Group items tagged

A blog by Geoff Cain on MOOCS and Connectivist Instructional design from October 27, 2012. Very interesting history of how this teacher of health information management used collaborative technologies to teach the class and help the students work online in a multi-model delivery method. See below for implications on any online courses and how OS it feels. There were weekly guest lecturers as well as presentations by the course facilitators. The real heart of the course was the groups of students who would meet virtually, using the collaborative tools of their own choosing, who would discuss the presentations and readings. These groups were self-organized, leaderless, and informal. Yet, there always seemed to be someone in the group who would carry the discussion back into the course to have questions answered by the facilitators. And the facilitators would sometimes participate in the discussions. This experience was highly interactive. There was interaction with the facilitators, the content and between the students. Interestingly enough, the research shows that interaction is one of the primary measures of success and retention in online classes: the higher the degree and opportunity for interaction, the more successful a course will be. This course completely changed how I think of course design.

Article identified on Stephen Downes' home page, Juy 20, 2012. Excerpt "Although MOOCs share the common characteristics of being large courses open to anyone, there are two main types, one called an "x MOOC," and another called a "connectivist MOOC." The companies and partnerships that fall into the "x MOOC" include Coursera; an MIT and Harvard partnership called EdX, and a new venture founded by three roboticists called Udacity. Other universities follow a connectivist MOOC model developed by George Siemens, Stephen Downes and Dave Cormier in 2008. What's the difference between the two? Connectivist MOOCs are more social and focused on deriving meaning of the learning experience with others, Virginia Commonwealth's Becker said. And they allow students to participate through blogs, RSS feeds and other decentralized methods, said Downes, a senior researcher for Canada's National Research Council. By contrast, x MOOCs emphasize content mastery, centralizes courses on one website and uses automated grading tools to support hundreds of thousands of students. But regardless of the category, MOOCs as a whole will change how universities offer courses, Downes said. And they're not going away. "Universities can't just keep doing what they're doing and hope this whole online thing goes away," Downes said."

List of projects in Connected Learning Research Network as of July 27, 2012 Note this Longitudinal study of Connected Learning by Ben Penuel of late elementary and middle school students in connected learning environments and the "relationship of participation to valued outcomes. These outcomes include interest development, persistence in learning, civic participation, and development of a positive sense of the future." Could these outcomes be the same for WLS Studio connected learners?

A wonderful testimonial by a language arts teacher--Melinda Rench--in IL on the value of connecting with peers via social media (Ning, Twitter, and personal networks) to feed her mind and soul, Winter 2012. See excerpt below: "Using social networks to further my learning has enriched my professional life in more ways than I can name. I have a support network, a never-ending source of inspiration and new ideas, and a learning network that spans the globe. It is professional development that matters and feeds my soul."

Following on to the Networked Learning Conference 2012, selected papers have been upgraded and bundled into this interesting book, published by Springer. From practice to theory. Scooped by Steven Verjans onto Networked learning The Design, Experience and Practice of Networked Learning - Springer From link.springer.com - Today, 5:44 AM In the introductory chapter, we explore how networked learning has developed in recent years by summarising and discussing the research presented in the chapters of the book. The chapters are structured in three sections, each highlighting a particular aspect of practice. The first section focuses on the relationship between design and its influence on how networked learning practices are implemented. The second section extends this discussion by raising the notion of experiencing networked learning practices. Here the expected and unexpected effects of design and its implementation are scrutinised. The third and final section draws attention to a growing topic of interest within networked learning: that of networked learning in informal practices. In addition, we provide a reflection on the theories, methods and settings featured in the networked learning research of the chapters. We conclude the introduction by discussing four main themes that have emerged from our reading of the chapters and which we believe are important in taking forward the theory of networked learning. They are as follows: practice as epistemology; the coupling of learning contexts (the relationship and connection of learning contexts and spaces); the agency and active role of technology within networked learning; and the messy, often chaotic and always political nature of the design, experience and practice of networked learning.