Eclectic Technology

When we think of ways to boost knowledge retention in our learners, what works for students that are online also works for students in face2face classes. This post from SH!FT provides seven ways to help student retain knowledge. The visual above illustrates the concepts. The post provides additional information as well as links to

#1 - When possible, use diagrams. Many people are visual learners. Consider using graphic organizers to provide "holistic views, expressing relationships, and identifying contrasting data."

#2 - Incorporate unique and out-of-the ordinary images. Why? Images stay with us longer, and the more unique, the longer they tend to stay with us.

#3 - Dish out sensory details. The more details that engage the learner the better.

#4 - Use color therapy. Color works on many levels. Color can be used to organize, to grab our attention, and it can impact our mood.

The last 3 suggestions are below...but you will need to click through to the post to learn more about each.

#5 - Exaggerate.

#6 - Small bites, at one's own pace.

#7 - Spaced repetition.

Do you know the best ways to design an eLearning course? SH!FT provides excellent resources and this post discusses readability. Learn more about:

* What makes people want to read

* The best fonts to use (think easy to read)

* How to design eLearning for readability, which includes

   - Strategies to  improve readability which includes five recommendations

You will also find an infographic that shares this information.

In any course, face2face or online, one of our goals as teachers is to help students move take previous knowledge and extend it to new areas. This post provides four instructional strategies that help students make these shifts:

* Comparing

* Contrasting

* Metaphors

* Analogies

These four strategies are similar in that they require learners to compare at least two items and find similarities and differences.

They provide a "simple technique" that helps students "master complex content."

Additional information is available on each of these strategies, as well as links to additional resources.

If you design a course, face2face or online, it is important to keep up with information on how people learn, and today we know that chunking information is critical. This post begins by describing what a chunk is and why they are important in learning. It them moves on to the five tips (quoted below):

1. Set a chunking limit

2. Chunk with coherance

3. Use the right formatting

4. Keep chunks short

5. Use the inverted pyramid method for for prioritization

Each of these is described in detail and many addional resources are included in the post. You will also find a SlideShare on the Basics of Content Chunking. If this concept is new to you it will provide additional information. However be aware that the number of items that can be held in short term memory varies, and the rule they use is not accurate for all people. A recent course I took on Coursera, Learning How To Learn, suggested that the number of items most people can keep in short term memory is four.

If you are designing an eLearning course for adults are there aspects to consider that are important to the adult learner? This post from SH!FT would say yes. To create courses for adult learners, we must understand how adults learn, their traits and their learning styles.

What is important?

* Hook them Early (and Often)

* Make Use of Their Experiences

* Persuade Adult Learners of the Desirability of Learning Something

* Give Adult Learners the Freedom to Choose

Learn four ways to help hook the adult learner. Find four suggestions on ways to give adult learners more freedom to choose. Click through to the post to learn more.

The number of students participating in online courses continues to grow and for those that currently teach with students in their physical classroom, there are shifts towards blended learning, with part of the day online and part of the day with more direct instruction. This post looks at ways to keep students' attention online, but the same components are also important in the face2face classroom.

What is it that help students pay attention?

* Problem solving

* Comparisons

* Visuals

* Questions

* Emotions

* Stories

* Contrast

* Controversy

* Brevity

* Lists

Each of these areas is described in more depth when you click through to the post and in many cases you will find links to additional resources.

You may already be using some of these strategies, but try combining two or more to see how students react. Many of the strategies promote authentic learning opportunities, which promote high engagement. All are valuable to understand and to use in the classroom, but it online or face2face.

Visual learning is an important component of how our students learn today. Although this post focuses on eLearning, it is also an important tool to use effectively in a face2face environment. This post discusses six areas where visual make a difference, providing a number of statistics and facts.

What are the areas?

* Visuals stick in long-term memory

* Visuals transmit messages faster

* Visuals improve comprehension

* Visual cues trigger emotions

* Visuals motivate learners

* Incorrect use of visuals can also deter learners

Learn more about each of these areas by clicking through to the post.

As teachers we are course designers. We design a lesson and if we teach face2face we see immediate feedback while teaching. The same feedback is not as apparent online. One question that is being researched looks at what brain research tells us about designing better lessons, and what applies to eLearning typically applies to what happens in our classroom. This post provides seven tips, with an infographic that show each. Click through to the post to see more detailed information for each tip and to find additional resources.

Below are three of the tips:

* Favor recognition over recall

* Help learners avoid stress and fear

* Keep the working memory in mind

This latest iteration of the Padagogy Wheel has all apps hot linked to the iTunes preview page and other sources. It also includes some QR codes that will take you to some additional resources including Graduate Attributes and Capabilities, a video of Dan Pink presenting "The Puzzle of Motivation" at TEDtalk, and a link to a post on his website  that describes how to use the wheel.

To go directly to the Padagoy Wheel (as a downloadable pdf file):

http://www.unity.net.au/padwheel/padwheelposterV3.pdf.

Infographics seem to be everywhere today, and educators are taking note and using them with students. This post provides information on the use of infographics for elearning, but the same concepts apply to face2face learning. The post is divided three sections that include:

* When to use infographics

* When NOT to use infographics

* 6 tips to create effective and stunning infographics

Additional resources are included in the post. If you are designing or revising a course and have not made use of infographics that post may provide you with ideas on how to best incorporate this form of visual learning into your curriculum. And if you currently use infographics check it out to learn more.

How do you motivate your students? This post explores this and shares five tips you might use if you teach online, but the same tips will also work in a face2face classroom. What are the tips?

1. Offer choice, control and freedom

2. Structure lessons around clear, real world goals

3. Create engaging, bite-sized materials

4. Engage students with each other

5. Give - and seek - feedback frequently.

Each of these is discussed in more detail in the post.

Perhaps with school starting up again, I am more aware of the number of posts that look at metacognition, and how our brains learn. This post from SH!FT provides the acronym B.R.A.I.N. B.A.S.E.D to help you remember key components of designing a course. Although the post is designed for eLearning the same concepts are also important in a face-2-face environment.

Let's look at the B in brain. It stands for the "brain's time clock." How long can students engage in active learning vs. passive learning? How long can a student online stay engaged (or a student in your classroom)? For each letter there is an explanation and in most cases links to additional resources.

How can we engage eLearners? How about using storytelling techniques. Stories engage us and they will also engage students. This post explores this, providing an infographic as well as discussing the power of stories before moving on to explore ways to bring storytelling into eLearning. 

There are six components that are discussed:

1. Know your audience.

2. Use a structure.

3. Appeal to emotions.

4. Intensify the story with visuals.

5. Make the stories relevant to the course.

6. Pay attention to detail.

As always additional resources are linked to in most of the six components with more at the end of the post. The components shared in this post also apply to teaching in a face2fact classroom, or  blended classroom. As you work on new lessons this year consider using these components to help design the lesson.

Once again SH!FT has created a post that works for eLearning and the face2face classroom. This post explores ways to maximize working memory, the memory that helps us "to perform efficiently and effectively in our daily lives."

Sections include:

* Working Memory as a Learning Tool

* Designing eLearning to Maximize the Working Memory

* Manage Capacity

* Effective eLearning Activities

Each of these sections includes at least one additional resource.

Learn more about each area by clicking through to the post.

Once again SHIFT Learning has published an article that focuses on eLearning, but is applicable to face2face learning. The five mantras that are discussed work in either location. What are they? (All are quoted below):

* Think visually.

* We don't remember data, we remember stories.

* Design smarter, not harder.

* Visual clutter is the evidence of a failed search for clarity.

* Leave your learners feeling inspired.

Additional detail is provided in the post and an additional resource is shared in three of the five areas listed above.

Are you interested in creating an eLearning experience for your students, or are currently teaching online, but would like some tips to make your course more effective. This post provides 12 tips that will help you get started (or improve what you may have).

Below are four of the tips. Each is explained in more detail in the post.

* Understand your audience - To keep your audience engaged, you must understand their needs. Who are they? What do they require?

* Don't overload it - It is easy to add more information to a course, but this may overload your students. Be careful about how much is included and consider breaking information into smaller modules so that students can be more successful.

* Interaction to engage learners - Make sure that you design your course so it is interactive. Clicking quickly from one page to another may not help students learn the information. Encourage engagement through the use of quizzes, videos, and other interactive activities.

Much more is included in the post, and you will also find a link to a free e-book called Engage the Unengaged: How to Create More Engaging eLearning Courses.

This infographic provides four key points about e-learning. When you click through to the post you will find detailed descriptions for each of the four ways technology is changing how people learn.

* What does it mean to move from individual to collaborative learning?

* What is this shift from passive to active or brain based learning?
* Technology and differentiated instruction - how does technology assist with this?  (Please note one paragraph is duplicated in this section.)

* Multitasking - Does it work?

The infographic is very simple and it worth reading the text (which is above the inforgraphic when you click through).