Join us for the TCC 2016 Worldwide Online Conference

Posted on March 18, 2016 by JimS
Bert Kimura

Bert Kimura

Aloha,

Join us for the TCC 2016 Worldwide Online Conference, “The More We Get Together”  http://tcconlineconference.org/

TCC2016-KEY 6

Enjoy keynote and special regional sessions by:
Dr. Jon Dron, Author, Athabasca University, Canada
Drs. Malcolm Brown & Veronica Diaz, Educause Learning Initiative, USA
Dr. Katsuaki Suzuki, Kumamoto University, Japan
Dr. Danilo Baylen, University of West Georgia, USA
Ana Cristina Pratas, United Arab Emirates

TCC is a three-day, entirely online conference for post-secondary faculty and staff worldwide with over 100 sessions that cover a wide-range of topics related to distance learning and emerging technologies for teaching and learning. Individuals participate in real-time sessions from the comfort of their workplace or home using a web browser to connect to individual sessions. All sessions are recorded for on-demand viewing.

Site licenses for unlimited participation from a campus or system are available. Special reduced rates apply to University of Hawai’i faculty and staff. For more info, contact Sharon Fowler .

We look forward to seeing you at TCC 2016.

Warm regards,
– Bert Kimura
For the TCC Conference Team

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

English on the Internet, Game-based Learning, Kids’ Coding

Posted on March 9, 2016 by JimS

lynnz_col2

English is losing its status as the universal language of the Internet by Leanna Garfield at Tech Insider 1/3/16

Leanna Garfield makes the point that the presence of the English language on the Internet is dropping from about 80% in the mid-1990s to about 45% today. She proposes that translation tools and a greater web presence by other languages “could create a more democratic web in the future.”

Other interesting stats: “Chinese, the most widely spoken language, makes up just 2.1% of the internet. The world’s second most widely spoken language, Spanish, encompasses 4.8% of the web. Hindi, spoken by 260 million people, makes up less than 0.1% of the internet.”

Game-Based Learning Has Practical Applications for Nontraditional Students by Marguerite McNeal at EdSurge 1/20/16

McNeal reports on a study, “The Potential for Game-based Learning to Improve Outcomes for Nontraditional Students,” which focused on whether game-based learning helped nontraditional students improve outcomes. One finding of the study is that game-based learning is more effective when it is part of an integrated curriculum, not just as a stand-alone strategy.

A Kids’ Coding Expert Says We’re Making Computer Class Way Too Boring by Anya Kamenetz at nprED 12/11/15

Schools in the UK and Australia want to expand kids’ use of computers to go beyond fun and games in the classroom. Michael Resnick, head of Lifelong Kindergarten Group, associated with MIT’s Media Lab, says that “Coding is not just a set of technical skills. It’s a new way of expressing yourself. It’s similar to learning to write — a way for kids to organize, express and share ideas. But instead of putting words into sentences, now they can create animated stories.” He cautions, however, that what schools are doing is too simplistic to the point of being boring. “Many popular apps for teaching programming are structured more like games, with a simple set of instructions to reach a predefined outcome.”

Filed under: Games, K-12 Schools, Nontraditional Student, Programming | 2 Comments »

Unpack CBE: TCC 2016 Free Pre-conference Webinar March 16 at 2pm HST

Posted on March 8, 2016 by JimS
Bert Kimura

Bert Kimura

Aloha,

TCC 2016 cordially invites you to join a FREE special pre-conference webinar on competency-based education (CBE).

Unpack CBE

Diane Singer and Susan Manning.

Diane Singer and Susan Manning.

During this session, Diane Singer, from Brandman University, and Susan Manning, from the University of Wisconsin at Stout, will discuss the meaning and processes behind CBE with an eye to how the assessment and recognition of competencies benefit various stakeholders, including business and industry.

Date & time:
March 16, 2:00 PM Hawaii; 6:00 PM Mountain; 8:00 PM Eastern
March 17, 9:00 AM Tokyo & Seoul; 11:00 AM Sydney

Other timezones: http://bit.ly/tcc16precon2-unpackCBE

Full information: http://2016.tcconlineconference.org/unpacking-cbe/

RSVP for this FREE session: If you wish to participate, please RSVP. A reminder will be sent a few days prior along with instructions to sign-in: http://bit.ly/tcc2016precon2-rsvp

REGISTER for the main event!
TCC 2016 Online Conference, 21st edition
April 19-21, 2016
http://2016.tcconlineconference.org/

– Bert Kimura, Curtis Ho & Sharon Fowler
TCC 2016 Online Conference coordinators

Filed under: Higher Education, Online Conference, Professional Development, Webinar | Leave a comment »

Irritating Software Upgrades and the Spirit of ‘Gaman’

Posted on March 4, 2016 by JimS

Jim ShimabukuroBy Jim Shimabukuro
Editor

With technology, experimentation and improvement go hand-in-hand, so we expect to pay a price. In some cases, such as drugs and cars, the cost can be horrendous. In others, such as software applications and operating systems, the cost isn’t as dramatic, but it can be irritating.

The most irritating in my current experience involves WordPress.com. The problem is they’re making changes piecemeal, and after many months, they’re still not done. In the interim, we, the users, are on our own. This means we’re forced to switch between the old and the new interfaces to complete tasks that were once simple and routine. The result is confusion and dozens of additional time-gobbling, mind-boggling steps.

For example, in the new composing interface, I can no longer insert links in text mode. I have to switch back to visual mode to do so. Compounding the problem is that WordPress sometimes seems to hang frozen for a while before switching between the two modes. A similar problem involves categories. In the old interface, I can no longer set categories. To do so, I have to switch to the new.

Very annoying is the photo insertion process. Photos posted via the new interface are no longer clickable for enlarged views. To make them clickable, I need to re-enter the same post via the old. And this is where irritation climbs to a whole new level. There’s no clear or simple way to switch back to the old.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Ed Tech, Online Learning | Leave a comment »