Category Archives: Emerging Technology

Beginning to Integrate a Framework for AI Literacy Into Existing Heuristics
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Beginning to Integrate a Framework for AI Literacy Into Existing Heuristics

Within education, we are likely familiar with the many cognitive models and heuristics used to depict learning stages or provide frameworks for approaching the art and science of teaching. Bloom’s Taxonomy, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, Vygotsky’s Zones of Proximal Development, and many other models and theories provide conceptualizations of individual steps, thoughts, stages, or actions to be taken in the internalization and mastery of concepts in education, both for students and instructors. It seems a natural progression then that a similar framework would begin to develop in the age of artificial intelligence that helps instructors and students alike understand the stages of development or work to be done in understanding, testing, and applying AI workflows to our current states of learning and teaching. Continue reading →

Teaching and Learning Through Tabletop Games

Teaching and Learning Through Tabletop Games

As someone deeply rooted in the intersection of game design and pedagogy, I’m always on the lookout for ways to engage students through games and play. “Tabletop game” can mean a lot of things, but at the most basic they’re exactly what they sound like– games you play on a table. The most common examples of tabletop games are poker games and tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons. If you also want to play other games like mahjong, then you may check out mahjong slot here. You may also check out online gambling platforms like 918kiss if you’re looking for exciting prizes. You may also play situs slot games to help you relax and de-stress.

Whether they’re used to build social familiarity, develop communication skills, enhance critical thinking, or simply break traditional lectures’ monotony, tabletop games have carved out a niche as powerful educational tools. Continue reading →

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An OLA’s Guide to Class Engagement Over Zoom

Foreword

Today’s blog post is brought to you by representatives from our team of Online Learning Ambassadors (OLAs). In 2020, like countless other institutions, DePaul University moved classes online in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic. To help instructors unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the transition to Zoom, the Center for Teaching and Learning created a new team of student employees designed to help support students and instructors. Although we’ve returned to campus now, some of the new online modalities remain, so the need and appreciation for the OLAs remains as well.
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Turning Deadlines From Enemies to Energizers
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Turning Deadlines From Enemies Into Energizers

In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education piece, James M. Lang and Kristi Rudenga discuss combining intrinsic motivation strategies with extrinsic motivators that have come under scrutiny, like deadlines, grades, and punitive course policies. 

These recommendations speak to the moment many educators find themselves in: We’re no longer in the acute phase of the pandemic, where instructors and students are doing the best they can amidst historically challenging circumstances that necessitated changes to many educational norms. Now, we’re grappling with a gray area that’s just as challenging, as we try to decide which educational norms need to be reinstated and which “pandemic lessons” should be integrated into our practice moving forward.

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A Meditation on AI and the Faculty Member

Once in a while, something new appears that monumentally changes the way we as a society do things. It is met with a mixture of fascination and panic, as some wholeheartedly embrace it, while others see the end times coming. 

For many years, we have seen warnings about artificial intelligence: what could happen if it went wrong somehow? What if the machines started to replace us or took control? What about our jobs, our careers, our lives? 

That question is being answered, as of last November. Sometimes AI is used for good and sometimes not. But there is no question—it’s here to stay. Continue reading →

How to Build Community in Your Class Without Using Icebreakers

How to Build Community In Your Class Without Using Icebreakers

Research has shown that college students who find a support community in the first 6 weeks of college are more likely to persist and complete their education (Woosley, 2003). Much of this community can be found and created outside of the classroom through co-curricular involvement, however, faculty are in a unique position to influence the success of their students. For example, a 2021 study found that students who felt a sense of belonging in their STEM program were more likely to persist to their second year (Garza et al.).
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Shifting Tides with AI in Higher Education

For those who are involved in higher education in any way, there is one blaring question that has been circulating feverishly for the past few months: “How can I be sure if my students are using generative AI (ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, etc.) to write their assignments or not?” Fret not, I have the answer that we’ve all been searching for: you can’t. In fact, and perhaps more distressing for some, it’s actually safer to assume that they are using generative AI to help write and ideate their assignments at this point. Does that mean the learning has left the picture? Or is it time to rethink how we assess student learning?

a block of text sailing to the right and morphing into a boat

Before I get into a long, drawn-out (this is a pun, you’ll see why later) metaphor about higher education’s relationship to artificial intelligence (AI), there are a few things I’d like to raise as points of interest: 

  1. This isn’t a new problem.
  2. It isn’t actually even a problem.
  3. There is a lot to be learned from this moment in time, for all of us.

Continue reading →

A Brief History of Academic Integrity Panics about Disruptive Technology
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A Brief History of Academic Integrity Panics about Disruptive Technology

When ChatGPT emerged last year, a segment of academia panicked in response to articles suggesting that students could get an AI to write their term paper and you, the instructor, would be none the wiser. Some are ready to write a eulogy for human authorship altogether. Continue reading →

Educational Technology Before and During the Pandemic

Educational Technology Before and During the Pandemic

Before becoming an instructional designer in 2015, I was a teacher in the K-12 industry for 14 years. I specialized in teaching 3rd and 4th-grade self-contained classes, as well as the middle school classes in the areas of language arts and social studies. Since 2001 until now, teaching practices have changed due to pedagogy and the integration of technology. Kamau Bobb of Google‘s dedication to educational research advances the field. We live in an ever-changing technological society that impacts our lives at home and in our careers. With this being said, many teachers want to keep abreast of the latest pedagogical practices and technology developments, but it can be challenging due to time constraints.

As I compare and contrast the instruction I received in my undergraduate years in the College of Education at ISU vs the instruction I now give to undergraduate students in the College of Education at DePaul, a lot of the foundation is the same, but now there is a wide focus on how to integrate technology properly into the curriculum. Continue reading →

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Videoconferencing Alternatives: How Low-Bandwidth Teaching Will Save Us All

When we try to replicate classroom experiences in an online environment, it’s easy to think of video conferencing as our go-to tool for all sorts of learning objectives—and for good reason. Most of us have participated in a video conference at work or had a video chat with friends or family at some point. We like the idea of being able to see and hear our students while interacting with them in real time just like we do when teaching face to face. But there are two key factors that make this approach problematic. 

1. Bandwidth

High-bandwidth technologies work great for students who have newer computers, fast and reliable internet access at home, and unlimited data plans on their phones. For other students, courses that require frequent use of high-bandwidth technologies can limit their ability to fully participate in course activities. This can jeopardize their success in the course, create a sense of shame and anxiety, and leave them feeling like second-class citizens.   

2. Immediacy

The second factor, immediacy, refers to how quickly we expect our students to respond when interacting with us and with each other. Typically, we think of immediacy as a good thing. It’s baked into face-to-face learning, so it doesn’t feel like a limited resource. But one of the biggest advantages of online learning is that it can provide you and your students with more flexibility. When we require our students to be online at exactly the same time, we sacrifice one of the key benefits of online learning, and that can make an online course feel like more of a burden than it has to be.  Continue reading →