Jason Albertson

This month, Wiley published an infographic with survey results from college students and teachers about how the shift online for COVID19 affected learning. You can find it here: Emergency Remote Learning Satisfaction for Students and Instructors . A couple of key takeaways stuck out to me, especially because they lined up with some professional development reading and webinars I did this past summer. Students think lecture videos are better than online readings. This was the case before the pandemic, too. Assessment stats actually don't back it up, but pretty consistently, students think videos are better than readings ( source ). Student perception connects to student motivation, so it's probably worth recording lectures. Even if you already have a handout on the material, give students the option of watching and/or reading. Standard best practices for video lectures apply, of course: brief (<10 minutes), tight (1-2 topics) and personable videos are the most watchable. Prod...

Frozen II (2019) is an animated Disney movie and the sequel to Frozen , whose praises I sang last post because of its potential to lead kids toward life with God in the church—that is, its potential to lead kids toward a good life. Frozen II did not disappoint me as a sequel. In Frozen II , Disney made a movie that teaches kids how to have a good life, and they did so well that they painted a picture of the Holy Spirit and His work through His people on His fallen earth. I write to parents who are uncertain about whether to show their kids Frozen II , because I don’t want you to miss the helpful messages in this film. Wealth and power attract the worst elements of humanity, yet despite Disney’s wealth and power, they’re teaching kids wisdom for life. I write to grandparents who are concerned that the society their descendants will inherit is becoming more wicked, because I want you to know that God’s grace still shows up, even in the most popular kids’ movie of last year. And I writ...