who might have different opinions or represent different populations. I have many questions: Did the short period of learning from home most schools experienced in the Spring represent a fair test of distance education and the role of technology? Certainly, distance education is the means by which many now learn (including many programs for educators) and what about these programs is different from what students experienced in the Spring? Would more schools and educators be able to offer a more productive approach if given more training and time to prepare? My understanding of plans for implementation offers a fuzzy picture of what resources will be available and I know in some situations schools are cutting and not adding human resources I would think would be essential to deal with the new reality (health care experts in schools, mental health experts in schools, additional personnel to handle the added requirement for those who cannot or will not participate in face to face learning).

My expertise is more in considering educational issues, but I also wonder about what seem to be inconsistencies, many recently surfaced, that seem to contradict the AAP position. For example, the notion that the danger of the illness and the spread are not a significant issues for young people. I am seeing reports that the age issue recently has been moving to younger and younger individuals. For example, this from Edina, MN, as reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune [I live near the boundary between Richfield and Edina].

So far in Edina, the city has reported 35 COVID-19 deaths and 393 cases, including 98 cases involving people 19 and younger. Edina is unusual in that children and teenagers make up its largest age block of COVID-19 cases.

https://www.startribune.com/edina-s-youth-covid-19-cases-surge-569-new-minnesota-cases/571659772/

Another recent medical issue concerns the distinction between the danger of spread via droplets vs aerosol. The concern regarding aerosolized transmission has implications for the danger of spending extended time in a confined area and the importance of air circulation which may be inadequate in many school classrooms. [Scientific American]

I simply don’t like the President, Secretary of Education, and Governors making demands that are tied to financial incentives for schools. While these are difficult decisions and the AAP did take a definitive position, there are other categories of experts with different perspectives that need to be considered. I am not yet convinced that a model that rotates students between Face to Face and online instruction does not make the most sense and would be the best solution when it comes to the health of all concerned. Political pressure can be exerted on different entities and educators make a target that is simply too convenient.

As always, I encourage your review of the sources I have summarized to reach your own conclusions.

Google photos has a great new feature that allows a search of your collection using a map that offers a heat map based on photos that contain GPS data. This video explains how this work and offers a way to use this feature to locate photos by location not stored with GPS data stored in the EXIF.