Week in Review | 34-23
Discover my latest audio obsessions on SoundCloud, get insights from AI’s rise and stumble, and explore the art of joyful RSS reading. Dive into tech insights and learning innovations, all in this week’s post! 🎧🤖📚
What I’m Listening to
What I’m Reading
Is the AI boom already over? – Sara Morrison
When AI chatbots burst onto the scene, we were both amazed and a bit freaked out. But now, the buzz seems to be fading. Governments are stepping in, and privacy concerns are growing. Those chatbots? Well, let’s say they’re not acing it. Bing’s fancy AI search? Nope, still not beating Google. ChatGPT? It’s waving goodbye to users. The White House even got in with a "red teaming" test. Looks like AI’s got some fixing up to do if it wants to stay in the spotlight.
Using Fink’s Taxonomy in Course Design – Carolyn Fallahi
This article dives into a makeover of an introductory psychology course called Lifespan Development. The professor wanted to move away from cramming tons of content into the class and focus on making it a meaningful learning experience. So, they turned to L. Dee Fink’s course design taxonomy, which means setting goals for what students should learn. It’s not just about the stuff in the textbooks; it’s about skills and deep understanding. They switched from boring lectures to interactive learning, real-life case studies, and solving practical problems. The article also mentions some challenges and studies that show this approach works.
Fink, L. D. (2003). What is significant learning. University of Oklahoma Significant Learning Website, Program for Instructional Innovation at the University of Oklahoma.
In this article, the author delves into the creation of what they call a "Taxonomy of Significant Learning." It’s all about reshaping our understanding of learning in terms of lasting change and real importance. Think of it as a fresh take on Benjamin Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy. They introduce us to six categories of significant learning: Foundational Knowledge, Application, Integration, Human Dimension, Caring, and Learning How to Learn. Each of these has its unique value, and the cool part is they’re all interconnected. When you boost one, it lifts the others too. The key message here is that when teachers focus on designing courses that nurture all six significant learning types, they can create a learning experience that leaves a lasting impact.
Temporarily Abled – Doug Belshaw
Susi Miller was the first place I ran into this concept (her book Designing Accessible Learning Content). It rang true when I read it, but I appreciate the sentiment even more after several years of continuous setbacks due to sports injuries.
RSS Zero isn’t the path to RSS Joy
This article delves into using RSS readers for joyful consumption rather than getting overwhelmed. It challenges the idea of striving for "RSS Zero" (which derives from inbox zero, but I’d never heard the term before) or reading every item, emphasizing that the purpose of an RSS reader is not to create a to-do list but to curate enjoyable content. The author offers tips to embrace the joy of RSS reading, including grouping feeds, not feeling obligated to read everything, saving for later, and using offline mode for catch-up. The article encourages personalized use, highlighting the goal of finding what brings joy to RSS consumption. I used to feel guilty about my RSS feed unread numbers, but figured out that "RSS Zero" wasn’t a goal of mine long ago.
Podcasts
AI Criticism Has a Decades-Long History – Tech Won’t Save Us
#913 Yellowknife’s Cabin Radio Fever – Canadaland
If you haven’t heard, the NWT are currently in a state of emergency. I have friends and colleagues who have had to leave their homes. If you are able to help, the United Way is accepting donations to support the evacuation efforts.
Episode 1 with Dr. Jen Ross – Speculative Learning Futures podcast
336: Pizza pests, and securing your wearables – Smashing Security
"I’m a monster truck driver." – Weird Work
Episode 3 – Preparing for an ID Job – SSotID
Pondering the Orb – Tech Won’t Save Us
One-part neo-colonialism, and the rest is nightmare fuel all the way down.
Applied NLP solutions & AI education – Practical AI
Technology
GPT Trainer, Chatbot over Your Own Data
ClueLabs – chatbot builder that integrates with Articulate Storyline