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  • Hongxin Yan bookmarked open text in STEM September 4, 2020 - 9:00am
    Physical Sciences, Engineering and Technology 2344 Open Access Books 51391 Authors and Editors 66801 Web of Science Citations 86032 Dimensions Citations
  • "As the first AI self-adaptive education brand across the Asia-Pacific region, Squirrel AI Learning has made gratifying achievements on the path of AI+ education. Its R&D achievements include self-adaptive learning engine with complete...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post realistic speech for education June 3, 2019 - 11:38am
    What if Mona Lisa frowned? This is what realistic speech can do. For education, can we use it for creating realistic talking video contents by just using a prof's some profile photos?      
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post Why IoT sounds promising for Intelligent Curriculum February 18, 2019 - 10:59am
    In the context of artificial intelligence, I think intelligence can be the ability of computing devices to automate or make decisions for human by using certain algorithms on the data that are collected from environment. So, data is...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post formative assessment for learning analytics in the group Teaching and Learning at Athabasca August 26, 2017 - 11:09am
    “Teaching without learning is just talking.”  –Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia CrossFormative assessment helps learning happen when teaching. The principles in the following articles are discussed in classroom context but...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post A 2016 Look At The Future of Online Learning in the group Teaching and Learning at Athabasca August 17, 2017 - 9:35am
    https://teachonline.ca/sites/default/files/tools-trends/downloads/2016_look_at_online_learning.pdf
    Comments
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  • Hongxin Yan posted to the wire December 16, 2015 - 9:58am
    Delaney, J. G. (1999). What are learner-centred schools? Retrieved from http://www.mun.ca/educ/faculty/mwatch/vol1/delaney2.html
  • Hongxin Yan commented on the blog assessment based course design (ABCD) model December 10, 2015 - 2:11pm
    Thanks Mary and Jon for your deep thoughts on this. I like your input very much and would like to explore more on this (thanks Jon for the resource URLs, will check out). I agree on Mary's suggestion of giving learners more exploration...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post assessment based course design (ABCD) model December 9, 2015 - 3:22pm
    I am here to propose the Assessement-based Course Design (ABCD) model. Assessment drives students behavior. In reality, students learn for credits. In many cases, learning for credit is not necessarily meaning students are motivated by extrinsic...
    Comments
    • Mary Pringle December 9, 2015 - 4:23pm

      I like this idea, Hongxin. It is taking project-based learning to a whole new level—every course is a series of related assessments, and each assessment is a project that includes the necessary background information, opportunities to learn skills that will be tested, and other activities designed to meet course outcomes. I think it's important to provide the opportunity for exploration also, but that is up to the learner. I'd love to see some examples of how this could be or has been done in courses that would not usually be set up as projects.

    • Jon Dron December 10, 2015 - 12:15pm

      Thought-provoking, thanks Hongxin! From my perspective, it's exactly those instrumental attitudes to learning that are by far the biggest problem we have to solve. I'm not totally convinced that playing to them is the best way to stop them, though I do admire the cunning way your method strongly channels those who are deeply instrumental to learn something useful in the process.

      There are a few variations on this theme in the literature that might be worth exploring to help address some of Mary's concerns, and mine, and that are not dissimilar in process: performance-based learning, inquiry-based learning  and problem-based learning, for example, are driven by assessment up front, but are normally more open-ended in process, though I have seen more tightly scaffolded versions of PBL and IBL, especially in schools, that are quite similar to your suggestion. Another theme well worth exploring is constructive alignment, which is often used much as you propose (e.g. see Using_Biggs'_Model_of_Constructive_Alignment_in_Curriculum_Design/Introduction for a useful process model that I think is an abstraction of what you suggest). The general principle behind constructive alignment is that all assessment should materially and directly contribute to the intended learning outcomes and learning activities should be designed with that assessment in mind. Consequently, at least if it is done properly, the assessment must be an integral part of the learning design and is usually the starting point for scaffolding how teaching occurs: your model seems like a good operationalization of that principle.

      One important caveat: see http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/7-reasons-why-we-need-to-kill-boring.html for a very good summary of reasons to avoid objectives/outcomes/terminal competences up front. On the whole (there are always exceptions because it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it!) I find that learning outcomes are more useful to learning designers than to students. It is normally useful to students to know, at least in brief, what a course is about, and perhaps to prepare them a little for what they are about to learn, but that doesn't mean we have to throw the objectives or outcomes or terminal competences at them right away. In fact, sometimes it is a bad idea: some very useful pedagogies begin with mystery and challenge. And, even if we do tell them such things, it is more important to prepare them for the process, rather than the product.  Plus, I would really like to work harder on ways to acknowledge outcomes beyond those specified. I often have students - especially the best and most passionate - that do amazing things I cannot (even in my most open courses) recognize with marks. My next courses/revisions will have a few negotiable outcomes and/or more open ones that the students can weight for themselves that will attempt to accommodate that.

    • Hongxin Yan December 10, 2015 - 2:11pm

      Thanks Mary and Jon for your deep thoughts on this. I like your input very much and would like to explore more on this (thanks Jon for the resource URLs, will check out).

      I agree on Mary's suggestion of giving learners more exploration opportunities, which should be  accommodated in any model.

      Jon, I really like the idea of opening the door for students to negotiate on learning outcomes. I am doing some research on the personalized learning (I know you don't like the word -- personalized). I think personalizing for individual's talents and interests would be the most ideal focus, hence offering negotiating opportunities for learners on learning outcomes would be an efficient step. I look forward to seeing your new revision. I guess it is a graduate level course? If there are just a few students, that can be manageable, but I am also intersted to see how to do that in a relatively big enrollment courses.

      A more progressive thought is that in one course we could employ different course models. Based on different student's learning needs, we offer the flexibilities. But, that would be far ahead of our current learning system's practices ...

       

       

       

       

  • Hongxin Yan uploaded the file A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review November 26, 2015 - 3:21pm
    Justus Randolph. (2013). A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 53, 1689–1699. http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004      
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post Mapping Out Learning Outcomes Workshop in the group Teaching and Learning at Athabasca November 9, 2015 - 3:28pm
    On October 13, 2015, CLDD hosted approximately 20 enthusiastic participants for the “Mapping Out Learning Outcomes Workshop,” the first ever learning-outcomes-focused workshop at AU.    Dr. Cindy Ives, former long-time Director...
  • Hongxin Yan added the photo workshopOct15-1 to the album img November 9, 2015 - 2:58pm
    workshopOct15-1
  • Hongxin Yan created a new photo album img in the group Teaching and Learning at Athabasca November 9, 2015 - 2:58pm
    • OpenEd 2015
    • workshopOct15-1
    • workshopOct15-2
  • Hongxin Yan added the photo workshopOct15-2 to the album img November 9, 2015 - 2:58pm
    workshopOct15-2
  • Hongxin Yan created a wiki page teacher role in personalized learning October 14, 2015 - 2:53pm
    Reflection on my reading Through the Student’s Eyes: A Perspective on Personalized Learning (Redding, S. 2013). Although personalized learning assures student-centred learning, teachers continue to play a unreplacable and crutial role in this...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post The Role of Technologies in Personalized Learning October 7, 2015 - 2:11pm
    "Differentiated instruction is provided with facilitated interactions at the point a student needs support to stay on their 'learning edge' of the zone of proximal development. This sensitive alert system within situational environments offers...
  • Citation: Patrick, S., Kennedy, K., & Powell, A. (2013). Mean What You Say: Defining and Integrating Personalized, Blended and Competency Education. International Association for K-12 Online Learning.      
  • Hongxin Yan commented on the blog Can MOOC be designed as asynchronous courses July 8, 2015 - 10:54am
    thank you Jon for the URLs and your thoughts on MOOC design. Now I have an excuse for my laziness. :) It is a sad thing to arbitrarily set 13 weeks for courses for convenience. For courses that require longer time, say 33 weeks, we have to work...
  • Hongxin Yan published a blog post Can MOOC be designed as asynchronous courses July 7, 2015 - 3:17pm
    All the MOOC courses I registered are synchronous courses. They require me to finish in a certain time frame. I often found sometimes I am busy or lazy and therefore missed schedules or deadlines for some activities. If missing too many, I just...
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