World of Learning Institute Podcast and Newsletter
We Do This Everyday!
Supporting Student Success #35
2
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Supporting Student Success #35

We Do This Everyday Season 2 Episode 13
2

Hi WOL Friends! 

So much is happening at the World of Learning - in just TWO weeks we will kick off our Design Space - and a year of learning with Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Allison Zmuda. You can see more information and register on our website. We still have space left for our opening event - sign up now! 

We are also super excited to talk with Fiona Grugan! She reached out to us about the awesome work we do at the WOL Institute and how she sees what we do as a great preparation for students to move to college or the workplace. We had a vibrant conversation with Fiona, who through her Ph.D. research and 10 years at The University of Arizona, has amazing insight. Listen in!

TOP TIPS for Success in College and the Workplace:

  1. Learn to write a respectful email. Use grammar and other tech tools to check your work. Listen all the way to the end - Fiona provides details.

  2. Students need to learn to Self-Advocate - Reach out to their teachers and professors. There is a lot of help!! 

  3. Schools and programs should consider creating auditory and visual instructions for ALL students.

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Here are a few takeaways from Fiona and Olivia: 
  • College experiences are open to more diverse students than in the past. There are so many skilled people to provide support for students. Knowing how to connect students to support is a new challenge facing post-secondary education. Additionally, the pedagogy has not shifted to meet the diverse needs of some really bright students who are now going to college. (That may be true in K - 12).

  • Fiona’s Ph.D. research is about how to help diverse students fit into the college experience. As a person with a disability herself (hard of hearing) she has always “felt a little bit like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.” She is excited to identify and eliminate some of the barriers that prevent students from being as successful as they can.

  • Putting everything online during the pandemic was a struggle - not all educators had the skill or tools to provide good instruction. Not all students have the technology or skills needed to be successful in a virtual world.

  • WOL is a supported and guided experience. The students who came to live sessions and office hours were more successful. Even when students struggled, if they sought the available support, they were more likely to succeed. The live session and 1-on-1 support help to build community. The skills students gain in this guided experience will transfer to the workplace or to post-secondary education. 

  • Standardization of the platforms students work in can lead to success. For students who are new to the use of technology, it is important to have a framework where there are scaffolds until they have the support they need. (How many of us know a student who leaves college after the first semester because they were in an unfamiliar environment?)

  • Fiona talked about her project of creating a course to support student success - one module has to be just on technology.

  • Olivia talked about looking at the barriers we have in our courses in the World of Learning through the lens of Universal Design. As we look at surveys we try to recognize the people who are unhappy. 

  • An LMS (Learning Management System) is designed for a certain type of learner. Providing support for students who have not had experienced learning using technology or who do not have easy access to technology is key.

  • We have standardized the design of our course home page in the last couple of years to support the idea that students need a structured experience - this change helps students move from one week to the next with ease. 

  • Remove the heavy text from online courses. How do we design spaces that engage? What are the critical learning concepts, not just the instructions? Wouldn’t it be fantastic (not novel) to have directions in both written and sound? 

  • Critical thinking - we discussed how we capture the moment of ‘panic’ around AI - moving toward thinking about how we can use the tools to support our own thinking and make our work better. The big question was - how do we value not just the answer - but the human - and the human experience that helps build our knowledge. How emotion impacts our life, our thinking,  and our learning.

     

What We are Reading and Listening To:

Work Appropriate - workforce skills have changed. Attitude, learning new skills, and being someone others want to work with.

Light Pirate - The theme is climate change - somehow it is beautiful and hopeful. 

I can’t wait to listen in and read these new finds.

Have a great week everyone!

Pat

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World of Learning Institute Podcast and Newsletter
We Do This Everyday!
We do our best each day to be authentic, relevant and engaging in the virtual education space. This podcast will help you see that you, too, can survive and thrive in the new and evolving world of blended and hybrid platforms for learning.
For many years the WOL Institute has provided the BEST in online virtual learning for K-12 schools. We hope our experience in the virtual world will help you navigate and succeed.