OLDaily

A few words on Cognitive Load Theory
nick shackleton-jones, aconventional, 2019/07/29

This is a really good overview of cognitive load theory and an especially cogent criticism of its application in learning. Not to be missed. "The major objection to Cognitive Load Theory is not, therefore, that it is wrong – but that is it a distraction from more important aspects of the learning process... Cognitive load will make some difference to problem solving but what really matters is whether or not someone cares about solving the problem." Quite so. There's more; read the whole article.

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Shifting priorities in the new university
Thomas Klassen, Academic Matters, 2019/07/29

This article describes how universities are currently organized, with full professors conducting research and teaching higher-level students, and undergraduates being taught by sessional (aka adjunct) instructors and teaching assistants. The presumption seems always to be that it is wrong to have so many sessionals and assistants. Maybe, but maybe the problem is simply that their working conditions are so poor. The author blames unions for the unfair wage distribution, and argues "there is little opportunity for a tenured professor to sit with a group of undergraduate students." This to me is a pretty clear argument for unionization for lower level university employees (I actually tried to organize this when I was a graduate student president in the early 90s). Instead of trying to find lower-cost labour, universities should be trying to serve more students and a broader range of students.

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Hypothetical risks
Wendy Grossman, net.wars, 2019/07/29

I agree with this statement: "The problem isn't privacy," the cryptography pioneer Whitfield Diffie said recently. "It's corporate malfeasance." Wendy Grossman continues, " Viewed that way, when data profiteers claim that "privacy is no longer a social norm", as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did in 2010, the correct response is not to argue about privacy settings or plead with users to think again, but to find out if they've broken the law." Via Ton Zijlstra.

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I’m Quincy Larson, the teacher who founded freeCodeCamp.org. Ask Me Anything
Quincy Larson, HackerNoon, 2019/07/29

Quincy Larson is one of those people who makes a difference. And he's doing ti without advertising, venture capitalists, or charging subscription fees. "We experimented with a lot of models. We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to support ourselves off of donations alone. But thankfully, there are a lot of really kind people out there. And today, we have around 5,000 monthly supporters donating around $5 each. This isn’t a lot of money - our nonprofit’s entire budget is less than what a lot of silicon valley developers make - but we’re making it work."

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The future of immersive education will be live, social, and personalized
Amir Bozorgzadeh, VentureBeat, 2019/07/29

As its point of departure this article looks at VirtualSpeech, "a hybrid model that pairs VR with traditional course programs like e-learning and in-person training, affording users a chance to practice what they have learnt in realistic environments." The author's predictions are based on 5G mobility that "will allow high-fidelity VR and AR to be streamed to the masses in the frictionless manner in which the tech has always been ultimately intended." Usable 5G is still at least a decade away, however.

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