OLDaily

O.K. is rude
Mark Liberman, Language Log, 2019/12/02

It's easy to forket that there was a time before 'Old Kinderhook' gave us OK, so I can't argue against the Japanese-sounding oh-so-firendly 'kk' as a replacement. Not that I am likely to start using it, because I'm just not a part of the kk generation. So I'll continue to punctuate my posts from time with a heartfelt OK. kk?

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

OEB Berlin… AI, video, learning analytics, data, and schnapps!
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2019/12/02

I was invited to Online Educa Berlin (OEB) for a few years in a row, enough to make Berlin in December feel like a regular event, but then they stopped inviting me, so now I rely on posts like this one from Donald Clark to keep up with events. It seems like OEB was its usual self, with some high points, some misses, and in all a convivial mix of academic and commerce. I note Clark's critiques well - "One feature of learning conferences is a general refusal to face up to political issues such as cost and inequality. It is assumed that education is an intrinsic good, no matter what the cost. No reflection on WHY Brexit, Trump, Gilet Jaunes and other political upheavals are happening, only a firm belief that we keep on doing what we do, no matter the cost. This is myopic." I agree. Ebba Ebba Ossiannilsson and I discussed similar themes during our off-time here in Brazil. There will be change, becaus the current state is unsustainable, wheher people want to talk about it or not.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Implementing Active Learning and Student-Centered Pedagogy in Large Classes
Nisha Malhotra, Faculty Focus, 2019/12/02

This is a short article describing the results of what was essentially a trial-and-error process to implement active learning in an economics class. This experience is probably similar to the experience of others (assuming they don't give up upon reaching their first 'error'). But it's worth pressing on. " Students in these lectures are not only engaged in learning but are also involved in cognitive processes such as comprehension and evaluation. These processes then translate into (a) improved and deeper learning, (b) better grades, and (c) lower failure rates." Via Helge Scherlund.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Hume the humane
Julian Baggini, Aeon, 2019/12/02

The illustration for my recent presentation was taken from this article, which summarizes the work of philosopher David Hume. As the author writes, "Hume believed we were nothing more or less than human: that’s why he’s the amiable, modest, generous philosopher we need now." I am inclined to agree with this assessment, and my own work has been greatly influenced by Hume. This, in particular, is key: "Most of our ‘reasoning’ is little more than an almost-instinctive ‘association of ideas’. Learning from experience is ‘a species of Analogy’ in which we expect similar things to have similar effects."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]