Mijn meest gebruikte leertechnologieën van 2023 (Top Tools for Learning 2023)

Op maandag 4 september 2023 is Jane Hart van plan de resultaten van de 17de inventarisatie van de Top 200 Tools for Learning 2023 te publiceren. Wil jij jouw meest gebruikte leertechnologieën ook doorgeven (deadline 31 augustus 2023)? Hier vind je mijn top tien.

Leertechnologieën zijn technologieën die speciaal voor leren, opleiden en onderwijs zijn ontwikkeld of om tools die voor een ander doel zijn ontwikkeld, maar wel voor leerdoeleinden worden gebruikt. Deze definitie leidt ertoe dat Jane’s Top 200 ook applicaties zoals Google Search of tekstverwerker Word bevat. Dit leidt tot het nodige commentaar, met name van leveranciers en ontwikkelaars van applicaties die specifiek voor leren, opleiden en onderwijs zijn ontwikkeld (zoals leermanagementsystemen of performance support systemen). Als je echter het perspectief neemt van de lerende of de docent, dan is het niet verbazingwekkend dat technologieën die niet speciaal voor educatieve doeleinden zijn bedoeld, hoog scoren. Mensen gebruiken hiervoor heel veel tools, en niet alleen tools die een organisatie voor leerdoeleinden selecteert.

Jane hanteert drie categorieën:

Categorie 1: Tools voor persoonlijk leren
Categorie 2: Tools voor werkplek leren
Categorie 3: Tools voor onderwijs en opleiden.

Hieronder vind je weer een overzicht van mijn meest gebruikte tools. Het zijn niet per definitie mijn favoriete tools, vaak wel.

On behalf of Jane, I will proceed in English.

Please note:

Applications I use most intensively, are not always my favorite applications. You often have to accept tools that an organization offers to you. For virtual classroom sessions, I usually use applications available by the organisation that asks me to provide a virtual classroom session.
I have been using the same learning technologies for a number of years. There are two reasons for this. First, I am rather suspicious of hypes. Second, I believe you should be cautious about using many different tools and changing tools all the time. The cognitive load that this imposes can be better used in a different way.
My list contains a very important newcomer this year, which will probably appear in more top 10s. Possibly this will even become the new No. 1. I guess you know what I am ’talking’ about……

Here are the most frequently used tools of 2023:

ChatGPT (Category 1 and 2)
It is not often that I am stunned by a new technology. However, I was blown away when I was first introduced to ChatGPT (end November 2022). Since its public launch, I have been using this application very intensively (since March 2023 the paid version). I use ChatGPT for asking questions on topics I know about (but often don’t remember the answer for a while), for writing texts, for making summaries, re-writing text, and so on. Crucial to this is the thoughtful formulation of “prompts” and, checking the output and, if necessary, further questioning of ChatGPT. And yes: I am well aware of its many limitations and shortcomings. Partly for this reason, I think it is important to be transparent and open about the use of generative AI applications.
WordPress (Category 1)
Since several years on number 1, now number 2. I use WordPress to blog. My weblog is my most important learning tool. I blog to process what I see and read, to reflect, to share knowledge and as an archive. My blogposts are thoughts under construction. I started to blog with Typepad. I use WordPress since December 2011. However, most of the feedback I receive via LinkedIn, nowadays.
Inoreader (Category 1)
RSS is probably the most underused learning technology. My RSS-feedreader allows me to keep up to date in my field of expertise quickly and easily. Several years ago Inoreader became my new gateway to a large amount of weblogs (as the successor of Google Reader). I also use Inoreader to monitor some Mastodon hashtags (I no longer use twitter or X). I use Inoreader of my iPhone, iPad and MacBook. It is easy to organise and share items or save items. Therefore Inoreader is crucial for curating information. However, curating is only a first step in learning. You need process the information, if you really want to learn (e.g. understand, apply and create).
Pocket (Category 1)
I use Pocket to save blogposts and online articles. I read them on my iPhone, iPad an Macbook (often input for blog posts). I also have the opportunity to share, mail or save them to Diigo. In short, I use Inoreader for curating content, Pocket for storing it and -mostly- WordPress for processing the content.
Keynote (Category 1, 2 and 3)
I use the Apple’s presentation for virtual classrooms, webinars, keynotes, presentations (e.g. in projects) and introductions in workshops. In addition, producing presentations in Keynote fosters re-structuring my thoughts. Therefore, Keynote is also a tool for personal and professional learning.
MS Teams (Category 2 and 3)
Most organizations I work, use MS teams for collaboration and to provide online workshops and online presentations. That is why I use this application very frequently. MS Teams is not my favorite application, allthough it is easy for messaging. This application has several functional limitations, such as switching smoothly between different accounts. Unfortunately, we often use sub-optimal tools to facilitate important processes. I prefer Vitero Inspire or Zoom for webinars or virtual classrooms. I do use both, but not as frequent as MS Teams.
Moodle (Category 3).
As far as learning management systems/virtual (digital) learning environments are concerned, I am quite ‘agnostic’. Nevertheless, I use Moodle as a teacher for more than ten years now. I do use other learning management systems as well, like yOUlearn at the Open University in the Netherlands (based on Liferay), aNewSpring (sometimes), Canvas and recently itslearning. I will use this latter LMS more intensively this year because I am project leader of its implementation at Graafschap College. The reason is that I mention Moodle as an example of an LMS/VLE is that a lot of people declared that the LMS/VLE is dead. This declaration is about 15 years old. However, the LMS/VLE is like Mark Twain. The report of its death is an exaggeration. Moodle has been in existence for many years and is still the most widely used digital learning environment. It is a bit like a Swiss army knife with attractive functionalities and a lot of configuration possibilities. That is a strength and a pitfall as well.
Deeplr (Category 1).
A really great translator, with great output. Easy to use if you need to know vocabulary or if you need help with translating text. We must also become less dependent on technology giants such as Google.
Screencast-o-matic (Category 2 and 3)
I use Screencast-o-Matic to produce instruction video’s: welcome messages, feedback messages, demonstrations of work processes (e.g. in Canvas) and instructions about e-learning and blended learning. The results are published in MS Teams or Vimeo, and shared in MS Teams, Moodle, yOUlearn, itslearning, aNewSpring or Canvas.
Mentimeter (Category 2 and 3)
Back in my top 10. I use Mentimeter (pro-version) during virtual classsroom sessions, webinars, workshops and presentations for activating previous knowledge, to identify beliefs or opinions, or to start discussions. Very easy to use. Mentimeter has different types of questions, and it enables you reuse events. It can be used with large groups as well. The free version has serious limitations.

Instead of twitter (X), I use Mastodon. However, not so intense as to justify a place in the top ten.

De eerste twee edities van de top 10 heb ik bij Jane Hart gepubliceerd, en zijn helaas niet meer online te vinden. Zie wel:

Stem uiterlijk 31 augustus 2023 ook op jouw top 10.

This content is published under the Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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