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This is so true! Education as a whole is an entirely different entity then other professions when it comes to goals.

I love this statement. It sheds so much light on potentially why education is coming to a stagnant standstill. There is too much structure, too much policy, and too many rules.

In the world of English composition there has been some push back against the outcomes movement for some of the reasons mentioned by Siemens, but Chris Gallagher, a writing program administrator at Northeastern University, has written about how "outcomes" language limits what we expect from learners. Instead, he argues for "consequential assessment," which for him is more open to what we hope students will learn, but also what unforeseen positive things can occur. 

#Truth. Competency-based approaches can prove to be a very safe, and very dangerous place at the same time.

Exactly! So why do we think this is acceptable for education??

Agree

I agree also until I understand otherwise :)

Having no clear outcomes could create anarchic, or perhaps apathetic, learning environments. It reminds me of an actor asking the director, "What's my motivation?".

How do we meet our objectives?? With the new evaluations that we are required to submit, we still need objectives and outcomes. This needs to be addressed.

When I was in grad school, a professor explained that librarians were informational curators, especially in relation to the Internet.  With so much available information, librarians (curators) were the professionals that could organize, analyze and filter out the 'bad' information for the user.  

We make our way through the complex information by exploring. Unfortunately, most teachers do not have the time to explore how to access the technology available.

This is a great question and that is an even better rebuttal. Not having the time is so true. Teachers only have so many in-service days and thsoe are usually filled by meaningless information and boring presentations. Their nights are filled with correcting homework, checking tests, reading essays, making lession plans, etc. This is a radical idea but what if we would make our schools a 4-day week for the chilren and leave 1 day for the teachers to prep, explore, and create. I'm sure the kids would like that...

Today's web is very different. It is both more confusing and comples YET extremely easy to navigate. Confusing because of the unreal number of options for just about everything yet easier to navigate and search for what you need. The web Siemens is talking about is the rudimentary, dial-up internet that has changed tremendously since then. Now, anyone can blog, and you don't have to know any html or ftp.

Which can be a very daunting task to many of the "senior" teachers!

I as well have seen this be a stigma in the faculty world. A lot of teachers are accustomed to being "head" in their field and do not like sharing information or reaserach. We are approaching an age where the kids growing up literally share EVERYTHING.

The notion of not sharing information is foreign to me as a librarian.  Information is free and plentiful so why shouldn't it be shared.  Certainly if information was not shared through books, stories, etc where might humanity be without the knowledge of astronomy or medicine that we have today.  

Information is still a commodity, as long as money can be made off of something, we're going to have to keep pushing for full transparency.

This connects with our text Becoming a Networked Learner by Mancabelli and Richardson. It encourages us to seek information but also put it out in the field for others.

I find this interesting because up until this year, our school website did not have pictures of faculty nor did it have updated information. This was an issue that our union fought to correct.

Oh wow, that's crazy that your school website did not have that information up there!

My district still doesn't have pictures up of staff on our website. They have names, positions, and e-mails posted, but no friendly pictures of your child's teacher.

There are plenty of examples of how fast messages can get amplified on Twitter or Facebook, if a user posts a message "Can I get 1 Million likes, RTs for xyz?"  

This is absolutely true. More and more responsibility is falling on the learner/student in today's society, which poses more problmes. How do we engage a student that has no desire to learn or that was brought up in a discouraging environment?

This speaks highly to design, and the advancements in today's web. With site builders, template pages, and communities that do all the heavy technical lifting, learners can focus on progressing vs. traditional troubleshooting.  The gravity of click/fail/recoup seems to be diminished slightly, thus solidifying the importance of wayfinding. 

Well I'm 23 and have no idea what any of these three technologies are, which could be very well why they did so little for innovation in aggregation. But I feel facebook and twitter has helped in aggregation, in a different way. Now we have facebook messages that are called "strands" and can be ongoing between any number of poeple. And on twitter you can create groups to follow, etc. Maybee RSS was too effective.

Another good content aggregator is Scoop.it, which I have used in class for annotated bibliographis and presented on at a couple of conferences. It has a good integration with social media and is its own kind of social media tool.

I agree with this statement that the higher levels in education should be structured for the networked learner, where the learner decide how to navigate through the content to meet specified objectives.

Importance of making mistakes.

Referenced in "Becoming a Networked Learner" through quality, not quantity. Cultivating fewer strong connections vs many weak connections.

Collective and social approach in learning. This eliminates the single point of failure in a traditional classroom. Have you ever had a class ruined by one bad teacher? In this scenario, learners can salvage a potentially bad experience by drawing on these multiple streams.

They just didn't realize it.

Yes; it turns out that people can use social networks like Twitter and Facebook to share news and other important information. Not to knock Farmville, but there's a lot more going on than that!

And some users may distribute a different article in response to counter its points... bringing multiple points of view to light!

That's pretty much the point of SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) Google's engineers have developed complex algorithms to find that meaning for us, and have automated scripts that execute them... and they seem to do a reliable job!

Systematic and substantial, even if questions remain unanswered; some outcomes aren't clear. I'm reminded of the Louisiana Purchase. We don't know what we might find, but the opportunity's so good that we can't pass it up.

I never really thought of the Web being a tool to reach multiple intelligences! The different tools that are on the internet would be great to use in the classroom because each child could express their learning in the context that best suits their needs. Some students could be typing written documents, others could be creating presentations or even short video clips. The possibilities are endless when involving Web 2.0 tools!

I noticed this idea, too! I'm a very visual learner, so I appreciate how the Internet can easily include text, videos, and slideshows in the classroom learning environment. Being able to connect to audio for auditory learners or people with visual impairments would also be really useful.

Much as discussed here, technology often reaches multiple intelligences at once seamlessly. I am a visual learner and my daughter is an auditory learner.  Recently, we both watched a clip and picked up on different things because she was mainly listening and I was mainly watching.  As stated here, this addresses not only how a child may express themselves but also how a child may learn too.

Yes, can you imagine have these types of tools when you in a K-12 setting?  I envision some of the harder subjects for myself would have been less difficult because I would be able to interact with the content in different ways.  

I would take it one step further to include that it not only reaches multiple intelligences, but also is great at adapting for ability levels. It posses the challenges needed for gifted students, the adaptations for students with needs, and can accomodate students who learn better in different languages. In many ways it is the ultimate instructional tool.

The idea that we need to be shifting from lecture-oriented/teacher centered learning is something that is hard for young teachers to start changing in their classrooms because of the lack of support from administration. I believe that soon students need to be learning in schools that are discovery-based. There still would be an underlying core of subjects being covered per grade level but students could work on their own through self-motivating projects to discover the information. The role of the teacher would be more of an adviser/moderator that would check in with students on their projects, make suggestions, and stretch their learning!

Marie--this is very interesting and I think what leads some parents to a home school curriculum. I am not a K-12 teacher and have no experience in that area, but with my own children I see that sometimes they are being taught one certain way to do something because that is the way they will be tested. Since my husband and I are both college professors, we often teach the kids other things and this gets them in trouble at school sometimes. For instance, we taught them 4 states of matter--liquid, gas, solid, and plasma. My son was told that plasma was not in the book so it was not a correct response.

Ugh. Yes. The "the answer in the book is the only correct answer" problem. I was one of those horrible students who argued with my teachers all the time that the teacher's edition was wrong. It's why I always try to write questions that are either A) obviously open-ended on purpose or B) specific enough that there is genuinely only one answer. Sometimes it's all in the directions, but because of my annoyance in school, I try to keep it in mind.

It seems like the discovery option in K-12 is not as prevalent in classrooms these days, because teachers/administrators are more worried about covering material for state tests.  

Marie that is exactly the type of classroom I try to maintain.  Students all around the room discovering their own learning.  Its amazing at how something as simple as the powerpoint project I'm having them create right now generates so much creativity and interest.  The students get to pick their topics and I haven't seen them more excited about a single assignment since I've been there.  They ask if we can get out the laptops every free minute and they are constantly calling me over while working to tell me the interesting pieces they are adding about their topic/person/thing.  I also have them present their powerpoint to the class hoping everyone can learn a little about each other's projects and generate their own questions.  As for "the answer in the book is the only correct answer", I haven't come across students that argue with the material yet (unless it is spelling and they are positive that tomato has an "e" in it), but plain and simple the books are outdated.  The information is not always accurate and although I still use the books I try to alternate the books and current internet pieces on the same topic.  Learning is about the students and we aren't constrained to just the old, dusty, resources in the room.

I like the thought of "augment[ing] the knowledge dynamics of a region". I think it acknowledges that technology is a great tool, but that it isn't the end all and be all. It adds to the learning experience in a way that can be individual and powerful.

Yes it should be pedagogy before technology

This is another way to see the Connectivist approach to learning

If Web 1.0 was about building a relationship between the web and the individual and Web 2.0 is about building support for relationships, what will Web 3.0 look like ... tailored experiences ... personalization...collaboration?  If so, are we already in a Web 3.0 world?

The Web 3.0 could be the Internet of Things or building a relationship between an indivudal and a thing, or turning things into people. Like having an oven recognize that Zach put a turkey in the oven and the oven knows that Zach likes the turkey cooked a certain way so it automatically cooks it for you. Scary concept, but it's coming.

In a lot of ways--and this is something that others have pointed out--big internet services have narrowed our influences because of more targeted use of the data we give off when we use Google, for instance. Thus, limited some of the potential for relationships that Brown talks about.

Interesting! Could this information be considered public like the information that is already being sold by physical stores, etc.? Do you think there will be less material things in the future and more virtual or made of different materials? Like a physical stop sign won't be necessary when cars drive themselves. We won't have to paint our walls we can change the color with a click!

Sam, I do think there will be less material things in the future. Check out this link. http://mashable.com/2013/05/18/stop-sign-water/ LaserVision, a light show company, designed a curtain of water with a stop sign projected onto it. It's been a project in Austrailia since 2007. The implications of this are endless. And I think we are approacing a very different and radical age.

That's really neat, thanks for sharing! :)

This shift is happening and undeniable. Social learning is the theme for our next e-learning e-fiesta. Thanks Phil for sharing this (rather long) article.

Does this guy work for Google now? Perhaps had a part in designing Google Glass? I got to experiement with Google Glass in February. Woah, was that cool. It was very unique in being able to watch a video in your glasses or wink and be able to take a picture. I can definitely see Google Glass, or a future model being implemented in education.

Google Glass came to my mind as well.  I've had colleagues that have had the opportunity to try them.  It confuses me as to how it works exactly.  Perhaps we have reached the Jetsons age?

I've been more fascinated with what 3D printers can do in the classroom, where at least for now printers seem to have an easier to identify educational role.

Well that was a dead-on prediction.

I think this can get into the touchy subject of plagiarism. There's a famous saying that goes, "stealing from one source is plagiarism, but stealing from many sources is research". I also read a book titled, "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon. One of the famous sayings used was from Picasso, "Good artists copy, great artists steal."

Again, I find most middle school and high school students, college-aged, and adults are not always certain on the differenences between a .gov or .edu site versus a .com site. 

The standards for "cobbling" or taking code fragments are different than traditional "ideas," though. Code seems less abstract and more material-based, at least virtually. 

This is a loaded sentence and I love it. It's a great point and I think it describes the complexity of today's world, Web 2.0 tools, and how to be an effective digital bricoleur.

I love this. Stories are everywhere, from birth to death, and have always been apart of the human nature. I do believe stories are vital to education and how every child learns best. Not always just storybooks, but stories from parents, classmates, friends, and from their teachers.

Absolutely! I always try to incorporate story telling into my classes. Sharing things I learned during my time in school and letting students share their stories with their peers and myself. A lot of the time I even learn from their stories!

This is a great way to learn that I think a lot of professors on campus overlook. The engineers basically were experiencing what we call today a "flipped classroom". I think this is a great way to learn, especially with a small group of people where you can bounce ideas off and pause the lecture or re-watch it. Sometimes during a lecture or in a class, people need that time to pause, and think over the material. Some students do this, and then miss what the instructor continued to talk about.

I think this is a rather important concept, that the teacher also learns from the students. This creates an environment of learning where students can take the reign of teacher and be able to teach. This creates a two-way conversation that can foster deeper and more meaninful learning.

We had "Grandma" in our class while student teaching. The students loved her! I wonder if the students in this project assist "their grandparent" in using technology?

I have a student now that due to several reasons cannot read or write.  I only have the student for two subjects and during our time with those subjects the student puts his finger on the page as if he is following along, but has no clue where the class is.  The student is constantly cutting papers and never doing the assignment like the rest of the class.  The student does not even remember my name, but if I give this student a verbal test the student receives grades of 80%.  I have no idea how he is retaining the information when he is talking and looking at a completely different page, cannot remember my name, but can get almost every answer correct.  Clearly he is able to concentrate on what is being read or spoken to him in those environments even though according to my eyes he's not paying attention at all.  Just reminded me an example of multi-processing.  

A corporation purchases another for billions of dollars, for the purpose of investing in a medium with intense transformation potential. The uncertainty of what those transformations will be does not deter them. This is the power of increased convenience in communications: it is potentially of great service to billions of people, and worth more green bills than each of us shall witness in our lifetimes.