The Guzman Monthly

July 2014 | Volume 1, Issue 7

Index

• Welcome• About the author• News• Apps & Tools• Online Learning• MOOCs• Student Learning (5 slides)• Upcoming Movie & TV Trailers• In Memoriam

Welcome to this issue of “The Guzman Monthly”. In this publication I will collect and list some recent articles on higher education issues, online learning best practices, deliver some app suggestions* and links to interesting videos on the web published in the past month. Planned release schedule is between the last week of the past month and the first full week of the current month.

* Suggestions on apps will mainly be based on my exposure or research of said apps on iOS mobile devices. Feel free to suggest other apps for my review. My intention is to have the apps be similar in functionality each month.

My name is Tony Guzman and I serve as the Director of Online Programs at the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Social Work (SSW).

Shameless plug: I also oversee the UB SSW Podcast series: inSocialWork®. Feel free to listen to some of our podcasts.

News

Recent survey by re:fuel agency shares that students will be coming to campus with an average of 6+ tech gadgets this Fall.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/06/30/tech-report-students-gear-up-for-fall.aspx

Facebook’s experiment may have been deemed legal but was it ethical?http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/campus/campus-host-page.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/stories/2014/July/facebook_experiment.detail.html

Crowdsourcing project allows people to help with this study on the quality of Internet connectivity around the globe.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/23/aalto-unversity-helps-study-internet-quality-around-the-world.aspx

Interesting results from the Faculty Focus 2014 survey.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/faculty-incorporating-technology-into-teaching/

Apps & Tools

Apple to expand faculty and student usability in iTunes U app.http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/apple-expands-education-app-for-ipads

D may be the next big programming language.http://www.wired.com/2014/07/d-programming-language/

Keeping your online students informed by implementing the “Remind” free app in your course. (This will also help seated courses but the article focuses on using this concept in online courses).http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/using-remind-app-online-classroom/

Online Learning

Sloan-C changes its name to Online Learning Consortium.http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/265998251.html

The Online Learning Consortium has officially named Kathleen Ives as their new CEO and executive director.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/23/online-learning-consortium-formalizes-ives-as-head.aspx

Benefits of formative assessments in flipping your class.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/formative-assessment-secret-sauce-blended-success/

Has the role of instructor changed when teaching within the online modality?http://affordablequalitywriting.com/blog/2014/07/what-it-means-be-modern-online-educator

10 tips to help encourage and motivate your online students throughout the entire term.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/30/motivate-and-engage-online-learners-all-semester-long.aspx

MOOCs

Rising cost of higher education is a main reason for the increased growth of MOOCs.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/22/new-research-report-shows-mooc-market-to-grow-at-51.61-percent-cagr-by-2018.aspx

The Chronicle’s January 2014 survey of college presidents share that they find hybrid courses having a larger impact on higher education than MOOCs.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/17/college-presidents-hybrid-will-have-bigger-impact-than-moocs.aspx

Student Learning

Modeling how to be respectful in class in your syllabus and daily interactions with your students.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/creating-respectful-classroom-environment/

What is at the heart of teaching? What does it involve, to be the most effective form of teaching?http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/improve-student-performance-start-thinking-like-coach/

Good strategies to help your students go beyond simply memorizing the material to truly retaining and being able to apply it afterwards. I have used all of them at one time or another.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/three-active-learning-strategies-push-students-beyond-memorization/

Some great information to be learnt here.http://www.slideshare.net/DavidRogelberg/mobile-education-27782655

Student Learning (cont.)

Great article on how to best address the high costs of standardized testing in school districts that are struggling to help our students succeed with smaller budgets.http://willrichardson.com/post/92048425545/until-these-things-change

New university alliance looking at the impact of video games within education.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/23/university-alliance-promotes-discipline-of-play.aspx

One of CT’s 2014 Innovator award recipients, NYU’s Stern School of Business, transformed their student orientation for the better.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/23/cutting-edge-tech-gives-students-an-orientation-in-experiential-learning.aspx

What will be the impact of wearable technology in the education arena?http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/17/wearable-learning.aspx

Student Learning (cont.)

Pearson Launches Competency-Based Education Framework and Readiness Assessment.http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/17/pearson-launches-competency-based-education-framework-and-readiness-assessment.aspx

Tips on how to design writing assignments appropriate to the course level.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/instructional-design/designing-developmentally-appropriate-writing-assignments/

Tips on how to help your students enjoy and remember what they learn in your courses.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/learning-lasts-helping-students-remember-use-teach/

Ideas on how to improve student peer reviews and feedback.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/peer-critique-two-strategies-getting-students-give-feedback/

Student Learning (cont.)

Examining Knowledge Beliefs to Motivate Student Learning.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/examine-knowledge-beliefs-motivate-student-learning/

Excellent essential reading list for anyone interested in educational reform.http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/education-reading-list-bill-gates

This Professional Learning resource comes from Australia but is useful to teachers in any country.http://toolkit.aitsl.edu.au/category/professional-learning/

Student Learning (cont.)

How important is storytelling to learning?http://writerswrite.co.za/the-science-of-storytelling

Tips for cognitive activities that can best leverage the ecotones of higher education: predicting and retrieving.http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/learning-edge-classroom-activities-promoting-deep-learning/

How can we help our students learn new things that we know will be difficult for them without overwhelming them with the frustration?http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/feeling-unable-learn/

Upcoming Movie & TV Trailers

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy - Special Extended Look, Release Date: 8/1/2014

http://youtu.be/EgHeRCHkrwo

Batman: Assault on Arkham, Release Date: 8/12/2014

http://youtu.be/-6abltUcric

Full Favorite Trailer playlist on my YouTube channel

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp4nJo9D2kEs3McWG18x5UmIcSsVhNjq0

This past month my father passed away and I want to thank everyone from my family, friends and colleagues who have provided support in this time of loss. It has truly been appreciated!

Here is a link to his digital obituary:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Antonio-Guzman&lc=7089&pid=171737867&mid=6047845

Thanks for checking this monthly newsletter out and hope to see around again next time!