Apps for whatever you are teaching and learning

Occasionally people ask about “must-have” apps for their devices. My preference is to focus on apps that ease the burden of communication, collaboration, and playing with ideas. These iOS applications are agnostic of content area and well worth the minimal costs. I suspect many are also available for other platforms, but I'll leave that to […]

MOOCs and Motivation

Addressing learner motivation in self-directed open learning environments Reading about motivation and volition in instructional design, I contextualized the ideas within self-directed open learning models, like MOOCs, which reflect social constructivism. Here, participants join large groups working toward a common goal, but pursuing their goals in smaller self-selected learning communities. For most participants, MOOCs are voluntary and […]

Multitasking: Preliminary Research

Distractions have long been understood to impede achievement, and memory formation (Bailey, 1889; Denio, 1897). Long before smart phones, Poyntz (1933) empirically confirmed toys and the Victrola as “potent distractors” affecting timed responses but noted positive effects on “the fertility of the children’s ideas”. The term “multitasking” emerged in the late 1980s describing a technological […]

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