TeachLab Presents The Homework Machine

For TeachLab’s ninth Failure to Disrupt Book Club we look back at Justin’s live conversation with regular Audrey Watters and special guest Candace Thille, director of Learning Science at Amazon and former researcher and faculty member at Stanford University and at Carnegie Mellon. Together they discuss Chapter 8, The Toxic Power of Data and Experiment.“It wasn't just that they didn't know how to use the educational technology. It was their belief about their role as a learner and their belief about her role as an instructor. And so just like you talked about many times in your book, the technology can't do it. The human interactions are what really drive how the technology gets used.”    -Candace ThilleIn this episode we’ll talk about:Candace’s positive edtech story - Human interaction with edtech implementationCandace’s negative edtech story - Failure of interface designPrivacy/surveillance/autonomy concerns in edtechOpen Learning Initiative statistics courseComprehensive Assessment of Outcomes in a first Statistics course (CAOS)Systematically evaluating the variations between teachersDefining “experiments”Ethical data collectionData ≠ useful insightDemocratizing education research Resources and LinksWatch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt!Join our self-paced online edX course: Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub9/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s eighth Failure to Disrupt Book Club we look back at Justin’s live conversation with regular Audrey Watters and special guest Courtney Bell, a former research scientist at the Education Testing Services and now director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), UW–Madison School of Education. Together they discuss the book’s third edtech dilemma, the Trap of Routine Assessment.“The assessment practice of observing Justin teach or Justin teaching in an assessment situation is not the same, by definition from Justin's real world teaching… My assertion is, that's always true in every assessment. If that's the case, then we think to ourself where can technology fit into this thing?”- Courtney Bell In this episode we’ll talk about:Courtney’s edtech story - PalmPilot and MursionComplex performance assessmentHistory of assessment technology - TUTOR and PLATOReal-world teaching vs. The observer effectCapturing teacher decision makingLack of social understanding in technology assessmentPeer-assessment technologyMeaningful feedbackStealth Assessment Resources and LinksWatch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt!Join our self-paced online edX course: Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub8/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s seventh Failure to Disrupt Book Club episode we look back at Justin’s live conversation with regular Audrey Watters and special guest Antero Garcia. He's a faculty member at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a former teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Together they discuss the book’s second edtech dilemma, the Ed Tech Matthew Effect.“Let's start with the community as the designer, and what it means to then imagine what schools and the tools that schools are going to need to build from there. That, to me, seems like the starting place of the conversation. I tend to get grumpier as I think about other kinds of tools because I think they all are generally bad. All of the surveillance stuff is... Not only do I not trust the tool, but I don't trust the motive or the intentions of the companies that are making and selling these tools or of the designers...” - Antero Garcia In this episode we’ll talk about:Antero Garcia’s edtech story - SMART boardAntero’s workIssues and shortcomings of edtechThe “Digital Divide”Dangers of proctoring softwareAligning business values with that of public schoolsCommunity designWiFi over wellbeingLack of imagination in education Resources and LinksCheck out Antero’s book, Good Reception: Teens, Teachers, and Mobile Media in a Los Angeles High SchoolWatch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt!Join our self-paced online edX course: Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub7/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s sixth Failure to Disrupt Book Club episode we look back at Justin’s live conversation with regular Audrey Watters and special guest Dan Meyer, the chief academic officer at Desmos. Together they discuss the work of Desmos and the section of Justin’s book on the “Curse of the Familiar.”“From our perspective, for us, we are not trying to subvert the school day. We're not trying to get learning outside of the four walls of the classroom. We're not trying to upend schooling and turn everyone into home schoolers. I'm not judging those necessarily, but I'm just saying, we know what we're not trying to do, and we're actually really eager to use the four walls, we understand that there are things that are possible when a bunch of people are together in a room that is impossible during asynchronous experiences. There's this sometimes collective effervescence, it's why we used to go to movie theaters, or why sports are interesting to watch in person, versus on TV. It's that bubbly champagne like feeling when you're all together. So we know what we're trying to change and not trying to change.” - Dan Meyer In this episode we’ll talk about:Dan Meyer’s edtech story and teaching experienceSuccess of QuizletCurse of the FamiliarCombat vs. Co-opt schoolingDesmos’ approachCommunity in edtechCreating a low, welcoming floorThe business of edtechAssessment in online learning Resources and LinksCheck out Dan Meyer’s blog!Learn more about Desmos!Watch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt!Join our self-paced online edX course: Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub6/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s fifth Failure to Disrupt Book Club episode, we look back at Justin’s live conversation with regular Audrey Watters and special guests Scot Osterweil, a game designer and creative director for the MIT Education Arcade, and the esteemed games researcher Constance Steinkuehler. They discuss the history of learning games, their current work, and Failure To Disrupt’s Chapter 4: Testing the Learning at Scale Genres: Learning Games.“I've been studying kids in games for a long time. And oftentimes, when you try to tackle issues of how to treat other people online, how to deal with conflict, how to manage your screen time and also stay physically fit, it's very hard to create interventions around games, that kids just don't spit right back out. They just don't take because there are often layers added on top. They're not authentic to the space. In my efforts, and I'm sure people have done better than me, but in my efforts, it always seems to be colonizing and the kids will ignore me, and it comes off as, mom is wagging a finger saying you need to get up off that screen and go stretch.” - Constance Steinkuehler In this episode we’ll talk about:Scot and Constance’s background and edtech storiesSkinnerian learning and behaviorismCategories of learning games“Transfer” in educationThe social and community aspect of gamesExamples of effective game implementationsConnection through esportsLearning social skills through gamesThe industry of learning games Resources and LinksWatch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt!Join our self-paced online edX course: Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub5/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s fourth Failure to Disrupt Book Club episode, we look back at Justin’s live conversation with Natalie Rusk and Mitch Resnick from MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten Lab and who are the developers of the Computer Clubhouse program and the Scratch programming language. They discuss the founding of these programs as well as Failure To Disrupt’s Chapter 3: Peer-Guided Learning at Scale: Networked Learning Environments.“I think sometimes there really is this misperception about this type of creative learning approach... it's growing out of, as you say in the chapter, John Dewey's ideas for the progressive education movement. And sometimes people characterize that as if-- just stand back and kids will do wonderful things on their own. And of course, if you stand back, some kids will do wonderful things on their own. But I think we're very aware that you need a whole variety of supports as Natalie was talking about. So I think sometimes people get the wrong impression about what's going to be needed. And then people might get disillusioned or feel that doesn't live up to the promise if they do just stand back and say, ‘Let it work on its own.’”    - Mitch Resnick In this episode we’ll talk about:Natalie and Mitch’s background and edtech storiesBeginning of Computer ClubhouseHow Scratch grew out of Computer ClubhouseProviding support and community to informal learning experiences Resources and LinksCheck out the Computer Clubhouse network!Check out Scratch!Learn more about the Lifelong Kindergarten Lab!Watch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt! Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub4/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Justin Reich is joined by Susanna Pollack, president and director of Games for Change and Kate Selkirk-Litman, founding teacher and curriculum specialist at Quest to Learn, to discuss games in education and the STEM Your Game Challenge, a contest for game developers to reframe game design with the lean of serving STEM education.“The community that we want to tap through this challenge is the commercial entertainment game developer. The game developer who might not have thought about the use of their games in educational contexts, but think that there might be something unique about their game, that if paired with a curriculum developer, curriculum advisor, or an educator like Kate, could actually find those threads and those connections to align with STEM education…” - Susanna PollackNote: The deadline for submissions has since been extended to January 6, 2021. In this episode we’ll talk about:NYC school closuresGames for Change mission in light of COVIDSTEM Your Game ChallengeBridging games and educationPast examples of successful game implementations Resources and LinksLearn more about the STEM Your Game Challenge!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt! Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/games-for-change/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Justin Reich is joined by Barbara Means, author and executive director of learning science research at Digital Promise to discuss her research with digital learning before and during COVID.“There were quite a few universities that for equity reasons told their instructors, ‘Don't do any synchronous instruction in the spring, just put everything online and let students do it asynchronously, that is on their own time whenever they wanted.’ We found that when there were no synchronous sessions, which could have been either with the professor or it could have been online office hours, or it could have been working with a teaching assistant in a section. But if there were no synchronous sessions, the students were less happy with their course and their learning. So they really wanted that connection with a real person just like many of us do. You call up customer service. And it's so frustrating even if after the fifth click you can get to what you want. You just want to say, ‘I want a real person to talk to me and tell me they're sorry.’”    - Barbara MeansIn this episode we’ll talk about:Barbara Means’ edtech storyIn-class vs remote learning researchThree helpful practicesThe importance of a personal relationship in teachingBalancing synchronous and asynchronous learningSelf-regulated learningImplementation models Resources and LinksCheck out Barbara Means’ book, Learning Online: What Research Tells Us About Whether, When and HowLearn more about Digital PromiseCheck out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt! Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/barbara-means/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

For TeachLab’s third Failure to Disrupt Book Club episode, Justin Reich reflects on a live conversation with special guests Cristina and Neil Heffernan. They discuss Failure To Disrupt’s Chapter 2: Algorithm-Guided Learning at Scale: Adaptive Tutors, and discuss the success of their tool ASSISTments.“According to SRI, they thought the reason why it was successful...They were like, "This fit in with what teachers were used to doing." They're used to actually assigning homework, and classwork. They could see before the kids walked in the door, which problems were hard. And so they could do something a little differently. In fact, what they did find is actually teachers didn't go over every item the way they used to. And of course they didn't because all the kids got feedback, but they still went over the stuff that was hard. And particularly in the places where there was common wrong answers because all those kids should be told, "Hey, you weren't all alone." Meaning, actually, you and half of the rest of you all screwed up this problem in the same way. And I think there's a social-emotional component of actually doing that as opposed to just sitting in class and realizing, ‘I got everything wrong’ and not knowing everyone else, or a large number of other kids are in the same boat.” - Neil Heffernan, Professor/Researcher/Program Director In this episode we’ll talk about:The Heffernan’s edtech love storyPersonalized learning vs. forming communitiesThe rhetoric behind algorithm-guided edtechThe core of ASSISTmentsNon-disruptive edtechProviding teachers with student feedback dataVirtual Professional Learning CommunityThe surge of online learning with COVIDResources and LinksCheck out ASSISTments!Watch the full Book Club webinar here!Check out Justin Reich’s new book, Failure To Disrupt! Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bookclub3/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube

This week on TeachLab, host Justin Reich is joined by S. Craig Watkins, professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a respected voice on digital media and youth culture. Together they discuss the affordances and limitations of technology in education and the digital divide created as technology becomes a staple in the classroom.“What struck me is even as I came into the project aware of these ideas around the digital divide and the tech rich and the tech poor, the haves and the have-nots, when we subscribe to that view with no other considerations and in a very one-dimensional way, we end up imposing a kind of deficit narrative on those who we see as occupying the wrong side of the divide. That is to say we only see them, right, through lack. Lack of access to technology, lack of educational opportunities, lack of interest, lack of motivation, lack of this kind of capital, that kind of capital.”-S. Craig WatkinsIn this episode we’ll talk about:S. Craig Watkins’ edtech story: Using technology in the educational settingThe digital divideEarly adopters of mobile technologyHow classes and curriculum can stifle the creativity the technology introducesHow the pandemic changes and doesn’t change edtech Resources and LinksCheck out Young People’s Transitions into Creative Work: Navigating Challenges and OpportunitiesCheck out The Digital Edge: How Black and Latino Youth Navigate Digital Inequality by S. Craig WatkinsCheck out Don't Knock the Hustle: Young Creatives, Tech Ingenuity, and the Making of a New Innovation EconomyCheck out Justin Reich’s new book Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/s-craig-watkins/transcript Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded and mixed by Garrett Beazley Follow TeachLab:FacebookTwitterYouTube