Group items tagged

Walking on Eggshells" is a 24-minute documentary about appropriation, creative influence, re-use and intellectual property in the remix age. It is a conversation among various musicians, visual artists, writers and lawyers, all sharing their views on why and how we use and create culture, and how intellectual property law, originally designed to provide people with incentives to create, sometimes hinders creative production far more than it enhances it.

A great analysis of the problems with financial giants supporting educational reform.

This is one juicy article which may change your view of the big picture of ed reform or help you get others to see it more clearly. Pass it on.

In recent months, a handful of companies have introduced rankings that claim to calculate a college's brand value or online influence by looking at the attention an institution receives online. One ranking found that the University of Wisconsin at Madison has the strongest brand equity among universities, based on its number of mentions across the Internet. Another named Stanford University the most influential college on Twitter.

Learning and teaching in higher education is experiencing rapid change, in part, as a result of the influences of emerging technologies. These proceedings are the refereed papers of the 2nd Annual Conference on Emerging Technologies conducted by the University of Wollongong's Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR) and the Faculty of Education's Research Centre for Interactive Learning Environments (RILE) between 18 - 20 June 2008. The conference provided a showcase for research into these technologies and an insight into the way they can be used to promote meaningful learning in the higher education sector. Papers have undergone a double blind peer refereeing process to Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) standards. The papers have been assessed as providing information that increases the stock of knowledge and the use of this knowledge to devise new applications; they are original and have the potential to produce results; they represent substantial scholarly activity; and they have validity through a peer validation process. Further details of refereeing are included in the Conference Program available below.

Google adds "likes" to its searches with the new +1 button. Will thinks your friends "like" influence your results? If so, then your network of Google contacts will be more valuable than ever, since what they look at and like will affect what you see when searching Google

Ideas of how ed-wars are changing the influence spheres.

Gamification is the application of game elements in nongaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior

...by a a team led by two biologists, Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West, and a physicist, Martin Rosvall,- "The work builds off the thinking behind the Eigenfactor score, a method of assessing journals' relative influence that Mr. Bergstrom and Mr. West unveiled in 2007. The Eigenfactor algorithm takes into account the source of citations. A citation in a high-profile journal like Nature, for instance, counts for more than a citation from a journal only a handful of people ever see or cite. That's a more nuanced way to evaluate a journal's standing than the widely used impact factor, which tracks how many citations a journal gets but does not weight the sources."

Wow researchers can engage with the human side of research thru viewing connected networks, they can find the patterns in data sets and discover new fields as they converge amongst many possibilities... You can see overview where your research fits in etc too.

This is fascinating. I'm trying to figure out if this is something that could become useful to undergraduates learning about research. It seems like it has potential to reveal connections, trends, and patterns for students just starting in a discipline. It certainly makes disciplines seem less rigid and confined (which I think is a good thing).

An in depth article on social bookmarking and the new way it is influencing reading and writing. This article has suggestions for strategies to use in the classroom with students. via Alice Barr on Diigo

"Periodically I find myself confused about my online presence and contributions. Am I using wikis, blogs, twitter, social networks, and email effectively? Effective by what criteria? Indeed, who am I trying to influence? My explorations of what others say about this recently has led me to a position-albeit a provisional one... The social, not the medium (or technology), should be the primary consideration. The criterion we need to apply in designing our online presence and contributions could be something like: "Am I welcoming and cultivating apprentices who are getting prepared to go on and cultivate the kinds of interaction in virtual and physical space that support their own work?" "

Purpose - The primary purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of national cultural dimensions on e-learning practices in India. India is considered a major player in the world economy today. US multinationals are significantly increasing their presence in India and understanding cultural preferences will help global companies transition better. Design/methodology/approach - This conceptual paper uses the national cultural dimensions of the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness project, which is identified as the most topical theoretical framework on culture. The national cultural scores are used to develop hypotheses for specific cultural dimensions. Examples from the literature are also used to strengthen the proposed hypotheses. Findings - This research proposes that national cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in-group collectivism, and future-orientation influence e-learning practices. This study distinguishes between synchronous and asynchronous methods of e-learning and the role of culture on the same. Future research can definitely empirically test the hypotheses proposed. Practical implications - This study provides strategic implications for multinationals with a guide sheet identifying the role of the various cultural dimensions on e-learning. The suggested strategies can be implemented by multinationals in other countries with similar national cultural dimensions also. Originality/value - This research also proposes a theoretical e-learning model identifying the impact of national cultural dimensions on e-learning practices. This research also provides practitioners a strategic implications model that could be implemented for e-learning initiatives in multinationals.

Great read for anyone looking to update restrictive policies. Take note of items 3 & 4 and consider how the affective dimension influences dstudent learning!

"We recognize that in the march of the semester we begin on a different note than we end on. The early weeks hold promise and high hopes, both often curtailed when the first assignments are graded. The final weeks find us somewhere between being reluctant or relieved to see a class move on. There is an inexplicable but evident interaction between our teaching persona and the persona a class develops throughout a semester. Some structural factors influence both: among them-the type and level of a course, the discipline, the time of day, and whether the students are a cohort or a unique collection of individuals. "

I'm considering sharing these questions with my students as the semester progresses.

Three aspects of communication as outlined by Aristotle.

"Children's personalities may influence how they perform in maths and reading, according to a study by psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Proficiency in reading and maths is associated with a complex system of skills, some of which derive from personality traits. In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that characteristics related to openness, such as intellectual curiosity and confidence, made children more adept to take on maths and reading than characteristics describing conscientiousness, such as diligence and perseverance."

"When you have a specific interest, it can be difficult to learn more about it from people in your immediate circle of influence. Teaching is broad and we all have that one area we love just a little more than the others. This is why I sought out to understand more about Professional Learning Networks (PLN) and their value to teachers. I am often trying to persuade my peers to get online so they can reap the benefits that I am."

Student Motivation: Traditionally three styles of motivation are recognized: goal-oriented, relationship-oriented, and learning-oriented. Your teaching should attempt to reach students who have any of these motivations. It's easy to engage students who are learning-oriented because they learn for the sake of learning. They are self-motivated and will work hard to understand and apply most anything offered to them. They may become frustrated when asked to create a finished product because this may be viewed as a cessation of learning. Students who are relationship-oriented usually engage in learning as a way to interact with others. They enjoy the social aspect of education. They often enjoy working in pairs and in groups. They want to connect with others. Some of these students want to connect with their peers, but some are looking for a close connection with their instructor - either to obtain approval or to feel noticed and appreciated. Be careful, relationship-oriented students can be led astray by peer influences. Several vocal students who are negative about your course or its content can sway these students to feel the same way. Goal-oriented students ask themselves, "What's in it for me?"

"A new study from North Carolina State University finds that educating children about climate change increases their parents' concerns about climate change. "There's a robust body of work showing that kids can influence their parents' behavior and positions on environmental and social issues, but this is the first experimental study demonstrating that climate education for children promotes parental concern about climate change," says Danielle Lawson, lead author of a paper on the work and a Ph.D. student at NC State."

Experience shapes our understanding of the world and our responses to it. Our past influences our decision making and constrains our imaginations of what is and is not possible. Understanding this is a crucial step towards change; a first step towards discovering a better way to do things. Until we understand how our experience is limiting our imaginations we will continue to be restrained by the way things have always been done.