Group items tagged

By sleslie on edtechpost (blog), Feb 14, 2012. In this post on authoring "open textbooks," the author looks at the process of book sprints, which were borrowed from coders in the open source and hacker communities. In a book sprint, a group of interested participants come together with the goal of creating a book (or book-like) project. In addition to a very general outline of the process, the post recommends some tools that a group might use, as well as a link to some sample books.

Both the tools and the process seem interesting. How might this process be applied to a KPI project...in lieu of a Jam? In conjunction with a Jam? As the Jam take-away?

Under the auspices of the US Department of Education, discussions are held via a listserve about professional development. This wiki contains an organized multi-day discussion on using video in teaching and staff development carried out through the list-serve. The list-serve is subscriber based but I guess both the discussion and accompanying wiki are open to the public. Issues for me: Should KPI consider offering the organized Jam transcript in the form of a wiki? Should it be open for discovery or only available to Jam participants?

Article by Peter Chepya (professor of instructional design at Post University in CT) in 2005 on E-Personality: The Fusion of IT and Pedagogical Technique, how to create the 'there" on line. The excerpt below speaks to the transformation that occurs with Jam newcomers as they move from text-based exchange to passionate dialogue online. We need to figure out how to convey this in a Jam video. Excerpt: My online teaching relies on the "human element," expressed in features such as companionability and presence. The cumulative effect creates an atmosphere I call "presence learning" as opposed to the outdated misnomer "distance learning" often used with Internet courses. Presence learning creates a palpable connection between the instructor and the student, engaging students in "reality," not "virtual reality"--another outdated aphorism. Once while delivering a paper at a conference of online educators, I was challenged by a participant who thought my online course (being projected onto a screen) was "heavy on the text." Upon learning that the questioner's field was American literature, I asked hi if he thought Moby Dick was "heavy on the text." If the work is compelling, the medium disappears and the experience becomes actual. ...We came to accept the telegraph as "real" communication, as we then did the telephone, radio, recorded music, television, and cinema. We forgot the medium in each case.

Posted by Clay Johnson, 10/25/2011 on ExpertLabs In the context of experts' conversations with government, the author of this post argues that tools such as IdeaScale, Google Moderator and UserVoice are useful for brainstorming but not the best method for a true dialog. These tools give government an excuse to "not" participate with people where they are. The comments on a government site, i.e. the dialogue on evolving data.gov (via IdeaScale) shouldn't replace "participating with practicitioners," which should happen where they are. (i.e. in a Jam, I.F.) Expert Labs aims to get more people involved in order to make policy better. Expert Labs publishes reports, constantly updates their blog and has developed a tool, ThinkUp, that enables users to automatically archive data and communications across Facebook, Twitter and Google+, encouraging engagement on these networks.

By Michael Feldstein on the blog e-Literate, May 13 2012. In the context of last year's NERCOMP LMS Unconference, Feldstein first explains the concept of an unconference and then describes his own (successful) strategy to giving the keynote. Along the way, he defines a third way of teaching (or conducting a conference), in opposition to "guide on the side" or "sage on the stage," he suggests "guide on the stage," while acknowledging that each of these methods is correct and has its proper place/time/audience.

Many of Feldstein's ideas about "priming the pump," unconferences, and "guide on the stage" might be useful in Jams as well.

From the blog Connectivism by George Siemens, December 14 2011. Siemens argues the importance of artifacts to help students make sense of their experiences in MOOCs and other online learning experiences.

Thinking about the critical nature of artifacts to learners making sense of their e-experience makes me wonder how to encourage submission of such "sensemaking" artifacts to our Jams and e-communities.

Slideshow presented by Anders Quitzau (part of IBM Innovation team) to VidenDanmark on June 10, 2008. Outlines IBM's thinking in terms of new innovation models.

Information about recent grantees and their projects in this program area.

By Rose Holley, in D-Lib Magazine, March/April 2010, vol 16(3/4). This article looks at crowd sourcing -- more than "social engagement," the author defines crowdsourcing as individuals collectively working towards a common goal (e.g. correcting a news article) -- and how libraries might direct engagement in crowdsourcing.

In many cases, "crowdsourcing" (as per author's definition) is what we (KPI) are trying to accomplish with our Jams and other online engagements. The author offers a great checklist (with examples) for how to engage your "crowd" in your project. SM