CIS 2050 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Kinetic Theory Of Gases, Massive Open Online Course, Netlogo
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Described the design and the practices of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC)
1.
Identify and describe some usage of computing in learning,
including applications in developing countries
2.
Examine and describe some designs in integrating computing
in learning other subjects, such as mathematics and natural
sciences
3.
Examine the critical trade-offs of computers in learning, the
costs and the benefits, and variations of approaches and
innovations
4.
Learning Outcomes:
Has the benefits in terms of new forms of learning
experience and self-motivated activities, but also
potential pitfalls
○
This course (implements as a distance-learning course) makes
use of extensive computing technology to assist learning
•
Computing may extend the reach of education to new niche of
people, such as those in the developing world helping them to
learn complicated topics even without an instructor
•
Computing may enhance new forms of interactions in
learning, and may teach concepts in a new way in science,
mathematics, and others
•
The social, economic and education effects of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC) are only beginning to be felt, but its
academic and learning outcomes are not fully known
•
Key Points:
Computation should play a more prominent role throughout
the education system
•
Few students actually understand computation, and
even fewer have experience using computers as tools
for scientific inquiry
○
Next generation of learners will require a high level of fluency
with modes of thinking and inquiry in which computers act as
interactive partners
•
Introduce real computational literacy through science
classes every student takes, rather than solely through
computer science classes
○
Treat computation as a core component
○
Increases access to computing for all students
!
Enhances students' motivation for and depth of
understanding scientific principles by using
computing in powerful ways
!
Brings science education in line with authentic
scientific practice
!
Provides students with experiences of computers
beyond searching and sorting
!
Advantages:
○
Complementary arroach is to integrate computing across the
range of seconday-school science courses
•
ABM is form of computational modeling in which
individual entities in a computer simulation (the agents)
are given rules defining their behaviour
○
Mobile -typically represent individuals like
animals or molecules
!
Grid of stationary agents -(as in cellular
automation) that represent parts of the
environment, like grass or elements of terrain
!
Two classes of agents:
○
Interactions of agents can reveal complex emergent
patterns
○
Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a powerful way to introduce
computation across the secondary science curriculum
•
NetLogo ABM -free and open source
○
Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based
Modeling (CCL) at Northwestern University has developed
ABM tools for education and scientific practice
•
Agent based modeling provides the means to build on
intuitive understandings about individual agents acting
at the micro level in order to grasp the mechanisms of
emergence at the aggregate, macro level
○
Because the individual-level behaviour of agents is
relatively simple, ABMs feature relatively simple
programs that control the behaviours of their
computational agents
○
Swarms or aggregated of interacting agents can produce
complex, emergent patterns that require computational
power beyond the human capacity to stimulate
○
Driven by interactive feedback and dynamic
visualizations
!
With ABM, learners can explore the connections
between the micro-level behaviour of individuals and
the macro-level patterns that emerge from their
interactions
○
Many concepts students find most challenging involve
connecting micro and macro aspects of scientific phenomena
•
Dynamics of populations within ecosystems and
food webs
!
Population Biology/Ecology
○
Molecular interactions --> macro-level
phenomena
!
E.g. Kinetic Molecular Theory, Gas Laws
!
Physics and Chemistry
○
System principles of critical parameters and non-
linear dynamics
!
Earth Sciences
○
Applications in:
•
Thinking effectively about and with computational processes
is a broad-based literacy needed by all citizens to support their
effective social, economic and political participation
•
Read: Education: Fostering Computational Literacy in Science
Classrooms
DOTCOM mania was slow in coming to higher education, but
now has the venerable industry firmly in its grip
•
Since the launch of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley
start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, the ivory
towers of academia have been shaken by their foundations
•
MOOCs have multiplied in number, resources and student
recruitment
•
Some universities like Oxford and Cambridge refuse to
rush and join MOOCs
○
EdX, non-profit MOOC provider, is now a consortium of 28
institutions
•
There is a huge leap of faith by investors that Coursea can
develop a viable business model
•
Industry has similar economics to Amazon, eBay and Google
in that content producers go to where most consumers are, and
consumers go to where the most content is
•
Formed partnership with AT&T
○
Students will pay around $7000 for tuition but all
course materials are free
○
Company is selling its MOOC technology to
universities, to make their own MOOC and to make
physically attending university more attractive, by
augmenting existing teaching
○
Udacity works with companies to train existing and future
employees as the heart of its business model
•
Alison -generates revenue by selling ads on their site
•
Some companies thrive by offering free MOOCs as a way to
get people to buy their related paid content
•
Others believe this effect will be dwarfed by the
dramatic increase in access to higher education that the
MOOCs will bring
○
Some think that cheap online providers radically will reduce
the costs of higher education and drive many traditional
institutions to the wall
•
Market may expand by improving the customer experience
•
Study showed that students who have the intention of
finishing will complete the course
○
High drop-out rates (some exceed 90%) reflects the different
expectations of consumers of free products, who can browse
without cost
•
May drive a dramatic reduction in the price of a
traditional higher education
○
Many established universities will soon offer credits toward
their degrees for those who complete MOOCs
•
Read: Attack of the MOOCs: Higher Education
The rise of online instruction will upend the economics of
higher education
•
Teaching has been constrained by technology
○
Innovation is eliminating those constraints, and bringing
sweeping change to higher education
○
Universities have not changed much since students first
gathered in Oxford and Bologna in the 11th century
•
Professors now publish course materials and videos of
their lectures on the web
○
Students interact with each other and submit
assignments by email
○
Online learning takes may forms (e.g. Wikipedia, Youtube)
•
Universities have joined various startups in the rush to
provide stand-alone instruction through MOOCs
•
First is need for physical proximity
○
Higher education relies on large numbers of instructors,
paid relatively modest salaries
○
Two big forces underpin a university's costs
•
Most salient feature is it's rock-bottom marginal cost
○
Put together curriculum, producing
written/recorded material, and create interactive
site that facilitates discussion and feedback
!
Fixed cost of creating an online course is relatively high
○
MOOCs are therefore likely to compete on
quality vs cost
!
After the initial cost is covered, each additional unit
sold is pure profit and can be sold at low costs
○
Best teachers will be fabulously productive,
reaching hundreds of thousands of students
!
Market for instructors will be transformed
○
Consumers risk little by signing up so both registrations
and drop-out rates are high
○
Can provide more flexibility
○
MOOCs work differently
•
Read: Massive open online forces: Free Exchange
All are offered without charge
○
Combination of quality courses offered by brand-name
universities, good online learning technology and the
wide availability of broadband links has allowed
distance learning to come of age
○
There are 500 MOOCs being offered by more than 100 well
known, and accredited, university brands
•
For the more committed, MOOCs involve homework,
online discussions and testing
○
Most people enroll for enjoyment, enlightenment, or
curiosity and are not committed to finishing them or
gaining a certificate
○
Generally, one must register for a course, wait some time for
it to start, and then keep up with its demands on a weekly
basis
•
MOOCs will have a huge impact on places with little
access to higher education
○
"aMOOC" will use adaptive learning to allow each
student to follow their own optimal path through a
course
○
People will come to expect open-access to higher
education
○
Companies offering MOOCs gain through payments for
invigilated tests, course materials and helping employers find
workers with the right skill
•
So far, there are insufficient numbers of graduates to
force big shifts immediately
○
But MOOcs will prompt more rapid innovation in a
sector facing enormous pressures over the cost of its
basic product
○
Eventually, the full-time residential four-year degree
could start to look out-of date
○
Online education allows colleges to innovate with
regard to the quality, length and cost of their offerings
○
It should be possible to offer shorter and cut-price
defrees that are equivalent to the degrees today
○
MOOCs presage a period of great change in higher education,
but will not kill off the traditional degree
•
Read: Will MOOCs kill university degrees?
Created a global computer made of people =
bureaucratic administrative machine
○
Must be identical to each other
!
Must be able to write, read and do basic
mathematics in their head
!
Requires a lot of people (produced by the school)
○
Present day schooling came from the British Empire 300
years ago
•
Do not know what the jobs of the future will look like
○
Schools are now out-dated
•
Gave computer and left them for 2 months -->
zero percent
!
Another two months --> zero-thirty percent
!
With "grandma" method teacher --> fifty percent
!
Children in India were able to learn biotechnology of
DNA replication in English
○
Can easily teach ourselves --> "hole in the wall" experiment
•
Need to integrate that into our future -->
encouragement
!
Heading towards future where knowing is obsolete
○
Future may be without traditional schooling
•
Need to shift balance back from threat to pleasure
○
Age of Empires is gone
•
"Granny Cloud" --> teaching children over skype
•
Learning as the product of educational self-organization
•
Broadband + collaboration + encouragement
○
No teacher needed in room for learning to occur
○
Need curriculum of big questions
○
SOLE = self-organized learning environment
•
Need to design future for learning but supporting children
around the world to think and work together --> intellectual
adventures
•
Watch: Building a school in the cloud
Those learning it thinks it is disconnected, hard and
uninteresting
○
Teachers and employers are both frustrated
○
Falling interested in math, yet world is more
quantitative and mathematic then ever
○
Currently a problem with math education
•
Using computers correctly is the silver bullet to make math
education work
•
Math in education is very different than it is used in the real
world
•
Technical jobs -critical to economic development
○
Everyday living
○
Logical thinking (mind training)
○
Why teach math?
•
Posing the right questions
○
Real world --> math formulation
○
Computation
○
Math formulation --> real world, verification
○
What is math?
•
Computers should do step 3 and students should do
steps 1,2 and 4 (more conceptual)
○
Math is not just calculating
○
Math has been liberated from calculating
○
Spending about 80% of time doing step 3 by hand
•
E.g. practicality, conceptual
!
Relatively small in number
!
Only come cases where human computation is
necessary
○
Automatic allows us to have machinery for computation
•
Separate basics from how it gets done
!
Automatic allows one to make that separation
!
"get the basics first"
○
Problems in the real world are not "dumbed
down" equations used in the school
!
"computers dumb math down"
○
Understanding procedures and processes is
important, but can be done through programming
!
--> more practical and more conceptual
□
Students can be more engaged through
programming
!
"hand calculating procedures teach understanding"
○
Issues:
•
Be able to play and interact with math
○
Feel math instinctively
○
Re-order curriculum
○
Ex. Teaching calculus early
○
Can open up so many more possibilities --> intuition and
experience
•
Use models
○
More practical applications
○
Using computers in exams --> ask real world questions
•
--> improved economy and outlook
○
Math requires a critical reform
•
Engage more students
○
Knowledge economy --> computational knowledge economy
•
Watch: Teaching kids real math with computer
Financial
○
Access --> physical, not enough resources to meet
demand (no seats)
○
Cultural barriers
○
Many people are limited to higher level education
•
Higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for
few
•
Non-profit, free
○
Provides degrees
○
Disrupt current education system
○
Open gates to higher education regardless of
background
○
Cut down cost of education
○
University of the People
•
No seats, no textbooks (open resources), less
instructors/advisors…etc.
○
Reduces time needed for teachers
!
Peer-peer learning: encourages students to interact and
study together
○
Model will develop future leadership
○
Virtual universities do not have costs of real universities
•
Every student must contribute to class discussion
○
Opens students mind --> positive shift in attitude
○
Homework and assignments are assessed by peers
○
Students accepted are placed in classroom of 20-30 students
so those that need personalized attention get it
•
Need high school education, internet and speak English
○
Tuition free
○
Just need to cover cost of exams (100$ / exam)
○
Nobody is left behind due to financial reasons
○
This model is financially stable
○
Open gates to higher education for every qualified student
•
Now is time to scale up
○
Have demonstrated that model works
○
Model can be replicated
○
Basic right, affordable and accessible for all
!
New era of education that will disrupt current higher
education model
○
University of the People is now fully accredited
•
Watch: Ultra-low cost college degree
Create blended model of education
•
Everything else has changed around us
○
Real issue in terms of access
○
Little change in teaching in classrooms over the past 500
years
•
Online exercises, videos, interactions
!
Need to completely reimagine it
○
Larger class sizes with better access
!
Apply technologies to education through MOOCs
○
We can transform education through quality, scale and access
via technology
•
Need to embrace technology and blend them into our
lives
○
Millennial generation is comfortable with online technologies
•
Circuits and electronics course (aka petri dish of
learning)
○
Used to have a failure rate of ~40%
!
Failure rate fell to 9%
!
Early results are incredible
○
Ex. Blending Learning Pilot
•
= lessons (videos and interactive exercises)
!
Teach by asking questions
!
Active learning
○
Pause, re-wind…etc.
!
Self-pacing
○
Computer grades exercises for immediate
feedback for better understanding that is more
engaging
!
Turns teaching moments into learning outcomes
!
Instant feedback
○
Build online laboratories
!
Engage students
!
Can also be graded by computers
!
Gamification
○
Discussions and interactions
!
Students are able to learn from each other by
teaching
!
Peer learning
○
Key ideas:
•
Lies a revenue model for MOOCs -use online courses as a
next-generation textbook
•
Textbooks --> computers
○
Lecture halls --> e-spaces
•
Watch: Why massive open online courses (still) matter
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course
○
It is massive, because the course is designed to
accommodate a large class, even "unlimited", and
possibly up to hundreds of students (although a smaller
class using the format may exist)
○
Closed-licensing material also exists
!
It is open, or open-accessed with open licensing of
materials, structure, and organization
○
In this course, the TedTalk lectures website is more of
an example of open-licensed, open accessed MOOC,
while the UoG course is more of a closed-licensed
course
○
MOOC courses are generally online, but other activities
such as using a phone connection and occasional face-
to-face meeting may be used if necessary
○
What does MOOC stand for and what is it?1.
A MOOC uses the web extensively in delivering its
content to meet an educational goal
○
It is usually expected to be more expensive to design,
but cheaper to offer over time
○
It has no formal on-campus lecture classes, with few
face-to-face contacts, if any, and can accommodate a
large number of students, even though continuous and
student interactivity is often incorporated into the
design
○
The advantage to the students is that they have more
control over the study, especially on their time, so that
they can study course materials and participate in the
course remotely
○
The course also expects one-size-fits-all with less
individual attention, less feedback to and more
responsibility from the students
!
It is therefore more impersonal, both between
students, and his/her instructor
!
It is generally believed that MOOC format is
suitable for some courses but not others
!
As the value of a MOOC to employers, the
learning outcome could be quite different from a
traditional course, but the nature of the
differences may not be clear
!
The disadvantage is that the course content is less
flexible, and may not be easily changed to
accommodate updates between offerings
○
Compare a MOOC to a traditional University course of
similar content. Evaluate the trade-offs of a MOOC.
2.
Questions:
Computing in Education
Friday,*March*23,*2018
3:44*PM
Described the design and the practices of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC)
1.
Identify and describe some usage of computing in learning,
including applications in developing countries
2.
Examine and describe some designs in integrating computing
in learning other subjects, such as mathematics and natural
sciences
3.
Examine the critical trade-offs of computers in learning, the
costs and the benefits, and variations of approaches and
innovations
4.
Learning Outcomes:
Has the benefits in terms of new forms of learning
experience and self-motivated activities, but also
potential pitfalls
○
This course (implements as a distance-learning course) makes
use of extensive computing technology to assist learning
•
Computing may extend the reach of education to new niche of
people, such as those in the developing world helping them to
learn complicated topics even without an instructor
•
Computing may enhance new forms of interactions in
learning, and may teach concepts in a new way in science,
mathematics, and others
•
The social, economic and education effects of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC) are only beginning to be felt, but its
academic and learning outcomes are not fully known
•
Key Points:
Computation should play a more prominent role throughout
the education system
•
Few students actually understand computation, and
even fewer have experience using computers as tools
for scientific inquiry
○
Next generation of learners will require a high level of fluency
with modes of thinking and inquiry in which computers act as
interactive partners
•
Introduce real computational literacy through science
classes every student takes, rather than solely through
computer science classes
○
Treat computation as a core component
○
Increases access to computing for all students
!
Enhances students' motivation for and depth of
understanding scientific principles by using
computing in powerful ways
!
Brings science education in line with authentic
scientific practice
!
Provides students with experiences of computers
beyond searching and sorting
!
Advantages:
○
Complementary arroach is to integrate computing across the
range of seconday-school science courses
•
ABM is form of computational modeling in which
individual entities in a computer simulation (the agents)
are given rules defining their behaviour
○
Mobile -typically represent individuals like
animals or molecules
!
Grid of stationary agents -(as in cellular
automation) that represent parts of the
environment, like grass or elements of terrain
!
Two classes of agents:
○
Interactions of agents can reveal complex emergent
patterns
○
Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a powerful way to introduce
computation across the secondary science curriculum
•
NetLogo ABM -free and open source
○
Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based
Modeling (CCL) at Northwestern University has developed
ABM tools for education and scientific practice
•
Agent based modeling provides the means to build on
intuitive understandings about individual agents acting
at the micro level in order to grasp the mechanisms of
emergence at the aggregate, macro level
○
Because the individual-level behaviour of agents is
relatively simple, ABMs feature relatively simple
programs that control the behaviours of their
computational agents
○
Swarms or aggregated of interacting agents can produce
complex, emergent patterns that require computational
power beyond the human capacity to stimulate
○
Driven by interactive feedback and dynamic
visualizations
!
With ABM, learners can explore the connections
between the micro-level behaviour of individuals and
the macro-level patterns that emerge from their
interactions
○
Many concepts students find most challenging involve
connecting micro and macro aspects of scientific phenomena
•
Dynamics of populations within ecosystems and
food webs
!
Population Biology/Ecology
○
Molecular interactions --> macro-level
phenomena
!
E.g. Kinetic Molecular Theory, Gas Laws
!
Physics and Chemistry
○
System principles of critical parameters and non-
linear dynamics
!
Earth Sciences
○
Applications in:
•
Thinking effectively about and with computational processes
is a broad-based literacy needed by all citizens to support their
effective social, economic and political participation
•
Read: Education: Fostering Computational Literacy in Science
Classrooms
DOTCOM mania was slow in coming to higher education, but
now has the venerable industry firmly in its grip
•
Since the launch of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley
start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, the ivory
towers of academia have been shaken by their foundations
•
MOOCs have multiplied in number, resources and student
recruitment
•
Some universities like Oxford and Cambridge refuse to
rush and join MOOCs
○
EdX, non-profit MOOC provider, is now a consortium of 28
institutions
•
There is a huge leap of faith by investors that Coursea can
develop a viable business model
•
Industry has similar economics to Amazon, eBay and Google
in that content producers go to where most consumers are, and
consumers go to where the most content is
•
Formed partnership with AT&T
○
Students will pay around $7000 for tuition but all
course materials are free
○
Company is selling its MOOC technology to
universities, to make their own MOOC and to make
physically attending university more attractive, by
augmenting existing teaching
○
Udacity works with companies to train existing and future
employees as the heart of its business model
•
Alison -generates revenue by selling ads on their site
•
Some companies thrive by offering free MOOCs as a way to
get people to buy their related paid content
•
Others believe this effect will be dwarfed by the
dramatic increase in access to higher education that the
MOOCs will bring
○
Some think that cheap online providers radically will reduce
the costs of higher education and drive many traditional
institutions to the wall
•
Market may expand by improving the customer experience
•
Study showed that students who have the intention of
finishing will complete the course
○
High drop-out rates (some exceed 90%) reflects the different
expectations of consumers of free products, who can browse
without cost
•
May drive a dramatic reduction in the price of a
traditional higher education
○
Many established universities will soon offer credits toward
their degrees for those who complete MOOCs
•
Read: Attack of the MOOCs: Higher Education
The rise of online instruction will upend the economics of
higher education
•
Teaching has been constrained by technology
○
Innovation is eliminating those constraints, and bringing
sweeping change to higher education
○
Universities have not changed much since students first
gathered in Oxford and Bologna in the 11th century
•
Professors now publish course materials and videos of
their lectures on the web
○
Students interact with each other and submit
assignments by email
○
Online learning takes may forms (e.g. Wikipedia, Youtube)
•
Universities have joined various startups in the rush to
provide stand-alone instruction through MOOCs
•
First is need for physical proximity
○
Higher education relies on large numbers of instructors,
paid relatively modest salaries
○
Two big forces underpin a university's costs
•
Most salient feature is it's rock-bottom marginal cost
○
Put together curriculum, producing
written/recorded material, and create interactive
site that facilitates discussion and feedback
!
Fixed cost of creating an online course is relatively high
○
MOOCs are therefore likely to compete on
quality vs cost
!
After the initial cost is covered, each additional unit
sold is pure profit and can be sold at low costs
○
Best teachers will be fabulously productive,
reaching hundreds of thousands of students
!
Market for instructors will be transformed
○
Consumers risk little by signing up so both registrations
and drop-out rates are high
○
Can provide more flexibility
○
MOOCs work differently
•
Read: Massive open online forces: Free Exchange
All are offered without charge
○
Combination of quality courses offered by brand-name
universities, good online learning technology and the
wide availability of broadband links has allowed
distance learning to come of age
○
There are 500 MOOCs being offered by more than 100 well
known, and accredited, university brands
•
For the more committed, MOOCs involve homework,
online discussions and testing
○
Most people enroll for enjoyment, enlightenment, or
curiosity and are not committed to finishing them or
gaining a certificate
○
Generally, one must register for a course, wait some time for
it to start, and then keep up with its demands on a weekly
basis
•
MOOCs will have a huge impact on places with little
access to higher education
○
"aMOOC" will use adaptive learning to allow each
student to follow their own optimal path through a
course
○
People will come to expect open-access to higher
education
○
Companies offering MOOCs gain through payments for
invigilated tests, course materials and helping employers find
workers with the right skill
•
So far, there are insufficient numbers of graduates to
force big shifts immediately
○
But MOOcs will prompt more rapid innovation in a
sector facing enormous pressures over the cost of its
basic product
○
Eventually, the full-time residential four-year degree
could start to look out-of date
○
Online education allows colleges to innovate with
regard to the quality, length and cost of their offerings
○
It should be possible to offer shorter and cut-price
defrees that are equivalent to the degrees today
○
MOOCs presage a period of great change in higher education,
but will not kill off the traditional degree
•
Read: Will MOOCs kill university degrees?
Created a global computer made of people =
bureaucratic administrative machine
○
Must be identical to each other
!
Must be able to write, read and do basic
mathematics in their head
!
Requires a lot of people (produced by the school)
○
Present day schooling came from the British Empire 300
years ago
•
Do not know what the jobs of the future will look like
○
Schools are now out-dated
•
Gave computer and left them for 2 months -->
zero percent
!
Another two months --> zero-thirty percent
!
With "grandma" method teacher --> fifty percent
!
Children in India were able to learn biotechnology of
DNA replication in English
○
Can easily teach ourselves --> "hole in the wall" experiment
•
Need to integrate that into our future -->
encouragement
!
Heading towards future where knowing is obsolete
○
Future may be without traditional schooling
•
Need to shift balance back from threat to pleasure
○
Age of Empires is gone
•
"Granny Cloud" --> teaching children over skype
•
Learning as the product of educational self-organization
•
Broadband + collaboration + encouragement
○
No teacher needed in room for learning to occur
○
Need curriculum of big questions
○
SOLE = self-organized learning environment
•
Need to design future for learning but supporting children
around the world to think and work together --> intellectual
adventures
•
Watch: Building a school in the cloud
Those learning it thinks it is disconnected, hard and
uninteresting
○
Teachers and employers are both frustrated
○
Falling interested in math, yet world is more
quantitative and mathematic then ever
○
Currently a problem with math education
•
Using computers correctly is the silver bullet to make math
education work
•
Math in education is very different than it is used in the real
world
•
Technical jobs -critical to economic development
○
Everyday living
○
Logical thinking (mind training)
○
Why teach math?
•
Posing the right questions
○
Real world --> math formulation
○
Computation
○
Math formulation --> real world, verification
○
What is math?
•
Computers should do step 3 and students should do
steps 1,2 and 4 (more conceptual)
○
Math is not just calculating
○
Math has been liberated from calculating
○
Spending about 80% of time doing step 3 by hand
•
E.g. practicality, conceptual
!
Relatively small in number
!
Only come cases where human computation is
necessary
○
Automatic allows us to have machinery for computation
•
Separate basics from how it gets done
!
Automatic allows one to make that separation
!
"get the basics first"
○
Problems in the real world are not "dumbed
down" equations used in the school
!
"computers dumb math down"
○
Understanding procedures and processes is
important, but can be done through programming
!
--> more practical and more conceptual
□
Students can be more engaged through
programming
!
"hand calculating procedures teach understanding"
○
Issues:
•
Be able to play and interact with math
○
Feel math instinctively
○
Re-order curriculum
○
Ex. Teaching calculus early
○
Can open up so many more possibilities --> intuition and
experience
•
Use models
○
More practical applications
○
Using computers in exams --> ask real world questions
•
--> improved economy and outlook
○
Math requires a critical reform
•
Engage more students
○
Knowledge economy --> computational knowledge economy
•
Watch: Teaching kids real math with computer
Financial
○
Access --> physical, not enough resources to meet
demand (no seats)
○
Cultural barriers
○
Many people are limited to higher level education
•
Higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for
few
•
Non-profit, free
○
Provides degrees
○
Disrupt current education system
○
Open gates to higher education regardless of
background
○
Cut down cost of education
○
University of the People
•
No seats, no textbooks (open resources), less
instructors/advisors…etc.
○
Reduces time needed for teachers
!
Peer-peer learning: encourages students to interact and
study together
○
Model will develop future leadership
○
Virtual universities do not have costs of real universities
•
Every student must contribute to class discussion
○
Opens students mind --> positive shift in attitude
○
Homework and assignments are assessed by peers
○
Students accepted are placed in classroom of 20-30 students
so those that need personalized attention get it
•
Need high school education, internet and speak English
○
Tuition free
○
Just need to cover cost of exams (100$ / exam)
○
Nobody is left behind due to financial reasons
○
This model is financially stable
○
Open gates to higher education for every qualified student
•
Now is time to scale up
○
Have demonstrated that model works
○
Model can be replicated
○
Basic right, affordable and accessible for all
!
New era of education that will disrupt current higher
education model
○
University of the People is now fully accredited
•
Watch: Ultra-low cost college degree
Create blended model of education
•
Everything else has changed around us
○
Real issue in terms of access
○
Little change in teaching in classrooms over the past 500
years
•
Online exercises, videos, interactions
!
Need to completely reimagine it
○
Larger class sizes with better access
!
Apply technologies to education through MOOCs
○
We can transform education through quality, scale and access
via technology
•
Need to embrace technology and blend them into our
lives
○
Millennial generation is comfortable with online technologies
•
Circuits and electronics course (aka petri dish of
learning)
○
Used to have a failure rate of ~40%
!
Failure rate fell to 9%
!
Early results are incredible
○
Ex. Blending Learning Pilot
•
= lessons (videos and interactive exercises)
!
Teach by asking questions
!
Active learning
○
Pause, re-wind…etc.
!
Self-pacing
○
Computer grades exercises for immediate
feedback for better understanding that is more
engaging
!
Turns teaching moments into learning outcomes
!
Instant feedback
○
Build online laboratories
!
Engage students
!
Can also be graded by computers
!
Gamification
○
Discussions and interactions
!
Students are able to learn from each other by
teaching
!
Peer learning
○
Key ideas:
•
Lies a revenue model for MOOCs -use online courses as a
next-generation textbook
•
Textbooks --> computers
○
Lecture halls --> e-spaces
•
Watch: Why massive open online courses (still) matter
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course
○
It is massive, because the course is designed to
accommodate a large class, even "unlimited", and
possibly up to hundreds of students (although a smaller
class using the format may exist)
○
Closed-licensing material also exists
!
It is open, or open-accessed with open licensing of
materials, structure, and organization
○
In this course, the TedTalk lectures website is more of
an example of open-licensed, open accessed MOOC,
while the UoG course is more of a closed-licensed
course
○
MOOC courses are generally online, but other activities
such as using a phone connection and occasional face-
to-face meeting may be used if necessary
○
What does MOOC stand for and what is it?1.
A MOOC uses the web extensively in delivering its
content to meet an educational goal
○
It is usually expected to be more expensive to design,
but cheaper to offer over time
○
It has no formal on-campus lecture classes, with few
face-to-face contacts, if any, and can accommodate a
large number of students, even though continuous and
student interactivity is often incorporated into the
design
○
The advantage to the students is that they have more
control over the study, especially on their time, so that
they can study course materials and participate in the
course remotely
○
The course also expects one-size-fits-all with less
individual attention, less feedback to and more
responsibility from the students
!
It is therefore more impersonal, both between
students, and his/her instructor
!
It is generally believed that MOOC format is
suitable for some courses but not others
!
As the value of a MOOC to employers, the
learning outcome could be quite different from a
traditional course, but the nature of the
differences may not be clear
!
The disadvantage is that the course content is less
flexible, and may not be easily changed to
accommodate updates between offerings
○
Compare a MOOC to a traditional University course of
similar content. Evaluate the trade-offs of a MOOC.
2.
Questions:
Computing in Education
Friday,*March*23,*2018 3:44*PM
Described the design and the practices of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC)
1.
Identify and describe some usage of computing in learning,
including applications in developing countries
2.
Examine and describe some designs in integrating computing
in learning other subjects, such as mathematics and natural
sciences
3.
Examine the critical trade-offs of computers in learning, the
costs and the benefits, and variations of approaches and
innovations
4.
Learning Outcomes:
Has the benefits in terms of new forms of learning
experience and self-motivated activities, but also
potential pitfalls
○
This course (implements as a distance-learning course) makes
use of extensive computing technology to assist learning
•
Computing may extend the reach of education to new niche of
people, such as those in the developing world helping them to
learn complicated topics even without an instructor
•
Computing may enhance new forms of interactions in
learning, and may teach concepts in a new way in science,
mathematics, and others
•
The social, economic and education effects of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC) are only beginning to be felt, but its
academic and learning outcomes are not fully known
•
Key Points:
Computation should play a more prominent role throughout
the education system
•
Few students actually understand computation, and
even fewer have experience using computers as tools
for scientific inquiry
○
Next generation of learners will require a high level of fluency
with modes of thinking and inquiry in which computers act as
interactive partners
•
Introduce real computational literacy through science
classes every student takes, rather than solely through
computer science classes
○
Treat computation as a core component
○
Increases access to computing for all students
!
Enhances students' motivation for and depth of
understanding scientific principles by using
computing in powerful ways
!
Brings science education in line with authentic
scientific practice
!
Provides students with experiences of computers
beyond searching and sorting
!
Advantages:
○
Complementary arroach is to integrate computing across the
range of seconday-school science courses
•
ABM is form of computational modeling in which
individual entities in a computer simulation (the agents)
are given rules defining their behaviour
○
Mobile -typically represent individuals like
animals or molecules
!
Grid of stationary agents -(as in cellular
automation) that represent parts of the
environment, like grass or elements of terrain
!
Two classes of agents:
○
Interactions of agents can reveal complex emergent
patterns
○
Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a powerful way to introduce
computation across the secondary science curriculum
•
NetLogo ABM -free and open source
○
Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based
Modeling (CCL) at Northwestern University has developed
ABM tools for education and scientific practice
•
Agent based modeling provides the means to build on
intuitive understandings about individual agents acting
at the micro level in order to grasp the mechanisms of
emergence at the aggregate, macro level
○
Because the individual-level behaviour of agents is
relatively simple, ABMs feature relatively simple
programs that control the behaviours of their
computational agents
○
Swarms or aggregated of interacting agents can produce
complex, emergent patterns that require computational
power beyond the human capacity to stimulate
○
Driven by interactive feedback and dynamic
visualizations
!
With ABM, learners can explore the connections
between the micro-level behaviour of individuals and
the macro-level patterns that emerge from their
interactions
○
Many concepts students find most challenging involve
connecting micro and macro aspects of scientific phenomena
•
Dynamics of populations within ecosystems and
food webs
!
Population Biology/Ecology
○
Molecular interactions --> macro-level
phenomena
!
E.g. Kinetic Molecular Theory, Gas Laws
!
Physics and Chemistry
○
System principles of critical parameters and non-
linear dynamics
!
Earth Sciences
○
Applications in:
•
Thinking effectively about and with computational processes
is a broad-based literacy needed by all citizens to support their
effective social, economic and political participation
•
Read: Education: Fostering Computational Literacy in Science
Classrooms
DOTCOM mania was slow in coming to higher education, but
now has the venerable industry firmly in its grip
•
Since the launch of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley
start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, the ivory
towers of academia have been shaken by their foundations
•
MOOCs have multiplied in number, resources and student
recruitment
•
Some universities like Oxford and Cambridge refuse to
rush and join MOOCs
○
EdX, non-profit MOOC provider, is now a consortium of 28
institutions
•
There is a huge leap of faith by investors that Coursea can
develop a viable business model
•
Industry has similar economics to Amazon, eBay and Google
in that content producers go to where most consumers are, and
consumers go to where the most content is
•
Formed partnership with AT&T
○
Students will pay around $7000 for tuition but all
course materials are free
○
Company is selling its MOOC technology to
universities, to make their own MOOC and to make
physically attending university more attractive, by
augmenting existing teaching
○
Udacity works with companies to train existing and future
employees as the heart of its business model
•
Alison -generates revenue by selling ads on their site
•
Some companies thrive by offering free MOOCs as a way to
get people to buy their related paid content
•
Others believe this effect will be dwarfed by the
dramatic increase in access to higher education that the
MOOCs will bring
○
Some think that cheap online providers radically will reduce
the costs of higher education and drive many traditional
institutions to the wall
•
Market may expand by improving the customer experience
•
Study showed that students who have the intention of
finishing will complete the course
○
High drop-out rates (some exceed 90%) reflects the different
expectations of consumers of free products, who can browse
without cost
•
May drive a dramatic reduction in the price of a
traditional higher education
○
Many established universities will soon offer credits toward
their degrees for those who complete MOOCs
•
Read: Attack of the MOOCs: Higher Education
The rise of online instruction will upend the economics of
higher education
•
Teaching has been constrained by technology
○
Innovation is eliminating those constraints, and bringing
sweeping change to higher education
○
Universities have not changed much since students first
gathered in Oxford and Bologna in the 11th century
•
Professors now publish course materials and videos of
their lectures on the web
○
Students interact with each other and submit
assignments by email
○
Online learning takes may forms (e.g. Wikipedia, Youtube)
•
Universities have joined various startups in the rush to
provide stand-alone instruction through MOOCs
•
First is need for physical proximity
○
Higher education relies on large numbers of instructors,
paid relatively modest salaries
○
Two big forces underpin a university's costs
•
Most salient feature is it's rock-bottom marginal cost
○
Put together curriculum, producing
written/recorded material, and create interactive
site that facilitates discussion and feedback
!
Fixed cost of creating an online course is relatively high
○
MOOCs are therefore likely to compete on
quality vs cost
!
After the initial cost is covered, each additional unit
sold is pure profit and can be sold at low costs
○
Best teachers will be fabulously productive,
reaching hundreds of thousands of students
!
Market for instructors will be transformed
○
Consumers risk little by signing up so both registrations
and drop-out rates are high
○
Can provide more flexibility
○
MOOCs work differently
•
Read: Massive open online forces: Free Exchange
All are offered without charge
○
Combination of quality courses offered by brand-name
universities, good online learning technology and the
wide availability of broadband links has allowed
distance learning to come of age
○
There are 500 MOOCs being offered by more than 100 well
known, and accredited, university brands
•
For the more committed, MOOCs involve homework,
online discussions and testing
○
Most people enroll for enjoyment, enlightenment, or
curiosity and are not committed to finishing them or
gaining a certificate
○
Generally, one must register for a course, wait some time for
it to start, and then keep up with its demands on a weekly
basis
•
MOOCs will have a huge impact on places with little
access to higher education
○
"aMOOC" will use adaptive learning to allow each
student to follow their own optimal path through a
course
○
People will come to expect open-access to higher
education
○
Companies offering MOOCs gain through payments for
invigilated tests, course materials and helping employers find
workers with the right skill
•
So far, there are insufficient numbers of graduates to
force big shifts immediately
○
But MOOcs will prompt more rapid innovation in a
sector facing enormous pressures over the cost of its
basic product
○
Eventually, the full-time residential four-year degree
could start to look out-of date
○
Online education allows colleges to innovate with
regard to the quality, length and cost of their offerings
○
It should be possible to offer shorter and cut-price
defrees that are equivalent to the degrees today
○
MOOCs presage a period of great change in higher education,
but will not kill off the traditional degree
•
Read: Will MOOCs kill university degrees?
Created a global computer made of people =
bureaucratic administrative machine
○
Must be identical to each other
!
Must be able to write, read and do basic
mathematics in their head
!
Requires a lot of people (produced by the school)
○
Present day schooling came from the British Empire 300
years ago
•
Do not know what the jobs of the future will look like
○
Schools are now out-dated
•
Gave computer and left them for 2 months -->
zero percent
!
Another two months --> zero-thirty percent
!
With "grandma" method teacher --> fifty percent
!
Children in India were able to learn biotechnology of
DNA replication in English
○
Can easily teach ourselves --> "hole in the wall" experiment
•
Need to integrate that into our future -->
encouragement
!
Heading towards future where knowing is obsolete
○
Future may be without traditional schooling
•
Need to shift balance back from threat to pleasure
○
Age of Empires is gone
•
"Granny Cloud" --> teaching children over skype
•
Learning as the product of educational self-organization
•
Broadband + collaboration + encouragement
○
No teacher needed in room for learning to occur
○
Need curriculum of big questions
○
SOLE = self-organized learning environment
•
Need to design future for learning but supporting children
around the world to think and work together --> intellectual
adventures
•
Watch: Building a school in the cloud
Those learning it thinks it is disconnected, hard and
uninteresting
○
Teachers and employers are both frustrated
○
Falling interested in math, yet world is more
quantitative and mathematic then ever
○
Currently a problem with math education
•
Using computers correctly is the silver bullet to make math
education work
•
Math in education is very different than it is used in the real
world
•
Technical jobs -critical to economic development
○
Everyday living
○
Logical thinking (mind training)
○
Why teach math?
•
Posing the right questions
○
Real world --> math formulation
○
Computation
○
Math formulation --> real world, verification
○
What is math?
•
Computers should do step 3 and students should do
steps 1,2 and 4 (more conceptual)
○
Math is not just calculating
○
Math has been liberated from calculating
○
Spending about 80% of time doing step 3 by hand
•
E.g. practicality, conceptual
!
Relatively small in number
!
Only come cases where human computation is
necessary
○
Automatic allows us to have machinery for computation
•
Separate basics from how it gets done
!
Automatic allows one to make that separation
!
"get the basics first"
○
Problems in the real world are not "dumbed
down" equations used in the school
!
"computers dumb math down"
○
Understanding procedures and processes is
important, but can be done through programming
!
--> more practical and more conceptual
□
Students can be more engaged through
programming
!
"hand calculating procedures teach understanding"
○
Issues:
•
Be able to play and interact with math
○
Feel math instinctively
○
Re-order curriculum
○
Ex. Teaching calculus early
○
Can open up so many more possibilities --> intuition and
experience
•
Use models
○
More practical applications
○
Using computers in exams --> ask real world questions
•
--> improved economy and outlook
○
Math requires a critical reform
•
Engage more students
○
Knowledge economy --> computational knowledge economy
•
Watch: Teaching kids real math with computer
Financial
○
Access --> physical, not enough resources to meet
demand (no seats)
○
Cultural barriers
○
Many people are limited to higher level education
•
Higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for
few
•
Non-profit, free
○
Provides degrees
○
Disrupt current education system
○
Open gates to higher education regardless of
background
○
Cut down cost of education
○
University of the People
•
No seats, no textbooks (open resources), less
instructors/advisors…etc.
○
Reduces time needed for teachers
!
Peer-peer learning: encourages students to interact and
study together
○
Model will develop future leadership
○
Virtual universities do not have costs of real universities
•
Every student must contribute to class discussion
○
Opens students mind --> positive shift in attitude
○
Homework and assignments are assessed by peers
○
Students accepted are placed in classroom of 20-30 students
so those that need personalized attention get it
•
Need high school education, internet and speak English
○
Tuition free
○
Just need to cover cost of exams (100$ / exam)
○
Nobody is left behind due to financial reasons
○
This model is financially stable
○
Open gates to higher education for every qualified student
•
Now is time to scale up
○
Have demonstrated that model works
○
Model can be replicated
○
Basic right, affordable and accessible for all
!
New era of education that will disrupt current higher
education model
○
University of the People is now fully accredited
•
Watch: Ultra-low cost college degree
Create blended model of education
•
Everything else has changed around us
○
Real issue in terms of access
○
Little change in teaching in classrooms over the past 500
years
•
Online exercises, videos, interactions
!
Need to completely reimagine it
○
Larger class sizes with better access
!
Apply technologies to education through MOOCs
○
We can transform education through quality, scale and access
via technology
•
Need to embrace technology and blend them into our
lives
○
Millennial generation is comfortable with online technologies
•
Circuits and electronics course (aka petri dish of
learning)
○
Used to have a failure rate of ~40%
!
Failure rate fell to 9%
!
Early results are incredible
○
Ex. Blending Learning Pilot
•
= lessons (videos and interactive exercises)
!
Teach by asking questions
!
Active learning
○
Pause, re-wind…etc.
!
Self-pacing
○
Computer grades exercises for immediate
feedback for better understanding that is more
engaging
!
Turns teaching moments into learning outcomes
!
Instant feedback
○
Build online laboratories
!
Engage students
!
Can also be graded by computers
!
Gamification
○
Discussions and interactions
!
Students are able to learn from each other by
teaching
!
Peer learning
○
Key ideas:
•
Lies a revenue model for MOOCs -use online courses as a
next-generation textbook
•
Textbooks --> computers
○
Lecture halls --> e-spaces
•
Watch: Why massive open online courses (still) matter
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course
○
It is massive, because the course is designed to
accommodate a large class, even "unlimited", and
possibly up to hundreds of students (although a smaller
class using the format may exist)
○
Closed-licensing material also exists
!
It is open, or open-accessed with open licensing of
materials, structure, and organization
○
In this course, the TedTalk lectures website is more of
an example of open-licensed, open accessed MOOC,
while the UoG course is more of a closed-licensed
course
○
MOOC courses are generally online, but other activities
such as using a phone connection and occasional face-
to-face meeting may be used if necessary
○
What does MOOC stand for and what is it?1.
A MOOC uses the web extensively in delivering its
content to meet an educational goal
○
It is usually expected to be more expensive to design,
but cheaper to offer over time
○
It has no formal on-campus lecture classes, with few
face-to-face contacts, if any, and can accommodate a
large number of students, even though continuous and
student interactivity is often incorporated into the
design
○
The advantage to the students is that they have more
control over the study, especially on their time, so that
they can study course materials and participate in the
course remotely
○
The course also expects one-size-fits-all with less
individual attention, less feedback to and more
responsibility from the students
!
It is therefore more impersonal, both between
students, and his/her instructor
!
It is generally believed that MOOC format is
suitable for some courses but not others
!
As the value of a MOOC to employers, the
learning outcome could be quite different from a
traditional course, but the nature of the
differences may not be clear
!
The disadvantage is that the course content is less
flexible, and may not be easily changed to
accommodate updates between offerings
○
Compare a MOOC to a traditional University course of
similar content. Evaluate the trade-offs of a MOOC.
2.
Questions:
Computing in Education
Friday,*March*23,*2018 3:44*PM
Document Summary
Described the design and the practices of massive open. Identify and describe some usage of computing in learning, including applications in developing countries. Examine and describe some designs in integrating computing in learning other subjects, such as mathematics and natural sciences. Examine the critical trade-offs of computers in learning, the costs and the benefits, and variations of approaches and innovations. This course (implements as a distance-learning course) makes use of extensive computing technology to assist learning. Has the benefits in terms of new forms of learning experience and self-motivated activities, but also potential pitfalls. Computing may extend the reach of education to new niche of people, such as those in the developing world helping them to learn complicated topics even without an instructor. Computing may enhance new forms of interactions in learning, and may teach concepts in a new way in science, mathematics, and others. The social, economic and education effects of massive open.
