Group items tagged

Article in MindShift, KQED, April 24, 2012 by Nathan Miton. Fabulous because it recognizes that content is one leg of learning stool. Excerpt: But at such a huge scale, what are the digital methods of teaching that work best? Philipp Schmidt, founder of the free online university P2PU, preaches three building blocks: community, recognition and content. Endorsement of peer learning potential Excerpt: The Stanford professors readily admit that some of the students who participated in their online courses provided their peers with deeper, more comprehensive answers than they were able to. The exponential explosion in opportunities for learning. Excerpt: in the past 10 years I've heard people say campus-based education better look out, that this will be threatening to their business model, and I've never really felt that until the last six months. The pace of change in open education is qualitatively different than it was even a few months ago." A new breed of digital pedagogy/andragogy/heutagogy Excerpt: "We probably haven't fully made the transition to digitally native pedagogies and learning approaches," Carson said. "The first generation of distance learning is basically an attempt to move the classroom online, and I think that part of the scalable learning of these massive courses is the breakdown of that model."

A digital journal of learning, teaching, and technology that is peer reviewed. Also houses discussions that are networked and participant-driven

Blog post by Lisa Lane on her Program for Online Teaching class to teach people new to teaching online to articulate their pedagogy for teaching online. She explains how it started as a SMOOC (small to medium) online class in the middle of the quickly paced MOOC movement and how she wishes she had never categorized it as a SMOOC at all (even though it was open to requests to participate). Instead she views it is a class (with textbook and syllabus) guided by the facilitator and content and scaffolded with sequence and mentors/moderators, etc. However, she reverted to the more traditional model as the class was underway. September 4, 2012

Blog post by Lisa Lane early this month (November 2012 explaining to another online instructor how she built a system for aggregating students' blog posts that may be relevant to WLStudio series and "sharing" activities? She uses FeedWordPress. Excerpt: "Participants set up their own blog wherever. Then I need to get the feeds from those blogs into the Pedagogy First! aggregated blog, using FeedWordPress. I use the Add Link widget (yes, I know it's old) so participants can add their own, and have provided more extensive instructions for them about blogs and feeds. In particular, we want people who post on many subjects to not only use the "potcert" tags for their posts, but use the feed for that tag only. This is so only their class-related posts show up on the class blog. The back end of this process is a little more complicated. When participants enter their information in Add Link, it goes directly into the Blogroll. The Blogroll is what feeds into FeedWordPress as a default. I customize the titles of feeds and the names of participants to use their real names for everything. I change the titles of feeds by going into FWP's Syndication area and using Feeds & Updates. Using the drop down menu to bring up a particular blog, I change the title and click manual control so it doesn't revert back the next time the feed updates. When I do this, it seems to update automatically in the Links area. Then I go to Users and make sure their names are their full names by editing them individually."

HASTAC discussion by badge designers, 10/2012 Note this excerpt: Include badge earners in the design process of your program. Understand their motivation, what drives their involvement, and what they hope to get out of the program you are creating. Consider the diversity of your learners; they are likely to be driven by different goals. Assessment is just as important in a badge-based learning system as it is in more traditional learning environments. In order for badges to have value to the earner and to those who would consider using the badge to impute the skills or competencies of an individual, appropriate assessment practices need to back up the process by which the badge was awarded. Craft a badge system that is flexible enough to accommodate a range of learning styles, motivations and pedagogies. Some contexts call for more proscribed badging opportunities, where experts set up gauntlets which learners pass successfully before earning badges. Other systems call for a more grassroots approach, in which learners set their own goals and pursue less well-defined pathways that get them where they want to go as individuals, with badges in hand to show for their efforts. Creating a badge system that can adapt to a variety of contexts and audiences is a worthy challenge. Break up complex requirements into simpler steps and attach a badge to each step (so the badges act like waypoints on the overall path).

excellent interview with Liz Coleman, former president/reformer of Bennington College on action, engagement, learning, real-time issues, etc.

Connected Learning site may be something WLStudio should become a part of (don't know if it is possible) or emulate. I like: 1. their philosophy of learning AND the tools they use with Google +hangouts (free open tool and limiting the # of registered participants) 2. livestreaming the event live and allowing others to participate through chat box and 3. building an archive of past events.

article by Steven Mintz for the Chronicle of HE, July 22, 2013 Excerpt: "But the most important challenge involves a shift in the way students consume higher education. Instead of attending a single institution, students receive credit in multiple ways, including from early-college/dual-degree programs, community colleges, online providers, and multiple universities. Students are voting with their feet, embracing online courses and undermining core curricula, which served as a cash cow, by turning to alternate providers, and pursuing fewer majors that require study of a foreign language." Fifteen innovations: 1. e-advising 2. evidence-based pedagogy 3. decline of lone eagle teaching 4. optimized class time 5. earlier educational transitions 6. fewer large lecture classes 7. new frontiers for e-learning 8. personalized adaptive learning 9. increased competency based and prior learning results; 10. data driven instructions 11. aggressive pursuit of new revenue 12. online and low-residency degrees at flagships 13. more certificates and badges 14. free and open textbooks 15. public-private partnerships

Blog post identified by Brenda Kaulback for CPsquare Inquiry 2013. Blog by Scott Jaschik, August 19, 2013, focuses on the DOCC, a MOOC feminized with different values and pedagogy. Excerpt "The DOCC aims to challenge MOOC thinking about the role of the instructor, about the role of money, about hierarchy, about the value of "massive," and many other things. The first DOCC will be offered for credit at 17 colleges this coming semester, as well in a more MOOC-style approach in which videos and materials are available online for anyone." Excerpt: "A DOCC is different from a MOOC in that it doesn't deliver a centralized singular syllabus to all the participants. Rather it organizes around a central topic," Balsamo said. "It recognizes that, based on deep feminist pedagogical commitments, expertise is distributed throughout all the participants in a learning activity," and does not just reside with one or two individuals. Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/19/feminist-professors-create-alternative-moocs#ixzz2xY8xLHur Inside Higher Ed

Effective online instruction depends on learning experiences appropriately designed and facilitated by knowledgeable educators. Because learners have different learning styles or a combination of styles, online educators should design activities that address their modes of learning in order to provide significant experiences for each class participant.

A Guide to New Theories, Methods, and Practices for Open Peer Teaching and Learning, written by the 21st Century Collective, which includes Cathy Davidson. Includes contributions organized by Motivations, Provocations, Invitations

A Guide to New Theories, Methods, and Practices for Open Peer Teaching and Learning, written by the 21st Century Collective, which includes Cathy Davidson. Includes contributions organized by Motivations, Provocations, Invitations

from Te@chthought.com: Terry Hick updated the 2013 version of this infographic on 5/21/15. Mirrors Seek, sense, share and the digital literacies in Net Smart. Good site for teaching and learning, although k - 12 focused but relevant to most teaching, I think.

article by Abigail Walthausen on value of lectures such as Ted Talks that enable independent, deeper thought especially for introverted types than being thrust into a group discussion; The Atlantic, November 21, 2013