OLDaily

Ethical Use of Technology in Digital Learning Environments: Graduate Student Perspectives
Barbara Brown, Verena Roberts, Michele Jacobsen, Christie Hurrell, University of Calgary, PressBooks, 2022/01/24

This two volume (volume 1, volume 2) resource works in two ways. First, it's an open book which insights on the creation of OER, as evidenced in the introduction by the editors. As such it has valuable insights into such things as the ethical use of AI in learning, the ethical use of webcams in online classes, ethical considerations in the use of video games with children, and much more. But also, "this book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary." To create a single cohesive work, each author used a common framework to address ethical issues (specifally, Farrow's 2016 article) and worked through a common process of "student response, peer feedback loops, reflection, instructor formative assessment, initial draft, external reviews, cycles of edits, and then final publication."

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A lens onto fake news
Simon Knight, The Psychologist, 2022/01/24

While the source of news matters, it is not the only thing that matters, and addressing the problem of fake news by having students investigate sources does not, in my view, substitute for a broader critical analysis of news. The weakness of this article - and so many like it, in my view - is that it focuses on source to the exclusion of pretty much all else. To be sure, this is good advice: " search laterally (about the source itself) rather than vertically (within the source itself)." We need to use freely available resources on critical thinking (not the Handbook of Epistemic Cognition, also referenced in this article, which costs $US 140). Sure, this won't stop the flood of fake news - but it might at least inoculate ourselves against it.

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Amid the Hype over Web3, Informed Skepticism Is Critical
Elizabeth M. Renieris, Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2022/01/24

If you haven't been following web3 and distributed learning technologies for the last few years, this hype may be appearing out of nowhere, evidence of a frenzied "must-be-building ethos is rampant in the tech industry." Had we moved more slowly and carefully, argues Elizabeth Renieris, "we could be further along in addressing some of Web 2.0’s failings by now." Maybe. But it's not like people haven't been trying to fix Web 2.0, rather, it's likely that a web controlled by Amazon, Facebook and Google inherently can't be fixed. Yes, there is a danger that "web3 will have us sell ourselves as it doubles down on extractivism, turning every interaction into a commercial transaction." But it's not web3 that creates that danger; it is an economic system based on commodification, extraction of value, and concentration of wealth. We need to stop blaming technology - past and future - for social dysfunction.

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Open World Learning
Bart Rienties, Regine Hampel, Eileen Scanlon, Denise Whitelock, Taylor & Francis Group, Routledge, 2022/01/24

This is a full open access book (where 'access' is a bit gibbled, so I can't link directly to the PDF) on "how the application of open world and educational technologies can be used to create opportunities for open and high-quality education." As the editors explain, "it is not the technologies themselves that represent the biggest change, but the opportunities for openness that flow from their thoughtful application, in the form of availability of and access to formal and informal learning." There's a ton of content here and I can't do it justice with a single post (though I may highlight individual chapters in future editions of OLDaily). Kudos to the editors and publishers for making this available to everyone; this is what the world needs.

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Cognitive Load Theory and its Applications for Learning
Scott H. Young, 2022/01/24

To be frank, I give very little weight to cognitive load theory. It is based on the premise that learning consists of pushing information through a very small opening, called 'working memory', and ultimately into a much larger store, called 'long term memory'. The size of the working memory is the 'cognitive load' a person can bear. Now there is a strict sense in which this is true: each eye, for example, is limited by an input capacity of about a million retinal cells through the optic nerve. But the 'cognitive load' described by Sweller has nothing to do with this physical limit; it is an entirely theoretical cognitive construct, based on psychological concepts like 'attention' and 'distraction', and leading to a pedagogy based on worked examples, predetermined goals, and task reduction. In other words, direct instruction. As an explanation of observed effects, I think cognitive load theory leaves much to be desired, and broader explanations allow for broader approaches to learning, with outcomes that go beyond mere remembering, such as concept-formation, understanding, and transference.

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Assessing My First Attempt at Ungrading
W. Ian O'Byrne, 2022/01/24

Were I a student in his class, I would have been one of the ones objecting to ungrading. There's a reason for that: in the system as it exist, grades mean something, and an A (which I usually got) means more than a C (which I rarely got). But in this case, it's up to the professor, I guess. But. Ian O'Byrne also represents his act of ungrading as an act of "decentering the teacher". Which makes this ironic: "Assessment is ultimately a game... If you decide to develop a different game, you need to develop the rules of the game and enforce them...  Ultimately this comes down to power... For many students, this information is not taken well."

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