Month: September 2014

The Khan of Flipping

The Flipped Classroom (c) Knewton


I remember ‘resorting’ to a Khan Academy video when I just could not understand a biochemistry concept. The video was simple, easy to understand, and very engaging. True enough I got one of the highest scores in my Chem 40 exam during that summer term. During that time, I thought Khan Academy videos were just made to tutor lost souls in the different difficult topics that books or the teacher cannot explain. I didn’t know that it was another dimension of education by itself. I didn’t know that I had flipped my own concept of the classroom.

Getting to know Khan Academy (c) PORVIR


Since the advent of the online video, the people in the internet are very much high strung to it delivering most of the news and entertainment. The use of the online video (or just video) was transformed when the fathers of the flipped classroom used the medium to create lessons and interact with the students in the classroom.
I think that this closely partners with the creation of the new breed of learners, the 21st century learners who are screen dependent and visually needy. However, it serves its purpose well enough because a concept of one-to-one teaching is induced. The student can self-pace the video. Mastery is ensured as the lessons are taught in building blocks.

The MOOC Trend

The Current MOOC Trends Worth Knowing (c) Enterasys.com


I have enlisted myself into a MOOC more than once. I remembered being in Intro to Forensic Science, Intro to Astrobiology, and many other classes in different MOOC sites like coursera and edX. At first, I found it really cool that there is a facility like this that can provide knowledge on different topics for free, at my own time (for some classes), and certified by a professor from the Ivy. However I could not attend some if not most of the classes as I had a rather hectic schedule with my own university academic requirements. What I did was to acquire all the available academic resources and study them at my own time.
MOOC is the promise of increased access to education. MOOC is designed to teach those who know what they want to learn. MOOC is made to cater to the needs of the many to be educated despite absence of the ‘classic’ school infrastructure.
The question still remains, “Will MOOC become a mainstream mode of education or will it stay as an alternative?”

The UX (is not UI)

UX is not UI (c) uxisnotui.com

UX is not UI (c) uxisnotui.com


When asked what was my worst user experience, I would have to say browsing through this certain academic website because I do not like the font, the graphics not appealing, flow not clear enough. Then a classmate said, “UP registration.” In my head, “Wow. I thought User Experience (UX) is virtual, online.”
I had this misconception of the User Experience to be the same as User Interface (UI). UI is the part of the product to be seen, a simple yet integral part. UX is the entire product along with the user satisfaction. Knowing the UX need not be online, I was taken aback. I always thought that the best user experience is offered by those who show up looking all pretty to the eyes.
Good thing, I learned that UX is not just what you see but how you experience the entirety of the product. It involves a little bit of everything, from demographic study, persona building, and a whole lot of other factors. It is amazing that a whole lot of critical thinking is applied when it comes to interaction design just to provide the best experience possible.

The Expectation versus Reality of Philippine EdTech

Educational Technology is expected to be a great help or even a shift in the educational paradigm in Philippine education. However, is it truly the case?

Below is the excerpt of the e-Classroom requirements mandated by DepEd.

Counterpart Requirements (Elementary & Secondary School)
1. Multi-media classroom ready to house;
a. Elementary e-classroom Package: (1) host PC and six (6) Computer Terminals, (2)
Projector and (1) Laptop.
b. Secondary e-classroom Package: (8) Host PC and (42) Computer Terminals
2. Computer Tables
3. Mono Chairs
4. Air condition OR at least two (2) Electric Fans
5. Sufficient Lighting
6. Windows and Doors with iron grills
7. Proper Electrical Wirings with circuit breaker and proper electrical grounding
8. Standard electrical outlets with appropriate load capacity
9. Engaging the assistance of Barangay Officials for security mechanism

It is interesting to know that even in the advent of the computerization of the Philippine classroom, the pacing is still slow. The expected return of investment is low. The sustainability rate of the project is unsure. Why is this so? Despite the efforts to provide the ‘needed’ materials, other factors include the school administration and the faculty themselves. Some instructors are either not paid well to stay in the program or other veteran teachers are still afraid to use technology in redefining their syllabus. Either way, the e-Classroom becomes more or less a stagnant project.

[Product Review]: I TEACH using Duolingo

My five roommies in the dorm are all not born and raised in Metro Manila. We all speak, at some point in our lives, a mother tongue different from Filipino. One time, Roommie A called her mom and conversed in pure Cebuano. Since I understood (but cannot speak fluently) Cebuano, I eavesdropped on the conversation (forgive me, our shared room does not promote privacy in the air waves haha), and smiled occasionally at the quirkiness of the talk. Roommie B, who speaks Bikolano, then asked me,

“Naiintindihan mo?” (Do you understand?)

and I quickly said yes and explained that in our home, I always hear my mother speak Cebuano and Spanish.

Roommie B: “Ang galing siguro nun no, na madami kang alam na salita.” (I think it is nice that you know many languages.)
Me: “I can help you learn a foreign language like Spanish, too. You want?”

Enter, duolingo.

What is it?
Duolingo is a language learning platform, free of charge, and is available for most devices (multi-platform). Also, it is a translation tool run by the Internet community to translate the Web, itself. Cool noh?
Basically, it is learning a new language through modules by which the user can unlock new skills after completing a set of basics or precursors.

Who is it for?

Duolingo is for individuals who want to learn a whole new language but cannot enroll themselves in expensive and time consuming language classes.

How is it used? / How does it work?

I asked Roommie B to download the app in her iPad and create an account. She chose Spanish as her language to study. The language to be learned can be changed over time depending on the preference of the user.

It works as a gamified kind of education wherein hearts are game life, experience points are given for every completed lesson, a badge is given after you complete a module, and lingots are special gems unlocked at different times during the game.

There are three types of drills: (1) Iconic Representation (2) Translating via Listening to Audio (3) Translating via Following the Speaker (4) Direct Translation. Simple to complicated sentences are given in a progressive and mixed manner. Tips are available on hover. New words are highlighted and counted as the lesson progresses.

What’s good about it?  What’s bad about it?

Good: Very addictive and engaging. The gamified concept had my roommate interested for quite a long time. She says that her competitive side is easily satisfied by this tool. Also, it is socially integrated. She says that most of her facebook friends are already enrolled in the program and she can see their progress which makes her more competitive. The graphics was also very cute and engaging.

How much does it cost?

Duolingo is free of charge to anyone and everyone. All you need is a device and sometimes, internet access to load your next lessons.

https://www.duolingo.com/

 

The EdCamp

Armed with a white board and pieces of colored paper, we ventured to The Raya School to try out the professional development activity called, EdCamp. By far, it is the most spontaneous activity I have ever attended. At first, I thought it will be entropic because everything, from schedules, to topics, will be in the hands of the participants. But, as the activity progressed, the activity showed promise.

EdCamp is basically a user-generated conference for the professional development of the participants who, in this case, are practicing and future educators.

An interest-driven, purely organic, professional development opportunity that encourages true professional dialogue;

It is a spontaneous event wherein planning can only be done during the event to make it cater on the current needs of the participants present. We were given pieces of paper of two different colors, one is for “What I want to learn” and another is for “What I can teach.” These are then posted to the 5×3 board for scheduling. A participant is free to attend whatever interests him.

A gathering of motivated and intelligent educators from a range of content areas and grade levels;

The EdCamp is designed for educators in the K-12 module. The participants assumed both the roles of the learner and the educator. The participants, both from Raya and from Diliman, were more than eager to share their knowledge in not only pedagogy and educational technology but also in different fields like self-defense, sign language, physical therapy, and many others.

A series of sessions that may explore a technology tool, a discussion of best practices, or a collaborative presentation focused on current issues;

The topics ranged from “How to create powerful presentations,” to “How not to be annoying.” The interests were varied. And, interestingly, most of them are addressed. The activity became an entire package with little bite-sized lessons for each person. Personally, I learned a wee bit of Tae Kwon Do, refreshed my sign language alphabet, and had pointers for creative writing.

An opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer sharing, and to make professional connection.

What is cool about the EdCamp is that, learners and educators are roles dynamically filled in by anyone. Everyone gets a chance to each or to learn, whatever suits him best. The learners are able to actively and consciously engage in being creative and curious. The level of initiative is also notable since sometimes, a room might be left empty because most if not all participants are attending a cool ‘class’, thus some students start an entirely new topic and discuss it right then and there.

This is one activity that I would very much like to see extend in a larger scale. It motivates a participant to choose his own track in professional development with the aid of non-structured kind of learning. It is very experiential as such can be very refreshing.

Educ 190

08282014