DIGITAL REVOLUTION: Your Classroom & You

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This Course is Ending Soon - No more registrations are being accepted at this time.

In just a short 10 years the world has been rocked by a digital, social media revolution that is changing the face of societies and education. We are just beginning to understand what all this means for society, ourselves and our students.

Come along as we explore this digital revolution and its impact on political evolution, social identity and the world of education. We explore how massive social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and more enable an expanded sense of identity and communication, and altering old social structures, norms and practices.

This course is appropriate for all teachers K-12.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

1. Have a base understanding of the digital and communication revolution that is changing how we interact with each other
2. Better understand the power of social media and how it impacts our students and ourselves
3. Become aware of the power of learning analytics and adaptive learning to better customize how we prepare content for our students
4. Understand how big data and privacy intersect
5. View the power micro-credentials and digital badging
6. Learn the importance of our digital reputation and how to take control if it
7. Understand the power of communities and our desire to fit in

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.

The use of artificial intelligence is not permitted. Assignment responses found to be generated by AI will not be accepted.
 

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

Choose ONE of the following:

• Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens.  2014. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
• Clark, Dorie.Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA,
• Godin, Seth. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. 2008.  Penguin Books Ltd. London, England.
• Greenwald, Glenn.  No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. 2014 Henry Hold & Company LLC.New York, NY.
• Quarter, Alissa. Republic of Outsiders: The Power of Amateurs, Dreamers and Rebels. 2013.The New Press, New York, NY.

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

Text cost will depend on your book selection:• Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. 2014. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.• Clark, Dorie. Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA,• Godin, Seth. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. 2008. Penguin Books Ltd. London, England. • Greenwald, Glenn. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. 2014 Henry Hold & Company LLC. New York, NY. • Quarter, Alissa. Republic of Outsiders: The Power of Amateurs, Dreamers and Rebels. 2013. The New Press, New York, NY.

ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

A. INFORMATION ACQUISITION

Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. Feel free to read and respond to others' comments. 
Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum. 

Assignment #1: Understanding the Communication Revolution

Explanation

As a former U.S. History teacher I often talked about the industrial revolution and its impact on society. Today, in developed countries, the industrial revolution has long since passed.  Next up:  The communication revolution. Thomas Friedman’s book, The Earth Is Flat, was a starting point for explaining how the ability to communicate with nearly anybody in the world is changing how we live. Seth Godin talks about the end of the TV-Industrial complex, where in the past we were reliant on a few communication networks (ABC, PBS, CBS, NBC in the USA) for our information.

Today, of course, nearly anybody can create a video, broadcast that video and share an idea or viewpoint. This class you are taking right now is an example of the communication revolution at work.

So what? How does that change anything?  In many ways, it changes everything!  Ideas (for better or worse) spread without limits. Blogs, photo, video, and audio services allow all of us to communicate on a scale like never before. However, and this is the painful part sometimes, just because we all have a huge broadcast device, it does not mean anybody wants to listen to us. We can’t just interrupt people with ads like the TV-Industrial complex did in the old days. We have to earn people’s trust and that can be tough!

Assignment

1. Watch the videos below in the resource section
2. In 250 words or more, reflect on the communication revolution.
   1. Suggested ideas
      1. How can/should teachers change how they teach to accommodate the communication revolution?
      2. Will they change?
      3. Should they change?
      4. Will this revolution lead to massive change in the world?
      5. Will this revolution simply lead to more “silly” videos like Annoying Orange?

Frustration Alert

The impact of this revolution has wormed its way into the classroom. Students, as you know, are always communicating with each other on their personal devices. This may take the form of text, images, video and more. Some of us may find it annoying, but this byproduct of the revolution (speed) is not going away. At some point, (hopefully soon) our classrooms and schools will shift to embrace this new reality.

Resources

• Clay Shirky: How social media can make history. TED talk from 2009, but oddly still relevant today.
• Seth Godin and the entrepreneurial revolution
• The Story of Alibaba.  Great story about the largest online trading place in the world that you may have never heard of. 15 mins.
• Consequences of the communication revolution
  • Video ad for Smule App
  • SuperMac 18 and over 3.5 million views.  Crazy!
  • Annoying Orange

Assignment #2: Our Students Today, Generation Like

Explanation

Being liked is about the most important thing for nearly any student.  While there are exceptions, students crave social acceptance as they become older.

Of course adults do too; we just pretend it is not as important to us. 

Unlike in the past (five years plus) where social recognition largely came from peer groups in a face-to-face environment, today it also comes from online environments. Getting “Likes” on Facebook, Vine, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest is what it is all about!  My students often talk to each other about how popular they are online and how many likes they picked up recently.

Assignment

1. Watch the documentary (45 mins) Generation Like by the awesome news magazine Frontline.
2. In 250 words or more, give a reaction to what you found interesting (or scary) about the video.

Frustration Alert

A lack of control, and frankly a lack of understanding, over how our students use social media today is often quite upsetting to adults.  They see all this social interaction going on and are not easily able to peer into their social world.  But were we ever?  The difference today is scale. It is so easy to reach to so many, so fast.  And as danah boyd points out in her book  It’s Complicated, privacy settings are turned off be default, so things spread fast.

This reality is likely not going away and the more we can understand how it works, the better we can be the guide on the side that is there when our young ones (and older ones really) make mistakes.

Resources

• Written interview with author danah boyd
• From “The Merchants of Cool” to “Generation Like”
• Who Profits from the Game of “Likes?” Live Chat 
• Are You What You “Like”?
• Frontline Documentary “Generation Like”
• Status Update:  A fantastic, short This American Life story about how girls use Instagram. Crazy rules!
• Link to our podcasts.   Please like us by giving us a rating.  Five star ratings keep us smiling.

Assignment #3: Social Media Today

Explanation

Social media; yeah!  We all have heard of it, but do we really understand how it works?  What is going on behind the scenes, how it is used and to leverage its power to spread our powerful thoughts and ideas?  Let’s find out.

Thanks to social media we can now contact, in some form or another, a very large portion of the world.  In the old days, you had to own or purchase access to one of the large media networks out there.  It was expensive and nearly impossible for the “average” person to access.  In addition, it was limited in its reach to a specific region, state or country.  No more!

Assignment

1. Explore the conversation prism infographic on all the types of social media out there.  It is a massive and comprehensive display of social media.

2. Watch this interview by Leo Laporte with danah boyd, the author of It’s Complicated.

3. Write a 250 word or more reflection on social media and how young people use it today.

   1. Suggested topics:

      1. How to adults and young people use social media in different ways?

      2. How do teens network social media to enjoy greater status?

      3. How do adults do the same thing?  Do they?

      4. Privacy and social media.

      5. Other thoughts you might have.

Frustration Alert

Social media is clearly shifting how we communicate.  It is also changing our brains as we become more and more attached (addicted) to this form of communication.  Some think it is the end to face-to-face communication.  Or that teenagers don’t know how to have a conversation anymore.   I agree that it is changing our brains and how we think, but am still not convinced that it ruins conversations or that teens no longer know how to have conversations.  I mean how many teen-age boys know how to  speak more than five words at a time anyway? 

Regardless, this change is happening and we can’t really stop it.  We can only learn about it and adjust our expectations of what communication really is now.

Resources

• What Happens When a Social Network for Teens Tries to Force Positivity
• Online, Researcher Says, Teens Do What They’ve Always Done : NPR Researcher danah boyd is obsessed with how teenagers use the Internet. For the legions of adults who are worried about them, that’s a good thing. With a Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley, and a masters from MIT, and as a senior researcher with Microsoft, boyd is something of a star in the world of social media. For her new book It’s Complicated, she spent about eight years studying teenagers and how they interact online. She says she wrote the book in part to help parents, educators and journalists relax. “The kids are all right,” she says.
• Listen to my podcast about Social Media
  • Direct link to file as the link above can be slow sometimes.
• Let Kids Run Wild Online
• Social Media Hashtag Creates Massive Party in Texas.  The media LOVED reporting on this one.
• It’s Complicated review – ‘online space is teenagers’ only public space’ | Books | The Observer
  It’s Complicated review – ‘online space is teenagers’ only public space’ This study of teenagers’ social networking habits shows that it’s not technology they are ‘addicted’ to – it’s friendship groups

Oh so true.

Assignment #4: Advanced Twitter

Explanation

As you may know, Twitter allows you to send a very short (140 character) messages out to all of your followers.  The more followers you have, the more people you reach.   While having many followers is better than having less followers, it is not necessarily a formula for success. Rather, it is the quality of your followers that really determines how helpful Twitter is for you.

When I say quality, I don’t really mean how smart or good looking they are.  I mean are they members of a tribe of people that care about what you care about?  For me, my Twitter followers (and those I follow) mostly fall into two communities: Tech teachers and autism. I know that when I share something, it is going to people that care about what I am sharing.  While that is totally awesome, what is even more awesome is that I can reach out for help to this group and know, because they are members of the same tribe, that they will help me.

For me this means tech ideas, lesson ideas, job contacts, autism therapies, etc.

Would I like to have 30,000 followers.  Oh yeah!  But I really should do it in a way that ensures quality.

In the end, it is really a competition for attention. Members of your tribe(s), whoever that might be, are more likely to look up and care when you say or ask for something.

Assignment

1. If you don’t have a Twitter account, be sure to set one up.
2. Read through some/all of the resources below.
3. Write a 250 word, or more, reflection on taking your Twitter account to the next level.
   1. Possible items to discuss:
      1. One or more ways you can put Twitter to better use
      2. Quality v. quantity of followers
      3. What is there to talk about with all the followers anyway?
      4. Is a TweetChat for you?

Frustration Alert

But I want more followers!  As we learned in the Generation Like lesson, having more followers makes us feel good.  A fast way to increase the number of followers you have is to follow more people.  Many people will auto follow you back.  While that increases your numbers, we still face the quality issue.   Do these people really care about what you have to offer and/or want to join your tribe?

Resources

Assignment #5: Your Digital Reputation

Explanation

If you  plan to use the Internet, then at some level, a representation of you is being produced and available all over the globe.  As we learned in the lesson on privacy, we really don’t have any. Our online habits are collected, aggregated, sold and, eventually, scored. I strongly believe an online profile, similar to a credit score, will be a normal part of our lives both online and off.

This reputation meter may determine our futures ability to earn income and have a career. I know it sounds a little nutty, but it makes so much sense from a business perspective and you can already see much of this now in rating systems on  companies such as Ebay, Uber,AirBnB, Dog Vacation, Task Rabbit and more!

Assignment

1. Watch this fantastic and interesting 18 min TED video titled: “The Currency of the New Economy is Trust.”
2. Type in your first and last name in Google. See if it returns hits about you.
3. Do it again, but add a word that reflects something about you. Examples would be teacher, motorcycles, surfing, etc.
   1.  Here is what Google returns when I use just my name. This is what it returns if I add the word “autism” to my name.
4. In 250 words or more, reflect on what Rachel Botsman has to say about trust and the new economy. Suggested ideas:
   1. Will we have a reputation meter attached to us?
   2. Would you trust a company like Task Rabbit to vet people to do work for you?
   3. Will this idea become more popular

Frustration Alert

The use of tags can be difficult. I mean, it is easy to type out the tag, but harder to fully understand what tags are for.  Basically they are just words that describe the content of the page you are bookmarking. Say you were bookmarking a travel site about beaches and hotels in the world. You might use the following tags: “beach, travel, hotel, sunscreen, deal.” You can use an unlimited number of tags, so feel free to get crazy with them.

Resources

How to Use Social Media for Academic Branding

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AGAKYeb86Oc
https://www.youtube.com/embed/3357hOfb_Gg
https://www.youtube.com/embed/GYn_we91C0c
https://www.youtube.com/embed/u_Baur8sT_8
https://www.youtube.com/embed/1mr3YnULZs8

Assignment #6: Learning Analytics and Adaptive/Customized Learning

Adaptive learning technology simply means that a learning platform or program changes (adapts) itself to meet the needs of the learner on the other side of the screen.

While the definition is not earth shaking, making it all possible is tricky. Right now it is more commonly found in math instruction as it is easier to test and adapt a student’s lessons to based on their responses to math quizzes.

Learning Analytics informs us of how our students are doing in the classroom. While we have had feedback on our students from the dawn of teaching, technology now lets us have a much more granular understanding of our student’s strengths and challenges.

In the past, the sheer number of students we have to educate prevented us from customizing and adapting learning to meet the needs of students on the outsides of our middle pack of students.  New technologies and analytics are making it possible to individualize learning, yet still serve large numbers of students.

Assignment

1. Explore the sites I have gathered here. There are a lot, so don’t feel like you need to read each one.  Pick a few that interest you.
2. In 250 words or more, reflect on the idea of using learning analytics and/or adaptive learning to improve how we teach in the classroom.
   1. Suggested discussion points:
      1. What is the difference between learning analytics and adaptive learning?
      2. How can this be used in your classroom?
      3. Will this type of learning and analysis become the norm in the future?
      4. Any other thoughts or comments you would like to share.

Frustration Alert

Wow, we are talking about a potentially dramatic shift in how we teach here. If we could suddenly have a very specific understanding of how each of our students learn and then be able to customize a learning experience for them… WOW!

But… this type of change means massive change in how we assess students and what tools we use to maximize their potential. How are we going to make that happen? Which pathway is the best one? How many mistakes will we make along the way?

Will we be bombarded with a thousand different options? Will it take a ton of time, along with trial and error, to figure out what is right?  The answer is YES!

Anybody frustrated yet? 

Resources

• My Diigo link to a variety of resources
• A scary or exciting device that may help us
• The New Media Consortium Horizon Report.  The best place on the planet for a peek into the future of technology in education.
• A bit cheesy, but this video explains how one company sees adaptive learning

Assignment #7: Big Data

Assignment #8: Privacy

Explanation

Yeah, privacy is pretty much dead. I know that sounds depressing, but I think it is the new reality.  Hopefully I am wrong, I know that people get mad at me, but I am afraid it is the reality. Unless you plan to cut yourself off from the communication revolution that is taking place around us right now, then you stand very little chance of staying private. The assignments and resources below will help you to understand why the current business model of the Internet and the pace of change that is taking place, create an exchange process. Thanks to scale, it is easy and cheap to collect a LOT of information about people.  From there, that information can be sold to various groups, companies, organizations, governments, neighbors, employers, etc. As we talked about in the Big Data lesson, this information is then analyzed for patterns and predictions can be made about the habits of individuals, groups,  etc.

Assignment

1. Build a list of how you use the Internet and what areas you expect to be private. While it is tempting to say “all of them” please be specific.
   1. Add to this list (Google Doc) of areas of expected privacy.  Let’s build a huge list together!
2. Watch and/or listen to one of the videos or podcasts below about privacy. They are all very good… and a little bit scary.
3. In 250 words or more, reflect on the state of privacy and the Internet. You might want to consider discussing.
   1. Is NOT using the Internet a choice?
   2. How privacy has changed today as compared to 30 years ago
   3. Does anonymity through obscurity (the idea that we are just one of zillions of people) actually provide privacy?
   4. If you have nothing to hide, why is privacy a problem?

Frustration Alert

Like perhaps you, I feel a sense of powerlessness when it comes to privacy. The future for privacy is very unclear and the forces that are and will control how are data is used are not necessarily something we can easily influence through legislation. We may be able to have some demand on corporate behavior via our consumer behavior and willingness to shift our purchasing power away from corporations we see as evil.  However, this assumes we actually see what is going on. For now, I believe our best hope is to take control of our online reputation and promote a positive view of ourselves. I talk more about this in Branding Yourself and Your Digital Reputation.

Resources

• What teachers and educators should know about privacy

Assignment #9: Micro Credentials and Badges

Explanation

As more and more learning opportunities appear online, the definition of “normal” schooling will change. Students, especially high school graduates, can now choose from a variety of learning locations both on ground and entirely in the cloud.  This class, as you know, is cloud based.

But what about granting recognition for these classes? Must it only come from universities? Or will it come from the institution themselves?

While the rapid changes in the delivery of education are not fully realized yet,   learners (young and old) need a way to be recognized for their skills. While the traditional diploma has done this job for centuries, there is a newer, more powerful way before us now: Digital Badges!

Digital Badges, or micro-credentials as they are sometimes called, will one day (maybe soon) replace the traditional diploma for a variety of reasons including:

• Ease of verification
• Ease of display on social media profiles and websites
• Ease of scalability

A badge/micro credential will be sent to you after you finish this lesson. More information on how all that works here.

Assignment

1. Watch this video that quickly and easily explains micro credentials.
2. In the comments section below brainstorm and share some ideas how micro credentials could be used in the classroom. Check out thisGoogle Doc page for some ideas to get you started.
   1. If you have done so already, consider getting your own Gravatar. This will enable a picture of some sort to be next to any comment you make on this website and many, many others around the web.  Interested?  Try it out here.
3. In 250 words or more, reflect on the future of micro credentials. Suggested discussion points:
   1. Are they just a fad that will go away?
   2. Do micro credentials and badges truly have the potential to change how we provide credits?
   3. Are micro credits a good idea?
   4. What use do they have in your classroom, schools in general, and post high school?

Frustration Alert

“Badges, micro credentials?  What is going on here?  I like the way it is done right now!  What is this all going to look like in the future?”

You or some of your colleagues may identify with that statement above.  However, there appears to be a rapid change in how and where we learn.  As this course as discussed and will discuss, the communication revolution before us is enabling all kinds of experimental changes to take place.  Many of these changes will be awesome.  And many of these changes will fail.  At this point we can either be caught in the middle and watch it happen around us.  Or we can keep up with it and push the change in directions we support.  Hopefully this class will help give you the understandings you need to take charge!

Resources

• Link to ALL my resources for digital badges and micro credentials. 

Assignment #10: Book Reflection

Assignment

1. Write a 500 word (or more) reflection on one of the books available for the course. 
2. Suggested ideas:
   1. What moved you about the book?
   2. Why did you choose this book?
   3. What is the message the author is trying to send with the book?
   4. What does this book say about our future?
   5. Any other awesome thoughts you would like to articulate?

Books

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Link to Amazon

Description

A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It’s our nature.

Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they’re enabling countless new tribes to be born—groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming. 

It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens 

Link to Amazon

Description

What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens’ lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert danah boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens’ use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagers’ ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity.

Boyd’s conclusions are essential reading not only for parents, teachers, and others who work with teens but also for anyone interested in the impact of emerging technologies on society, culture, and commerce in years to come. Offering insights gleaned from more than a decade of original fieldwork interviewing teenagers across the United States, boyd concludes reassuringly that the kids are all right. At the same time, she acknowledges that coming to terms with life in a networked era is not easy or obvious. In a technologically mediated world, life is bound to be complicated.

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State 

Link to Amazon

Description

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

B. LEARNING APPLICATION

In this section, you will apply your learning to your professional situation. This course assumes that most participants are classroom teachers who have access to students. If you do not have a classroom available to you, please contact the instructor for course modifications. Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. ​Feel free to read and respond to others' comments. Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum. 

Assignment #11: NMC Horizon Report

Explanation

The K-12 Horizon Report is a yearly report that provides a forecast for and explanation for the intersection between technology and education.

Specifically, and in their words,

“Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six emerging technologies are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, giving school leaders and practitioners a valuable guide for strategic technology planning. The format of the report is new this year, providing these leaders with more in-depth insight into how the trends and challenges are accelerating and impeding the adoption of educational technology, along with their implications for policy, leadership, and practice.”

Assignment

1. Browse the New Media Consortium website to see what wonderful information it has for you beyond just the report.
2. Read the most recent K12 Report.
3. In 750 words, or more,  reflect on the report and the future trends it sees.  Suggested ideas:
   1. Focus on one or more of the “key trends.”
   2. Focus one one or more of the “significant challenges.”
   3. Focus one one or more of the “important developments.”
   4. Other ideas you have.

Assignment #12:Creating a personal account

Assignment

Part A: (400 & 500 Level)

Choose ONE of the following:

Prepare Your Digital Reputation

1. Watch this video on personal branding
2. Create an account with Klout so you can track your Klout score.
3. Develop a 150 word bio about yourself.
4. Take or find a photo to accompany your bio. Usually a headshot is best.
5. Set up an About.me account.  Populate it with your biographical information
6. Create a Gravatar and fully fill it out with a bio and photo
7. Develop or upgrade your LinkedIn account
8. In 300 words or more, discuss your views on maintaining a digital reputation.  Suggested topics:
   1. How does this relate to our students?  Does age make a difference?
   2. Just how important will a digital reputation be in the near and far future?
   3. How do data brokers and rating systems impact how we are seen on the Internet?
   4. Any other brilliant ideas you have to discuss.

Are We Becoming Addicted?

1. Read through these articles about social media.
2. In 500 words or more, reflect on the state of social media and how it impacts our ability to communicate and its addictive qualities.

Map out a Digital Badge Program For Your Classroom

1. Expand on what you learned in this lesson and map out what a digital badging program would look like in your classroom.
2. Complete this lesson found in the digital badges course.  Great way to get started with badges and see if it is something for you in the long term.

or

Other Topic with Instructor Permission

Assignment #13: (500 Level ONLY)

Choose ONE of the following

Learning Analytics

In an early lesson we learned about the potential learning analytics gives us to customize and differentiate how we teach each student.

1. In 750 words or more, discuss and develop a plan for how educators can use individual student data to change and improve how they teach.
2. Suggested ideas:
   1. What areas should be focused on first?
   2. What sort of technologies are needed to make it happen?
   3. Would it really work?
   4. How must a classroom change to be more learning analytics focused?
   5. What sort of resistance might be encountered?
   6. Other great ideas you have.

The Communication Revolution

When the Industrial Revolution hit the world, massive reforms in education took place.  Public funding of education greatly increased and a factory model was introduced into the classroom.  You still see much of the same model today in education.The communication revolution (not yet official enough to be given a capitalized spelling) appears to be the next wave taking place in society, but are schools changing in the same way the did for the Industrial Revolution?

1. Read this article from the Atlantic Magazine “How to Break Free of Our 19th-Century Factory-Model Education System“
2. In 500 words or more, reflect and speculate on how/if education should change to meet the needs of the communication revolution.  Suggested topics:
   1. What is the communication revolution?
   2. What will it create in the future?
   3. How will our students be impacted by it?
   4. Does our current model of education prepare them?
   5. Can education change to meet their needs?
   6. Is there anyway to track progress to see if a change would work?
   7. What sort of resistance will education face to this sort of change?
   8. Other great ideas you have.

Faculty Presentation

Create a presentation to be given to educators regarding a “few” of the important things you have learned in this course.  Be sure to include:

1. A 300 word or more description of the presentation and the message you are trying to communicate
2. A Keynote or Powerpoint.  Feel free to upload it to Slideshare.

C. INTEGRATION PAPER

Assignment #14: (Required for 400 and 500 level)

SELF REFLECTION & INTEGRATION PAPER
(Please do not write this paper until you've completed all of your other assignments)

Write a 400-500 word Integration Paper answering these 5 questions:

1. What did you learn vs. what you expected to learn from this course?
2. What aspects of the course were most helpful and why?
3. What further knowledge and skills in this general area do you feel you need?
4. How, when and where will you use what you have learned?
5. How and with what other school or community members might you share what you learned?

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:

Instructors will comment on each assignment. If you do not hear from the instructor within a few days of posting your assignment, please get in touch with them immediately.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Michael Boll is an Apple Distinguished Educator and former Technology Coach at international schools in China and Thailand.

Now based in the United States, Michael is an enthusiastic instructional designer and presenter. He works to make his courses and presentations information-packed, slightly provocative, and fun. 

Michael has an adult son with profound autism and is keenly interested in the special needs community and its population of diverse learners.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DIGITAL REVOLUTION: Your Classroom & You

Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens.  2014. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

“What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens’ lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert danah boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens’ use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagers’ ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity.”

“Boyd’s conclusions are essential reading not only for parents, teachers, and others who work with teens but also for anyone interested in the impact of emerging technologies on society, culture, and commerce in years to come. Offering insights gleaned from more than a decade of original fieldwork interviewing teenagers across the United States, boyd concludes reassuringly that the kids are all right. At the same time, she acknowledges that coming to terms with life in a networked era is not easy or obvious. In a technologically mediated world, life is bound to be complicated.”

Godin, Seth. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. 2008.  Penguin Books Ltd. London, England.

“A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It’s our nature.”

“Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they’re enabling countless new tribes to be born—groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming. “

Greenwald, Glenn.  No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. 2014 Henry Hold & Company LLC.  New York, NY.  

“In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have astonishing evidence of pervasive government spying and insisted on communicating only through heavily encrypted channels. That source turned out to be the 29-year-old NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and his revelations about the agency’s widespread, systemic overreach proved to be some of the most explosive and consequential news in recent history, triggering a fierce debate over national security and information privacy. As the arguments rage on and the government considers various proposals for reform, it is clear that we have yet to see the full impact of Snowden’s disclosures.”

“Now for the first time, Greenwald fits all the pieces together, recounting his high-intensity ten-day trip to Hong Kong, examining the broader implications of the surveillance detailed in his reporting for The Guardian, and revealing fresh information on the NSA’s unprecedented abuse of power with never-before-seen documents entrusted to him by Snowden himself.”

“Going beyond NSA specifics, Greenwald also takes on the establishment media, excoriating their habitual avoidance of adversarial reporting on the government and their failure to serve the interests of the people. Finally, he asks what it means both for individuals and for a nation’s political health when a government pries so invasively into the private lives of its citizens—and considers what safeguards and forms of oversight are necessary to protect democracy in the digital age. Coming at a landmark moment in American history, No Place to Hide is a fearless, incisive, and essential contribution to our understanding of the U.S. surveillance state.”