OLDaily

Using Podcasts in Your Classroom
Hannah Rogers, Duke Learning Innovation, 2021/08/02

I think this is a useful article but I'm not sure the author understands the distinction between a podcast and audio recordings generally. To be clear, a podcast is a set of audio recordings in an open format (typically MP3) distributed though open content syndication (typically RSS). If it's just some audio files you send to students, it's not a podcast (especially if there are access controls, proprietary formats, or subscription limitations built in). So I think this article should be titled 'Using Audio Recordings in Your Classroom'. Ah, but then it's content for 2008, not 2021. What would have made it more current? For one thing, perhaps, instead of asking whether the audio meets accessibility standards, the author could have suggested some best practices for things like AI-supported automated transcription.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

What makes a difference for further advancement of engineers: socioeconomic background or education programs?
Gazi Mahabubul Alam, Md. Abdur Rahman Forhad, Higher Education, 2021/08/02

This is a detailed analysis of students studying engineering in Bangladesh, and the results are consistent with similar studies over the years: "we argue that socioeconomic status dominates prior engineering education to shape further academic and professional achievements. Findings also confirm that more years spent on engineering education fail to offset the influence of SES on academic and professional advancement." The authors consider the effects of prior education, GPA, signalling effects, and more. This sort of finding is important, as it makes clear that people cannot simply pull themselves up by their bootstraps; absent any intervention to promote equity, people of lower SES will continue to be constrained by policy, prejudice and privilege.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

How best do we teach kids about Holocaust horrors? Show them what it was like
Jennifer Rich, Michael Haley Goldman, Sara Pitcairn, Hechinger Report, 2021/08/02

The time to have these conversations is now, before the technology is widely distributed. In this article we read about the lessons being learned by teams working on virtual reality (VR) representations of the Holocaust. "Historical accuracy is essential," they write, because "end users will assume that the experience is historically accurate." At the same time, sensitivity is required, they say. "Learning experiences must ensure that users aren’t thrust into a 'gotcha' scenario, made to feel unsafe or asked to play the role of a perpetrator or victim of the Holocaust." While these seem like reasonable suggestions, I think there will need to be much more fine tuning to ensure the impact of what students are witnessing isn't minimized without at the same time traumatizing them or overwhelming them. And this will vary from viewer to viewer, place to place.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]