Digital Learning Technology in Higher Education

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Digital learning technology (DLT) is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of technologies that “facilitates teaching and learning, from digital course materials and e-textbooks, to lecture recordings and learning management systems” (Kelly).  According to the Digital Study Trends Survey by McGraw-Hill Education, over 1,000 college students across the nation share their experiences and preferences around DLT: 

The majority of students prefer classes that use DLT, and 40 percent agree that DLT influences the classes they decide to take. Mobility and flexibility surface as the most popular DLT features.  (“2017 Digital Study Trends Survey” 19)

In terms of “[mobility] and flexibility,” the two most prevalent forms of DLT at UW Bothell are Canvas by Instructure and Drive by Google. Both of these systems provide the UWB students, faculty and staff with quick and convenient access to their important online materials such as  lecture recordings, notes, assignments, deadlines and etc.  The best parts about these types of DLT are that they allow students to learn at their own pace and at their convenience.

The rise in DLT is inevitably improving the classroom experience through the blended learning model; moreover, this model is currently providing online classroom experience so students can take control of their own learning. With that said, it is exciting to consider how universities  plan to adapt and improve DLT services over the next decade.

For more information, visit the full article on Campus Technology.

 

STEM: Building Online Communities

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In speculation of modern pop-culture’s social use of interactive media applications, the more aesthetically pleasing interfaces are dominant by having quick and convenient means of communication between users and their networks. As a result, social media’s influence has gained a title not only in the networking department, but also serves as a pervasive component for designers and software engineers to effectively integrate the extents of interactive media while expanding a user’s social networks. Facebook and Twitter, typically used as interactive web and/or mobile-based applications, are examples of the positive influence that interactive media and social networking can transcend and share information on a massive scale. This is because their design implementation is structured as a primary means to socially network targets of broad audiences.  The rise of social media is and will inevitably define the culture in which we live.  Common problems we face with social media is by the manner in which people treat it; often from sharing content to publicize their life rather than as a communicative tool. A simple solution may be to have learning spaces that teach proper online networking etiquette.

An article on Campus Technology explained the values of online communities through the ways in which individual stories were professionally networked; “result was just what one would expect from a real community: more sharing of “personal stories and journeys, successes, issues encountered and not feeling so alone” (Schaffhauser). Relative to higher education, the pursuit to encourage more students towards STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics) Education can be illustrated through Learning Spaces that teach online etiquette; establishing learning communities of people with similar interests,  goals, and other aspirations.

For more information, visit the main article on Campus Technology

Virtual Classrooms Expanding Higher Education’s Reach

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For college students, taking virtual classes opens the door to opportunities of learning whenever and wherever they can. Online education has even helped create big innovations in collaboration at universities. Social interaction, however, has always been a concern. Many schools have used online tools to connect with experts around the world. Since 2010, Duke University used Cisco TelePresence to allow the School of Business to collaborate with experts. Medical schools, like the Duke Eye Center, have started using telepresence tools as a means of a full video conferencing system. Telepresence has sparked great innovations in schools, from robotic telepresence to international online classes.

San Jose State University has used telepresence to create virtual classes and bring “experts to enrich learning, extended the reach of its programs and helped traveling faculty stay connected,” a case study reports. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication has the ability to pitch ideas to the advertising agencies across the globe that they have connected with. The collaboration tools allow students access into the real world. The tools also allow for experts at San Jose State University to expand their reach to other countries. The Social Work Education Enhancement Program allows two-way communication to improve schooling in Vietnam.

Students have been able to attend classes through video conferencing, but some universities are taking this one step further. Robotic telepresence allows remote students to truly have a seat at the table, and enhance remote learners’ education experience in very important ways. While closing the distance in the social experience is useful, it has been found just as useful for more hands-on majors. Online students seeking a Master of Science in Nursing at Duke can use robotics telepresence to get the experience they need.

 

For the full article, please visit EdTech

Interactive Maps Help Students and Faculty Navigate Their University

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Credit: wikimedia – Colby College Campus Map

When a college student receives their welcome college pack, the campus map is often a forgotten or confusing page. Now, with the help of technology, campus maps can make the change to the digital setting. At the University of Oregon, the interactive map on their website allows students and faculty an aerial view of the campus with the options to look at bike routes, paths that are lit at night, and even shows the inside of the buildings. The map has also been used in emergency situations when there was an ice storm and Kato and his team updated the map to provide updates about the unsafe areas of the campus. The campus’s GIS and Mapping Program created the interactive map under the guidance of program director Ken Kato.

Virtual maps are useful even before a student gets to the campus. At the Texas A&M University, a 3D map was created as a way for students to tour the campus if they cannot afford to travel, as well as current students. According to graphic designer Michael Green, this is a way to hook to the students into applying to the campus. Green coordinated with CampusBird, a virtual map and campus tour platform in order to create their 3D buildings filled with details such as their historical value, and office hours.

For more information, please visit the main article here

Should faculty text their students?

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In an article written by Karen Costa on the Inside Higher Ed website, she addresses the issues that faculty and professionals have about texting their students. The two main concerns that she believes faculty have with texting their students is that people who don’t text are concerned about giving up a part of their minds and selves to texting technology and the other reason is that they believe texting their students crosses a professional boundary.

However, the writer highlights that by texting a student, they’ll always read it. Whereas, if you send an email a student might not read it. Also because in recent statistics, most teens who own smartphones and those that do, texting is the most popular way to communicate with close friends. On the other hand, not all students will consistently check their emails. In order to form a true communicative connection with students, she believes that we must align our medians.

Although, one of the concerns is that texting is informal, however an email is a much longer form of texting, however not with the convenience of communicating them at one of their main source of entertainment, their smartphone.

This one change of communication could help students be more well-informed and immersed in their courses.

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Universities Devote Studying to eSports

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We all know how popular spectator sports are, such as baseball, football, and basketball. Something new is joining the league of the all spectator sports for the age of millennials, eSports. A survey from digital gaming industry website Newzoo found that 22 percent of males from 21 to 35 watch eSports, making competitive video gaming as popular as America’s national pastime. With many prestigious universities as Harvard launching eSports clubs, it’s clear that higher education is taking note of the popularity of video gaming. The University of Nevada has started involving itself in the world of gaming, but not to be a competitor.

During the summer, it was announced that the International Gaming Institute, which was a source of research and innovation in casino gaming, would be launching an eSports lab. The lab would have coursework geared toward exploring facets of eSports and produce presentations and business plans relevant to the casino industry. The director of the lab says that eSports was a natural fit for the institute and that many resort casinos have requested more insight into how competitive gaming might work for them. The students will work on designing competitive events and improving experience models, as well as developing and testing hypothetical business models for casinos. The director of research at the gaming institute, told gambling and casino industry news outlet Yogonet that the eSports lab will be housed within UNLV’s Konami Gaming Laboratory, which has a mock casino floor alongside classrooms. The institute will also work closely with the eSports club to host tournaments and game play regularly.

Devoting a study to competitive gaming is not a surprise given how popular it has become. Newzoo survey has found that live-streaming services, like Twitch, have more than 100 million unique viewers each month. With all the demand is was able to capitalize on, it was able to sell to amazon for $970 million in 2014. Universities, like Maryville University in St. Louis have seen the demand for video game competition and created club-level teams. University of California, Irvine launched an eSports initiative that grants 10 academic scholarships to students on the school’s competitive video gaming team.

For more information on this topic click here.

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Virtual Reality Musical

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Virtual Reality has been making its rounds through medical school, engineering, and even underwater. And now, it’s headed towards the Arts department. At the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, the students are making history by becoming one of the first institutions to use virtual reality for a musical. Recently, they showcased their first VR musical, bringing together 116 from 14 unique programs over a course of 20 weeks to create their 360-degree story. “Say It With Music.”

The film was shown as a part of a VR showcase at the recent Savannah Film Festival in which students were able to watch a snippet from different vendors. The music for the movie was motivated by Irving Berlin’s composition, “Say It With Music.” The plot follows an unexpected romantic connection between two servers at a restaurant. Viewers get to use sound cues to continue with the narrative and can experience a 360-degree perspective that showcases the multiple plotlines best.

Even though VR devices are still not entirely common, this institution already has experience with it in the previous year. The SCAD sent out 10,000 pairs of Google Cardboard, a VR set by Google, to students who had already been accepted to the institution, and to potential students, to allow them to visit the campus virtually. They worked with the Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) for these projects, bringing together students from all fields, such as film, animation, dramatic writing, and production design. The CLC brings professionals into student work to challenge them with real-world challenges. For example, the students SCAD have created advertising campaigns and prototype plans for NASA, BMW, Google, and Disney.

The VR musical that the school produced is a first in a line of stories they are going to produce. Michael Chaney, a professor of film and television, explained that: “We consulted with the leading pioneers in this industry and we ourselves are becoming pioneers.”

For more information, please visit the main article here.

Technology Can Help Expand Creativity

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The next generation of college students, Generation Z, has had technology as part of their life since birth. It should come to no surprise that 93 percent of students in an Adobe Education survey said that technology in the classroom was essential for their career preparedness. Eighty-nine percent also believe that creativity will also be a big part of their success. Colleges are already preparing for the needs of Gen Z students with programs that combine creativity and technology. Technology in higher education can help expand creativity in higher education and one way is helping designers innovate through engineering.

Staff from Parsons School of Design has already started reaching out to show how technology can help with problem solving in art and design. Noelia Bautista made a music box that could communicate with a computer using the Arduino open-course computing platform, which in turn inspired her to study to be an interior designer. She said that by engaging in the iterative design process, as well as user testing, sketching, and prototyping, she was able to cultivate the skills needed to tackle a wide range of design challenges. Tech-filled spaces also encourage new ideas and collaboration. Clemson University works on a partnership with Adobe to open a digital studio in their library to create a teaching, training and collaborative environment. Adobe even gives access to students to the Adobe Digital Studio, which gives an open access earning space on the Creative Cloud to ensure that students get the best digital tools needed to succeed.

Technology creates an entirely new Artistic experience. Rochester Institute of Technology announced the launch of their MAGIC Spell Studios which is a new building dedicated to supporting game development, film and animation and other digital media. The ways that people engage with games and interactive content is rapidly changing and the industry is more multi-faceted than ever. The school of interactive games and media will challenge students to build into new horizons that expand into the ever changing industry.

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Welcome to UW Bothell Learning Technologies!

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In this video, Andreas Brockhaus, Director of Learning Technologies at  UW Bothell and the UWB Learning Technology team introduce some of the services provided to support faculty and students.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBO2exFacnI]

3 Ways Pokemon Go Can Create Learning Opportunities

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Pokemon is taking over college campuses all over the country. If you haven’t heard of Pokemon Go, it’s a modern Pokemon game available for free via Android or IOS app. Users are trainers in a virtual reality attempting to catch all the Pokemon within the user’s reach. How can schools use Pokemon Go as an education experience?

Pokemon Go uses the location and camera to create a virtual reality. Students can screenshot the Pokemon they are about to catch and save the pictures to their camera roll. Later, students can use the pictures for classroom projects to create digital stories.

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PokeStops are popular locations that provide users with educational information before collecting Pokemon Balls or Potions. A journal in the app collects all the Pokemon users catch, including date and time. Students can use the date to figure out the average number of events per day or graph the items collected from a PokeStop.

Washington State University is now incorporating Pokemon Go in their campus tours. WSU Tri-Cities will incorporate a portion of their 15 Pokestops. The tour will also includes stops at 2 different Pokemon gyms and extra time to hunt for a Charmander or other characters in the game. Seanna Coleman, lead WSU Tri-Cities student ambassador, shared “We thought this would be a fun way to incorporate an additional digital element in the tour, while allowing prospective students and their families to view our beautiful university campus along the Columbia River”.

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Click here to learn more about WSU’s Poke Tours.