Ed tech must reads: column #60

First published in Campus Morning Mail 15th Nov 2022

Most discussion of video for teaching in Higher Education centres around specific applications but this insightful study from Meg Colasante (Deakin) offers a multidimensional typology which should be invaluable for anyone with an interest in the bigger picture. She examines the use of video through functional purpose, academic focus (knowledge type) and pedagogical strategy to support educators and educator advisors in taking video far beyond a passive learning experience.

Asking students questions about concepts or information that they have not yet been exposed to (‘prequestioning’) has long been considered a useful tool for signposting and demonstrating contextual value in teaching. Carpenter and Toftness point out that some studies on the use of prequestioning with reading exercises can have mixed results but see a positive overall impact when it comes to the use of video in this interesting article from 2017.

The seeming explosion in AI tools this year has left many of us scratching our heads at how this will reshape learning and teaching in the near future. Fortunately, the EU continues to lead the way when it comes to meaningful action on emerging technologies and has published this handy overview as part of current work towards developing a regulatory framework. The focus is more on the use of AI to enhance learning, it doesn’t really touch on the swathe of academic integrity issues presented by automated generation of text, but it is encouraging to see how these tools can be used well and justly.

Evidently I am in a 2017 kind of mood this week, as this rich doctoral thesis from Lynette Hay (CSU) is also from that year. This thesis explores the factors shaping student usage of a range of collaborative Web 2.0 tools that position users more as a web creators than as passive consumers. She offers handy suggestions on how to best support learners in finding the tools that best suit their needs.

While the shenanigans on the Twitter side of the web continue to be hilarious, for those of us that have found community there, concern continues to grow for the future. I must admit that I haven’t spent much time yet in Mastodon and it still feels not quite right but hopefully some of the tips in this migration overview will help.