Stan Stanier :: Feeds

When an Economic Crisis Hits eLearning, What Do Managers Have to Say About It?

OK, first things first, we as a community have to learn not to preface everything with the phrase "In these troubled economic times..." or some such mantra. Not only is it the sort of thing where hearing it over and over makes it true, it is the sort of thing that is not helpful, because the economy has not changed materially since before the crash. This is important to understand, because what it suggests is that the loss of wealth was of wealth that did not exist in the first place - it was largely fictitious wealth created by (shyster) credit markets. Real harm will be caused, though, if we act as though nothing is of value any more. We need to, for now, continue creating, selling, producing and consuming. But we also need to retool, because our economic patterns are not sustainable. The only way out of this is to replace, in relatively short order, fictitious value with real value. We don't do that by pulling in the reins, managing conservatively, being 'fiscally prudent'. GM cannot save its way out of bankruptcy; Nortel cannot improve its $0.00 stock valuation by cutting back. We can, all of us, build an environmentally responsible, socially just, and progressive market economy based on fairness and humanity. Real value, produced by real people. To proceed in any other direction will most certainly unleash substantial and needless misery throughout what will have formerly been called "the developed world". Inge de Waard, Ignatia Webs, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Push versus Pull] [Link] [Comment]

Stephen Downes On Modularity (or Learning Objects)

Considers some things from my Future of Online Learning article - in this post (to which I reply) my position on the modularity of learning objects, and in this post, the idea of 'course creation kits' rather than courses. Also well worth reading from the same author is this much lengthier post on my discussion of learning communities. Robert Hughes Jr, Open2Learn, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Learning Communities, Online Learning Communities, Learning Objects] [Link] [Comment]

Why's It Called Second Life When There's Nothing Alive There?

"Wandering around Second Life today is like visiting Blackpool in February; all sad empty shops, deserted car parks and the stench of loneliness - and the opportunity to buy a fake cock for two quid. Occasionally - very occasionally - you'll chance upon another depressed lump of sub-humanity, wandering aimlessly and wondering what wrong junction they had taken off the M6 motorway of their life to end up somewhere so desolate." Via Andy Powell. Paul Carr, The Guardian, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Second Life] [Link] [Comment]

SWORD Facebook Application and Social Deposit

What is a "social deposit"? You had to ask. "Being able to deposit from within a site such as Facebook would enable what I'm going to call the Social Deposit... the social deposit takes place within the online social surroundings of a depositor, rather than from within a repository. By doing so, the depositor can leverage the power of their social networks so that their friends and colleagues can be informed about the deposit." Bloggers, of course, have had this for a long time; in Facebook the marking of a blog post is called "posting anote", and users of Twitter, del.icio.us and other social networking services have long advertised their lengthier content to their friends. The only thing different about a repository is that it's a "deposit", which may be saying something. Pete Johnston, eFoundations, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Assessment, Twitter, Google, Learning Object Repositories, Web Logs, Blogger, Networks, Books, Marketing, del.icio.us] [Link] [Comment]

Blackboard User Group Spotlight: CSBUG

Link to the Blackboard YouTube channel. "BlackboardTV is a multimedia effort to help e-Learning innovators (designers, instructors, students) visualize online teaching and learning in colleges and universities, K-12 schools, companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations." Erik Gillespie, Blackboard Blogs, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Schools, Visualization, Teaching Online, Video, YouTube, Blackboard Inc.] [Link] [Comment]

Serious Virtual Worlds

Just as we have serious games - games that are no fun - so also we have serious virtual worlds. "The aim of the report then is two-fold: to provide a context for learning practitioners and policy makers, aiding with their understanding of virtual worlds and how they can be selected and used in tertiary education; and to highlight how learners, through greater empowerment, may play a different and enriched role in the process." The appendices are where this report shines, with a good vocabulary and a detailed list of virtual world applications. Thgere are numerous examples of educational functions of virtual worlds, and it's not all about Second Life, as a second on the Croquet community demonstrates. Sara de Freitas, JISC, November 28, 2008 [Tags: Second Life] [Link] [Comment]

OU Goes Social with Platform

Tony Hirst writes, "Earlier this week, the OU quietly opened up its new social site - Platform - with a mailing going out today to inform students and alumni about it's availability." What follows in the post is an in-depth look at the new site. Tony Hirst, OUseful Info, November 28, 2008 [Tags: none] [Link] [Comment]

Connectivism: Networked Learner

Over the last 12 weeks, Stephen Downes and I have facilitated a course on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. The final “project” for enrolled participants is to reflect on the quality of their own learning networks. Wendy Drexler has posted a video of her final project that is (deservedly) getting significant attention: Connectivism: Networked Learner (also available on YouTube)

India

Various, Websites, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Google, Flickr] [Link] [Comment]

Edu-RSS Feeds

KerryJ plugs the Edublog Awards. People typically recommend and vote for blogs they already know. Here is a much more complete list of edublogs than is generally available elsewhere. I hope readers will take the time to have a look through at least some of the blogs they may not have seen before. Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, November 27, 2008 [Tags: RSS, Edu_RSS, Web Logs] [Link] [Comment]

Learning Styles in Context

Neil LaChapelle has posted a book on EDUCAUSE. It is "on the underlying dynamics that give rise to learning styles, personality styles, management styles and other similar phenomena." I haven't had a chance to read it (can someone write a review?) but I don't want to let it pass unrecognized, particularly in light of various debates about learning styles. Neil LaChapelle, EDUCAUSE Connect, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Personalization, Books, Learning Styles, EDUCAUSE] [Link] [Comment]

Diversity in Recommender Systems: Sketch of a Bibliography

The conversation between myself, Daniel Lemire and Seb Paquet on diversity on social networks continues. Here, Lemire sketches the beginnings of a bibliography. A number of commenters add even more resources. If you think there are things wer should be reading here, please let us know. Daniel Lemire, Weblog, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Networks] [Link] [Comment]

PLEs and PLNs Using Edna Tools

Slide presentation on a current topic. "By building a professional/personal learning environment and network - you can channel the flow and build a support team of friends, colleagues and mentors to help you make sense of it all." KerryJ, Weblog, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Networks, Mentors and Mentoring] [Link] [Comment]

Intro to Open Education - The Game

I can just picture David Wiley scratching his chin and wondering, "What will we do this time?" What he will do this time is to offer his open online course as as a massively multiplayer role-playing game "in which students select a character class, develop specialized expertise, complete a series of individual quests, join a Guild, and work with members of their Guild to accomplish quests requiring a greater breadth of skills than any one student possesses." Good idea, but I don't like the 'quests', which are indistinguishable from assignments. For example, "Carefully review at least 100 pages of historical information on the open education movement. Pass a basic-level oral defense on the history of the movement or write a substantive summary article on the same topic." David Wiley, iterating toward openness, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, Gaming] [Link] [Comment]

World Campus Cots

Via Terry Anderson, a set of 1-3 minute videos recorded by Larry Ragan asking various experts to identify one core competency for online teaching. Larry Ragan, YouTube, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Teaching Online, Video] [Link] [Comment]

Rigor?

Just rolling my eyes over this one (I personally couldn't get past the disagreement of tense in the first sentence). Of course, then there's this: "You cannot assign a 21st century 12 year old in California the task of analyzing "Anne Frank," at most they can analyze the text and her characterization of herself. And waitaminute, does the first sentence really say this is a 'novel?'" Um, hmm. Hoffman notes, "The point is that this assignment is just one fake prop among many held up by self-styled education reformers who know or care nothing about the messy details of teaching and learning." And then there's Deborah Meier, from today: "These guys... are con men. ... 'business generally avoids performance pay, schools are the safest places children frequent, private school enrollment is declining, business recommends against numerical goals, and public schools generally perform better than charter schools.'" Tom Hoffman, Tuttle SVC, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Schools, Online Learning, Private Schools] [Link] [Comment]

EDC's Presents - Copyright and Connectivism

I am speaking at Carleton University in Ottawa on December 3, as posted here, and hence have added the EDC Blog (Educational Development Centre) to my blogroll. It's a nice find. But I had to smile, on reading this: "Since Lively is still the BETA stage, we are likely to see massive improvements/changes in the application once the first real version is released." This was from November 17. And of course, Google announced three days later that Lively would be killed. Technology writing can be harsh. Harsh. Various Authors, EDC Blog, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Connectivism, Google, Web Logs] [Link] [Comment]

Definition of Emerging Technologies for Learning

I received an email recently asking for my definition of emerging technologies for learning. To enlarge the conversation, I asked the question on Twitter. The following are responses:

Eduinnovation: “Those technologies that allow learners to connect, collaborate, and create with other learnes, mind-to-mind, anywhere & anytime”

prawsthorne: “an innovation that captures attention, engages and deepens learning so the learner/teacher can self-measure the improvement.”

MarkMilliron: “any technology YOU don’t quite understand that you’ve heard might improve teaching and learning”

UNMVCTLC: “using technology TOOLS to improve the learning process while enhancing the instructional environment” and “using those tools that are not fully explored to reach new frontiers in methodology, experiences and concepts”

jdwilliams: “I think emerging (web) technologies are just sites/apps my district hasn’t found to block (yet)”

Darren Draper: “Emerging technologies for teaching and learning consist of all hardware, software, concepts, and ideas that can be employed to advance social, connective, and educational processes”

davecormier: “usually defined as - stuff George likes - I believe”

bengrey: “A body of knowledge or innovation not yet widely adapted or fully actualized which holds educational implications”

StonyRiver: “New Direction Learning Technologies”

How do you define emerging technologies for learning (or is the attempt to provide a definition sooo web 1.0?)?

Virtual Action Learning: What's Going On?

This is a good paper so far as it goes, though it feels a bit out of touch at times. The authors provide a background to Action Learning and describe its online form, Virtual Action Learning. Then they look for instances of it and find only a few instances. This is what strikes me as odd. For example, they write, "VAL is evolving... with the majority of cases occurring in Form 2 – asynchronous text. This is the only asynchronous form in evidence; perhaps not surprisingly there are no examples found of Forms 4 and 6 – asynchronous audio or visual ie use of recordings." Even if we construe Action Learning fairly narrowly (which the authors do not) there are many examples of Action Learning using audio and video online (names like Sprankle and Wesch spring immediately to mind). Alas, perhaps, not in the literature (such as it is). Reading academic literature is no substitute for real research. The full text is oddly not available off the English page, but can be found from the French and Spanish (still in English). More articles from the current issue of elearningpapers. Mollie Dickenson, Mike Pedler, John Burgoyne, elearningpapers, November 27, 2008 [Tags: Academic Publications, Audio, Online Learning, Video, Research, Academia] [Link] [Comment]

Social Computing

Dave Snowden is well-known in the knowledge management field. He has been kind enough in the past to present to online conferences that we have hosted at University of Manitoba (most recently, our Future of Education conference). Over the last few years, his writings/presentations have taken a turn that very much fits in with concepts presented in this forum and in CCK08. Dave started blogging about two years ago, but I’ve been following his work through his publications and contributions to ACT-KM. I could be imagining things, but his shift to blogging seems to coincide with his increased attention to the fragmentary nature of information. Distributed conversations, not packaged as they have been in the past through frameworks such as articles and books, in blogs provide an interesting experience in personal sensemaking. In a recent presentation (.pdf of slides - why not slideshare?…podcast is here), Dave details seven principles of KM, including: “Tolerated failure imprints learning better than success.”

Visualizing Data

OECD has been learning from Hans Rosling and Gapminder. In order to make their data more accessible, they’ve created (or had someone create) an application for visualizing data. I personally prefer gapminder’s interface, but OECD’s contribution is appreciated. If data is made more accessible it will be used more often as a guide for decision making (he says in his most idealistic voice).

Microsoft’s Personal Reboot: Web-Centric, But Beyond “The Cloud”

Microsoft has been a favorite source of mockery for all the cool web 2.0′ers. Microsoft is seen as too closed, too confined to the desktop, too late to search, and too out of touch with how people want to compute. In the face of this criticism, Microsoft continues to attempt a transformation -Personal Reboot: Web-Centric, But Beyond “The Cloud”: “Cloud computing may be trendy, but Ozzie says MSFT’s best course moving forward is a hybrid desktop/Web-based strategy…future success hinges on new products that win over the masses instantly.”

Education needs to be pulled into the 21st century

Short rant. Articles like - Education needs to be pulled into the 21st century - cause many educators to smile and nod in agreement. The report broadly splashes all the latest and coolest terms that cause sensible educators to viciously agree: “In an increasingly complex and competitive world, teachers must understand technology and connect coursework to the global economy, curricula should eliminate less relevant material and incorporate modern skills such as global awareness, technology and media literacy, and standardized tests must include these new subjects”.
Ok. That’s very nice. We are then treated with the typical mis-focused comment: “I hope to encourage policymakers to better equip our graduates for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs”. Education isn’t only about creating employees. It’s about assisting individuals to develop into the types of people that can tackle and handle the continual gyrations of a complex world. I don’t buy into the “education must prepare people for jobs that don’t yet exist” view. Education - as it always has - must prepare people for an unknown future. This isn’t new. When I was going to school, the particular job that I have today did not exist. How should we prepare people for, let’s say, the current financial crisis? By training people to be stockbrokers? No. You can’t prepare people for black swans. People must be capable of handling uncertainty, but also adapting as environments shift and change. At it’s most basic, education must move from epistemology to ontology. Getting back to the report: give us something useful. Statements as broad as those provided in the article (i.e. “develop new programs, standards, partnerships and assessment measures”) are hardly a basis for action. Perhaps it’s time that we stop focusing on what our curriculum is and start focusing on how we actually do curriculum in the first place.

Systems for Supportive Open Teaching

We’ve experienced this in CCK08: Systems for Supportive Open Teaching: “I think it more valuable to think about how openness changes the basic praxis of teaching from an essentially individual activity to a shared activity.”
But, as we’ve discovered, openness may produced shared activity at some levels (students helping each other, taking on leadership roles, connecting to others outside of the course, etc). Open teaching is really best seen as open learning. When we learn in transparent ways, we become teachers. But not everyone wants to learn in open ways. In CCK08, we had numerous participants who did not contribute by posting or commenting. Instead, they observed/lurked. They did not contribute in the way we would have expected. Lack of direct participation does not mean they didn’t learn - at least that’s what some participants have expressed here. Open teaching, therefore, means also rethinking our expectations of engagement. We simply can’t control students the way we have done in classroom environments. Open teaching will become a rather shallow concept if we bring too much of closed-classrooms to the process.

My Network Kicks Ass ...DSpace Social Layer Update

More on the idea of a social layer for DSpace, contributed by members of Brian Lamb's network. I would add this: it should also work on my Perl OAI server - yes, maybe I will have to write some code to support it, but if it requires DSpace to work, then it isn't an open social layer, it's just some proprietary thing. Brian Lamb, abject learning, November 26, 2008 [Tags: Networks, Content Syndication, Flickr] [Link] [Comment]