TLDR 112
Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 112
Published: 2017-08-26 β’ π§ Newsletter
Welcome to issue 112 of TLDR. Oh teachers are my lessons done?
This week we started up classes and all of my time was spent fine-tuning syllabi and teaching.
π Key Takeaways
- Emotional Intelligence Gap: Through the acquisition of emotional intelligence we stand to become better lovers, workers, friends and citizens. We are rarely systematically taught emotional intelligence and pay a heavy price for this gap in learning.
- Web Literacy Fourth R: Universal web literacy is an ambitious visionβso we need ambitious solutions. The more we recognize web literacy as the fourth "R," the sooner we can move billions farther, faster.
- Real Challenge Labor Market: Instead of fretting about a skills gap, we should be focused on the real challenge of knitting together the supply and demand sides of the labor market.
- New Form of Power: Whenever a new form of power arises, we need to think about how to safeguard individual liberty against it.
- Sustainable Business Model: DevBootCamp and The Iron Yard announced plans to shut down this year β despite backing by major for-profit education companies. They cite an inability to find a sustainable business model.
- Teacher Toolbox Solution: To alleviate instances that might cause decision fatigue, develop a "teacher toolbox" that you regularly go back to when you consider pedagogical options.
πΊ Watch
What is emotional intelligence?
This great video from the School of Life YouTube channel shares an overview of emotional intelligence.
Through the acquisition of emotional intelligence we stand to become better lovers, workers, friends and citizens. We are rarely systematically taught emotional intelligence and pay a heavy price for this gap in learning.
π Read
We're not teaching the web correctly
This Op-Ed from the Brookings website by Mozilla's Mark Surman and Meghan McDermott.
This piece comes from "Meaningful education in times of uncertainty," a collection of essays from the Center for Universal Education and top thought leaders in the fields of learning, innovation, and technology.
The piece makes the case for rigorous integration of web literacies into instruction. The call to action at the end of the piece is motivating:
But universal web literacy is an ambitious visionβso we need ambitious solutions. We need to invest in, and grow, the movement to teach web literacy. The more we recognize web literacy as the fourth "R," the sooner we can move billions farther, faster. And while web literacy is not the silver bullet for 21st century learning at scale, without it, the chances of attaining equity in learning are certainly out of reach.
The myth of the skills gap
This piece from the MIT Technology Review talks about the challenges on American workers and a misguided focus on their supposed lack of technological savvy. The piece suggests that the focus should be on developing better coordination and communication between individuals. The authors paint a sobering picture of what really might be happening as informational technologies change the job force, and individuals prepare to claim them.
One of the key takeaways for me:
Instead of fretting about a skills gap, we should be focused on the real challenge of knitting together the supply and demand sides of the labor market. Thinking about the real financial and institutional mechanisms necessary to make, say, apprenticeships work is far more productive than perennially sounding alarms about under-skilled workers.
We live in fear of the online mobs
A thoughtful piece in BloombergView focusing on the challenges that exist as Internet shaming spreads like wildfire and has the potential to live forever. Author Megan McArdle details some of the recent events in which the Internet has changed the level of scrutiny and exposure we give certain events.
As noted by McArdle, "Whenever a new form of power arises, we need to think about how to safeguard individual liberty against it."
As coding boot camps close, the field faces a reality check
Coding boot-camps have filled a very real need over the past several years as they've worked to build skill sets in individuals as they've searched for new career opportunities. The coding boot-camp field now faces a sobering moment, as two large schools (DevBootCamp & The Iron Yard) have announced plans to shut down this year β despite backing by major for-profit education companies, Kaplan and the Apollo Education Group, the parent of the University of Phoenix. They cite an inability to find a sustainable business model.
This is a very real market that serves a need as we try to figure out the future of work. The answer might be in hybrid and blended learning models.
Several boot camps are deploying "blended" models with both in-person and online teaching. Entirely online courses, in theory, could deliver rapid, profitable growth. But that is a different model from the immersive, face-to-face learning that has been the hallmark of the boot camp experience.
"Online boot camp is an oxymoron," said Mr. Craig of University Ventures. "No one has figured out how to do that yet."
How decision fatigue ruins your day (and how to beat it)
A great post by Gerard Dawson on the Cult of Pedagogy blog. Dawson talks about the cognitive fatigue that occurs when we make tons of little decisions, and the opportunities that we have to free up time and energy for ourselves by simplifying these instances.
Dawson shares some research on decision fatigue which focuses on the effects of decision fatigue on judges and their decisions.
To alleviate instances that might cause decision fatigue, Dawson suggests developing a "teacher toolbox" that you regularly go back to when you consider pedagogical options. He also suggests having a morning routine that includes the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. He also suggests simplifying your wardrobe and technology options.
π¨ Do
Collaboration tools: Coggle, Kingfisher, Milkr
In many of my classes, I challenge (force) students to collaborate using different digital tools. The purpose is to explore different ways to share information, and also consider the affordances of text on the materials we create. That is to say that if we collaborate on a Google Doc all of the time...we'll always create vertical lists.
One of the apps I love to use in class is Coggle. It's free. Drop dead simple. And it plugs into your Google Account. Students can collaborate using their Google Accounts. The negative is that the pricing scheme is awkward. They make you pay for extra colors. They also limit the directions and connections of nodes. This means that you need one starting node, and you cannot have things interconnect on the periphery.
I saw this app on ProductHunt (Kingfisher) and it really looks awesome. It has the simplicity of Coggle. It also offers the ability to move elements around and connect them like you would with Padlet. The negative is that they require you to "sign" an NDA to test the app.
As I continued to search for a possible alternative to Coggle, I came across Milkr.io. The sharing and collaboration features are pretty sophisticated. I also like the ability to share out and embed your work. Finally, you can "fork" your work to create versions...or give a starter to students and let them take over. I'll test this out this semester.
π€ Consider
"You cannot teach a crab to walk straight." β Aristophanes
π Navigation
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π± Connected Concepts:
- Emotional Intelligence Education β Systematic teaching of emotional intelligence remains gap in education despite its power to develop better lovers, workers, friends, and citizens, with School of Life highlighting how we pay heavy price for not learning to manage emotions, empathy, and relationships.
- Web Literacy as Core Competency β Mozilla's vision frames web literacy as the "fourth R" alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic, arguing that universal web literacy requires ambitious solutions and movement-building, as equity in 21st century learning is unattainable without it.
- Skills Gap versus Labor Market β MIT Technology Review challenges skills gap narrative, arguing real challenge is knitting together supply and demand sides of labor market rather than fretting about under-skilled workers, with focus needed on financial and institutional mechanisms like apprenticeships.
- Online Mob Justice β Internet shaming spreads rapidly and persists permanently, requiring new thinking about safeguarding individual liberty against this emergent form of power, as traditional protections don't adequately address permanent digital scrutiny and mob dynamics.
- Educator Decision Fatigue β Research on judges' decision fatigue reveals cognitive toll of countless small choices, with solutions including developing "teacher toolbox" for pedagogical decisions and simplifying daily routines around breakfast, wardrobe, and technology to preserve mental energy.
Part of the π§ Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.