Group items tagged

a new MOOC model: uses open source web content as course design. Won't need a traditional instructor or large start-up investment. Known as a mechanical MOOC.

This article on Resource Link, September 21, 2011, captures the learning environments we wish to bring to businesses, nonprofits, and membership associations. "Social Media - what do you need to know? In the 21st century, learning networks are richer than ever before. Social media, including tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow connections with professionals to be developed in offline and online worlds in new and exciting ways. No longer are we limited geographically. Social media allows us to connect not only to those we know, but also to those who we don't know, but who share our passions, our interests and our profession. Despite never having met in the physical sense, it is now possible to share links, comment on educational research, debate, collaborate and create new knowledge with individuals no matter where they are working." Another excerpt: So….Social Media and Professional Learning Communities? What is the connection? A school which is a professional learning community focuses upon removing the walls between classrooms (metaphorically, in all cases, physically in some!), encouraging collaboration, dialogue, ready access to colleagues and an openness to challenge understandings and current 'accepted' knowledge. Excerpt: Roberts and Pruitt, in their book Schools as Professional Learning Communities (p3, 2009) quote research that suggests that the major obstacle for schools who wish to develop as learning communities is the provision of resources such as time to collaborate, leadership support, information and ready access to colleagues. Social Media is not the total answer; but in schools where money and time are in short demand (and which school isn't in this situation?), they can go part of the way in meeting these needs. 1. social media providing to time to collaborate 2. social media providing leadership support 3. social media providing information 4. social media providing access to colleagues

article by Kevin Bushweller, June 10, 2015 in EdWeek, good guidance for adult ed programs and informal adult learning as well IMO.

Mozilla has launched the program it began in 2011 to allow organizations to issue badges and individuals to collect them for their backpacks.

interesting article in NYT on February 24, 2013 on how adults long out of high school in some cases cobbled together learning experiences--formal academic work, open courseware, and experiential--to receive college degrees from Thomas Edison in New Jersey without ever having arrived on campus or borrowed money to pay for their degrees

Very interesting how they set it up, could be role model for us someday. I went through "Social Work, Gerontology" tabs but they were not populated with info. Did see one very nice SW-Gerontology professor whom I met years ago at Washington University in St. Louis

Maria Popova's blog, brainpickings, on Carol Dweck's work on mindset. Even in children, open or growth mindset is a key factor in learning, while fixed mindset is too focused on being perfect or the best or knowing all the answers. Growth mindset leads to curiosity, learning, exploration, and creativity. Fixed mindsets lead to the status quo and adhering to what exists. Growth mindset sees problems and challenges as growth and learning opportunities, fixed mindset views challenges as failure and underperforming. Great graphic of the 2 mindsets from Dweck's book.

Blog post by Martin Weller, The Ed Techie, November 15, 2013, on Thrun's enlightening on MOOC learners failing to complete the courses.

Tech-Enabled Learning by Whitehorne, Associations Now, January 2016, refers to recent survey on associations using technology to help their members/staff learn