Another Think Coming

“What the hand does, the mind remembers."

Not sure where I ran into this quote, but what a cool quote it is. Of course, it’s a reference to handwriting and all that. Last week, when I started looking for more information about handwriting, I realized that I had bits of handwriting research scattered across different blog entries. Why not consolidate them for easy reference?

Source #1: National Public Radio

Writing by hand…improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during a lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.

“Handwriting is probably among the most complex motor skills that the brain is capable of,” says Marieke Longcamp, a cognitive neuroscientist at Aix-Marseille Université.

Gripping a pen nimbly enough to write is a complicated task, as it requires your brain to continuously monitor the pressure that each finger exerts on the pen. Then, your motor system has to delicately modify that pressure to re-create each letter of the words in your head on the page. The relative slowness of the medium forces you to process the information, writing key words or phrases and using drawing or arrows to work through ideas, she says. “You make the information your own…” via National Public Radio

“The students who were taking longhand notes in our studies had to be more selective. You can’t write as fast as you can type. And that extra processing of the material that they were doing benefited them.” Source: NPR interview

Source #2:

A paper published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests,

“whenever handwriting movements are included as a learning strategy, more of the brain gets stimulated, resulting in the formation of more complex neural network connectivity.” source

Source #3: EdSurge

Typing on keyboards has largely replaced writing by hand, even though research shows the latter is better for memory and learning (and for carpal dexterity). Reading in print improves comprehension more than digital text, even though our eyes are fixated on screens these days.

So what do we gain and lose when students use artificial intelligence to write? via Tony Wan’s EdSurge article, What Do We Gain and Lose When Students Use AI to Write?

Source #4: ScienceDaily

“The students who were taking longhand notes in our studies had to be more selective. You can’t write as fast as you can type. And that extra processing of the material that they were doing benefited them.” (Source)

In this study, authors discovered handwritten notes engage your senses. The act of note-taking results in more brain activity. As such, learning improves due to your brain’s activity (Source). Source: DotTech, 2013

Source #5: BBC

California-based neuroscientist Claudia Aguirre says “more and more neuroscience research is supporting the idea that writing out letters in cursive, especially in comparison to typewriting, can activate specific neural pathways that facilitate and optimise overall learning and language development.”

Kelsey Voltz-Poremba, assistant professor of occupational therapy at the University of Pittsburgh, adds that young children may even find cursive easier to learn and replicate. “When handwriting is more autonomous for a child, it allows them to put more cognitive energy towards more advanced visual-motor skills and have better learning outcomes,” she says. Source: BBC.com the greatest benefits (to memory and learning words, for example) are tied to the act of writing itself, not cursive over print. (Source: As cited in the BBC article above)

Learn More About Cursive

Want to learn more about cursive? Websites like those below offer free practice sheets for each letter, or courses/tutorials:

Free Practice Sheets

• RoomRecess
• SuryasCursive
• CursiveLetters

Courses and/or Tutorials

• ConsistentCursive
• MyCursive
• ThePostmansKnock

While I certainly understand why any organization or business wants its employees to do their work in the office, we continue to miss the lesson COVID-19 taught us. That lesson is that NOT driving to work, occupying office buildings, saves so much energy, time, and money (see more graphs below).

With the push to bring everyone back into the office, that means that businesses make MORE money from people when they drive into work, polluting the environment, and spend time in their buildings rather than their homes.

What’s my take? Businesses, schools, universities, organizations ALWAYS do what is in THEIR best interest. That “best interest” is usually decided by someone in charge who gets a kick out of having everyone in one place. Centralized control. We now know that remote work has its own benefits, and continuing to rely on past ways of gathering people is nothing more than control via paycheck.

It’s always been that, but now, the facade has been stripped away.

Graphs

• Jobs: 40
• Leisure: 34
• Caregiving: 11
• Other: 15

Return to On-Site Work

Consider the announcement from The University of Texas at Austin president:

Beginning this fall semester, the University will require almost all staff members to work on site full time. . .Staff members can most effectively serve our students, faculty, fellow staff members, and other stakeholders when working together in an environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, availability, and reliability. (source)

While those kinds of assertions may have held up in the past due to the employer’s authority, today, we have access to AI. Let’s see what Perplexity AI says.

AI on Remote Work

The scientific consensus on remote work is nuanced and reflects a range of findings that highlight both benefits and challenges. Assertions like “Staff members can most effectively serve our students, faculty, fellow staff members, and other stakeholders when working together in an environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, availability, and reliability” are partially supported by the evidence but also overlook some of the advantages of remote work.

Benefits of Remote Work

1. Increased Productivity: Several studies have shown that remote workers can be more productive than their in-office counterparts. This is often attributed to fewer distractions, the ability to work during peak productivity hours, and the elimination of commute time[2][3][10].

2. Improved Work-Life Balance: Remote work offers greater flexibility, which can lead to better work-life balance, increased job satisfaction, and improved mental health[1][2][3].

3. Cost Savings: Both employees and employers can save money. Employees save on commuting and work attire, while employers save on office space and related expenses[2][10].

4. Access to a Broader Talent Pool: Remote work allows organizations to hire talent from a wider geographic area, which can lead to a more diverse and skilled workforce[4][11].

Challenges of Remote Work

1. Collaboration and Innovation: In-person collaboration is often cited as more effective for fostering innovation and creativity. Studies have shown that face-to-face interactions can lead to more spontaneous idea exchanges and stronger team bonds[6][16]. The “water cooler” moments and unplanned interactions that occur in an office setting are difficult to replicate virtually[6][16].

2. Communication Barriers: Remote work can lead to communication challenges, especially in terms of synchronous communication. This can result in more siloed work and less effective collaboration[8][14].

3. Professional Development and Mentorship: Remote work can hinder professional development opportunities and mentorship, particularly for younger or less experienced employees who benefit from direct feedback and guidance[5][8].

4. Work-Life Boundaries: While remote work can improve work-life balance, it can also blur the boundaries between work and personal life, leading to longer working hours and potential burnout[1][10].

Hybrid Work as a Middle Ground

Many organizations are adopting hybrid work models to balance the benefits of remote work with the advantages of in-person collaboration. Hybrid work combines remote flexibility with the opportunity for face-to-face interactions, which can enhance productivity, job satisfaction, and innovation[5][11].

Conclusion

The assertion that staff members can most effectively serve stakeholders in an environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, availability, and reliability is partially true. In-person work environments do offer unique benefits for collaboration and innovation. However, remote work also provides significant advantages in terms of productivity, work-life balance, and cost savings. The optimal work arrangement often depends on the specific needs and goals of the organization, as well as the nature of the work being performed. A hybrid model may offer the best of both worlds, combining the strengths of remote and in-person work[5][11].

Citations removed.

Wow, this was a tough read for folks who have grown fond of Flip. The shock and surprise are still there, like watching someone desecrate a hallowed place, deface a rock face.

I still remember when I cut Flipgrid (say its name) out my activities. I no longer cared for the direction those who had acquired it were taking it. I still remember the plucky little group of folks that made Flipgrid so great.

Thank you, Flipgrid. Thank you.

The Announcement

For nearly 12 years, amazing educators like you have welcomed Flipgrid and then Flip into your classrooms to empower student voice, creativity and self-expression, and we’re excited to continue our journey together, now inside Microsoft Teams for Education (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/teams). In order to streamline the number of apps educators need to use in their classroom and integrate Flip into more natural assignment rhythms, we have moved some of the core Flip features into Teams for Education and will be retiring our web site and mobile apps by September 30, 2024. If you are not already using Teams for Education, visit this page (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/education) and click “sign up for free”. Once downloaded and set up for your classroom, you can easily share video assignments and messages with students and receive video responses using the Flip camera. This saves educators time having to onboard to Flip outside of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and it enhances the already rich classroom management toolset available for our Teams for Education users. Starting July 1, Flip will no longer be available in mobile app stores, and our web site on Flip.com will go into view-only mode. While you will no longer be able to create new groups, topics or videos after this date, you will still have access to download your Flip videos through September 30. Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts, for all the great ideas, support and passion you’ve shown for Flip and for all that you do each day to empower future generations. While it’s incredibly hard to say goodbye to our Flip standalone apps, this community has meant the world to us, and we have every intention of continuing on our mission together to empower every learner. There are exciting new possibilities on the horizon for educators and students, and we look forward to what the future holds!

It is imperative to remember that as we use AI, there are profound consequences.

Should AI Tech companies join a Water Guzzlers Anonymous group? Or really, they are using resources at an astonishing rate while remaining as anonymous as possible.

Large language models such as ChatGPT are some of the most energy-guzzling technologies of all. Research suggests, for instance, that about 700,000 litres of water could have been used to cool the machines that trained ChatGPT-3 at Microsoft’s data facilities….

The extraction process [for batteries] often involves significant water usage and can lead to pollution, undermining water security. The extraction of these minerals are also often linked to human rights violations and poor labour standards.

via Mariana Mazzucato, The Guardian