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djplaner

The reusability paradox - WTF? | Damo's World - 4 views

  • Learners construct new knowledge, upon their own existing knowledge.  This is very individualised, and based on each learner’s past experiences, and ways of thinking.
    • djplaner
       
      From a NGL perspective, I'd say that what people know is a network of connections - both internally in their brain and with the tools and artifacts they use. To learn is to make a new connection with that existing network. It's easier to make that connection when what you are learning is closer to where you are. The more it has in common with you.
  • Learning designers have some tricks to help deal with such diversity, such as researching your cohort, conducting a needs analysis, and ultimately categorising learners and focusing on the majority.
    • djplaner
       
      A major flaw in this approach is that it assumes that people fall into these categories. You are this type of person, you have this learning style which ignores the true variety of people. By spending a lot of time categorising you feel like you're trying to understand complexity, but never do. The book "The End of Average" touches on some of the problems with this. This type of approach doesn't work if you see the world as "complex, dynamic, and consists of interdependent assemblages of diverse actors (human and not) connected via complex networks"
  • three approaches
    • djplaner
       
      Damien misses two additional possibilities here - Personalised learning - the use of Artifical Intelligence so that the unit of study is smart enough to respond to the individual student. But the problem with this approach is that it can generally only do this within a pre-defined body of knowledge. It doesn't work well with motivation and other forms of context - Personal learning - you put the agency back into the learner and allow them to be in charge of their progress through. The issue with this is that it assumes that the learner has the skill, knowlege and motivation to do this. It is also not a model that fits well with standard educational institutions. This links to the dual-layer pathways design aproach - http://www.edugeekjournal.com/2016/06/14/evolution-of-the-dual-layercustomizable-pathways-design/ And perhaps choral explanations and federation.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • meaningful for everyone
    • djplaner
       
      Or another option, help each learner make it individual to them.
  • These technologies become so complicated to use, that people simply don’t use them.
    • djplaner
       
      While I agree with this trend, I wonder whether there is anything that can be done about it. e.g. I think part of the problem here is the opaque nature of digital technology - https://davidtjones.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/the-nature-of-digital-technology-part-2/ Perhaps the problem with the workshop activity is that it's model is not readily apparent to the people who use it. The abstraction that has been made isn't communicated to the people using it, so they have to go through trial and error and generally fail. -- The Ben-Ari and Yeshno (2006) quote on the above link is good for this.
  • “the system does this, but I want to do that.”
    • djplaner
       
      I really like Kay & Goldberg's (1977) - that's right 1977 - 40 years - quote any attempt to specifically anticipate their needs in the design of the Dynabook would end in a disastrous feature-laden hodgepodge which would not be really suitable for anyone Reference on this page https://davidtjones.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/what-if-our-digital-technologies-were-protean-implications-for-computational-thinking-learning-and-teaching/
    • djplaner
       
      Perhaps that quote explains what students see when they see a course that relies on material that's been shared amongst various different STEM contexts When you can't connect something directly into your understanding and context, it becomes a feature-laden hodge podge that you just can't figure out how to connect to your practice and understanding.
  • What if a technology is so specific, it’s designed for just one person – yourself?
    • djplaner
       
      Which comes back to the option of providing the individual with the agency to make the learning personal to them. Giving them the agency to make connections into their networks. Of course, this approach isn't just some pancea. It has it's own challenges (especially when trying to concieve of it within existing mindsets/institutions) and also it's own weaknesses. The question is how to overcome those weaknesses and challenges in meaningful ways that addresses the resuability paradox.
  •  
    Damien is a ed developer at CQU. In this post he struggles with some of the common problems faced by that type of position and tries to understand them in the context of the reusability paradox. Some of this is inspired by my own thinking, hence it resonates with me. It also resonates with me because I see the possibility of a network perspective offering a useful way to look at these problems. I'm hoping to illustrate some of this via annotations. Whether this will be useful to you is another matter entirely. A lot of this is thinking out loud by both Damien and myself.
djplaner

AJET 26(3) Drexler (2010) - The networked student model for construction of personal le... - 7 views

  • Students engaging in networked learning research must be more self-directed
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Raises the question - what about those students who do not possess these skills?
    • paul_size
       
      I agree, if they do not possess these skills then what?  And is that necessarily a bad thing?  How do we support those with the skills at the same time as those without the skills?
  • balance between structure and learner autonomy
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Recognises that particular skills are require and may need to explicitly taught.
  • take an active role in the learning process by making decisions
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Active participation = decision making
  • ...39 more annotations...
  • If the learner has primary control, the teacher must consider alternative assessments (Pedersen & Liu, 2003)
  • The role of a teacher within a student-centered approach to instruction is that of a facilitator or coach (Wang, 2006)
  • The students in this study are in effect, networked learners in training.
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Love this view of students working to acquire NGL skills - "networked learners in training"
  • A teacher is better equipped to facilitate networked learning if he or she has experienced the construction of such a model first hand
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Just as well we are all taking this course! :)
  • Figure 2: The Networked Student
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      A model of the networked student.  Like how it incorporates all aspects of a students life, not just online!
  • He or she constructs knowledge based on experiences and social interactions (Jonassen et al., 2003)
  • He asserts that learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions, and learning is a process of connecting nodes or information sources (Siemens, 2004).
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Constructivism influences.
    • paul_size
       
      This is a really nice line.  I like the idea that through collaboration we can leverage off diversity.  
  • Technology supports this appropriation as a collection of tools that promote knowledge construction, an information vehicle for exploring knowledge, an active learning tool, a social medium to promote conversing, and an intellectual partner to facilitate reflection (Jonassen et al., 2003). Each of these components is present in the
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Technology SUPPORTS the learning.
  • The networked student constructs a personal learning environment one node at a time. Once these connections are formed, they must be revisited and built upon to facilitate further learning. The personal learning environment lives beyond time spent in a classroom, especially if the learner chooses to activate it. Yet even in the situation where one learner abandons the personal learning environment, if created as an open resource, it becomes a strong node from which others can learn.
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      A nice example of how constructivism works in students construction of knowledge both inside and outside the confines of the classroom.
  • The teacher is necessary to help the students navigate the breadth of content, apply the tools properly, and offer support in the form of digital literacy skills and subject matter expertise.
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      To achieve depth of understanding, students still require teacher assistance and guidance. 
    • paul_size
       
      I guess this links in nicely with assignment 1 and our posts on how NGL can inform our roles as teachers.
  • Teacher beliefs about the value of technology as a teaching tool may determine effective integration more than traditional forms of professional development (Mueller et al., 2008).
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Teacher beliefs about the value of technology = successful integration.
    • paul_size
       
      I agree.  The teacher plays such an important role in all of this.
  • Table 1: Patterns for networked learning (Goodyear, 2005, p. 1
  • The personal learning environment can take the place of a traditional textbook
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Interesting concept given Brendon's current textbook debate!
    • paul_size
       
      I like the idea of empowering networked students and by enabling them to transcend the traditional concept of the classroom by user friendly web applications.  What about the implications for the work environment?  As David talked about earlier in once of his posts about his experience and finding, I think it was, USQs tools not as useful as the ones outside of work.  How do we empower ourselves in a limited environment?
  • Traditional, lecture-based classrooms are designed as passive learning environments in which the teacher conveys knowledge and the student responds (Chen, 2009).
    • paul_size
       
      I liked this line - for me it really sums up my work environment at present. It's a passive, top down culture where you are lucky if you are the recipient of knowledge rather than a partaker in the journey.
    • paul_size
       
      I think that using Diigo for me is a great example of were learning moves beyond the passive to an integrated environment.  
  • "He or she supports the students in their search and supply of relevant material, coordinates the students' presentations of individual milestones of their projects, moderates discussions, consults in all kinds of problem-solving and seeking for solutions, lectures on topics that are selected in plenary discussions with the students and conforms to the curriculum" (Motschnig-Pitrik & Holzinger, 2002, p. 166).
  • scaffold the learning process
  • Examples of emerging web applications for each of these categories are highlighted. The Networked Student Model establishes a baseline that begins to address what level of structure is needed to facilitate networked learning while providing a foundation for greater student control over the personal learning environment.
    • paul_size
       
      scaffold the learning process... what level of structure is needed to facilitate networked learning while providing a foundation of learner control. For me this is the reality at the moment with NGL. What structure do I need to support my knowledge development? It's about my PKM as well and already that has changed since my initial blog.
  • Networked learning, constructivism, and principles of connectivism inform the instructional design and provide a foundation on which future studies can explore the impact of networked learning on K-12 students and teachers.
  • It is the combination of these connections, especially in concert with human to human contact, that provide the most powerful learning potential (Goodyear, 2005).
  • The significant connections in Couros' view of the network include colleagues, popular media, print and digital resources, the local community, blogs, wikis, video conferencing, chat/IRC, social networking services, online communities, social bookmarking, digital photo sharing, and content development communities (Couros, 2008).
  • The networked student follows a constructivist approach to learning.
  • The Networked Student Model of constructing personal learning environments is reflected in many connectivist principles.
  • Conversely, in the networked learning environment, blogging is a key component of the personal learning environment through which students respond to and collect the opinions of others. Students identify blogs that target a specific unit of study, and they have the option to respond with opinions of their own. They are taught to discern between fact and opinion and appreciate the value of both.
    • paul_size
       
      I think the key here is being able to discern between fact and opinion.  How is this taught to kids today?  I am not a teacher, on the ground with students so any thoughts on this would be great. 
  • The networked student constructs knowledge that can be built upon in other contexts. That knowledge resides within the network to be activated by the learner at any time in the future. There is always the capacity to add nodes to the network (Siemens, 2009).
    • paul_size
       
      I think this links in nicely with Communities of Practice the construction of knowledge.  The knowledge is held within the community and it is by participation that one moves towards mastery (Wenger, 1988).
  • Ultimately, meaningful learning occurs with knowledge construction, not reproduction; conversation, not reception; articulation, not repetition; collaboration, not competition; and reflection, not prescription (Jonassen et al., 2003).
    • paul_size
       
      So meaningful learning comes through knowledge construction.  Not cutting and pasting.  It's about getting out there and into the real world and feeling the experience.
  • Learning potential exists in what the student does with the compilation of content and how it is synthesised.
  • exploring problems, asking questions, making discoveries, achieving new understanding and fulfilling personal curiosity" (National Science Foundation, as quoted by Chang & Wang, 2009, p. 169)
  • The networked student test case follows a single iteration, design based research process (Ma & Harmon, 2009) for analysing a problem, developing a solution, testing a prototype, and reflecting on the results.
  • The students had never participated in networked learning, so a significant amount of time was allotted at the beginning of the project to address digital literacy as well as task and organisational skills that would be required in the online environment.
  • The process and tools are overwhelming to students if presented all at once.
    • paul_size
       
      Here here!
  • Achieving the delicate balance between teacher control and student autonomy is an ongoing challenge when facilitating student use of new technologies for self-regulated learning
  • While the Networked Student Model affords the learner more control and responsibility, the teacher must continually balance this freedom with enough structure to keep students on task and engaged in the learning process.
  • Adopting a networked learning approach would require considerable teacher professional development and a philosophy different from that of most current educators. The implications of the latter on the potential of networked learning are far reaching. They extend to school policy, hiring practice, and pre-service teacher education.
    • paul_size
       
      Makes you think about the future of NGL and implications.
  • cognitive apprenticeship model
  • The Networked Student Model is a work in progress. As web technologies evolve and personal learning management becomes easier, students will gain even greater access to knowledge and more learning control. The construction of personal learning environments has potential; however, extensive research is needed to document best practices, explore the changing role of teacher and student, apply evolving innovations, refine instructional design, and consider pedagogical implications. Social networking and sharing of personal learning environments between students holds further promise as more students participate in networked learning and post their results in an open forum.
  •  
    Journal paper from author also involved in the "networked student" video that appears in this list. "Principles of networked learning, constructivism, and connectivism inform the design of a test case through which secondary students construct personal learning environments for the purpose of independent inquiry. Emerging web applications and open educational resources are integrated to support a Networked Student Model that promotes inquiry-based learning and digital literacy, empowers the learner, and offers flexibility as new technologies emerge. The Networked Student Model and a test case are described in detail along with implications and considerations for additional research. The article is meant to facilitate further discussion about K-12 student construction of personal learning environments and offer the practitioner a foundation on which to facilitate a networked learning experience. It seeks to determine how a teacher can scaffold a networked learning approach while providing a foundation on which students take more control of the learning process. "
anonymous

Imagining Successful Schools - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • This system has infuriated and shamed teachers, and is a lot of the reason that teacher turnover is so high, causing even many of the best teachers to abandon the ranks.
    • anonymous
       
      This was always a topical conversation and was the reason some of my colleagues left. I saw engineers go from somebody with pride in themselves to saying that they had to leave because they did not like what was happening to them.
  • in order to meet the demands of a global economy, our educational system needs to be re-engineered for much higher performance.
  • No other country believes that you can get to a high quality educational system simply by instituting an accountability system,” he says.
    • anonymous
       
      Accountability is not the answer because it creates an "tick and flick" control mechanism, meaning more of the same.
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  • test-based accountability is “doing untold damage to the profession of teaching.”
  • The main thing that works is treating teaching as a profession, and teachers as professionals.
    • anonymous
       
      Oh gosh, how I wished this was so when I was in there. You do sometimes feel like the proverbial "glorified baby sitter." 
  • That means that teachers are as well paid as other professionals, that they have a career ladder, that they go to elite schools where they learn their craft, and that they are among the top quartile of college graduates instead of the bottom quartile.
    • anonymous
       
      Wow, I'm so with this, as a professional tutor my rate is less than 25% of what a lawyer or accountant would get for the same time.
  • When I suggested that American cities couldn’t afford to pay teachers the way we pay engineers or lawyers, Tucker scoffed. With rare exception, he said, the cost per pupil in the places with the best educational systems is less than the American system, even though their teachers are far better paid. “They are not spending more money; they are spending money differently,” he said.
    • anonymous
       
      When an individual is treated like a professional they raise the bar. I have seen this in all my encounters with students. How they are treated is how they behave.
  • Tucker would not abolish tests, but he would have fewer of them.
    • anonymous
       
      This is great! I don't think we should do away with assessment completely but we should be using them as more of a tool for innovation.
  • And they would have a different purpose: In the high-performing countries, the tests exist to hold the students accountable, rather than the teachers.
    • anonymous
       
      This is what I thought would happen when wanting to become a teacher but then I felt that the teachers were criticised if students did not perform. As a senior English teacher this is definitely the prevailing discourse.
  • When a school falls short, instead of looking to fire teachers, the high-performing countries “use the data to decide which schools will receive visits from teams of expert school inspectors. These inspectors are highly regarded educators.”
    • anonymous
       
      Back to the inspectors, or I would rather say more like advisors who work with teachers improving their craft. I loved the idea of team teaching but a lot of teachers were not open to it, mostly I think due to the fear of being judged but for others it was a control issue too, "no one can teach like I do"mantra, which happens because of a perceived threat to ego that makes individuals more fearful.
  • Tucker envisions the same kind of accountability for teachers as exists for, say, lawyers in a firm — where it is peers holding each other accountable rather than some outside force. People who don’t pull their own weight are asked to leave. The ethos is that people help each other to become better for the good of the firm. Those who successfully rise through the ranks are rewarded with higher pay and status.
    • anonymous
       
      I am wondering whether this only works in private organisations. In public institutions as there is a lack of the profit motif, there is much more of an inclination to remove individuals perceived as a threat to one's status or worldview rather than how they are performing for the company. 
  • Would the teachers’ unions go along with such a scheme? The unions would certainly have to shed some of the things they now have, such as control of work rules.
    • anonymous
       
      This points illustrates something fundamental - you never hear of lawyer or accountant unions, only teacher unions. Why?
  • fixation with test-based accountability
    • anonymous
       
      There is certainly this happening.
  • every other successful country has
    • anonymous
       
      Is this a blanket statement, or a the grass is greener on the other side of the fence or is it true? 
  •  
    There are quite a few of us who are thinking a lot about the future of schooling. What do you think of his recent article?
laurac75

Week 3 Reflection on Me as a student | Learning to learn with NGL - 1 views

  • digital natives and digital immigrants as defined by Prensky (2001).
    • laurac75
       
      Using ideas and principles from other sources
  • The answer is that I have been exploring where I fit both as a student and as a teacher.
  • ...17 more annotations...
    • laurac75
       
      Reflecting on my own practice
  • In my last post, I introduced Helsper and Enyon’s (2009) idea that exposure to, and experience using, various digital technologies can have more of an influence that generation age on determining whether a person has the characteristics of a digital immigrant or a digital native. Of course, nothing is ever so clear cut. In his blog, Wesley Fryer discusses this, and expands the immigrant vs native classification into four categories, as shown below.
  • Personally, I think even this is a simplification, and that a person’s classification may vary depending on the technology referred to. For example, until recently I was a digital refugee with regards to smart phones and associated apps – and yet reading news report on-line is an integral component of my daily routine. I would probably class as a Voyeur with regards to Twitter and Flickr in that I am aware of them, and will use them to gain information but I do not follow anyone, or actively participate myself. Thus there are multiple shades of grey.
  • Goodyear, Carvalho and Dohn (2014, p 140) state that networked learning “ is no longer exotic”, however, I would argue that this very much depends on on one’s own perspective, which in turn would be shaped by personal experience and knowledge (aka the whole digital landscape debate).
  • (see Koutropoulis, 2011) Prensky’s division
  • I would generally agree that as a student, I tend to be quite focused, like an ordered approach, and work better as an individual than as part of a community. The concepts of ‘shared learning’ is quite alien to me – as is the concept of allowing the “mess” to be apparent. It is quite contradictory to my scientific researcher – the data is analysed, the results and interpretation finalised, and the presentation polished before the work is released to the world at large (typically via a published paper or article). Only those directly collaborating on the work see the mess, being asked to share this process on-line is really quite intimidating to me, and conflicts with my view of professionalism (as well as my tendency towards perfectionism).
  • So, as a student, I think I challenges on several fronts, not just learning the technology, and associated pedagogy, but also challenges to how I perceive and present myself to the world, and what that means to me as a person, and as a collaborator.
    • laurac75
       
      Using other resources; linking concepts and ideas
    • laurac75
       
      NGL principles in a brpader context; Using other sources
  • about herself in the capacity of being a student,
  • smiss this message
    • laurac75
       
      Use of other sources
    • laurac75
       
      Use of other sources
    • laurac75
       
      Personal reflection on NGL principles
  • So, as a student, I think I face challenges on several fronts, not just learning the technology, and associated pedagogy, but also challenges to how I perceive and present myself to the world, and what that means to me as a person, and as a collaborator
    • laurac75
       
      Reflection of future development
    • laurac75
       
      Personal reflection of involvement in NGL
  •  
    An attempt to demonstrate how (if) I am meeting the assessment criteria for Assignment 1. I think the grading is rather oblique - how does one distinguish between acceptable and exemplary? Where does this post fit? Feedback or thoughts on this would be welcome.
  •  
    An attempt to demonstrate how (if) I am meeting the assessment criteria for Assignment 1. I think the grading is rather oblique - how does one distinguish between acceptable and exemplary? Where does this post fit? Feedback or thoughts on this would be welcome.
djplaner

European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning - 3 views

  • The three generations of technology enhanced teaching are cognitive/behaviourist, social constructivist and connectivist.
    • anonymous
       
      Note: 3 Generations of technology enhanced teaching 1. cognitive/behaviouralist 2. social constructivist 3. connectivist
    • djplaner
       
      That prior note is not a great example of value adding - just repeating what was in the text.
  • tools can be used and optimized to enhance the different types of learning that are the focus of distance education theory and practice.
  • pedagogy and the technology must create an engaging and compelling dance
  • ...97 more annotations...
  • postal correspondence
  • three (or more) overlapping generations
  • mass media including television, radio and film.
  • interactive
  • Indeed, though the authors of this paper are not in complete agreement about this, it is possible to think of pedagogies (considered as the processes and methods used in an attempt to bring about learning) as technologies, integral parts of a technological assembly that must work together with all of the other technologies to bring about a successful outcome
    • anonymous
       
      Note: Connection between technology and pedagogy
  • technologies evolve not through adaptation but by assembly, incorporating pieces of earlier designs
  • We will see that the ubiquitous capacity of the Internet is creating very profound opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of all three pedagogical models.
  • instructional designer
  • positivist research paradigms and methodologies.
  • From behaviourist pedagogy emerged the cognitive learning theories that focus on how processing within the individual brain effects comprehension, understanding, storage and retrieval of information. Cognitive pedagogies arose partially in response to a growing need to account for motivation, attitudes and mental barriers that may only be partially associated or demonstrated through observable behaviours – yet they are directly linked to learning effectiveness and efficiency.
  • empirical testing
  • Methods that relied on one-to-many and one-to-one communication were really the only sensible options because of the constraints of the surrounding technologies.
  • “scientific models”
  • that guided the development, application and assessment of learning.
  • CB-based distance education is often developed in the suggested order
  • The model begins with designers selecting instructional goals. Instructional designers identify goals in discussion with subject matter experts with an eye to finding deficiencies in learners’ behaviour that can be rectified by new learning.
  • This is particularly salient when applied to a new generation of large scale MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
  • ext and usually multi-media learning content. The effort and cost of “developing and selecting instructional
  • creation of brainstorming lists of possible goals, documentation of subject matter priorities, flow charts, gathering of lists
  • Today each of the instructional design activities (see figure Figure 1) is enhanced by a host of Web 2.0 tools.
  • f primary use are distributed text tools such as Google Docs, DropBox and wikis
  • As importantly, collaborative work and negotiation is not confined to text. Collaborative graphic tools, concept and mind mapping tools allow graphic representations of ideas and processes.
  • Low cost distributed project management tools allow teams to design, create, produce and distribute content at costs much lower than in pre internet days.
  • gh quality content defines CB models of distance education, its effective management and control is extremely important
  • the capacity to re-use content created by others is compelling – if not without its challenges.
  • multiple ways of sharing content
  • blogs to Facebook to YouTube and content management systems
  • Perhaps of deeper concern is the reluctance of distance educators to consume and customize content already created by others.
  • Many content developers define and pride themselves on the production of quality content – not by the consumption and customization of works that they did not produce.
  • The final affordance of the net – with tremendous, if as yet little demonstrated capacity to improve CB distance education pedagogy – is learning analytics.
  • mining information about patterns of behaviour in order to extract useful information about learning which can then be applied to improve the experience.
  • In this model, CB pedagogy may be adapted to service the unique learning needs, style, capacity, motivation and goals of the individual learner.
  • strive to create instructional designs that change and morph in response to individual learner’s needs and behaviours.
  • Open Learning Models (Bull & Kay, 2010; Kay & Kummerfeld, 2006) increase learner control and understanding of the system. Open models can also be used by teachers and other support staff to better understand and respond to individual learner needs, although there are potential and as yet unresolved issues with making such models intuitive to understand and control effectivel
  • important source of data to constructing the model is the user’s current and past activities with content in the learning context.
  • data minin
  • data mining
    • anonymous
       
      Note: Data mining provides an opportunity to identify patterns of student behaviour. This can be used to help teachers better tailor learning and resources to the student. I can see that online tools providing access to metadata, tools for running site-access reports, and and even tagging, might be relevant in this context.
  • From the brief examples above we can see how technologies and especially the Net afford multiple ways in which CB pedagogies and related instructional designs are enabled, enhanced and made more cost effective.
  • MOOCs
  • CB models are inherently focused on the individual learner. While there is a tradition of cognitive-constructivist thinking that hinges on personal construction of knowledge, largely developed by Piaget and his followers (Piaget, 1970), the roots of the constructivist model most commonly applied today spring from the work of Vygotsky (1978) and Dewey (1897), generally lumped together in the broad category of social constructivism.
  • groups of learners, learning together with and from one another.
  • Social-constructivism does not provide the detailed and prescriptive instructional design models and methodologies of CB driven distance education.
  • efines social constructivist learning contexts as places “where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving activities
    • anonymous
       
      "social constructivist learning contexts...places 'where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving activities" Sounds a lot like the NGL course!
  • eachers do not merely transmit knowledge to be passively consumed by learners; rather, each learner constructs the means by which new knowledge is both created and integrated with existing knowledge.
  • New knowledge as building upon the foundation of previous learning Context in shaping learners’ knowledge development Learning as an active rather than passive process, Language and other social tools in constructing knowledge Metacognition and evaluation as a means to develop learners’ capacity to assess their own learning A learning environment that is learner-centred and recognises the importance of multiple perspectives Knowledge needing to be subject to social discussion, validation, and application in real world contexts (Honebein, 1996; Jonassen, 1991; Kanuka & Anderson, 1999).
    • anonymous
       
      Note: Characteristics of Social Constructivism
  • learning is located in contexts and relationships rather than merely in the minds of individuals.
  • leave more room for negotiation about learning goals and activities among teachers and students.
  • less prescriptive
  • Social-constructivist models only began to gain a foothold in distance education when the technologies of many-to-many communication became widely available,
  • that being the loss of freedom associated with a commitment to meeting at a common time.
  • Time constraint issues are especially important to distance students, most of whom are juggling employment and family concerns in addition to their formal course work.
  • ata mining and learning analytics are not only used to support independent study based on CB models but are being utilized to support and enhance group work.
  • extract patterns and other information from the group logs and present it together with desired patterns to the people involved, so that they can interpret it, making use of their own knowledge of the group tasks and activities” (Perera et al., 2009).
    • anonymous
       
      Example of using data mining and learning analytics with the group.
  • LMS Moodle
  • Standard Moodle analytics allow teachers to view contributions or activities of individual learners
  • Google Analytics
  • Constructivist pedagogies use the diversity of viewpoints, cultural experiences and the potential for divergent opinion that is best realized through interactions with group members from other cultures, languages and geographies.
  • Naturally, technological affordances of most relevance to constructivist pedagogies focus on tools to support effective establishment, operation and trust building within groups. The technologies that support rich social presence, including full range of audio, video and gestures, are associated with enhanced trust development and increasing sense of group commitment
  • connectivism
  • learning is the process of building networks of information, contacts, and resources that are applied to real problems.
    • anonymous
       
      connectivism = learning is the process of building networks of information, contacts, and resources that are applied to real problems.
  • communities of practice
  • Connectivist learning focuses on building and maintaining networked connections that are current and flexible enough to be applied to existing and emergent problems.
  • capacity to find, filter and apply knowledge when and where it is needed
    • anonymous
       
      role of the learner is to have "capacity to find, filter and apply knowledge when and where it is needed"
  • The crowd can be a source of wisdom (Surowiecki, 2005) but can equally be a source of stupidity
    • anonymous
       
      "The crowd can be a source of wisdom (Surowiecki, 2005) but can equally be a source of stupidity"....a nice reminder
  • iticism of connectivism as being merely an extension constructivist pedagogy and those who argue that it is not really a complete theory of learning nor of instruction
  • gain high levels of skill using personal learning networks that provide ubiquitous and on demand access to resources, individuals and groups of potential information and knowledge servers. The second is the focus on creation, as opposed to consumption, of information and knowledge resources.
  • Bloom’s (1956) cognitive taxonomy place creation at the highest level of cognitive processing
  • elies on the ubiquity of networked connections – between people, digital artefacts, and content, and thus can be described as a network centric pedagogy and thus may be the first native distance education pedagogy, without previous instantiation in classrooms.
  • Effective connectivist learning experiences demand that learners have the tools and the competencies necessary to effectively find, sort, evaluate, filter, reformat and publish content on the net.
  • hese capacities rely on effective tools, high skill levels and a developed sense of network efficacy.
  • individuals and groups are helped to create and continuously augment, adapt and use a personal learning environment (PLE)
  • second key defining characteristic of connectivist pedagogy is the import placed on creating, sharing and publishing learner artefacts.
  • Connectivist learning designs, like constructivist ones, often involve collaborative or cooperative work between many learners. However, contribution often grows beyond the group to further encourage collaboration across time and space.
  • eyond the tools of creation instantiated within a PLE is an understanding of the technical and legal means to distribute work, while maintaining appropriate privacy levels and not infringing on the copyright nor plagiarizing the work of others.
  • The only solution to the privacy dilemma is to let each student and teacher set the level of access that they feel is most appropriate for them and more explicitly for the nature of the content being distributed.
  • Privacy concerns are also being recognised by the social networking giants.
  • Connectivist designs also involve the discovery of and contribution to new learning communities.
    • anonymous
       
      connectivist pedagogy encourages contribution to new learning communities - make your work accessible to others!
  • Learners are encouraged to make themselves, their contributions and their personal learning environment accessible to others. T
  • create and rate bookmarked resources t
  • hat others find useful, document their learning accomplishments via blogs, and share their discoveries and insights via micro blog feeds. In this manner they create and sustain learning networks that begin at the course level, but grow and evolve as the course of studies ends.
  • the emphasis is far more on the individual’s connections with others than with group processes designed to enhance or engender learning.
  • arder to apply analytics than in the more contained contexts of CB and social constructivist models.
    • anonymous
       
      It is harder to apply analytics than with CB and social constructivist models.
  • There is no central course, few common materials, no central binding point where interactions can be observed apart from each individual learner.
  • edagogy is, at heart, entirely focused on the individual learner.
  • The bottom three of Blooms original levels of learning – acquiring knowledge, coming to understand something or some process and applying that knowledge to a context – are clearly within the domain of CB pedagogies.
  • Moving up to the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels brings us to the need for social perspective. This is often acquired through group and networked interactions characteristic of constructivist and connectivist pedagogical models.
  • Creation can be entirely original or as is more usual, creation involves the building upon, reinterpretation and contextualized application of older ideas to new contexts. Creation, the highest level of cognitive functioning usually requires mastery of the lower levels but, in addition, requires at least a small flame of creativity and insight.
  • Obviously the focus of connectivism with its inherent demand for students to create and distribute for public review and augmentation, fits well with the final creation level of the revised taxonomy.
  • here are many domains of knowledge in which creation of new knowledge is of much less importance than remembering and being able to apply existing knowledge.
  • No single generation has provided all the answers, and each has built on foundations provided by its predecessors rather than replacing the earlier prototype (Ireland, 2007).
  • As new technological affordances open up, it becomes possible to explore and capitalize on different aspects of the learning process.
  • For each mode of engagement, different types of knowledge, learning, and contexts must be applied.
  • students be skilled and informed to select the best mix(es) of both pedagogy and technology.
  • from the student-content interactions of cognitive-behaviourist models to the critical role of student–student interaction in constructivism, and finally, to the deeply networked student–content-teacher interrelationship celebrated in connectivist pedagogie
  • which students become teachers and teachers become students,
  • Connectivism is built to some degree on an assumption of a constructivist model of learning, with the learner at the centre, connecting and constructing knowledge in a context that includes not only external networks and groups but also their own histories and predilections.
  • he late Boston scholar Father Stanley Bezuska assembled a series of humorous quotes (see http://www.slideshare.net/committedsardine/funny-predictions-throughout-history) illustrating the doomsday predictions of teachers as they have been forced to deal with educational technologies.
    • djplaner
       
      This particular set of quotes has since been identified as a hoax - but an illustrative one. http://boston1775.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-myth-of-students-today-depend-on.html
  •  
    One of the readings from the course. Sharing it now as a little experiment in sharing annotations. In theory, if you view this page, you should be able to see the bits that I've highlighted and shared with the group.
Anne Trethewey

Educational Leadership:For Each to Excel:Preparing Students to Learn Without Us - 3 views

  • The reality is that despite having talked about personalized learning for more than a decade, most schools and teachers have been slow to discover its potential through the use of the social web, interactive games, and mobile devices.
    • anonymous
       
      Comments like this make teachers appear lazy. Using the word "slow" implies that teachers are ignorant and not proactive. I have seen many teachers wanting to integrate these technologies but finding the curriculum and day to day life of being a teacher as exhausting.
    • mari marincowitz
       
      I totally agree on this, Annelise. The problem is that the whole school system has not kept up the way technology has changed our daily lives and ways we interact and learn. For example, I'm teaching the IB Visual Art curriculum, a rigorous 2-year course for grade 11 and 12 learners. The sheer amount of work that need to be achieved in a very short period, makes it impossible to spend hours integrating new technologies that are not directly related to achieving the objectives set out by the IB to pass this exam. My husband teaches IB Psychology and the final examination is a traditional written exam, mostly based on students' ability to memorize large amounts of work. This means that students need to practice writing traditional pen and paper tests. This leaves little space for interactive games or application of new technologies. The curriculum will need to change before teachers can effectively discover the potential of these new technologies and consequently redefine their teaching.
  • schools see the eruption of technologies and environments that allow for personalized learning as a "disruptive innovation
    • anonymous
       
      Not in the schools I have been in.
  • we need to fundamentally rethink what we do in the classroom with kids
    • anonymous
       
      True, we do need to rethink but I think the model is fundamentally flawed.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • are we preparing students to learn without us? How can we shift curriculum and pedagogy to more effectively help students form and answer their own questions, develop patience with uncertainty and ambiguity, appreciate and learn from failure, and develop the ability to go deeply into the subjects about which they have a passion to learn
    • anonymous
       
      This is what the subject NGL is encouraging. We learn without teachers, where we answer our own questions, develop patience with uncertainty and ambiguity, appreciate and learn from our "mistakes," and follow our passion.
  • writing blog posts
    • anonymous
       
      A very good idea and something I was doing with my year 11s and 12s. Some loved it and others wanted the "paper and pen" approach. I found female students were more resistant as they were not as active in online forums as the males, but this is only my experience. I had many females complain, even some to their parents saying that they wanted to receive everything I did in hard copy, despite even the parents having access to all the online materials.
  • model the learning process together
    • anonymous
       
      A great idea, modelling active learning.
  • Assessment changes as well. Donhauser says that the emphasis moves to assessing in the moment rather than at the end of a book or unit. "Rather than having a defined product that I receive from 25 students," she says, "I receive 25 individual assignments with their own unique content, insights, and styles." Using Google Docs, students continually update their progress, and she provides regular feedback. Students also give one another feedback on their plans as they go. Everyone follows a rubric that covers such areas as standards, learning outcomes, artifact explanation, blog posts, learning activities, work ethic, and research. Personalized learning like this requires students to reflect deeply on their effort and assess their work and progress, a fundamental part of developing the skills and dispositions to continue learning after the class ends.
    • anonymous
       
      I can see how it will take very brave souls to implement this approach in the current schooling model. I have seen massive resistance, and mostly because it is seen as "extra" on top of everything else. Education is like a "black hole" - never ending and constantly growing. :0
  • the truly personal, self-directed learning that we can now pursue in online networks and communities differs substantially from the "personalized" opportunities that some schools are opening up to students. Although it might be an important first step in putting students on a path to a more self-directed, passionate, relevant learning life, it may not bring about the true transformation that many see as the potential of this moment.
    • anonymous
       
      I think the demand for personal learning is increasing, particularly amongst male students. The proliferation of information on the web and the active engagement. Argghh, I just found out that Robin Williams has died. I'm heartbroken, i loved him.
    • djplaner
       
      You're not alone in that feeling.
    • djplaner
       
      On a less important topic, how would personal learning fit within a school setting with set curriculum etc? I can see a distinct difference with what is possible in NGL and what could be done in my undergraduate course.
  • By pairing personalized learning and technology, a teacher can help students learn what they need to learn through the topics that interest them most.
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      An interesting statement - especially in light of many of the restrictions now placed on teachers in Australia with the new national curriculum, especially P-6.  Over the last few years, the explicit teaching focuses and prescriptive nature of many subject outcomes has seen my teaching change fundamentally, and I do not believe for the better. I know longer have the same scope and professional leeway to tailor learning to needs and interests of my students.  One-size DOES NOT FIT ALL!
  • Finding Their Passion
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Have explored 'Genius Hour' with my students in an attempt to introduce more opportunity for my students to engage in learning that is more in turn with their interests and passions.  Find time in a very hectic curriculum and timetable is the greatest hurdle!
  • It requires a totally different skill set on the teacher's part," Stutzman says. "We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, because we don't know the exact direction that a class will go when we walk in.
  • Personal and autonomous learning is self-directed and self-selected according to the learner's own needs, preferences, and learning arrangements … Truly autonomous and personal learning means making our own choices about what we wish to play or learn with, whom we wish to learn with or from, where we want to do this learning, when we prefer to learn or play, and how we want to learn. (personal communication, October 3, 2011).
  •  
    A very good article on encouraging students to personalise their learning to their personal interests, just as NGL is doing. It illustrates how learning should be self-directed.
  •  
    A very good article on encouraging students to personalise their learning to their personal interests, just as NGL is doing. It illustrates how learning should be self-directed.
paul_size

Writer Unboxed » Networking for Writers - 1 views

  • introverted writer
    • anonymous
       
      Why is there always an assumption that writers are introverts!!
  • You want to approach someone with the intent to have a long-term mutually respectful relationship
  • treat the writer like you would your friend with a truck.
    • anonymous
       
      Very true, I've experienced this and also done this. Treat them like I would want to be treated. The golden rule, but oh so true.
    • paul_size
       
      I heard a good one the other day - 'treat them as they want to be treated.'  Kind of adds a different way of looking at things.  
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Approach writers you admire.
    • anonymous
       
      I admire several Australian authors. This would be great. I just went and saw David Malouf but was too shy!
  • Make sure that your work is in a somewhat similar vein.
  • Comment in a friendly and funny way on their posts and blogs.
  • Re-post their important announcements.
  • Be an active participant in author groups. Like this one!
    • anonymous
       
      This is what I need to do more of.
  • Leave only sincere, glowing reviews on Amazon/Goodreads etc.
  • Go to author readings.
  • Be yourself. It’s okay if you’re shy.
    • anonymous
       
      Phew!
  • Do not send private email messages to writers asking questions you could have answered yourself using Google.
    • anonymous
       
      Lol!
  • Do not complain publicly when people don’t respond to your unsolicited overtures.
    • anonymous
       
      Ouch, I've done this, lol
  • Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
    • anonymous
       
      Love this quote. I try to practice this with my friends, students and family.
    • paul_size
       
      Thought provoking this one is.
  •  
    A good article for networking for writers. From a NGL perspective, it includes online and in-person.
  •  
    A good article for networking for writers. From a NGL perspective, it includes online and in-person.
Kath Gregory

Pushing the Boundaries with Networked Learning | Boldly going where I haven't... - 0 views

  • I was just reviewing GG’s Blog and came across a post where GG posted a  personal teaching philosophy mind map. The philosophy matched very closely with my approach to teaching and also my aims through this course. One aspect of GGs philosophy which I had not really considered in my own context however, was the idea of Life Long learning.
    • Kath Gregory
       
      this passage to me describes and gives a good details as to what the assessment is about. annonoted blogs etc. 
  • Edit: 17 August – Oops, I just revised my first ‘As teacher’ post and realised I did in fact allude to life long learning as one of my teaching objectives here, although I did not consider the idea in depth at all. I am surprised that this was part of my thinking in week one and that I had forgotten this 2 weeks later. As a student of NGL, this has shown me what an excellent idea blogging is for tracking my learning, and also how valuable it is to be able to reflect and edit/build on previous posts. It has also demonstrated to me what a ‘messy’ pathway my learning follows – a concept which has been identified by Bigum and Rowan (2013) “Learning new material, developing new skills or making new discoveries can be complicated, lengthy
    • Kath Gregory
       
      a reflection and revised with links within all worked well
  •  
    I was just reviewing GG's Blog and came across a post where GG posted a  personal teaching philosophy mind map. The philosophy matched very closely with my approach to teaching and also my aims through this course. One aspect of GGs philosophy which I had not really considered in my own context however, was the idea of Life Long learning.
anonymous

FuturistSpeaker.com - A Study of Future Trends and Predictions by Futurist Th... - 0 views

  • how much training should be required prior to taking a job, and whether the investment of time and money spent on training should be optimized around the company or the employee, knowing there will always be some in-house training required.
  • When we look at the bigger picture of retraining for this and many other professions, knowing that people will be rebooting their careers far more often in the future, with time being such a precious commodity, how do we create the leanest possible educational model for jobs in the future?
  • On the other side of the equation are people who go through all the work of getting bachelor and master degrees and still not having the skills necessary to gain employment. Traditional colleges, for the most part, do a great job, but they are all oriented around seat time. They also come with the overarching philosophy that nothing of value can be learned in less than four years, a timeframe woefully out of sync with someone needing to change career paths. So at what point is education “too lean,” and conversely, when is it “too fat?”
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Micro-Colleges are any form of concentrated post-secondary education oriented around the minimum entry point into a particular profession. With literally millions of people needing to shift careers every year, and the long drawn out cycles of traditional colleges being a poor solution for time-crunched rank-and-file displaced workers, we are seeing a massive new opportunity arising for short-term, pre-apprenticeship training.  Many Micro-Colleges will fall into the category we often refer to as vocational training, a term poorly suited for the professional craftsmen, artisans, and technicians they will be producing. Since status and credentialing are critical elements of every career choice, any training producing specialized experts will need to come with industry-recognized certifications and titles.
    • anonymous
       
      We will always need some kind of industry-recognised certifications and titles. I think so as it would be ridiculous if someone could label themself as an engineer without showing that they have completed some kind of certificate outlining their skills. An individual could claim anything but would need social validation that they do indeed have the skills.
  • The Micro-College approach to training brewmasters would be an intense 2-4 month training program with a designated apprenticeship period learning on the job.
  • Since my coursework happened in the pre-computer era, most of the skills I needed after computers were introduced were primarily self-taught.
    • anonymous
       
      This is an example of situational learning. He is learning in other contexts, not just formally.
  • Perhaps the most valuable courses with long-term relevance were classes in writing, English, speech, art, design, and the special research projects that forced me to find my own answers and write a final report. The art helped me understand that engineering was a form of creative expression.
    • anonymous
       
      Creative expression is essential for understanding.
  • If the school were tied to an industry-specific apprenticeship program with a near-perfect handoff between academia and real-world work happening inside the industry, what would a super-lean engineering program like this look like?
    • anonymous
       
      I remember in my first year of teaching saying to myself "this is what I have spent four years training for." I though something is seriously wrong when I was trained to be more of an academic than someone to manage a classroom.
  • It’s easy to imagine that as traditional colleges see their student base decline, many will begin to partner, merge, and purchase fledgling Micro-Colleges and begin incorporating these new areas of study into their own catalog of course offerings. 
  • Since existing colleges bring with them credit-granting accreditation, along with status, credibility, and the ability to offer student loans, in-house Micro-Colleges will likely become a rapidly growing part of campus life. Many colleges will find the Micro-College niche they take on to be the key differentiator between them and other schools.  Using the school-within-a-school approach, core Micro-College programs will become feeder mechanisms for additional types of credentialing.
    • anonymous
       
      Very interesting idea. Judging by what I have heard from students this would be preferable. 
  •  
    The concept of "micro colleges" - colleges that offer qualifications at a fraction of the time and cost. What do others think about this? I'm certainly interested as I think the teaching degree of four years is way to long.
djplaner

Me as a teacher | The Weblog of (a) David Jones - 1 views

  • Perhaps the biggest example of that that I think lectures suck. In fact, I have a dislike for most face-to-face teaching practices in a University context. I have – what Bali and Meier describe as – an affinity for asynchronous learning.
    • djplaner
       
      Using ideas/principles from other sources
  • rown to like the McWilliam’s (2009) idea of the “meddler in the middle” which is described a
    • djplaner
       
      MOre from other resources
  • you might imagine, this doesn’t necessarily fit well with many of my colleagues, but it does mean I’m naturally inclined towards NGL.
    • djplaner
       
      Some evidence of using principles/literature to understand what is going on (i.e. my reflections on my own approach)
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • . For both courses I’m interested in questions like: How I can be a more effective “meddler in the middle”? What learning environment is going to be best engage students most effectively in NGL? For EDC3100 the challenge is scaling this to a course with 100+ students. For EDU8117 the challenge may be to be a bit more experimental in how it’s done. In both the challenge may be for me to break my limitations/conceptions and those of the institutional environment.
    • djplaner
       
      Some identification of future plans. Arguably fairly light on and not fleshed out in details, but probably appropriate for this post's purpose
  • is links to the point made by Goodyear et al (2014) Unless learning is very closely supervised and directed (which it rarely is), there will usually be some slippage between task and activity, for good and bad reasons. This is important to acknowledge, when designing, because what people learn is a consequence of their actual activity, and therefore only indirectly a result of the task set for them. Tasks are designable, activities are not – they are emergent. (p. 1
    • djplaner
       
      More NGL principals.
  • Just how much is needed?
    • djplaner
       
      A question to consider into the future - future planning
  • n his post “as teacher” Brendon, one of the other NGL participants, mentions Sugata Mitra’s work and the idea of students being “able to develop their own connections and learning without … explicit teaching”. Brendon identifies as a key challenge for schools the task of developing (or perhaps unleashing learner’s inherent ability to be) “self-directed and inquisitive learners”. For both my courses I see this as the main aim and the main challenge.
    • djplaner
       
      Building on Brendon's post. Pointing to some insights which suggest some limitations of an aspect of what he was talking about.
  • Sorry, but Mahara still doesn’t compete with WordPress (or any other of numerous freely available online alternatives). In reflecting on her “as teacher” Anne relates a similar story around one school’s pilot program with Microsoft where each student has their own tablet device “but the device is not able to be taken home”
    • djplaner
       
      Making a connection to another participants post. Agreeing with it, linking it to what I'm doing
  • What do I want to do?
    • djplaner
       
      All of the following really starting to talk about what I'd like to do.
  • Goodyear et al (2014) pick up on the term affordance as both important, but also as “a term that is also very widely critiqued and contested” (p. 137). The idea is that particular technologies afford different possibilities dependent on people’s perceptions of a technology. But an affordance isn’t a single set of possibilities seen by every person. Taking what Goodyear et al (2014) describe as a “relational-materialist” the idea of affordance becomes much more complex and emergent.
    • djplaner
       
      Using the literature as part of my planning
  •  
    My contribution to an activity I'm currently adding to the week 3 material. Meant as an example. Still to be 100% completed.
  •  
    Hi David Could you please indicate how you would mark this? Both overall, and with regards as to how each of your examples meet the criteria? Would I be correct to assume that this is exemplary? I'm somewhat uncertain as to how to interpret the marking criteria. Thanks Laura
anonymous

Why Do Americans Love to Blame Teachers? - The Atlantic - 1 views

  • America hates teachers.
    • anonymous
       
      This is so true and incredibly demoralising. I saw many teachers go down because of it.
  • programs like Teach for America are promoted as a kind of missionary calling, in which young fresh-faced college graduates replace lazy, stubborn, unionized teachers.
    • anonymous
       
      I have always said that teaching is treated like a "calling," almost like women are nuns and they devote their lives to it. 
  • That single class of people is then systematically demonized, as politicians and pundits present "worst of the worst" cases as emblematic of the whole.
    • anonymous
       
      This occurs in every industry but particularly so in industries that are less powerful.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • In fact, I think you could argue (though Goldstein does not quite) that moral panics do more than demonize a group of people. They serve in part to create a group of people—to delimit or describe a particular identity and mark it as deviant.
    • anonymous
       
      This reporter is smarter than your average bear!
  • Moral panics create identities in order to regulate them.
    • anonymous
       
      Holy schmoly, a moral panic increases regulation, of course
  • value-added measures all have a wide margin of error, and are quite sensitive to manipulation (such as teaching to the test).
    • anonymous
       
      I have definitely seen this.
  • the good teacher/bad teacher dichotomy is predicated on the idea that the bad teachers are already in place and must be driven out by the good teachers. The dream, from Beecher to today, seems to be that if only our schools could get rid of the career educators and install angels instead, the millennium would arrive.
    • anonymous
       
      Lol, but very true!
  • long-term profession
    • anonymous
       
      In my experience most teachers did treat it as a long term profession, some being so demoralised that they did not leave due to a lack of self belief.
  • more responsibilities
    • anonymous
       
      More responsibilities is good but not in addition to. 
  • There are bad accountants, but we don't define "accountant" as an identity to be policed in order to solve our nation’s economic woes. There are bad doctors, but even at a time when medical malpractice suits are frequent, the idea of replacing doctors isn’t at the center health care reform.
    • anonymous
       
      Very true, I find this most annoying for teachers.
  •  
    I'd be interested to see what any of you think about this issue. It was something that bothered me as a high school teacher.
djplaner

Study Schedule | An experiment in Networked & Global Learning - 4 views

  • Diigo
  • Feel free to use Diigo
    • djplaner
       
      At this stage I don't know how Diigo will handle it as I edit and change this page
  • (25-29 Aug) Technology and NGL
    • djplaner
       
      ATM, weeks 5 and 6 are perceived as being somewhat "lighter" weeks. The plan is that some additional assessment work might be done during this time.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • (8-12 Sep) Your learning? Your networks?
    • djplaner
       
      This is a week where you are meant to explore the areas of NGL that you need to explore before finalising how you're going to apply it to your learners
  • (DBR) What is DBR?
  • (15-19 Sep) Design-based rese
    • djplaner
       
      Whether DBR is the only research method/approach mentioned here, or even it is the one mentioned is still a little open. I do have a personal preference for this. But may be open to flexibility.
  • What will you do and how?
    • djplaner
       
      Where you start work on your final essay/DBR-plan to apply NGL to your learners
  • Writer’s workshops???
    • djplaner
       
      The idea is to require some form of peer feedback on your essay. Whether it's in the form of a writers' workshop is to be resolved. It's a great process, but the reality of how to implement it in this course is to be decided.
  • he final polish
    • djplaner
       
      Take your peer feedback, improve your essay and submit it.
  •  
    What will eventually be the final study schedule for EDU8117 in 2014.
rebeccalwhite

Technology and education - why it's crucial to be critical | Neil Selwyn - Academia.edu - 1 views

  • not assume the future to be any less problematic than the present).
  • Instead, take this as a challenge to talk through some alternate ways of approaching our field and our work … these are discussions that certainly need to ‘cont’.
  • For instance, technology and education remains an area of academic study, policymaking, commercial activity and   popular debate where promises of what might/could/should happen far outstrip the realities of what actually happens.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • This marginal standing is reflected in the tendency for educational technology academics to be located often within ‘support’ units and divisions, such as cross-faculty ‘Teaching & Learning Divisions’ or departmental ‘E-Learning Units’. Physically as well as intellectually, then, the field of technology and education is often found to be operating on the peripheries of academe
  • In short, we need to accept that academic work in the area of technology and education is currently falling short of what should now be a significant and substantial area of contemporary education scholarship.
  • Instead, the academic study of technology and education should be developing as much along the lines of critical social science as it does in the guise of a cognitive learning science.
  • attempting to move “outside the assumptions and practices of the existing order and struggling to make categories, assumptions and practices of everyday life problematic”.
  • As Sonia Livingstone (2012) puts it, this problematizing of technology and education usually pursues three basic lines of inquiry: What is really going on? How can this be explained? How could things be otherwise? As these questions imply, a critical approach also involves speaking up for, and on behalf of, those voices usually marginalized in discussions of what technology and education ‘is’ and ‘sh
  • What to do about digital technology?’ remains a high-profile
  • As Alison Hearn has argued, contemporary higher education is now predicated around ambitions to produce human capital rather than critical thinkers; and to foster creativity, innovation and knowledge rather than critical thinking.
  • This stems, at least in part, from the fundamental desire amongst most educational technologists to improve education through the implementation of digital technology. For many academics, then, technology and education is approached as an inherently ‘positive project’. Indeed, I suspect that most people working in this area are driven to some degree by an underlying belief that digital technologies are capable of improving learning and/or education in some way
  • to ‘harness the power’ of technology.
  • I would argue that any academic who is working in the area of technology and education should feel obliged to be critical, or at least justify why they have chosen not to be critical
Anne Trethewey

David Weinberger: Too Big To Know | ... My heart's in Accra - 1 views

  • David warns, we still tend to think of knowledge in the ways we did when books had to sit on a single place on the shelf, when knowledge had a single, possible, right form, rather than multiple forms.
    • paul_size
       
      Interesting to see how the perceived information overload may be attributed to the way we tend to think of knowledge.
  • This doesn’t mean there are no facts – but it does mean that people are going to insist on being wrong.”
  • David is actually quite concerned about difference, and just how much difference we can tolerate and still interact and function.
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • He acknowledges that there’s a human tendency towards homophily, flocking together in groups united by race, gender, belief, socioeconomic status, etc.
  • This can lead to a serious challenge to public discourse – echo chambers that can solidify beliefs, making them more extreme and
  • polarized.
  • ooking for solutions and common ground by trying to get to the facts.
  • To have a good conversation, you need to have 99% similarity and 1% difference.
  • When data.gov released sets of government information, they didn’t clean or normalize it ahead of time – they released raw data. They concluded that it was better to put the data out there than to constrain themselves to information that was consistent and known, for the simple reason that this constraint would have slowed them down badly. Darwin would not have agreed – he spent seven years on one fact.
  • It may be the one approach that’s scaleable
  • why were old knowledge systems so fragile?
  • hese systems assumed knowledge was bounded, settled, orderly and proceeded step by step. But that’s not what knowledge feels like in the age of the internet. It feels unbounded, overwhelming, unsettled, messy, linked and governed by our interests. And those properties are the properties of what it means to be human in the world.
  • raditionally, we’ve handled this by breaking off a brain-sized chunk of the world and getting an expert to understand it. Once we’ve got that expert, we can stop asking questions: we simply ask the expert. Experts, and the credentials that create them, are stopping points. They’re points beyond which we don’t need to look any further.
    • Anne Trethewey
       
      Gatekeeping
  • it challenges our notion of what knowledge is, and introduces the uncomfortable question of how we navigate this new space
  • We tend to assume that knowledge gives us an accurate picture of the world, built up bit by bit, fact by fact. In acquiring knowledge, we nail down each piece with certainty. And we see knowledge as a product of filtering and winnowing – we move from perception to true perception, from a mob of opinion to true belief. Knowledge is about finding gold within the flux.
  • The manifestations of knowledge are at risk, and all it took was the touch of a hyperlink.
  • The internet is an environment that’s all about connection and our knowledge is picking up properties of the medium. Knowledge in this space is characterized by the fact that it’s “too much, messy, unsettled, and unstructured”.
  • Links are a new form of punctuation
  • We don’t just have a lot of information – the information is very messy
  • In a digital age, we simply make playlists. We end up with a mess of information, but it’s a rich and fertile mess.
  • Messiness is an essential feature of how we scale meaning.
  • Moynihan said “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, not his own facts”
  • releasing raw data and letting individuals and groups clean, analyze and share what they find
muzedujourney

Giving Good Praise to Girls: What Messages Stick | MindShift - 0 views

  •  
    How praise impacts on learning and the brain development associated with that. I feel this article relates to connectivism as learning in this way invloves challenge and perhaps failure. The article alludes to the idea that failure is a good thing and if we praise the process rather than the outcome we support learning. I wonder if this is true for adult learners as well? Should we be placing more emphasis on encouraging and supporting the process of learning so that what is being learnt is just as important as how it is being learnt to equip people for the world of the future and for people to be job ready?
Linda Raymond-Hagen

New structures of learning: The systemic impact of connective knowledge, connectivism, ... - 5 views

  • The limitation of physical classrooms and existing information structures in education play a similar role in delaying innovation as the centralized power source in multi-story buildings did during the adoption of electrical engines.
    • paul_size
       
      I like this line about physical structures delaying innovation.  
  • long timeline of slow change
  • almost all technological advancements related to information and communication have influenced three dimensions: 1.      Our ability to create and share information and content 2.      Our ability to connect and dialogue with others, a progressive minimization of the tyranny of space and time 3.      Our ability to experience a simulated reality
  • ...75 more annotations...
  • barriers to the creation of content and information
  • This timeline has enabled anyone with access to an internet connection to create and share information.
  • The barriers of expense and technical expertise - such as printing presses - are now lowered to the ease of creating a blog or podcast.
  • validating information accuracy
  • increased ease of content creation is the ability for conversations to occur,
  • in both real and delayed time, on a global level. Through tools such as mobile phones, Skype[2], video conferencing, instant message, and microblogging tools such as Twitter[3], conversations are no longer confined by space and time
  • For many individuals, the reduced cost of information communication technologies reduces the economic barrier of participating in global conversations.
  • While technology is the undercurrent that has influenced much of the development in society and our ability to communicate, share, and create content, technology creates a different dimension not fully reflected in those advancements.
  • unattainable due to cost and access
  • Knowledge - the core product and source of engagement in education - has become increasingly fluid
  • What we have here is a transition from a stable, settled world of knowledge produced by authority/authors, to a world of instability, flux, of knowledge produced by the individual. (p. 207)
    • paul_size
       
      Is this not concerning?  Knowledge produced to create a world of instability?
  • Border-less education - such as is evident by global universities like Open University (UK) and Athabasca University (Canada) Private for-profit - as defined by organizations such as University of Phoenix and Laureate Education Corporate universities - such as Defense Acquisition University. (Scott, 2002, pp. 4 - 5)
  • vital combat of lucidity
  • his era of complexity, or as defined by Barnett (2004) - supercomplexity - requires a transition from an epistemological to an ontological emphasis. The development of specific skills and mindsets becomes as critical as, or even more so, than the possession of existing knowledge.
  • The ability to continue to learn and develop new knowledge replaces the importance of existing knowledge, or, what is known today is less important than the capacity to continue to know more. The development of a certain type of person with certain mindsets exceeds the importance of being in possession of a particular type of knowledge - becoming in contrast with knowing.
  • adoption of innovation and systemic views of change.
  • adoption of innovation and systemic views of change.
  • A view of change is required that moves beyond Christensen's (1997), Moore's (1999), and Senge et al.'s (1999) models and begins to addresses the impact of trends and innovations on the spaces and structures of learning.
  • New trends drive innovation
  • when educators, school systems, and research groups begin to adopt new approaches for learning.
  • Yet, in spite of small-scale innovation, new methods typically do not result in new spaces and structures of learning. As noted by David (1990), new innovations are adopted in the context of existing physical spaces.
  • Given the opportunities of technology to extend access to content, experts, and peer learners, does an existing classroom model still make sense? Do one-instructor classrooms need to give way to more diverse approaches of many instructors and many peer learners? How should curriculum be developed? How much structure needs to be applied to this type of model in the development of curricula and in the planning of instruction? Does instructional design similarly need to be rethought?
  • Once spaces
  • complex problem solving through collaboration, and new relationships between educational institutions and society are all possible as systems ch
  • catalyst and push-back factors
  • Social pressures were building that resulted in the eventual eruption of political reorganization.
  • Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition
  • Yet learning occurs in many places, formats, and process
  • limitless dimensions exist in our learning (
  • n addition to formal education, learning occurs through games and simulations, mentoring and apprenticing, performance support at the point of a learning need, self-learning that arises through critical and creative thinking, communities of practice and personal learning networks, as well as the many informal learning situations that arise through conferences, reading, volunteering, and hobbies.
  • (a) long-term trends influencing information creation, interaction, and technological change; (b) the nature of systemic change; and (c) the multi-faceted, dimension-less nature of learning. Consideration can now be given to a creative exploration of what educational structures might look like if created on the premises presented thus far.
  • Many of the assumptions that influence current school design are challenged when learners and educators have the ability to form global learning networks outside of the realm of traditional education. As we create "space and place, we create ourselves" (Cannatella, 2007, p. 632). Our ability to learn, grow, and adapt to change pressures is directly linked to the nature of our learning environments. Oblinger (2006) addressed the link between space design and opportunities for learning:
  • Space - whether physical or virtual - can have an impact on learning. It can bring people together; it can encourage exploration, collaboration, and discussion. Or, space can carry an unspoken message of silence and disconnectedness. More and more we see the power of built pedagogy (the ability of space to define how one teaches) in colleges and universities. (para 1)
  • carrier of patterns of previous reasoning
  • hierarchical mindset exists with regard to educational content
  • classification schemes of individuals such as Aristotle and Linnaeus
  • The multi-faceted aspects of learning - the criticality of context, the importance of social interaction and negotiation, the need for active "doing" - are all of such nebulous character that they fail to avail themselves to classification
  • structure content and interaction into hierarchical structures.
  • The limitations of hierarchy in capturing interconnectedness of information and the failure of classrooms to reflect technological developments permitting multi-perspective interactions and networked learning establish a need for different metaphors to guide learning design.
  • an environment that fosters and supports the formation of communities and networks (Siemens, 2003).
  • suggests a certain view of
  • learning
  • Learning is seen as bounded, structured, managed by a single expert (the teacher),
  • different affordances
  • ecology of learning with
  • If ecologies are the spaces of learning, then networks are the structures of learning.
  • They arise in a space that both supports and confines their creation. The last decade has generated much thought on networks. A range of researchers from physics, mathematics, and sociology (Barabasi, 2002; Watts, 2003; Wellman, 1999) have explored the nature of networks and how they are a central component in all aspects of society, biology, and physics. The centrality of networks as an organizing scheme is also reflected in education, teaching, and learning (Siemens, 2006) under the concept of connectivism. Connectivism is essentially the assertion that knowledge is networked and distributed, and the act of learning is the creation and navigation of networks. The distributed nature of knowledge and the growing complexification of all aspects of society require increased utilization of technology to assist our ability to stay current, manage information abundance, and solve highly complex problems.
  • A pedagogy of participation
  • Davidovitch (2007) suggested, "The call for a new pedagogy to accompany new instructional technologies, however, has largely remained unanswered."
  • The slow pace at which educational institutions have reacted to technological developments through the creation of new pedagogies can be traced to the physical structures of existing classrooms.
  • duplicate the structure of a classroom, little innovation is seen
  • pedagogy of oppression
  • discussion of participatory pedagogies
  • Learners are able to contribute to existing curricula.
  • Multiple perspectives, opinions, and active creation on the part of learners all contribute to the final content of the learner experience.
  • progressively rigid intellectual property laws or increased emphasis on learning outcomes
  • an attempt to create an educational system that recognizes the fluidity of learning and knowledge,
  • Questions shaping future directions
  • When a transition is made to networked models of learning, learners are able to form relationships with peers and experts from around
  • Content is not filtered according to the ideology of one professor.
  • MIT's OpenCourseWare
  • A fluid network of relationships
  • Accreditation is a value statement.
  • learner has sufficiently engaged with the knowledge of a domain to be worthy of a particular designation
  • Some prefer a high degree of social interaction, while others prefer a more individual approach.
  • The motivation of peer-contact and schedule of learning activities and events may provide critical support to ensure learners do not drop out of their
  • Existing services like Diigo[8], Amazon[9], Digg[10], and StumbleUpon[11] provide a glimpse of what a rating system might
  • brokering
  • funding model of universities relates to providing support for educators and i
  • societies to participate in the information and knowledge age. The critical challenges facing humanity are many. A highly connected and well educated populace appears to hold the greatest prospect for meeting these challenges.
    • Linda Raymond-Hagen
       
      Why is there still large investments being made in brick and mortar and not alternative deliveries?
  • e primacy of the educator and the role of the learners as receptive agents
  • learning management systems
  • Subscription fees to
  • as a source of guidance
  •  
    Paper/presentation by Siemens talks about the difficulty of change and tries to develop a new view of teaching, learning and research. The abstract of the presentation is... "Since Illich's 1970 vision of learning webs, society has moved progressively closer to a networked world where content and conversations are continually at our finger tips and instruction and learning are not centered on the educator. The last decade of technological innovation - mobile phones, social media, software agents - has created new opportunities for learners. Learners are capable of forming global learning networks, creating permeable classroom walls. While networks have altered much of society, teaching, and learning, systemic change has been minimal. This presentation will explore how potential systemic responses leverage the transformative potential of connective knowledge and networked learning."
thaleia66

Success, personal learning plans, and multiple pathways in open courses | George Velets... - 0 views

  • So, the question becomes, how do you support all learners to achieve what they aspire to achieve?
  • the learner is given more of that control. The instructors write: ”This course will experiment with multiple learning pathways. It has been structured to allow learners to take various pathways through learning content – either in the existing edX format or in a social competency-based and self-directed format. Learners will have access to pathways that support both beginners, and more advanced students, with pointers to additional advanced resources. In addition to interactions within the edX platform, learners will be encouraged to engage in distributed conversations on social media such as blogs and Twitter.” I like this because of the recognition that learners come to courses with varying needs/wants and that recognition influenced the design of the course.
  • research has shown, that learners don’t know what they don’t know. A personal learning plan isn’t a panacea, which is why every course needs to include a diverse range of scaffolds and supports.
    • debliriges
       
      Argument for including diverse range of scaffolds and supports 
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • I assume that individuals will enrol in this course to pursue a personal need/ambition
  •  
    Canadian university professor shares some initial thoughts on how he intends scaffolding student learning in his open course through the use of Personal Learning Plans. While I'm not going to mandate this in NGL this time around (next offering is perhaps another question). It's something you might like to explore for your own purposes. I'm a little intrigued by the idea of some open courses making a decision to offer multiple pathways through an open course. Shouldn't it be the learner that (is helped to) create their own path?
  •  
    How do you support all learners to achieve what they aspire to achieve? 
Anne Trethewey

Social Media and the 'Spiral of Silence' | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Li... - 2 views

  • A major insight into human behavior from pre-internet era studies of communication is the tendency of people not to speak up about policy issues in public—or among their family, friends, and work colleagues—when they believe their own point of view is not widely shared. This tendency is called the “spiral of silence.
  • Not only were social media sites not an alternative forum for discussion, social media users were less willing to share their opinions in face-to-face settings.
  • The traditional view of the spiral of silence is that people choose not to speak out for fear of isolation
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • People also say they would speak up, or stay silent, under specific conditions.
  • Their confidence in how much they know.
  • The intensity of their opinions.
  • Their level of interest.
  •  
    Social media (network learning) doesn't always change everything. Again perhaps the fear of being "wrong" in public is factor? Being different is hard
  •  
    I found this article really interesting - particularly the hierarchy of relationships in which people were comfortable sharing their views - family, then friends, then colleagues and then facebook or twitter. To me, this suggests that discussions are most likely to occur in situations where people are confident of being accepted regardless of their views on an individual topic. This has interesting implications for teaching - and links in with some of the literature on creating "safe" learning environments. However, I wonder whether we need more of an emphasis on building/strengthening relationships between students - and what implications this has for group sizes, and how we manage learners.
Kath Gregory

Reflection | katarena's safeplace - 2 views

  • Goodyear (2014) states that connections always existed for the purpose of peoples businesses and trade prosperities to make thier livelihoods, if people or companies did not they never made a profit.
    • Kath Gregory
       
      yes this might be a reference but there was no link or anything within this post
    • anonymous
       
      Hi Kate, Let me know if you receive this as I'm wondering if it works. And yes, a link would be good :)
    • djplaner
       
      Good to see this working. Wonder if it comes via email notification and if it appears in the feed? (Probably not the feed)
  • I guess with all the text book readings I did not meld my knowledge into understanding connectedness. As I know humans are social creatures, and can not live without interaction, but I did not really understand the why to it all, I believe I wasnt really needing to know the answer yet or did not care till now.
    • Kath Gregory
       
      really no information or link so it is missing, but it was a learning process as this was the last week before the understanding of how to link an add things had becoe about
Brendon Willocks

iThink, iTeach, iTeens | Slide to unlock…learning… - 3 views

  • previous Blog post
    • Brendon Willocks
       
      Reference to previous thinking in relation to NGL. Not 100% sure here how to add the spta tage. #spta
  • r 8 Humanities class and also my Yr 12 ITS classes
    • Brendon Willocks
       
      Turn to face-to-face network for information first. Perhaps this is just a comfort zone. I need to a more PCP approach. #spta
  • Flappy Golf
    • Brendon Willocks
       
      Multiple links to external sites. I wonder if this link opens in a new browser window, or if it is the same. ??? Dont want it to be the same window becasue we always want to keep the user on the original blog. #spta
  • ...41 more annotations...
  • poll.
    • Brendon Willocks
       
      Created a poll to see what game to learn to play. But given the size of my current network the number of votes is less that optimal. Still need to work on expanding my network and connections.
    • djplaner
       
      I probably would have suggested "Clash of Clans", which wasn't an option. But then perhaps that's just because my boys enjoy it.
  • “Attempts at integrating technology within education, however, have often focused on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the status quo, replacing traditional instructional approaches with ones that are technologically reinforced, yet qualitatively similar” “Research continues to show that access to technology alone has limited impact on learning outcomes and instructional methods and is often used to support passive, teacher-centered, and didactic instruction”
  • learning is often seen as a single and sporadic classroom activity as opposed to an endeavor that is ongoing, lifelong, and independent of educational institutions and age
  • it is important for learners to understand, and instructors to acknowledge, that knowledge is distributed and that the instructor is not the sole source of knowledge on a topic
  • We should aspire for learning that changes the ways a learner acts in the world. We want learners to talk, discuss and share their learning with family and friends, rather than compartmentalising
  • “transformative learning experiences cannot be”imposed” on learners.” invited, and encouraged, and facilitated.
  • Siemens (2005) describes the following characteristics of connectivism: Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions
  • Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources
  • The near infinite potential of dancing with anyone, anywhere, anytime coupled with the vast sound tracks and light shows (open educational resources) accessible on the Net, demand that learning be an experience of connecting and applying resources, rather than memorizing particular tunes or steps. The art of improvisation, of learning to dance, becomes the life learning skill – accumulating static data or memorizing scripts becomes obsolete.
  • When I reflect on other courses of formal study that I have undertaken at this university there are a diverse array of online teaching practices evident. Some model, facilitate and challenge learning just like this one; while others have an approach of ‘here is the assessment, good luck…see you at the end’. I need to make sure that all of my teaching is supportive and challenging to students learning – there is limited learning with the ‘here is the assessment…enjoy’ approach.
  • ‘As Student’
  • “It is through writing our ideas down that we make what we learn explicit, thus enabling us to “reflect upon it, and reanalyse it in light of new and sometimes conflicting information” (Goal et all., 2008).”
  • Riel and Polin reading is that we are a knowledge-based community given we “construct, use, reconstruct, and reuse knowledge in deliberate, continuous cycles” (p. 32).
  • ‘As Student’
  • sharing our ideas in PCP is not scary and threatening, but can help ourselves and others. Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them. What is obvious to me is amazing for someone else.
  • I continue to do my work, I tell my little tales and share my point of view. Nothing spectacular, just my little thoughts.
  • ‘As student’ I was initially hesitant to share my thoughts opinions and ideas because I wasn’t sure if they were worthy of sharing. They are nothing different or innovative. But through engagement in Blogging and the non-threatening nature of the task – just blog, it doesn’t have to be perfect – has assisted a great deal. Overtime I have noticed that I am more comfortable sharing ideas.
  • feeding forward’, as identified by Downes (2011).
  • “We suggest three distinct but overlapping forms of learning within communities (task-based, practice-based; knowledge-based learning) and discuss practical design implications of these distinctions.”
  • learning theory has evolved from a cognitive theory of acquisition of knowledge to a social theory of increased participation in activity (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Lave, 1988; Mehan, 1983; Nonnan, 1980; Rogoff, 1994; Wertsch, 1997).
  • ntellectual development becomes a process of negotiation of meaning in everyday practice with others (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978).
  • Learning occurs through engagement in authentic experiences involving the active manipulation and experimentation with ideas and artefacts – rather than through an accumulation of static knowledge (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Dewey, 1916).
  • Wenger (2000) uses the metaphor of a garden to describe the nature of support that works for something as delicate as a community of practice. You cannot, he says, make the flowers grow by pulling on their leaves. You can, however, keep the flower beds free of weeds and pests, ensure there is water and sunlight, and you can even apply some plant food. But the flowers must do their own growing. What does that sort of support for the flowerbed look like in an isolated and troubled profession such as teaching?
  • ‘As Student’
  • ‘As Student’
  • sharing our ideas in PCP is not scary and threatening, but can help ourselves and others. Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them. What is obvious to me is amazing for someone else.
  • feeding forward’, as id
  • We suggest three distinct but overlapping forms of learning within communities (task-based, practice-based; knowledge-based learning) and discuss practical design implications of these distinctions.”
  • earning theory has evolved from a cognitive theory of acquisition of knowledge to a social theory of increased participation in activity (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Lave, 1988; Mehan, 1983; Nonnan, 1980; Rogoff, 1994; Wertsch, 1997).
  • tellectual development becomes a process of negotiation of meaning in everyday practice with others (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978).
  • Learning occurs through engagement in authentic experiences involving the active manipulation and experimentation with ideas and artefacts – rather than through an accumulation of static knowledge (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Dewey, 1916).
  • Wenger (2000) uses the metaphor of a garden to describe the nature of support that works for something as delicate as a community of practice. You cannot, he says, make the flowers grow by pulling on their leaves. You can, however, keep the flower beds free of weeds and pests, ensure there is water and sunlight, and you can even apply some plant food. But the flowers must do their own growing. What does that sort of support for the flowerbed look like in an isolated and troubled profession such as teaching?
  • d social bookmarking in t
  • “Learners need to find their own unique pathway to transformative understanding of networked learning. There’s no simple and straightforward way to mastery that can be taught.”
  • ‘The past always looks easy and the future always looks challenging’.
  • Our information overload is a filtering issue and we are having filter failure.
  • lexibility is the greatest strength.
  • online learning is that it is asynchronous and students can participate and engage with content anywhere, anytime. I believe the f
  • Siemens (2004) also notes that learning occurs in informal and non-formal learning contexts.
  • “Knowledge is contained in the links between interconnected nodes and learning is the creation of these connections and the ability to traverse these connections. “For an individual this is about growing the connections in the mind by growing the connections.”
  • Alec Couros pointed out in a keynote from FUSION 2013 that – “There is strength in weak ties. Our acquaintances, not our friends, are potentially our greatest source of new ideas and information” (paraphrased from Gladwell, 2010).
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