http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Socialtech/~3/278259403/digital-iden

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Socialtech/~3/260352920/permissions-

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Socialtech/~3/259825412/greatly-exag

While conversation may indeed be king, meaningful conversation requires that we check to see whether the king is wearing any clothes.

In my research on using social or participatory media applications to support substantive educator knowledge development, it is clear conversation or professional talk is a powerful element or factor that can lead to deeper knowledge and understanding of one's practice (Hargreaves, A., 1994).

In my initial examination of participant posts and comments within an online professional learning community designed to support knowledge building among geographically separated participants, I have noticed that conversations fall into two general categories with some occasional subtle overlappings. In general conversations in the online learning community fall into two types: thin and thick.

Thin conversations are those that provide little in terms of reflection, feedback,  expansion and or examination of the initial ideas presented. Thin conversations suggest the emperor is threadbare and thus offers no redeeming substance or value (i.e., the conversation is powerless).

Thick conversations offer not only the thoughts and ideas of the participant but they build and expand upon thoughts shared from the initial post. Thick conversations also provide a sense of deeper reflection and emotional cues that offer insight into the participant's sense of self. Thick conversations are not necessarily verbose; they can be short, triggering statements that lend themselves to deeper reflection and deeper contemplation. Thick conversations are the robes and raiment that make conversation king.

In my initial analysis, where these two categories overlap is where conversation may be thin, but attached resources and artifacts associated with the thin conversation are thick and rich. There are multiple examples within my study that show participants offering little in terms of content-rich, back-and-forth dialogue and conversation, yet attach multiple rich resources or artifacts to their post that serve all participants in the community exceedingly well. The conversation is thin, but the knowledge and value associated with the post appears to outweigh the apparent veneer.

Perhaps, this requires a clearer definition of what conversation in a social media supported environment affords participants. Clearly, meaningful dialogue and written exchange can be valuable to knowledge development. Yet conversation can also trigger references to artifacts outside the immediate conversation that can also provide additional meaning and value. Given that the platform being used to serve and support conversation in this instance also allows the exchange of physical artifacts, conversations can be thin in initial substance and thick with associated attached resources.

Hmmmm....

Your thoughts and feedback are clearly warranted!

 

Reference:
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers' work and culture in the post-modern age. New York: Teachers College Press.

Hi,  

 

I work at the DIUS in the UK.  Part of what I do is to raise awareness online about a Higher Education (HE) ‘debate’ which we have ongoing here in the UK at the moment (http://www.dius.gov.uk/policy/he-debate.html). 

 

This HE debate was initiated by John Denham, the Secretary of State with responsibility for universities, when he invited a number of individuals and organisations to make contributions on a number of specific HE related themes.  The intention being that these contributions will inform thinking on this issue leading to a formal public consultation on a policy framework for HE in the autumn.  

 

He also said that he’d like to hear from a wider audience of those with an interest in HE  –  particularly those already discussing these issues online – so that these views can be fed into the policy review process in parallel.   

 

Since this is an education focused community focusing amongst other things on HE I thought I should let you know that this is happening and tell you how you can provide input if you wish to.   

 

On our behalf JISC Involve is hosting a blog on the broad HE debate (http://hedebate.jiscinvolve.org/).  As you can see the blog is divided into nine individual parts on which comment is possible.  The blog is only a few days old and will be live for about seven or eight weeks.  As you can see it is early days yet but already we’re starting to see some interesting points raised, and we’re keen to broaden the debate further. Some of the issues being discussed include:  

• What will demographic changes mean for the shape and nature of HE?
• How are higher education institutions currently responding to student expectations?
• How should HE respond to the fact that adults, often studying part-time will make up an ever-increasing proportion of the home student population?
• How can the interaction between academia and public policy makers be improved?
• How do we anticipate the international market for higher education will change over the next 10-15 years?
• How attractive are research careers to graduates, and what can be done to enhance this?

While this is obviously a UK focused exercise many of the issues are relevant across the globe.  Demographic changes, part-time study, the internationalisation in HE, etc.  Input from anyone on these issues regardless of location would be welcome.  Broader experiences help I think with a better understanding of the issues.  

 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your comments.  

 

Vincent McGovern

We're pleased to announce that Elgg has been featured as the best open source social networking platform in InfoWorld's 2008 Best Of Open Source Awards. Elgg joins WordPress, which won for best blogging platform, Firefox, which won for best web browser, and MySQL, which was featured as the best database system.

From the article:

While Elgg lets corporations, governments, and schools quickly establish blogs, the system's collaborative features encourage building communities of users with shared interests. Other Elgg fine points include podcast support, file repositories, user profiles, an RSS aggregator, and branding features. Significantly, the software integrates with other IT systems and provides OpenID authentication.

Elgg is the software which powers this EduSpaces service.

My colleague, Erik Black, and I had a great summer teaching an Introduction to Educational Technology course to undergraduate students ranging in disciplines from telecommunication studies, journalism, sports management, public relations, and education. The course was designed to be an overview of the interplay between society, education, and technology. Lessons were divided into thematic units that covered topics such as online identity and impression management, Internet safety, learning theories and learning styles, visual and information literacy, participatory media, social networking, games, and virtual schooling. Activities included developing a web presence (learning Dreamweaver), photoshop basics, using del.icio.us and a host of student-selected social software applications.

The uni requires that I give an exam, so I thought I would share it with you all to see what you think. Erik and I are thinking of requiring one of these questions to be addressed by all participants, then having participants select two of their own choice to tackle. I have a rubric that I use to assess student's work here. If you're interested, let me know your thoughts. As always, I am amenable to suggestions.

EME2040 SumC Potential Exam Questions

1) Online identity management: are you managing your digital footprint?

Enter your name into three search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, Cuil).

    * What shows up?

    * Are you suprised?

    * What actions can you take to ensure that you do not leave to chance your online reputation and personal brand?


2) One current concept in contemporary education is 21st century skills.

Utilizing the your web-based search and information analysis capabilities, develop a personal working definition of 21st century skills, then describe your progress towards the attainment of these skills. What have you done in the last few years to add to your 21st century skill-set and what do envision doing in the future to continue to develop these skills?


3) Social Media and You

Utilizing the Internet, select and describe a freely available online application that would be useful for individuals in your 'field of choice'. Describe how you envision utilizing the application in a professional setting? Why is this application specifically relevant to your field of interest? What do current users of the application have to say about it's strengths and weaknesses?


4) Weekend at Bernie's

Using current examples from Internet, which should include links and references where appropriate, present a thoughtful structured argument for why you feel that the University of Florida is or is not the #1 party school in the nation.

5) Social Software Application Design

Facebook allows individuals and corporations to develop custom applications for Facebook users (eg: scrabulous, superpoke, funwall). If you were to design an application for Facebook, what would you design? Why is this application needed? Who would use this application?


6) Blogging as Journalism

Utilizing your Internet search skills, provide a brief synthesis of what bloggers are saying, pro and con, about the genetic modification of plants and/or animals to increase food supply in the United States and/or abroad. Provide a listing of the blogs that you visit and also verify the credentials of the bloggers who are posting. Identify a blogger who you feel is particularly well informed and has the credentials to make commentary on the topic (explain these credentials). Identify a blogger who you feel is not particularly well informed and does not have the credentials to make commentary on the topic (explain the lack of credentials).


7) Employment Screening

Employers have increasingly begun to use Web sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com to screen applicants and current employees. Should employers be allowed to do this? Provide a thoughtful, detailed explanation of your thinking below. Be sure to articulate possible social, moral, legal, and ethical consequences of such actions.


8) What does it mean to be literate in the digital age?

Read the following article (NYT Literacy article) and reflect on the different arguments for and against reading books and reading online. Is there a clear correlation between the decline in reading test scores for teenagers and the increasing use of the Internet? Show evidence from the article in your response.


9) Social Media and Marketing

You work for a chain of gym and fitness centers that are ready to expand nationally.  Your boss has asked you to identify three strategies for using the Internet in the new advertising campaign. Your job is to select three ways you would incorporate the Internet into the campaign and then write a memo to your boss ranking them in priority from the most to least appropriate match for the campaign.  You need to clearly explain why you selected each particular strategy and what you think it brings to a national marketing campaign.


10) Serious Gaming

Neuromatrix is a new educational video game that's designed to teach people neuroscience. It's marketed to ages 9-15. The developer, Morphonix, writes that they "are developing a series of video games which make abstract concepts of brain science fun and comprehensible to children and teens. Many software games spur kids to use their brains, but this is the first series of video games which also teaches children the science of their brains." From the game description:

You play a secret agent infiltrating a top-secret neuroscience research facility. Your mission: to track down and root out the Nanobots that have invaded the brains of the scientists there. If you fail, the Nanobots and the secret entity that spawned them will take over the Earth, reprogramming the human brain into docile submission.

Write a letter to your school principal explaining why you want to incorporate this game into your curriculum. What would be the costs, benefits, risks, and potential consequences associated with using the game?

On the other hand, if you do not want to see such a video game used in your school, provide a rational argument against its adoption and inclusion.


11) Fielder's Choice

Throughout the summer you've been introduced to many different topics, the majority of which have only been covered in a cursory manner. Select a topic, concept or idea that was discussed in class or in the online materials that you are not familiar with and find interesting. Utilizing the Internet and your web-based search and information analysis capabilities, develop a personalized learning plan for gaining a better understanding of this topic. Provide links and references that will demonstrate that you have given critical consideration to the concept and have used the social affordances of the Internet.



 

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Socialtech/~3/345917407/open-source-

 

Computer and video games are a cultural and economic force drawing increasing attention from educators, anthropologists, economists, media scholars, journalists, and art critics (King, 2002; Perron & Wolfe, 2003; Poole, 2000).

Computer games have grown in sophistication and brought innovative models of interactive storytelling that is entertaining and inspiring millions of people.

Games have grown not only into an important economic force (grossing roughly US$11 billion), but a cultural force -- a medium of choice for many members of the millennial generation that educators should understand.

While some educational critics have derided games as pointless, it is still important for educators to understand why games have such appeal and understand what design principles underlie them.

Dodlinger's (2007) academic literature review focuses on 35 publications addressing educational video game design spanning the last ten years in order to "identify elements of game design that promote learning as well as the learning theories that conceptualize how video games foster learning" (p. 21).

Dodlinger notes that "While there is widespread consensus that games motivate players to spend time on task mastering the skills a game imparts, some disagreement over the specific characteristics that provoke that motivation exists" (p. 28).

Elements of game design that promote learning

Moreover, Dodlinger's (2007) review identified six distinct design elements that could be deemed necessary to stimulate desired learning outcomes. These elements include:

• Narrative context -- for situating and contextualizing learning -- the storyline
• Goals and rules -- objectives and guidelines - short term, medium term, long term
• Rewards -- (associated w/motivation) -- signals achievement
• Interactivity and multisensory cues -- direct attention, introduce new sensory perspectives, provides feedback cues for error correction

Learning outcomes from educational video games

In terms of learning outcomes from educational video games, Dodlinger (2007) points to research that suggests that well-designed games support the development of 21st century learning skills (e.g., play, performance, navigation, resourcefulness, negotiation, synthesis, collaboration, team work, judgement, discernment) but also other higher order thinking skills such as deduction and hypothesis testing, complex concepts and abstract thinking, and visual and spatial processing.


While exploring the potential for games in educational contexts, there seem to be a handful of challenges to widespread adoption and game integration:

• Understanding the value of games
• Finding appropriately designed games
• Getting games into educators' hands
• Integrating games into curricula, i.e.,  getting them into kids' hands
• The ethical roles and responsibilities associated with gaming
• The lack of clear evaluation standards associated with work produced utilizing games
• How do we guarantee that the rich opportunities afforded by the expanding educational gaming landscape are available to all?

[I'm sure there are more, these are just a few that sprung to mind.]

Class activity:
Let's take a look at a couple of online educational games and see to what extent they incorporate the six design elements listed above.

Examples:
Tut pup --  basic math and spelling games -- http://tutpup.com

Getty Games -- basic puzzle games based on museum pieces in the Gettty collection --  http://www.getty.edu/gettygames/

Villany, Inc. -- Thwarting World Supremacy through Mathematics storytelling, problem-solving and mathematics -- http://villainyinc.thinkport.org/mission1/default.asp?autoload=1

Free Rice -- social action and educational game -- http://www.freerice.com/


ADDENDUM:
More Educational Games:
Games Multimedia Materials -- a wiki housing several good examples of educational games.

Game Research Site:
Game Research - The art, business, and science,  of video games.

Major Reference:
Dondlinger, M. J. (2007). Educational video game design: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Educational Technology, 4(1): 21-31. Retrieved 23 July 2008 from http://www.eduquery.com/jaet/JAET4-1_Dondlinger.pdf

My del.icio.us "games" links
 

[Note: This post is a brief introduction to video and computer-based games in education. It is the basis for a lesson plan associated with EME2040 Introduction to Educational Technology Summer C 2008.]

Image from 1up.com.

What happens when punk rockers get old?

Well, they change, right? And they start country bands, take side gigs as movie and t.v. actors, and become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. Oh, and they do spotlight interviews for the Sundance Channel.

Uh-huh.

Well, if you don't already know of him, meet John Doe.


John fronted a band in the early 80s called "X." Their sound was rich, snarling, ready for a fight. The first time I heard X was on MTV when I was 15. I had learned to play the guitar well enough to put together a handful of bar chords. And while I tried to emulate Jimmy Page and Angus Young, X stepped on stage and rearranged what rock music was in my mind. They weren't punk in the sense that they threatened "Anarchy in the USA," but their music, lyrics, and stance were clearly a reaction to the music heard on Top 40 radio. While punk music packed a lot angst, it was music aimed straight at the kids. It said, "Hey you! You don't have to listen to that shit on the radio. Rock the f_ck out! We did it. So can you." Bands like X, the Minutemen, the Dead Kennedys, the Clash, started as art school boys and girls getting together and finding a means to express themselves through a web of music and recordings, creating a platform to spread their message world wide.

This sense of youthful idealism, this sense of me and my mates against the world, against the system, against the improper use of power and authority, could be channeled through amplifiers, through the gift of music. What fun! I subsequently started and/or joined a number of musical outfits all in the name of Do-It-Myself. Similarly, it was this same ethos, this same sensibility, that led me to teaching, of changing the world one or two kids at a time.

I also bring this story up as it relates to changing the face of education through participatory media. The changes many of us want to see, have to come from the kids. They start small as garage bands playing locally. Like musical hits, some changes take immediate traction and spread far and wide quickly, ushering in wider audiences and broader acceptance. Thus, the key to educational change, I believe, is one band of kids at a time. They don't need me or you or any educational technologist to tell them what to do. They will simply do it.

The same goes for you, you old puke.