Blurts

For those who assume tech types are pushing for moving education to online learning, this analysis by Sal Kahn may be reassuring. Yes, Kahn started the popular Kahn Academy which is online and potentially mastery-based. However, he has used his success to also start a face to face setting in which the benefits of individualization and face to face instruction can be explored.

This article does reflect our times and argues what online education might have to look like for the near future, but the article does a nice job of examining the limitations should this approach be required for too long.

I saw a news piece on teachers engaging students via video that caused me to remember just where I had seen something similar some time ago. The theme of the news story was teachers finding ways to get away from using video to stare at their students for long periods of time while teaching remotely. The story focused a technology that would follow the teacher around her/his classroom during a presentation so that the experience was more natural.

I searched my blog and what I remembered was a product from 2012 that we purchased. The product was called the Swivl and it held a phone or iPad and it would follow a target as the target moved. At this time, we described it as a great way for preservice teachers to record themselves for later analysis. The product and similar products can still be found on Amazon.

Running a Zoom or equivalent feed from a similar device seems like a good idea.

I have updated my Primer explaining the use of online services that are available to develop instructional content from existing online web pages and videos. The inexpensive resource explains the capabilities of these design services for adding elements to existing content so that the existing content is more appropriate for instructional use. The Primer explains how best to make use of the elements that can be added and provides tutorials on setting up and using these services. The Kindle book is available from Amazon.

More and more online content is being assigned as resources for learning. Designing Instruction Using Layering Services explores how prompts, annotations, highlights, questions and other adjunct devices can be added to existing online resources by both educators and learners to improve the understanding, application and retention of this content. This short ebook explains proven tactics for developing skill in the use of the recommended study strategies and identifies and explains the use of several existing online services for developing web pages and online video as instructional content. This book is focused on the use of these services in K12 classrooms.

I recently created a video briefly explaining how one of these design services works. Watching the video offers an example of the type of service covered in the Primer.

A VPN (virtual private network) protects awareness of your browsing activity between your computer and the site you are using. It is most important if you are concerned with awareness of your browsing activity in a public location (e.g., coffee shop) or object to your ISP from collecting and possible selling information about your browsing activity. Individuals regard external awareness of this personal information with different degrees of concern.

Mozilla has just announced a built in VPN you can use to secure your browsing history. The service will cost $5 a month after the initial “try it out” phase.