Anne Fox :: Blog

http://www.pontydysgu.org/2008/08/dont-throw-the-baby-out-with-th

Sort of like that saying. I don’t have much time ot post here - am constantly traveling - but will make a few quick commnets from the road (as an aside - countries like Estonia put other countries to shame when it comes to intrenet access - free fast wireless access is available almost everywhere).

Maybe it is juts the people i am talking too, buut there seems to be growing appreciation of the importance of informal learning and learning acquired in the workplace. At the same time I am slightly concerned that this appreciation for workplace and informal learning is being counterposed to formal training and qualifications. In this respect I think people are mixing up the schooling system and formal learning. Yes - I completely agree that our formal schooling system is out of date, frequently ineffective and promotes formal accreditation at the expense of learning. Putting it simply there are better ways to learn - and the money spent of formal schooling could be much more effectively deployed elsewhere.

But this is not to say there is no place for formal training and learning and for qualifications. Qualifications can play an important regulatory role - both for quality and in terms of preventing employer exploitation. Moreover such qualifications can prove aspirational - especially for young people. Yes - there are many issues around curriculum (I will return to this issue in a further post). Formal learning and training can provide a structure for learning. And formal learning and qualifications are not in opposition to informal learning - the two can go together.

I think there are problems in a fast changing economy as employment and work tasks and roles are fast changing. There is no guarantee that training for one particular occupation will guarantee employment in ten years time. Yet, all the empirical surveys we have carried out show that those who have undergone a formal training programme - regardless of subject - are more likely to participate in on-going learning in the future. Thus, even though the link between qualifications and employment may be weakening (especially in liberal market economies such as the UK) there remains a macro economic benefit to the provision of formal learning opportunities.

http://www.pontydysgu.org/2008/08/more-from-john-pallister-on-e-p

Joehn Pallisetr is a UK based teacher who is enthusiastic about e-Portfolios. He blogs now on a group he has set up on Google. If you are interetsted in e-portfolios I recommend that you join.

Here is his latest post:

“Things still seem to be at the confusion stage it terms of what schools ‘must do’ and what learners ‘must have’. It would be a real shame if we were just to go for the minimum when we have the opportunity to harness the technology and media to provide our learner with something that can really help them. To simply provide them with some text based templates to fill-in, is unlikely to inspire them or

support their thinking, development and progression.

At this stage it might be worth sharing some of the experiences that led us to introduce ePortfolios. Ten years ago we were looking for some way for our Year 12 students to evidence the ‘deliver a short presentation’ requirement of the Level 3, Key Skills Communication Unit. We introduced a requirement for all Year 12 students to deliver a formal presentation, to an external panel, about their career plans.

This required them to research their options, discussing them with their Tutors, careers advisors and parents. We built on this over the years and five years ago introduced a 30 minute end of review

interview for all Year 12 students. This interview was originally introduced to provide opportunities for students to evidence Improving Own Learning and Performance, Level 2 Key Skills. We expected, in the

first 2 years, students to bring their Progress File into the interview. The interview was set up as a competency based interview [some questions etc given in http://www.e-me.org.uk/resources/AStudentGuide.pdf].

We wanted to provide students with more appropriate ways to store andpresent evidence of their learning, achievements and planning; we developed and introduced ePortfolios.

We soon recognised that although the ePortfolio itself was really useful, it was the ePortfolio process that was even more valuable.

I came at things from a Personal Development Planning angle and this has influenced my thinking on ePortfolios.

So why have I rambled on?  Simply to encourage people to interpret the‘P’ in ILP, as ‘Process’. It then links in with Assessment For Learning; Development Planning; PLTs and of course, the ePortfolio Process. The ‘P’ as ‘Plan’ can be very easy to produce; very easy for the learner to ‘tick off’ as done; easy for schools to present to others to suggest that learners have done the job, but, the important bit, the process can be easily forgotten.”

http://www.pontydysgu.org/2008/08/consultation-paper-on-a-framewo

As promised more on the Training of Trainers. The presentation is based on research we are undertaling through the TTplus project. The  project aims to support and improve the continuing professional development of trainers and has been examining the context in which training takes place in enterprises and the effectiveness of  present policies and provision for the training of trainers.

The project is developing a framework for the continuing professional development of trainers and examining different measures and mechanism for implementing the professional development framework.

The research undertaken by the project showed that the number of trainers in Europe has increased. These ‘trainers’ include full time trainers, people with a formal training responsibility and all those for whom supporting the learning of others is part of their job. It also concluded that many of these people do not have effective or adequate access to continuing professional development opportunities or support or recognition for their own learning.

It is clear that if the standards of training are to be raised, improving the training of trainers must be a priority.  However, given the heterogeneous nature of the group and the range of sectors and occupations in which they work, it is difficult to see how this could be standardised, or indeed whether it is desirable to do so.  Certainly some sort of common framework would have advantages. It would provide a degree of coherence to what is a very fragmented field. It would increase the visibility of trainer training and in so doing, increase awareness. It could also stimulate the establishment of communities of practice between trainers.

The TT-Plus project has the objective of designing a framework for professional development for trainers in Europe. One approach to this is to develop an accreditation framework. Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which an organisations’ services and operations are examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met. Should the facility meet the accrediting agency’s standards, the facility receives accredited status from the accrediting agency. Such accreditation often takes the form of a ‘kitemark’ or quality mark designed to show that the organization has met the standards.

The challenges in designing an accreditation system for trainers are three-fold:

Firstly, how can a framework reflect the TTPlus project research findings and be –

• Inclusive enough to accommodate the diversity of people labeled ‘trainers’ and the diversity of contexts in which they work.


• An instrument for improving the quality of practice


• A process to improve and increase access to training opportunities for trainers

Secondly, how can a framework incorporate the best features of previous approaches whilst minimising their disadvantages. Specifically how can a framework:

• Identify ‘gaps’ in organizational or individual trainer  ‘performance’ AND simultaneously facilitate the learning necessary to close the gaps


• Provide recognition and reward for both individuals and organisations.


• Be relevant and sensitive to a range of occupational identities

Thirdly, how can a single framework be flexible enough to allow sectoral, local, regional and national variation whilst still maintaining transnational coherence and a shared European approach?

In short, how can standards be improved without standardization?

The project has produced a consultation paper outlining a possible solution based on a set of common or shared elements and another set of elements where there are choices or divergences to be made at country, organizational or individual level.

The paper elaborates on six ‘components’ of the frameworktogether with linking mechanisms.

• A set of principles


• A set of standards


• An infrastructure


• Processes and mechanisms for applying them and documentation.


• Tools and materials to help those engaged in the process


• Exemplars of evidence

The full consultation document can be downloaded here - Framework for the Professional Development of Trainers.. If you are involved in the training of trainers - or are just interested in te topic we would like to hear your views on the Framework

http://podcasting-for-lta.blogspot.com/2008/03/death-by-screencast-or-towards-

I probably ought to post this on our creativity blog but I think this has a strong connection to my views on educational podcasting.
I've been on my PowerPoint fast for over a year - use anything, but don't use PowerPoint, see what changes... Nothing against PowerPoint per se, just I know what I do (and I know what others do) as soon as PowerPoint starts up. It is such a usable interface that it doesn't challenge you to chisel away at your ideas - it is very much about presenting ideas in a clear, structured way. PowerPoint is a fantastic planning tool, but the trouble is you start planning and, before you know it, you've turned up to do your session and you're projecting your plans and your script on the wall for all to see. How weird!
By the way, not only is PowerPoint a great planning tool, for podcasters PowerPoint is specifically a great storyboarding or outlining tool around which conversations can be driven.
Well the fast is working - I've used various technologies to enhance the sessions I run at conferences for staff development. And I've run sessions where there has been no need for the planned use of digital technology. My sessions tend to involve other people's voices as much as my own, even where I've been presenting a paper. That's no big deal, but for me it helps me to work on engagement.
I've been submitting several abstracts for conference papers recently and several of the educational conferences I am submitting to ask presenters to submit their PowerPoints beforehand! What? Why?!! Shouldn't conference organisers (and some are) be promoting more interactivity in their session. OK, PP doesn't have to mean death - but it certainly helps!
So, you've heard of Death by PowerPoint:

• bullet
• point
• after
• bullet
• point
• read
• by
• the
• presenter
• in
• a monotone

What can be worse?..

Death by screencast. (I've seen this so many times but inspired by seeing an example here yesterday.) It's the same problem, captured and glorified. And what can be worse than that? Death by Screencast+ (with captioning "because we have to comply with accessibility legislation" - captioning bullet points - why? Something is wrong here.). OMG. Give me a hanky.

Let's not go into the creative use of PowerPoint - there are fantastic ways of using it (eg as a game platform). But let's consider:

New Technologies, new opportunities and creative attitudes

Take Camtasia Studio as a starting pointing - we can capture the screen and add a narrative. We can annotate this. Zoom in and hightlight parts of what we see. Once you've got your mic connected just hit the red button. That's the technology.

So why, with such an accessible and versatile tool, would you consider capturing just one voice and just one screen? Anyone heard of Windows? Anyone heard of conversation? Why does it have to be more than 30 seconds long?

With this technology we could be discussing pictures, diagrams, telling stories, giving feedback on assignments, setting challenges and puzzles, commenting on dynamic data coming in, discussing technology supported reflective practice,...

And we could be distributing these student and staff generated media interventions through a podcast feed. (I knew I was on the right blog).

http://www.pontydysgu.org/2008/08/training-trainers/

Last week i took an all to short four day holiday in Romania. But this week sadly it is back to business. And tomorrow I am off to Jyväskylä for the EARLI conference. Wednesday evening I travel to Kuressaari in Estonia for a meeting of the b-learning project. And Friday it is back to Bremen. Phew! In fact I did not plan such a schedule -  I managed to double book myself.

Anyway in Jyväskylä I am presenting a paper from the TT-Plus project on the training of trainers. The paper is officially co-authored between myself and Pekka Kamarainen - although I have to say he has done most of the work. Given my limited input, I feel able to say that I think this is a very good paper. The abstract is below and if you are interested you can download the full paper. I will also post my presentation slides for both meetings as soon as I have finished them.

In search for common ground: Starting points for analysing the professional situation of trainers in six European countries

“This paper gives an account on the working hypotheses of the European cooperation project TTplus (“A framework for continuing professional development of trainers”) concerning the diversity of training cultures and on the distribution of training functions. Then, the paper examines some methodological starting points for analysing the European training cultures with the help of sociological concepts like  ‘contextual images’ (Ritsert, Bracher) or e-portfolio -related concepts like ‘use cases’ (Rees-Jones). Based on these grounded reflections the paper provides justification for the ‘controlled but explorative’ research strategy (Bracher) that was applied in the empirical studies. In this context the paper discusses the role of concepts like ‘instances of good practice’, ‘instances of change’ and ‘instances of innovation’ for the research approach of the project. In the concluding reflections the paper discusses the relevance of such a research approach for European knowledge development into the professional development of trainers.”

Download the full paper here

http://podcasting-for-lta.blogspot.com/2008/02/production-values-keep-it-lofi.

I may have written something similar before so excuse me if I am repeating myself. One of the most exciting things about educational podcasting is that anyone can do it. They may not know it, but I know it - anyone in HE can podcast. They have access to the technology and the technology is simple. OK, for those who haven't tried it the barrier may seem insurmountable, but for those who have, the main challenge quickly becomes how they are going to use it rather than how it should be made.
So it was slightly bizarre to be jolted into a reality that I have not had on my own horizon for a long time. I heard a professional educational podcasting consultant from the US being interviewed on an ed tech podcast that comes out of a US HE institution. In this interview the consultant said that he knew production value is important because if you listen to the top 100 podcasts in iTunes the audio quality and production values are high on all of them.
If podcasting has potential in education it is because of its ease of production. This offers accessibility therefore to any would-be producer, whether they are staff or student. Furthermore, as with blogging and other Read/Write Web activities, one of the beauties of podcasting is that it lives at the thinnest tip of the 'long tail' - it is an activity that is economic to extreme niches!
If you are looking for valuable and effective educational podcasting I suggest you don't look in the top 100 of iTunes where production has been designed to engage the masses. Instead seek recommendations or use your academic search skills to unearth the obscure podcasts recorded using hand-held recorders in the corner of a shared office after hours and instantly released.
Forget high production values. Do what you can to get it sounding OK, but above all just hit record and capture and immediately share what is important.

http://podcasting-for-lta.blogspot.com/2007/09/vulnerability.html

John Byrne of Business Week is discussing his podcast with Rob Walch of Podcast 411 this week. He puts his finger on an aspect of podcasting that I find useful - the notion of vulnerability.
This sounds, on the face of it, like a negative attribute. However it reinforces one of the strengths of audio that I have noted elsewhere: its capacity to bridge the formality and informality of learning contexts. A podcasting tutor becomes human and approachable and the ideas perhaps become accessible.
Appearing vulnerable is not something that will get all academics racing to the microphone, however it does provide an opportunity for those with large cohorts to establish something of their 'real selves' that may otherwise be hard to do.
For the student podcaster the issues are somewhat different, but the opportunity exists in using the tone of voice to express the degree of confidence or certainly that they have for a particular idea. In other media, such as text, this would have to be expressed explicitly, and quite frankly is not something that many students would consider expressing at all. Given the medium of audio, such otherwise intangible attributes are implicit.

We would like to get some idea of what users of this community would like to see happen to EduSpaces? If you are using the service, please let us know. Thanks.

Anybody have a clue why I get this:

 

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_NEW in /h****/j*****/public_html/mu*****/engine/start.php on line 85

 

after I upload Elgg 1.0 and try to go to index.php or install.php on my site ?

 Any help would be appreciated ...I sure would like to use this stuff....:)

So you may have noticed things have been a bit quiet on this Eduspaces site as of late. I just came back from a much needed vacation and am feeling renewed, refreshed, and revived (the ocean air can do that for you).

I am starting out a new school year teaching two sections of an undergraduate education course titled Integrating Technology into the Secondary Curriculum. The course is a requirement for those students minoring in education and who are thinking about teaching students at the secondary level (US grades 6-12; ages 11-18). As I work through putting together a meaningful experience for all involved, I will be sharing ideas, observations and reflections about the course, the students, and other items as they arise.

One item I am keen on sharing is a new weblog I've been working on. I have always wanted to write a book about metaphors associated with learning and teaching. The catch is, I didn't want to write it in the conventional sense. I wanted "the book" to be a jumping off point, a picture book, designed to spark conversation, reflection, and debate. I wanted the book to be fluid, dynamic, editable on the fly, allowing me to add images as I find them. Perhaps a wiki might be a better option in terms of organizing content in a more user friendly way. On the other hand, I like the notion of simply browsing and viewing images at random. Please let me know what you think.

Finally, I am happy to announce that I have outlined my dissertation and have begun the blissful task of writing up the first complete draft. I should have this completed in about six week. I am standing here beside myself with happiness and cannot wait to share the results with you. Stay tuned!

 

 Image: play station