Category Archives: Educational Pattern Languages

Why Big Data (Mostly) Can’t Help Improve Teaching

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Michael Feldstein

Here’s a nifty video summary of a doctoral dissertation by Derek Muller that a client pointed out to me: The basic gist is that students have pre-conceived notions that are wrong, and it is very hard to dislodge those mistaken … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Pattern Languages, Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh my!) | Tagged big data, Derek Muller, learning-design, Massive open online course, MOOC | 17 Comments

Where xMOOCs and Adaptive Analytics Both Fail (For Now)

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Michael Feldstein

No, this isn’t just an attempt to cram as many sexy keywords into one post title as possible. xMOOCs and adaptive analytics share an ambition: They both are at least partially motivated by a desire to teach at scale. With … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Pattern Languages, Higher Education | Tagged adaptive analytics, Baumol's cost disease, Carnegie Mellon University, Daphne Koller, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Khan Academy, Kurt VanLehn, Massive open online course, MOOC, Peter Norvig, Phil Hill, San Jose State University | 14 Comments

Open Secret: Pittsburgh’s Ed Tech Revolution

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Michael Feldstein

Generally when we talk about goals for educational technology, we talk about one of two things: improving access or improving effectiveness. Rarely do we get an opportunity to talk credibly about an innovation that can move both of those needles … Continue reading →

Posted in Content Management & Taxonomy as Knowledge Management, Educational Pattern Languages, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Openness, Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh my!) | Tagged big data, Carnegie Mellon University, CTAT, DataShop, learning analytics, LearnLab, OLI | 2 Comments

Going Meta on Khan

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Michael Feldstein

The wonderful Dan Meyers points to this delightful Mystery Science Theater 3000 homage by John Golden and David Coffey as they critique one of Sal Khan’s math videos. Here’s the video: Everybody enjoys a good snarkfest, and these guys are … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Pattern Languages, Instructional Design, Openness | Tagged Dan Meyers, David Coffey, John Golden, Khan Academy | 1 Comment

How to Keynote an Unconference

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Michael Feldstein

A while back, I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the NERCOMP LMS Unconference. I had never attended an unconference before, nevermind keynoting one, and I found the prospect to be fascinating and exciting. And nerve-wracking. On … Continue reading →