Group items tagged

Woodfield, Kandy and Morrell, Gareth and Metzler, Katie and Blank, Grant and Salmons, Janet and Finnegan, Jerome and Lucraft, Mithu (2013) Blurring the Boundaries? New social media, new social research: Developing a network to explore the issues faced by researchers negotiating the new research landscape of online social media platforms. NCRM Working Paper. "On a practical level, some of our network members were struggling with the constant stream of social media data, finding it difficult to keep pace with their participants as they moved on in their conversations and discussions. Digital overwhelm might become counter-productive to reflective social science if researchers are not skilled at managing data flows. Similarly, gathering massive datasets requires a computing power outside of the grasp of many independent researchers or students. The increasing emphasis on 'big data' runs the risk of access to datasets being increasingly concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority of researchers and organisations. An alternative perspective sees this as an opportunity for researchers to come together in creative, cross-disciplinary collaborations, Either way, social researchers will need to find ways of convincing those who own social media sites about the merits of extending, or at least continuing, some freely accessible datasets. The politics of social media research will become an increasingly important agenda for social scientists to engage with. Despite the strengths that social media offer in terms of providing an accessible platform for some marginalised groups, other hard-to-reach populations like the elderly, the poor and those with limited literacy remain more difficult to reach online." Page 12

Beautiful example of community learning with many-to-many creating together!

Kop & Fournier 2010 paper on Self Directed Learning: Abstract New technologies have changed the educational landscape. It is now possible for self-directed learners to participate informally in learning events on open online networks, such as in Massive Open Online Courses. Our research analyzed the agency and level of autonomy required by learners participating in a course of this nature. Using Bouchard's four dimensional model of learner control, we found that there are new dimensions to self-directed learning in connectivist learning environments. The research also brought to light new challenges and opportunities for self directed learners who might not be able to call on trusted educators for support in their learning endeavors, but rely on the aggregation of information and informal communication and collaboration available through social media to advance their learning

Kop & Fournier 2010 paper on Self Directed Learning: Abstract New technologies have changed the educational landscape. It is now possible for self-directed learners to participate informally in learning events on open online networks, such as in Massive Open Online Courses. Our research analyzed the agency and level of autonomy required by learners participating in a course of this nature. Using Bouchard's four dimensional model of learner control, we found that there are new dimensions to self-directed learning in connectivist learning environments. The research also brought to light new challenges and opportunities for self directed learners who might not be able to call on trusted educators for support in their learning endeavors, but rely on the aggregation of information and informal communication and collaboration available through social media to advance their learning

from another blog, "places along the way" Rhizomatic connects here because a) it describes my social media network explorations, b) the interests they connect, and c) is another, possibly better, organizing metaphor for cities and urban space

Downes's comments in OLDaily, Feb 7: The medium is the message? Jaap Bosman, Hit the balloon, comment, February 6, 2014 Icon "Language needs a medium," said Jaap Bosman. By contrast, to me, language is a medium. "Learning depends on language, the medium (books, blogs) of the language restricts or benefits the learning," he writes. To me, language is only one of the many media we could use to support learning. Becominbg literate in the 21st century means recognizing that literacy applies far beyond language; it's a way of understanding the world.

"Subsequently, the presence of electronic media for creating, distributing and communicating information, knowledge and meaning has grown more widely and more dramatically than perhaps even he could have foreseen. Within this context, I want to try to stitch together a few concepts, perspectives and examples with which I am more or less familiar and perhaps update the core implication of McLuhan's famous phrase."

Second Edition (2012) available from Routledge Preface This book is about the learning theories that provide the foundation for the design and development of open-ended learning environments (defined in Chap. 1). During the 1990s, we have witnessed a convergence of learning theories never before encountered. These contemporary learning theories are based on substantively different ontologies and epistemologies than were traditional objectivist foundations for instructional design. This book is intended to provide an introduction to the theoretical foundations for these new learning environments for instructional designers, curriculum specialists, mathematics and science educators, learning psychologists, and anyone else interested in the theoretical state of the art. Edited April 8/14 by Scott J. Dropped the chapter list and replaced with a sample from the section on self-directed learners: Self-Directed Learning and Self-Regulation Theory Chapter 11 Learning Communities: Theoretical Foundations for Making Connections Janette R. Hill "As indicated throughout this chapter, learning is "strongly influenced by setting, social interaction, and individual beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes" (Dierking, 1991, p.4). This is particularly important to keep in mind while turning attention to the individual within the learning community. While there is often a focus on the collective that is the learning community, individuals are the foundation that enable the community to form. Two theories can help guide our understanding of how to support learners within the context of a learning community: self-regulated and self-directed learning. Self-regulation encompasses a variety of individual characteristics, including self-efficacy, motivation and metacognitive skills. Each characteristic has been studied to various extents (see, for example, Lim & Kim, 2003; Oliver & Shaw, 2003; Song & Hill, 2009), with the majority of the studies indicating that all

629 pages long - if you dare

This is a translation in English

Bonnie Stewart on new ways of thinking about education

"Postman's Third Law: "At any given time, the chief source of bullshit with which you have to contend is yourself." Postman's Fourth Law: "Almost nothing is about what you think it is about-including you."

I am somebody who like to go back to sources. Here is the original speech in case some of you may find it useful" http://aquadoc.typepad.com/files/bs_speech_postman-1.pdf

much thanks for the full article -- I like Postman and to go back to sources too

Yikes! Is that a tree on the Deeper Learning logo? See Lima's RSA on networked learning (rhizomatic metaphor) versus the tree metaphor

Take a look at the Celtic Tree of Life image that combines tree and rhizome, http://www.kelticdesigns.com/Media/WebLogos/TreeofLifeByJenDelythN.gif

Deals with the reality of distributing quality education to most of the people in the world. "DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN THE WAY WE TEACH AND LEARN The increasing recognition the world over of the central role that post- secondary education plays in social and economic success has resulted in many drivers for change, including the following which have been identified by Bates: 1) An increasing demand for college and university places 2) Changing demographics (more older and part-time students) and more learner diversity (broader intellectual, language and cultural ranges) 3) Growing numbers of students at ease with new technologies and social media who are demanding the same sort of flexibility and access from post-secondary education that they already enjoy in their daily business and social interactions. 4) Pressures on institutions to be more open and accountable 5) Recognition of society's needs for skilled knowledge-based workers and the associated focus on learning outcomes indicating the extent to which graduates have such requisite skills as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, independent learning, and the ability to work in a variety of contexts, to work in teams and to navigate cultural differences. 6) Research evidence of the effectiveness of more interactive approaches to learning that engage students more intensively 7) The continuing evolution of Web-based technologies which make knowledge much more accessible and bring learners together without the constraint of time or place..."

"As part of a MOOC on rhizomatic learning that performs itself in many different spaces (Facebook, P2PU, G+, Twitter and others), I am a member of an 'open' Facebook group.  It is endlessly fascinating, and has given me a lot of scope for reflection about back channels and the exchange of information between open and closed spaces. Of course, I say that as if a space could be categorised as open or closed:  it's often a lot more complicated than that, acted out by technical aspects of the space and by the agency of the people who interact there. Facebook groups can be open, closed or secret, the meanings of these being laid out in the Facebook help."

"As part of a MOOC on rhizomatic learning that performs itself in many different spaces (Facebook, P2PU, G+, Twitter and others), I am a member of an 'open' Facebook group.  It is endlessly fascinating, and has given me a lot of scope for reflection about back channels and the exchange of information between open and closed spaces. Of course, I say that as if a space could be categorised as open or closed:  it's often a lot more complicated than that, acted out by technical aspects of the space and by the agency of the people who interact there. Facebook groups can be open, closed or secret, the meanings of these being laid out in the Facebook help."

extroverts, introverts, ambiverts and the solitary learner in a social context (online learning eg #rhizo

List of reflective questions about the educational experience to help students find themselves in the conscious role of student / partner in their education. >"Jane Pizzolato writes that "if students were self-authored, they would be more likely to choose majors that were appropriate and interesting to them, engage in critical thinking about their choices, and develop healthy relationships with diverse others" (2008, 19). Becoming self-authored requires transformational learning that helps students "learn to negotiate and act on [their] own purposes, values, feelings, and meanings rather than those [they] have uncritically assimilated from others" (Mezirow 2000, 8)."< Additional information http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/ And here: http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2013/March-April%202013/wabash_full.html

There has been a model for this in Empire State College for 40 years. Individuals design their own degree programs with a mentor and are able to apply for credit for life experience. It has worked extremely well for the majority of the people who have obtained their bachelor's degrees in this manner The model was initially developed by Ernest Boyer: http://iwansyahril.blogspot.com/2010/12/reflection-on-ernest-l-boyers-article.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_College the scholarship of the educator and the integration of knowledge and practice are important: http://www.esc.edu/media/ocgr/publications-presentations/Boyer-Revisited-3-21-2011.pdf note the section on Mentoring and Uneasy Scholarliness in the previous document