Networked and Global Learning

Abstract This paper is a critical review of some recent literature around the 'literacies of the digital' in schools and higher education. It discusses the question: 'what does the conjoining of the terms "digital" and "literacy" add to our understanding of teaching and learning in higher education'? It explores the continuing role of critical literacy in relation to the idea that digital literacies are transformative for pedagogy in this sector.

Boring monologues that seek to deposit dated information, as an excuse for knowledge, in the brain of a student using an iPad is metaphor for underdevelopment.

A coursera (one of the commercial MOOC providers) course starting next year.  Signed up for it.

Good post gathering various insights around "networked" learning and trying to shape them into how they might inform a vision of democratic learning.

A book chapter describing the design of a 2008 open access, graduate level, educational technology course (a fairly close fit for EDU8117). This course was a direct influence on the MOOC work of Siemens and Downes and a potential model for EDU8117 (and my other courses).

Describing some methods being used to create communication/socialisation opportunities in MOOCs.

A page of resource links around activity theory

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson

Salman Khan talks about Khan Academy

http://www.ted.com Indian education scientist Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education -- the best teachers and schools don't exist where they're needed most. In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.

http://www.ted.com At TEDxRainier, Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings about how babies learn one language over another -- by listening to the humans around them and "taking statistics" on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show how 6-month-old babies use sophisticated reasoning to understand their world.

Eric Mazur, Harvard physics professor and Learning Catalytics

A follow up to the first TED talk in 2006. Sir Ken Robinson discusses changing education from an 'industrial' model to an 'agricultural' model where we nurture learning not manufacture it.

Book possibly of interest to a few people 

A good brief overview of MOOCs with an argument connecting them to CoPs.

Differentiation called for in teacher PD.

Collection of pointers to various news releases, interviews and opinions about the recent rise of Coursera with numerous universities joining the ranks.

Reflection about some of the 21st century learning theories connected with networked learning. Rhizomatic learning in particular.