Inside View

Behind my screens of social isolation h/t @zoom_us @calendly @socrative @moodle @MSedu_IRL

I'VE STARTED USING my laptop and Note 9 screens to stay in touch with people through Zoom. I feel I'm getting closer to people by having meaningful conversations and then documenting the process through open education initiatives.

Three Self-Isolation Observations

LIKE MANY FAMILIES, we're practicing evidence-based techniques of self-isolation--such as the ready-made face protection shown in the photo. I've also observed three items related to surviving during the 2019 Corona Virus. The three images in this post are the three most-viewed through my Flickr account on Friday, March 13, 2020.

Sharing Films with Kids while Locked Down

BEFORE BEING TOLD to keep our social distance, I went all-in and subscribed to Disney Plus, Netflix, Google Premium, and Amazon Prime--then noticed Mia (12) diving deep into Studio Ghibli (see My Neighbor Totoro above). After stressing my credit card with two new subscription fees (and renewing Express VPN so we can be region-agnostic), we now have a wishlist of films for the kids during the next 10 days of our confinement. Here are the ones we will watch during our first weekend stuck inside the house.

Planning Crisis-Induced Online Support at Third Level #coronavirus

I SAT IN a TippFM Roadcaster as information trickled in from the States where An Taoiseach laid out plan to self-isolate the Republic of Ireland. Some of his guidance was already in place on the Clonmel Digital campus in the form of warning signs and planning to cancel face-to-face meetings with students.

Schools, Further Education Centres and Higher Education Institutions closed for students from 6pm on Thursday March 12th. But as a staff member, I am "encouraged to work from home per the advice from Health officials". This is challenging for me because I have to concurrently supervise the spontaneously activated online and flexible learning programmes of my two primary school children. I'm using skills developed over the past 17 years while working with young teens. [1]

And the physical premises of the LIT-Clonmel campus remains open to staff "if they wish to access the facilities in order to provide online delivery, or essential services once this is in line with HSE advice on social distancing" (see chart at top of post).

When Contactless Enters Academia

IRELAND HAS TAKEN CONTACTLESS to a whole new level by effectively locking down venues such as community swimming pools, libraries and cultural centres. The Corona Virus Strategy also means changing my teaching style from hands-on lab session to a virtual realm, a new connotation of "contactless" in our daily routines.

10 Tips for Effective Online Teaching #flattenthecurve

In 1989, I created basic computer literacy training material for US Army snipers and tank mechanics. The average students were GED graduates who often studied the field classroom shown above. Since the 90s, I’ve used Moodle [1] and Microsoft Education tools [2] while trying to ensure high levels of accessibility as the absolute measure of merit with whatever I create. Through the years, I’ve validated ten tips for effective distance education that I often offer to colleagues for their peer review as they attempt to adapt lectures, assignments, and activities for online learning. It is a lot of work so if have to “get on with it” you might consider a few ideas from my corner.

Hip Pocket Planning for Teachers #COVID2019

FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS I've been using video conferencing facilities (such as the one above), first with my laptop and now with my Samsung Note 9. I think some of the hard-learned skills could be put to good use if we have to close our campus to stave off COVID-19.

Today, I used my Zoom.us meeting room as the first mention of a major assessment concerning a module about Content Management Systems. I had my Powerpoint deck on my laptop, a 10 euro Bluetooth headset plugged into my ear, and Moodle.LIT.ie pointing students to the meeting details. I saved the cloud recording from Zoom of the short briefing.

An Unexpected Inventory of my Zip Drives and USB Keys

I DIDN'T EXPECT to open a few of my banker's boxes in the attic to poke around some decades-old floppies, Iomega Zip drives, and two different sizes of floppy disks. But that little inventory happened a few hours after chatting with Rachel Dunleavy about how we control "flowing" of information in our lives.

Listen to "Rachel Dunleavy On Flowing E40" on Spreaker.

You can catch weekly conversations we have on the Clonmel Digital Campus by asking Spotify to play "Emerging Trends Games and Tech" on your smart speakers.

[Bernie Goldbach teaches creative media for business on the Clonmel Digital Campus for the Limerick Institute of Technology.]

Auditing to improve #workflow

I'M STARTING TO WEAVE free transcription services into my daily workflow because it's an easy way to hit a personal goal of producing 1000 words a day. I'm using high quality .wav files and Otter.ai services to get content with 90% accuracy such as in the text that follows below. It came from episode 490 of the Topgold Audio Podcast.