Creating a culture of inclusion in higher education | University World News

Photo: Patrick Blessinger

Patrick Blessinger insist, "How can we create a culture of inclusion in higher education institutions? Inclusive leadership is vital for creating an organisational culture and mindset that reflects all identities that make up the learning community." 

The increasing emphasis on inclusion and diversity in higher education around the world is due partly to the globalisation-internationalisation cycle (for instance, increased international immigration flows and increased global interdependencies), partly to the ongoing democratisation of higher education (for instance, increased pressure for equality-equity in all aspects of education) and partly to the emergence of lifelong learning as a human right.

Within this context of intertwined factors, higher education systems around the world have now started to move beyond widening participation agendas (even though these are very important) and towards total inclusion agendas that are focused on the transformation of institutional cultures.

In the forthcoming book, Inclusive Leadership in Higher Education, Lorraine Stefani and I, along with several educational scholars from around the world, examine and explain this emerging phenomenon.

A paradigm shift towards inclusivity
In addition to globalisation, democratisation and lifelong learning, inclusion and diversity in higher education has been greatly influenced by mass social movements (for instance, civil rights, women’s rights, indigenous rights) as well as legal reforms and human rights declarations (for example, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

The universal human rights movement has been part of an ongoing global movement (primarily since World War II) aimed at improving the human rights of all people irrespective of their political, social, cultural or economic contexts.

As a result, higher education has gradually moved away from an elitist and exclusive mindset (based on power and privilege claims) and towards a more democratic and inclusive mindset (based on justice and human rights claims). The growing equality-equity requirements brought about by human and civil rights reforms, together with the unprecedented demand for higher education, continue to drive educational institutions to create more inclusive learning environments.

The new mindset of inclusivity holds that every citizen has a basic human right to lifelong learning and, since tertiary education (of all types) is a natural vehicle to deliver lifelong learning, arbitrary and discriminatory barriers that deny access are increasingly viewed with scepticism. As such, and given the great importance of education in the modern era, lifelong learning has emerged as one of the chief human rights aims of the 21st century.

The calls for more inclusive educational environments are not only concerned about widening participation but the calls are equally concerned about reorienting the mission, vision and values of educational institutions to better align them with core democratic principles. In this relationship, educational institutions have a valuable role to play in helping strengthen democracy.
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Source: University World News

Helping Courseware Achieve Its Potential in Higher Education | EDUCAUSE Review

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"Despite motivation and incentives to succeed academically, many students struggle to balance education with work, family, and other demands, and they lack the confidence and resilience to stick with their educational paths when adversity arises." writes Gates Bryant, partner with Tyton Partners and Emily Lammers, principal with Tyton Partners.
 

These "nontraditional" students drive a growing proportion of enrollments even as institutions face new financial and regulatory pressures, making it vitally important to solve the problems hindering their success.

Digital courseware's greatest potential lies in serving these students, asserts Karen Vignare, a higher education executive and founder of KV Consulting. Her experience, including leadership roles at institutions like University of Maryland University College and Michigan State University, lead her to believe that the biggest promise of courseware is providing improved support to students unprepared for college, not just through remediation but also by bringing immediacy to their learning experience:

"There are students that are unprepared and uncertain about how they are doing in their education. While many faculty are overwhelmed and struggle to respond to every student's individual needs, they can use tools like courseware to help students understand their own progress whenever they would like."

Courseware Defined In this article courseware is defined as instructional content scoped and sequenced to support delivery of an entire course through purpose-built software. It includes assessment to inform personalization of instruction and facilitates adoption across a range of institutional types and learning environments. Examples of courseware include Pearson MyLabs and Smart Sparrow. An example of solutions not considered courseware on a standalone basis is Blackboard LMS.

Despite its promise, digital courseware has lagged in realizing and scaling its potential in higher education. According to Nielsen Pubtrack, a resource that captures sales of postsecondary course materials through college bookstores nationwide, in 2011 digital course materials comprised only about eight percent of unit sales across a selection of high-enrollment introductory courses, where these nontraditional students are most likely to enroll — and struggle. By 2014, that proportion had grown to about  20 percent of unit sales for the same courses.¹ The growth of digital courseware in higher education has occurred slowly and inconsistently, leading us at Tyton Partners and many others to wonder, "What's the holdup?"

Over the past two years, we've analyzed barriers to adoption and levels of satisfaction with digital courseware. Findings from Tyton Partners' 2014 survey of 2,700 postsecondary faculty and administrators point to a disconnect between the courseware user experience and the control and ease of use that faculty and administrators expect in the classroom. In addition, the survey revealed concern over courseware's efficacy — faculty and administrators do not see a clear reward in terms of improved student outcomes from adopting courseware. With these issues in mind, it's easy to see how courseware has not lived up to its promise.
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Source: EDUCAUSE Review

Law Schools Experiment With Partially Online Learning | U.S. News & World Report

Photo: Jordan Friedman

"J.D. programs have been slow to embrace online education, but that's starting to change, experts say." notes Jordan Friedman, online education editor at U.S. News.

The American Bar Association generally allows J.D. students to earn up to 15 credit hours in courses designated as online.  
Photo: manley099/Getty Images

For John Sears, a third-year Juris Doctor candidate at the Wake Forest University School of Law, the teaching style in a course last fall titled "Professional Responsibility" differed from his other classes.

Rather than taking notes during lectures, the 37-year-old watched videos, listened to podcasts and answered multiple-choice questions remotely.

He and his classmates then attended class in person and applied that material to group work, in-depth discussions, project-based learning and hypotheticals, says Ellen Murphy, Wake Forest law school's assistant dean of instructional technologies and design who teaches the course.

"It allows the in-class portions to be very focused on really prodding the concepts that are more difficult for people to understand," says Sears. "It gives you a chance to dig a little bit deeper into those," rather than first absorbing all of the material.

Sears isn't alone. While the field of law has been slower than most to embrace online learning, some J.D. program professors are straying from the traditional teaching model and incorporating blended courses – those partially online, partially on campus – into their curriculums, experts say.

There are currently no fully online J.D. programs accredited by the American Bar Association – though recognized online Master of Laws Degrees, or LL.M.s, and other legal master's degrees and certificates do exist. A few law schools are, however, designating entire J.D. programs as blended to emphasize their convenience for busy adults.

"I think the legal profession and legal education are just very resistant to change," says Gregory Duhl, associate dean for strategic initiatives at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a recent merger between Hamline University and the William Mitchell College of Law. But since the Great Recession, when legal jobs were scarce, law schools have faced pressures to innovate, he says.

The Mitchell Hamline School of Law – then William Mitchell – launched a hybrid J.D. program in January 2015, allowing students to take classes online for about 12 weeks a semester and requiring 10 campus visits throughout the program. Vermont Law School and the Loyola University Chicago School of Law have also introduced blended J.D. options.

"The biggest selling point for me was really the flexibility in terms of in-classroom time," says Shemario Winfrey, a student in the program at the Loyola University Chicago, where J.D. candidates come to campus every other weekend. Winfrey travels often for work, so a part-time law program with classes held weekday evenings wouldn't fit into his schedule.

More blended programs are emerging as lawyers communicate virtually with clients worldwide, says Nina A. Kohn, associate dean for research at the College of Law at Syracuse University. The school recently partnered with online education company 2U to develop a hybrid J.D. program pending state and ABA approval.
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Source: U.S. News & World Report

New Detroit school district unveils academic plan | Detroit Free Press

Photo: Ann Zaniewski

"The plan focuses on literacy, career pathways, innovation and other areas." summarizes Ann Zaniewski, Metro and Politics. 

Photo: GraphicStock.com

The interim superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District unveiled an ambitious academic plan today that will be rolled out over the next few years, focusing on areas such as literacy and innovation.

Alycia Meriweather said all high schools in the district will be organized around career clusters, much like the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine, the site of this morning's  news conference. District officials are shooting for a 10% increase in student academic growth between now and the 2017-18 school year.

"We will no longer accept small, incremental growth ... We need to be very, very focused on improvement," Meriweather said.

The plan will be organized around five pillars: literacy, career pathways, innovation, family and community and wraparound services.

Officials did not provide many details explaining specifically how all the changes will be implemented.

Meriweather said on the literacy side, the district will implement "competency-based personal learning," specific to the needs of each individual student. All staff will undergo professional development around increasing student literacy.

High schools will be organized around career clusters starting in fall 2017, she said. Courses will focus on particular career fields, such as education or architecture. The specific clusters have not yet been identified.

District spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said expanding the curriculum could be challenging, but officials are committed to the work.

Meriweather said: "One of the rules that we have around career clustering is that you would have an advisory board that consists of business, industry, universities. ... you want advice and insight from the people who know the industry.

"What people would see first is high schools having an affiliation with a career cluster, you should see an advisory board in place at each school, and you should see that the actual career pathway is outlined at the school level."
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Source: Detroit Free Press

6 ed tech products to note from Educause 2016 | Education Dive

"With some 300 exhibitors, the show floor at California's Anaheim Convention Center had plenty to take in during the conference." inform Roger Riddell, Editor.

From solutions for boosting cybersecurity to new accessibility components on familiar platforms, these solutions are worth a closer look. 
 

Photo: Education Dive

Between keynotes, panels and interviews, Education Dive took time to check out what Educause 2016's close to 300 exhibitors had on display. From solutions for boosting cybersecurity to new accessibility components on familiar platforms, here are six products we saw worth noting.

EfficientIP helping campuses boost DNS security 
Recently dubbed "at the forefront of DNS security" by CIO Magazine, EfficientIP is quickly gaining prominence among vendors of DDI software. If the acronyms are a bit much, the basics are like this: The company helps institutions manage a more secure network infrastructure with products like "SOLIDserver," which offers improved data protection, additional network reliability and security, centralized management and policy-driven automated deployment.

The company also recently commissioned what it says is the largest independent survey into DNS attacks, with responses from 995 respondents. And in higher ed, it already counts institutions like SUNY, Colorado University and University of Central Florida among its clients.

Cengage's Learning Objects fully prepared for competency-based education Competency-based learning is trending big in higher ed, so it's a no-brainer that Cengage invested in an acquisition of Learning Objects last year. At this year's show, the company had its full Competency-Based Learning Platform on display. When implemented in such programs, it offers competency dashboards, personalized learning activities, extended transcripts and evidence portfolios, and design that takes self-paced programs offering modular credentials in mind. ​It can also support instructor-led or independent learning in traditional, flipped, fully-online or blended course formats.
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Source: Education Dive

Learning In The Age Of Digital Distraction | NPR

"The new book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains In A High-Tech World makes the case for managing the tsunami of digital distractions to aid how we learn, absorb information and live." according to Eric Westervelt, Education Correspondent. 

The Distracted Mind:
Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World

Maybe the smart phone's hegemony makes perfect evolutionary sense: Humans are tapping a deep urge to seek out information. Our ancient food-foraging survival instinct has evolved into an info-foraging obsession; one that prompts many of us today to constantly check our phones and multitask.

Monkey see. Click. Swipe. Reward.

A new book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High Tech World explores the implications of, and brain science behind, this evolution (some might say devolution). It was written Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and research psychologist Larry D. Rosen.

The Distracted Mind by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen  


Our friends at NPR's Shots blog recently spoke with one of the authors about distraction's impact on productivity. I wanted to talk with Dr. Gazzaley about what his research tells us about teaching, learning, studying and screen time in the age of digital distraction.

From food foragers to information foragers. Mechanisms that developed in our brain for survival have now evolved to include information foraging?
Correct. We see it in other primates and we believe that this is sort of a hijacking or an evolution of that same system that was critical for our survival in terms of seeking out food has now been directed at seeking out information.

Adam, we engage this info-foraging, this distraction even when that behavior is self-destructive or counterproductive?
Yes, some behaviors that drive us, like even addictive behaviors, might have some positive reward reinforcement and then many other negative consequences.

One of the main theses we explore in the book is our ability, or really remark-ability, to set high-level goals, which is in many ways the pinnacle of the human brain. These goals are complex, and this ability collides with very fundamental limitations in the skills that we have to enact these goals. We call those abilities cognitive control. We describe it in the book as a triad of: attention, working memory and goal management, which includes multi-tasking and task switching.

When we switch between tasks, we suffer a degradation of performance that then could impact every aspect of our cognition from our emotional regulation to our decision making to our learning process, as well as real world activities like school and work and safety on the road.
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Source: NPR and The MIT Press Channel (YouTube)

Classical music experience for pupils | Shoreham Herald

"Shoreham Academy hosted students from United Learning schools in Sussex as they took part in Classical Kicks Remix-ED – an interactive, engaging show which aims to make classical music accessible to young people." continues Shoreham Herald.
 

Photo: Shoreham Herald

The performance was also attended by students from The Regis School. Both schools are part of United Learning, a national group of academies and independent schools, which commissioned the show from Classical Kicks to bring the new GCSE music curriculum to life for students.  

A micro-orchestra of eight world-class musicians performed during the day and even spent a morning teaching Shoreham Academy students to play a specially composed percussion-based piece.

Classical Kicks, which began as a residency at London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s music venue and is well-known for its reinterpretation of classical music through a blend of genres, developed the show in partnership with United Learning. Together, they will be launching an interactive online resource based on Remix-ED later in the year for use across all schools.
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Source: Shoreham Herald

Boston nonprofit opens doors for minority students through music | Metro.us

Follow on Twitter as @kristindakota

"Project STEP teaches black and Latino students classic music, along with so much more." notes Kristin Toussaint.
 

Ajani Boyd performs at a Project STEP celebration. 
 Photo: Courtesy of Project STEP

At 13 years old, Ajani Boyd has already been to the White House, performed in front of 1,000 people at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, played double bass with the Boston Pops and is now preparing to travel to Spain for a tour with the Conservancy’s Youth Symphony.

It’s all thanks to a Boston non-profit, the Dorchester ninth grader said.

“When you're a little kid learning how to play an instrument, you don't see all of this coming in the future,” Ajani said. “You don’t see any of this at all.”

When Project STEP first started, less than 3 percent of classical musicians were black or Latino, said Gabriella Sanna, the nonprofit’s executive director.

“We want to provide an opportunity for this underrepresented community because the obstacles to becoming a professional musician are not only financial but social,” Sanna said.

Ajani has been with Project STEP (Strings Training and Education Program) since kindergarten—Project STEP works with kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade. His music teacher recommended the program to him, and once Ajani went through the first few stages, which introduce the little kids to general music classes before recruiting only a handful to start the program, Ajani began playing cello.

“It’s kind of funny, I said ‘I don’t want to stand up all the time to play,” he said.

After playing cello for two years, his music teachers asked if he’d like to play the bass. Project STEP provides music classes during the school year, taught by former students and musicians, and Ajani was his bass teacher’s first student.

“My dad and grandfather, they love jazz, so they have a love for the bass, too. It’s an amazing instrument” Ajani said. “I was [Chris Johnson’s] first student and he was my first teacher, and still, whenever he comes into town… He stops by and gives me lessons and works with me through music.”
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Source: Metro.us 

Free Instructional Software For Learning Music | Sonic State

"Gospel Musicians releases MIDIculous Free Player." inform Sonic State. 

Gospel Musicians tells us that MIDIculous Player is available as a free instructional learning software that is designed for musicians to learn music through various methods. This is what they have to say about it... 
 
MIDIculous Music Learning Software - Learning from MIDI  


The software slows down audio and can change the pitch of the music for learning. In addition, it can display chords, score, and note names through MIDI. But what makes MIDIculous unique, is it's ability to combine audio and MIDI in the form of an LMS (Live-MIDI-Sync) file format, which is a monolithic file containing both MIDI and audio for a complete instructional learning system. MIDIculous is also a VST/AU host and player. You can scan and load up to 16 VST/AU instruments that are already on your systm, in order to replace the General MIDI soundset, which makes MIDIculous a virtual VST/AU player.

Now given that the player is free, we also offer a pro version. The pro version allows teachers to create custom LMS lessons to substitute or augment their teaching. Instead of having a student come to you, then you can send your students individual lessons. For example, in the gospel world, many students are confused on how to play certain chords, so the instructor can record an audio and MIDI track in their DAW of choice and MIDIculous Pro will create a custom LMS lesson file in which to learn from. Soon Gospel Musicians will be offering custom LMS lessons for sale as well additional feature add-ons

Highlights:

• SMF MIDI Player with built-in GM wave synth and MIDI meta data recognition (Key, Tempo, Instrument Channels and Sounds).
• Multi-track MIDI file select.
• Ability to use VST/AU plugins.
• Score View.
• Ability to store a .midiculous setlist with all of your settings.
• Ability to Loop several sections of a song in which to learn.
• Chord view with alternate chord names.
• Change Key of MIDI and Audio.
• Change Tempo/Speed of Audio and MIDI.
• Ability to set the root key of Audio and MIDI.
• Audio Player (AIF, WAV, MP3, FLAC, and Mac AAC Lossless).
• Play MIDI with Audio file.
• Large keyboard display (61, 76, 88 Key versions).
• Note Names Above Keys.
• Ability to choose all flats or sharps, or solfège.
• LMS Lessons (Audio and MIDI Sync) with slow-down function for both simultaneously.
• Mixer with Mute and Solo Options.
• Play keys with QWERTY Keyboard.
• Transmit MIDI with QWERTY keyboard and record to your DAW without needing a musical keyboard.
• Full MIDI Transmit and Receive Controls.
• Octave Controls.
• Sustain pedal view.
• Play keys with your computer keyboard.
• Pitch bend and mod wheel view.
• Solfège Notation for International Customers.
• Left-Hand Right-Hand view in different colors.
• Transport controls.

Pricing and Availability:
Free

More information: 
MIDIculous Free Player

Source: Sonic State and GospelMusicians Channel (YouTube)

Where music and technology unite | MIT News

"MIT and Berklee College of Music collaborate to bring young entrepreneurs together." summarizes MIT Office of Digital Learning.

Music, technology, and a hands-on approach are at the heart of The Founder's Journey, a seminar series for young entrepreneurs seeking to explore the life path of a startup founder.

Photo: Xiao Xiao

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart may have been espousing his philosophy for composing symphonies and concertos, but his thinking also applies to young entrepreneurs on a quest for their own stroke of genius. 

Case in point, two new courses jointly offered by MIT and Berklee College of Music: Developing Technologies for Music and Health and Music and Learning Devices. Sure, students bring plenty of intelligence and imagination to the classes, but most of all they bring a passion for innovation and a love of entrepreneurship. 

Merging music and health
In Developing Technologies for Music and Health, students design and prototype devices that explore music’s impact on health and brain functions, such as sleep, anxiety, athletic performance, pain, and even dementia. Music therapy is a well-established field, but the idea of integrating technology and data analysis into music therapy to improve a person’s well-being is where the future lies. The therapeutic, clinical, and technical applications of music in health are far-reaching, and our ever-connected world presents an exciting opportunity for the young entrepreneur.

For example, now that researchers can track and quantify the physical effects of music with biometric sensors, is there a way to customize an athlete’s playlist to increase heart rate and maximize a workout? This was a focus area of last fall’s course, run in collaboration with The Sync Project, a for-profit startup that aims to harness the power of music for health. Students were equipped with the latest research and asked to leverage their learnings to develop a product for athletes. The current semester features a flexible curriculum so students can pursue their own ideas to merge music, technology, and health.

"This class discusses the topics of music and health technology simultaneously at such a high level,” says Sakura Tsuruta, an electronic production and design major at Berklee who also holds a degree in music therapy. “It is very difficult to be completely original, and sometimes school teaches us to be textbook-perfect in this not-so-perfect world. But in this class environment, we can discuss new ideas openly, let creativity and imagination take the lead, think outside the box, and take action."

Learning how we learn
Offered in the spring of 2015, Music and Learning Devices explored the landscape of learning science and music education. Students designed and prototyped new devices, apps, and other digital tools to help people make music more easily, such as virtual reality piano lessons and digital wristbands that sense movements while playing guitar and then use artificial intelligence to improve technique. 

The course also examined whether an individual’s music learning style is indicative of how he or she learns non-musical subjects. Students seek to understand how music affects learning and studying, which may provide insight into how the brain works and help educators better tailor coursework. The Spring 2017 seminar will be a musical instrument design workshop.
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Source: MIT News