Let\u27s Get Personal: Balancing talk with technology to \u3ci\u3etruly\u3c/i\u3e personalize learning

In October 2015, a large international study titled Students, Computers and Learning (OECD, 2015) reported that access to computers had no significant impact on students’ proficiency in reading, math, and science. In many countries, using computers frequently at school actually worsened performance. While these findings may relate to differences in professional development or implementation, it was clear that drill and practice software had a negative effect on student performance. The report’s authors appropriately acknowledged that “building deep conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking requires intensive student-teacher interactions, and technology sometimes distracts from this valuable human engagement.” Nevertheless, schools districts are rapidly adopting 1:1 laptop initiatives coupled with blended learning models aimed at increasing the amount of time students spend working independently at a computer at home and school. Proponents of blended argue that the model helps teachers customize digital lessons designed to meet individual needs and allow learners to work at their own pace. Yet, as I listen to teachers and principals, I worry that personalization has come to mean something very different from the personally relevant student-directed experiences that today’s learners crave most

Personal Inquiry and Online Research: Connecting Learners in Ways That Matter

This piece introduces a framework for how to envision Personal Digital Inquiry (PDI) in K-8 classrooms. To conceptualize what teaching and learning might look like in these classrooms, important practices are situated along a two-dimensional continuum of digital inquiry that varies in terms of levels of support and purposes of technology use. We then offer several examples of what teaching and learning within a PDI framework can look like; visions that move from teacher directed to student directed inquiry, always informed by purposeful choices about the role that technology plays along the way

Exploring Patterns in Student Dialogue While Using a Digital Platform Designed to Support Online Inquiry

Online inquiry, or using the Internet to generate questions and then search for, analyse, and synthesise information about these questions, is an essential part of digital literacy. However, processes involved in online inquiry are substantially complex. Prior research suggests that digital platforms can scaffold online inquiry processes. Moreover, the value of scaffolding dialogue in collaborative activities has been shown to enhance critical thinking, an important part of online inquiry. This study investigates whether the use of digital platforms designed to scaffold online inquiry can support productive dialogue when used collaboratively. Data from four pairs of high school students was collected as they worked together using both the digital platform and multiple online sources outside the platform to complete an online inquiry task. Each pair’s interactions were analysed to investigate whether features of the digital platform prompted productive dialogue. In line with research suggesting the use of academic language influences content understanding, each pair’s use of certain academic terms related to the task and digital platform’s interface were also statistically examined. Results suggested that most productive dialogue occurred when using the digital platform. Additionally, two of the four academic terms investigated occurred more often in talk while interacting with the digital platform, compared to talk when on another website. A comparison of timelines associated with these terms offered examples of how initially they were said exclusively while on the tool, and then progressed towards independent use

Designing Classroom Practices for Teaching Online Inquiry: Experiences from the Field

Students face several challenges when asked to locate relevant and credible information from the internet. This article introduces three principles for designing online inquiry lessons and documents what we learned from five language arts teachers from Finland who implemented and provided feedback on a learning unit framed in those design principles. Teachers implemented a researcher-designed online inquiry unit in nine upper secondary school classrooms. The unit included four 75-minute lessons sequenced to support the location, evaluation, and synthesis of information students encountered in an online inquiry task. Teachers’ diaries revealed their impressions of the unit, problems encountered, and exceptions made to the designed plan. Follow-up interviews revealed additional insights about appropriate time allocation, clear instruction, and areas where students benefit from explicit guidance in strategy use. Findings suggest a researcher-teacher collaboration can be a fruitful endeavor to assist in advancing the design of productive online inquiry activities. Increasingly, students turn to the internet to seek information to address a problem or complete a learning task. These forms of online inquiry require students to locate relevant and credible information from multiple online resources and build a coherent representation of the explored issue (Leu et al., 2019). Although online inquiry is a common practice, students’ competencies are often under-developed (Brand-Gruwel & van Strien, 2018), resulting in uncritical engagement with online information. Furthermore, many teachers find it challenging to embed instruction of these competencies into their curriculum (Derakhshan & Singh, 2011). To address these issues, we developed a learning unit designed to intentionally translate relevant theories and design principles into effective classroom practices for teaching online inquiry. Five language arts teachers from Finland collaborated with us to provide initial feedback on the unit; after revisions, they agreed to implement the lessons in nine upper secondary classrooms and reflect on their teaching experiences. In this paper, we describe the theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings of our unit’s design and how it was implemented in classrooms. Then, we share teachers’ reflections about the unit, including ideas for improvements

Designing classroom practices for teaching online inquiry : Experiences from the field

Students face several challenges when asked to locate relevant and credible information from the internet. This article introduces three principles for designing online inquiry lessons and documents what we learned from five language arts teachers from Finland who implemented and provided feedback on a learning unit framed in those design principles. Teachers implemented a researcher-designed online inquiry unit in nine upper secondary school classrooms. The unit included four 75-minute lessons sequenced to support the location, evaluation, and synthesis of information students encountered in an online inquiry task. Teachers' diaries revealed their impressions of the unit, problems encountered, and exceptions made to the designed plan. Follow-up interviews revealed additional insights about appropriate time allocation, clear instruction, and areas where students benefit from explicit guidance in strategy use. Findings suggest a researcher-teacher collaboration can be a fruitful endeavor to assist in advancing the design of productive online inquiry activities.Peer reviewe

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

ONLINE READING COMPREHENSION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

This paper details a number of challenges and opportunities for today’s learners when reading for information on the Internet. After defining online reading comprehension from a new literacies perspective and how it appears to be different than offline reading comprehension, I highlight details about four of the biggest challenges for today’s learners. These include 1) understanding and becoming proficient with the new literacy skills and practices needed for online research; 2) developing a special kind of digital wisdom that focuses on learning how to learn with the Internet; 3) taking on new roles in a digital culture that expects learners to actively participate and contribute with new knowledge as a member of their community; and 4) developing positive attitudes toward using the Internet for academic work. The second part of the paper shares examples of how skilled online readers can use the steps of online inquiry to think more deeply about topics that interest them; develop a personal voice as they share ideas with others; and work collaboratively to build meaning and new digital products that enable them to make a difference in their world, or matter. You can explore the research and resources from this presentation in more depth at