Sarah's H806 blog

Digital Natives quiz

2008-03-22T14:37:00.000+10:00

Digital Natives

The above is a little quiz I set up as part of an exercise in creating learning objects. Would be interested if anybody fancied having a go and giving me feedback! It's totally non-scientific... but may or may not be revealing!

RIP-ping on Learning Objects

2008-03-15T10:17:00.000+10:00

iterating toward openness - RIP-ping on Learning Objects: "I’ve been saying that the idea of LEGO-like assembly of resources simply will not work from a learning perspective. The role of context is simply too great in learning, and the expectation that any educational resource could be reused without some contextual tweaking was either naive or stupid. I will here attribute learning objects’ inability to live up to the incredible hype and investment they received to the fact that the premise of the possibility of simple reuse was simply wrong."

My initial reaction to learning objects is the above. I have to say I'm not 100% keen on this idea of a lot of independent piecemeal learning. It seems to me to be about benefitting the provider of the material and not the student. Where's the scaffolding if you don't allow the learner a sense of building towards an understanding. Their own contextual, constructed understanding - sure - but still within the bounds of some kind of structure. How can we assume that we're all speaking the same language if we don't tread the same route at least to a degree?

I don't know. Learning objects do have a very 'Lego' feel about them....

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-03-07T10:18:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-03-05 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 06 Mar 2008 12:00 AM CST

Web 2.0 Applications in Learning : eLearning Technology
Fairly lengthy blog entry, but covers a lot of issues connected with introducing web2.0 into education
Students aren't passionate about their subjects any more, say lecturers | Students | EducationGuardian.co.uk
Traditional academic publishers are ‘on the move’, new report suggests : JISC
Free is Good: It's Delightful; It's del.icio.us
Education World ® Technology Center: Doug Johnson: some good uses of del.icio.us in education. Worth noting.
Online gamers play at swapping gender | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Twitter in plain English-ish

2008-03-06T15:56:00.002+10:00

Twitter in Plain English:

Not sure what I make of this video to be honest. It does touch on some of the stuff Twitter can do, but it doesn't make it a 'killer app' (busily crosses self for using geek speak in public). There's nothing about sharing resources. Sharing news. Connecting with colleagues. Tagging of entries. Discovering others who have similar interests etc. Sounds mildly socially interesting... but a little bit sad from this description and it's probably the understanding I had of it about a year ago too. The 'why on earth would I want to tell everyone I was drinking tea, they know I've got to be drinking something' disbelief that it could be of any real use to anyone.

Anyhoo, worth a look for an introductory gambol around the delights of Twitter.

The connected document

2008-03-06T12:04:00.000+10:00

H806-08: The connected document [link to password protected site]:

Reflection

"Once you have produced your connected document, you should reflect upon the following questions:"

* Was the time allocated sufficient? Did you produce a completed document? If the time had been doubled, would you have been able to produce a document that was twice as good?

For me, I don't think the time allocated was sufficient, but I think that's due to my tendency to procrastinate and not use the time efficiently. I had too many questions to ask and I feel more comfortable writing about a subject if I have a proper understanding of it, rather than a superficial skim read of several links. I tried to have a systematic approach to finding links but I felt a bit panicked by the time limit imposed and ended up getting distracted and not being focussed enough.

I didn't produce a completed document, mainly because by just finding links I wasn't really engaging with the topic so by the end of it I just wasn't interested enough to maintain enthusiasm for it. I'd have preferred to have written my own version and included references at the end for people to follow up rather than not properly understanding it and padding with links throughout. It was an 'okay' experience, but doubling the time wouldn't have made it any more real or engaging for me. As a means of producing material for others - yes, it was alright. As a means of producing understanding in myself - pretty poor.

* Do you feel that you have gained a good understanding of the topic area? Do you feel as though you could converse about the area with some confidence, or do you think that you have only gained a superficial understanding?

I think I've got a good overview of the topic, but ask me anything of depth and I'd have to go back to the articles I sourced. I tried to skim as many 'good' sources as I could in the time allocated... but in trying to verify and gain reliable sources to connect to, I felt that I couldn't really read any of them properly. Less is more and a further step in which time was given to re-filtering the materials sourced and gaining a deeper understanding would have been better - for me at least.

* How does this way of working compare with a more traditional approach to information sources and documents?

I didn't particularly enjoy it. I can see it might save time if the aim was just to produce a briefing document for someone else and not to enhance your own understanding. But, it felt functional and not fun as far as I was concerned. I like to be able to relate what I'm reading to my life, my context. This didn't do that. Dull. Dull. Dull.

* Given your experience in this activity and in working with the internet in general, do you believe that overall connectivity increases time pressures or decreases them? Are there other working methods and approaches you can think of that might help reduce time pressures?

I think that overall, connectivity can increase time pressures if it isn't managed effectively. Too much information can be worse than too little. Trying to include too many links can make learning a shallow experience. It might reduce time pressures if this were a rushed piece of work - but for me, that's all it would do. It didn't work as an experience and I didn't really enjoy it.

Other working methods or approaches to reduce time pressures? Probably things like spray diagramming, brainstorming, asking myself a pertinent question, thinking about other experiences I've had and moulding my answer to them. At least those methods would make the writing process feel more natural than something as stilted as this. If time pressures are such that learning is compromised in this way, then I would have to question whether the time allocated was correct in the first place.

This experience goes on my 'could do if I had to, but wouldn't necessarily want to' pile.

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-03-05T10:15:00.001+10:00

Links for 2008-03-03 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 04 Mar 2008 12:00 AM CST

Digital kids ditch homework for networking | Technology | The Guardian
British 15-to-19-year-olds admit spending significantly less time doing homework than they used to as a result of their use of social-networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, according to research published today - no... really?!
del.icio.us network explorer
Visuwords™ online graphical dictionary and thesaurus

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-03-01T10:15:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-28 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 29 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Learning Circuits -- ASTD's Online Magazine Covering E-Learning
Is Web Technology Making Your Life Better? - ReadWriteWeb
Does web technology overload or ease? Interesting blog post on the topic
The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors - New York Times
Thought provoking - sometimes the sensible option is just to close your eyes and ignore stuff

The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors

2008-02-29T14:13:00.001+10:00

From the New York Times:

The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors - New York Times: "In a series of experiments, hundreds of students could not bear to let their options vanish, even though it was obviously a dumb strategy (and they weren’t even asked to burn anything).

The experiments involved a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to let go. In the real world, we can always tell ourselves that it’s good to keep options open.

You don’t even know how a camera’s burst-mode flash works, but you persuade yourself to pay for the extra feature just in case. You no longer have anything in common with someone who keeps calling you, but you hate to just zap the relationship."

For those of us who keep too many options open and risk drowning in information overload. You know what the sensible thing to do is? Ignore stuff! YES!!

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-29T10:20:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-27 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 28 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Newswise Social and Behavioral Sciences News | The Downside of a Good Idea
Interesting study which shows that greater connections are good for solving simple problems, more difficult issues are better performed by small groups - a drawback off too much connectivity?
The case for long articles : February 2008 : Ian Douglas : Technology : Telegraph Blogs
Longer isn't necessarily worse as far as online content is concerned
Beware of Freeconomics - ReadWriteWeb
VLE a safer bet than web-based 'free'?
Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business
"To Do" list template
Useful for time management planning
Time Management from Mind Tools - How to manage time and maximize effectiveness

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-27T10:16:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-25 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 26 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Why short is tweet for the blogging community | Media | The Guardian
Not sure I agree... but interesting anyway!
Who Is This Person? :: Firefox Add-ons
Could be so useful for helping to critically evaluate web sources during web research
Why Google Buys Companies
Interesting background on the progress of web2.0 giant

Other web 2.0 musings...

2008-02-26T00:14:00.001+10:00

at...

http://kindalearning.blogspot.com/2008/02/web-20-much-when.html

But I'm too lazy to retype for here, so this is the link to my other blog's entry on the whole web 2.0 deal.

Web 2.0 Much?

2008-02-25T23:36:00.000+10:00

My boring old computer
Could type up my reports
Could send out my dull letters
And business-like retorts.

But web 2.0 came and changed things,
Now all is quite bizarre
Linked-in, betwittered, "Friended";
Connections from afar.

The data stream is endless
I’m never ever friendless.
Micro-blogging here we go...
My life’s minutiae, blow by blow.

I know when you're out jogging
I know when you've been blogging…
Superficial? Artificial?
Anything real to read?

Drip, drip, drip, drip
Voices all around;
Can anyone truly hear these days,
Drowned out by walls of sound?

Presidential candidates
Themselves are all a-twitter
Chirp loudest and be heard by all...
Political big hitter??

Online living...
Offline losing?
Web 2.0 democracy?
What are we really choosing?

MySpace is now your space.
'I' transformed to 'we'.
Somewhere, somehow
I lost a part of me?

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-24T10:13:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-22 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 23 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Connectivism Blog
"Collective or connective intelligence" - great article by George Siemens which gets you thinking about learning styles in the networked world

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-22T10:14:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-20 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 21 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

There is good reason to be worried about declining rates of reading | Comment is free | The Guardian
Interesting response to an earlier article about the Dawn of the Digital Natives (also in The Guardian)
Create Your Personal Newspaper
Could be interesting for pulling together feeds from a class blogging project...

There is good reason to be worried about declining rates of reading | Comment is free | The Guardian

2008-02-21T11:39:00.001+10:00

Response, Sunil Iyengar and Mark Bauerlein: There is good reason to be worried about declining rates of reading | Comment is free | The Guardian: "Johnson denies there is any evidence of damage linked with excessive viewing and surfing. Yet sufficient data has led the American Academy of Pediatrics to advise parents to keep children's rooms free of electronic media. Reading is at risk, but so are the minds of the young; we need a more critical view of their digital environment and its omnipresent allure. Now is the time for educators and intellectuals to produce sound empirical studies of the risks and benefits of electronic media."

Interesting response to last week's Guardian article on The Dawn of the Digital Natives. I wonder why the claim for 'Now is the time...' though? Why now? Why empirical studies? What would the real impact be of finding out these results since one common cry is that parents can't and don't control their children's exposure to media anyway? Do we accept that the world has changed and that we live in a state of connectedness, whatever that may bring? Do we resist and step back while the world carries on changing anyway?

Yes, it's good to understand the impact of the changes around us... but panic at the developments the digital age holds? No. There's good and bad in everything, isn't there? TV is said to have seen off books... but people still read, Amazon thrives and libraries do business. The publishing of the written word was said to have changed the nature of childhood (Postman, 1995) ... but we still remember our 'idyllic' childhoods despite the fact that they were permeated with literature of one form or another. We use the internet, are connected via mobile phones, social networks, online, offline, face-to-face, alone, together... but it's only the 'minds of the young' who are at risk?? Pespective people. Put it in perspective before you wind yourselves up into a frenzy and risk waking up from the panic to find the world has changed and the point at which you could have affected that change has gone... :o)

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-21T10:17:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-19 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 20 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

BBC NEWS | Education | Warning given over techno addicts
No way!... People like checking their messages and some people get addicted? Really!??! Shocker...

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-20T10:13:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-18 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 19 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

7 Things You Should Know About... | ELI | EDUCAUSE
Useful brief overviews of some of the main web 2.0 technologies being used / potentially used in education
Welcome to Connectivism! — Connectivism
Working Smart: How to Start a Blog
Applying learning styles in an online course. - Free Online Library

Felder Silverman Learning Model test

2008-02-19T16:09:00.001+10:00

Your Score

You received a score of 4/7 for your ACT/REF.

You received a score of 1/10 for your SEN/INT.

You received a score of 8/3 for your VIS/VRB.

You received a score of 3/8 for your SEQ/GLO.

LEARNING STYLE SCALES

How to interpret your score ...

Let us say, for instance, that you received a score of 5/1 for your ACT/REF. This would mean that you are leaning more toward being an active learner than a reflective learner ...

Keep these general guidelines in mind when interpreting your score ...

If your score on a scale is 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale. For instance, a score of 2/1 for your SEN/INT would indicate that although you lean a little more towards being a sensing learner than an intuitive learner, you are balanced between the two.

If your score on a scale is 5 or 7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension of the scale and will learn more easily in a teaching environment which favors that dimension. For instance, a score of 1/6 for your VIS/VRB indicates that you are a verbal learner and much less a visual learner.

If your score on a scale is 9 or 11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension of the scale. You may have real difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that preference. For instance, a score of 11/0 for your SEQ/GLO would indicate that you prefer to learn sequentially over globally.

Comment:

The above says I have a moderate preference for being a reflective learner. A strong preference for being an intuitive learner. A moderately strong preference for being a visual and global learner. I guess I'd agree with that in general. I certainly like to reflect on things and like to think about the 'big picture' and need that to make sense to have lightbulb moments. I flit from place to place mentally until I 'get' the details of what it is I'm trying to understand. I hate trying to learn umpteen facts by rote and need to be able to relate what I'm learning to me and my life to help make sense of it. But... I do also like to diagram my ideas and adore things like maps etc for making sense of things so I'm not totally a verbal learner either.

I found the test answers somewhat restrictive and leading in parts. They didn't quite 'fit' me and the nearest answer wasn't even a 'best fit' either. There was no 'both' option for the points at which I genuinely couldn't differentiate and ended up having to plump for answer because the test wouldn't let me progress without doing so. For example, the question asking whether I prefer to study in a study group or alone - I just couldn't make up my mind. I study alone when I need or have the opportunity to study alone. If I have the opportunity to study in a group or need to... then I do.

Just shows. These tests give a flavour of you, but they don't give the whole picture. Even years of psychoanalysis and parting with hefty wads of cash wouldn't truly do that... would it?!

Further links:
http://www.crc4mse.org/ILS/self_test.html - the test itself
http://www.crc4mse.org/ILS/ILS_explained.html - for explanation of the results

Learning styles classification systems

2008-02-19T14:11:00.003+10:00

Based on the summary from 'How do People Learn', CiPD, 2007 - but with a few additional resources thrown in for good measure!

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator©
This model classifies learners according to their preferences on scales derived from psychologist Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types: extraverts or introverts; sensors or intuitors; thinkers or feelers; judgers or perceivers

For more detailed information see:
http://www.aptcentral.org/aptmbtiw.htm
www.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwmbti.html
http://members.tripod.com/~PersonalityInstitute/Myers-BriggsTypeIndictor.htm
http://www.myersbriggs.org/

Felder-Silverman Learning Model
This classification has five categories – sensing or intuitive learners; visual or verbal learners; inductive or deductive learners; active or reflective learners; sequential or global learners

For more detailed information see:
http://www.universaleducator.com/LearnStyle/felder.html
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html

Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument
This method classifies learners in terms of their relative preferences for thinking in four different modes – left brain cerebral (logical thinkers); left brain limbic (sequential thinkers); right brain limbic (emotional thinkers); right brain cerebral (holistic thinkers)

For more detailed information see:
http://www.universaleducator.com/LearnStyle/brain.html

Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory
This classifies learners as having a preference for (a) concrete experience or abstract conceptualisation, or (b) active experimentation or reflective observation

For more detailed information see:
http://www.universaleducator.com/LearnStyle/kolb.html
http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm

Honey and Mumford’s Classification
Developed from the Kolb’s inventory and learning cycle this model has four components – activists; reflectors; pragmatists; theorists

For more detailed information see:
http://www.peterhoney.com

(“Learning in Practice”, CiPD, p.44, 2007)

What John said...

2008-02-19T12:11:00.002+10:00

The lovely John Millner asked a really interesting question in our H806 tutor group about whether or not instruction was akin to behaviourism. I’ve had a mull and the following was my resulting ponderings on his question…

John Millner writes:
“Im doing the reading on behaviourism, and am having difficulty understanding why instruction per se is regarded as a stimulus/reward process. Up to now I would have thought that attending a traditional lecture was an example of learning as understanding (ie, in the cognitive camp) but apparently it is more about behaviour modification thru instruction, and therefore in the behaviourist camp.
can anyone help me out here?”

Me in response:
“The CiPD report “How do People Learn”, p.17, says that:

"Practice takes the form of question (stimulus)-answer (response) frames that expose the learner to the topic in gradual steps. The learner is conditioned to make a response each time and receives immediate feedback. Learning is ordered in stages of difficulty so that the response to each step is likely to be correct; thus offering opportunities from positive reinforcement. Progress is achieved in small incremental steps and is 'shaped' towards a positive outcome".

If you think about a typical 'stand at the front and spout' lecture, the lecturer is drip, drip, dripping information at the students. They might ask a question which they expect a particular response to in order to continue the lecture. This is positive reinforcement. The students are being conditioned to respond in a particular way which is deemed behaviourally appropriate by the incremental accummulation of knowledge and the questions which are set to test that knowledge. The response consequence is the 'correct' answer achieved. There is a power relationship there as well. The lecturer lectures the students. It isn't the students lecturing, is it? Someone has the knowledge. Someone else doesn't. The book describes the behaviourist approach as having the focus on the expert - the lecturer is the 'expert' in this context. However, other types of learning such as social learning can happen outside the lecture theatre context, for example, chatting things over with others in the Student Union etc - so although there may be behaviourist aspects to the traditional lecture, the university environment affords the application of several different types of learning.

I get the impression that all of these types of learning are not distinct learning events but can flow into and out of one another. If you view a lecture as not belonging in the behaviourist camp, it's probably because its effectiveness was heightened by mixing it with other contexts and muddying the waters of why a particular learning theory was in place at any point. But that's probably just my blurry ideas on what it's all about... or something!”

Anyway, my feeling is that this sort of reflection on what I’ve read may be useful. Not least because I’m prone to hefty shifts in thinking having had a think about someone else’s perspective on a topic! Will keep on chewing it over. :o)

What's del.icio.us today...

2008-02-19T10:12:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-17 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 18 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

O'Reilly -- What Is Web 2.0
Useful background knowledge on the origins of web 2.0 from Tim O'Reilly
Mind42.com - Collaborative mind mapping in your browser
Free online mindmapping which could be extremely useful and compete with the MindMeister version

What's del.icio.us this week...

2008-02-18T10:13:00.002+10:00

Links for 2008-02-16 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 17 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

blog of proximal development » Towards Reflective BlogTalk
Interesting ideas about how to use blogging in education and make it a collaborative reflective experience
CRC: Index of Learning Styles

Links for 2008-02-15 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 16 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Links for 2008-02-14 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 15 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

LinkBunch BETA - http://linkbun.ch
Useful for shortening and sending multiple links in a single URL

Links for 2008-02-13 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 14 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Class blogs - management, moderation and protection

Links for 2008-02-11 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 12 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Links for 2008-02-10 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 11 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Twitter for Academia

Links for 2008-02-09 [del.icio.us]

Posted: 10 Feb 2008 12:00 AM CST

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0 (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE CONNECT

Theories of learning - summary

2008-02-17T12:24:00.001+10:00

"How Do People Learn – Research Report, Chapter 2" – CiPD

The following tables look potentially useful for referring to throughout H806, so I've copied them here and added in some brief reflections of my own…

Summary of approaches to learning by cluster

	For work	At work	Through work
Behaviour	Priming	Training	Guiding
Understanding	Engaging	Enriching	Problem-solving
Knowledge construction	Reflection	Enquiring	Immersing
Social practice	Networking	Participating (in communities)	Teamworking

(CiPD, 2007, p.28)

The question that I'm not 100% sure of here is why is it all about work? The typical OU student is anything but typical. They can be teenagers who are yet to imagine which career they'd like to go into, to mature students who are looking to change career or study for fun… or retired people who are looking for a challenge but have no intention of a directly related work application for their new found skills and knowledge. How so to apply the above to them? How does it all fit together in a distance learning environment where courses may be offered from within an institute / employment situation to open content courses where the provider has no idea which approach would be most applicable since the purpose of study is unknown?

How to select an appropriate approach to learning if your students are unknown / anonymous?

Summary of approaches to learning by focus, process and outcome

	Focus	Process	Outcome
Behaviour	The expert	Reinforcement	Skills
Understanding	The content	Delivery	Knowledge
Knowledge construction	The learner	Activity	Performance
Social practice	The group	Practice	Change

(CiPD, 2007, p.29)

Have to say, I do like this summary and I can relate to it in my own contexts, but I'm not sure what is meant by 'performance' in the outcome column for knowledge construction. Is performance really the outcome? And performance in what sense? Improvements in performance? By whose standards? Qualitatively? Quantitively?

This seems to me to be pretty ambiguous and although I'd have said my preferred approach to learning belongs in the constructivist camp, I still don't recognise the outcome here. I guess it's 'performance' in the sense of improvement in whatever position it is that you've been performing in to acquire the knowledge in the first place. But… not sure.

Memorable learning experiences...

2008-02-16T11:44:00.002+10:00

I’ve struggled to find a memorable learning experience for the activity in the "Learning Theories" section of Module 1… and I’m not sure why because if one thing’s for sure, I’ve certainly had enough of them. It was much easier to come up with one which was memorable because it was negative than the many, many experiences that were positive. In lots of ways this is quite sobering. Do your job as you’re meant to – and unless it’s absolutely exceptional, people forget. Have an off day – and it’s remembered, and remembered and remembered! However, your off day can be a powerful tool if it's reflected on and used in a positive way by those affected. Hmmmm...

The future as we know it...

2008-02-16T10:14:00.000+10:00

KurzweilAI.net: "The Computer as a Communication Device
by J.C.R. Licklider
Robert Taylor

This landmark 1968 essay foresaw many future computer applications and advances in communication technology, such as distributed information resources and online interactive communities that are commonplace today as Internet chat rooms and peer-to-peer applications."

Terrific article from J.C.R. Licklider. At once hopelessly utopian ("unemployment would disappear from the face of the earth") and incredibly insightful ("Will "to be on line" be a privilege or a right? If only a favored segment of the population gets a chance to enjoy the advantage of "intelligence amplification," the network may exaggerate the discontinuity in the spectrum of intellectual opportunity"). Thought-provoking and interesting beyond the normal 'everyone will be flying round in spacerockets' predictions of the future!

Definitely worth a read!

PS And also hooray for Twitter where I picked up the link off someone's 'tweet'. I may hate the lingo which goes along with 'twittering'... but it's already starting to show its worth

Where do the educators fit in?

2008-02-11T23:05:00.001+10:00

Just read the second chapter of Manuel Castells 'Internet Galaxy' and I really don't know where the educational technologists / those using technology in education fit in to his picture. Are they part of the techno-meritocracy? Nope. Are they hackers - well, not in the sense he describes. If you change his definition from "the ability to create technology (coming from any context), and to share it with the community" (Castells, p.60) to "the ability to define uses for technology (coming from any context), and to share it with the learning community" then maybe we're getting somewhere. But it's tenuous. What about 'virtual communitarians'? Is that where educational technologists lie? Well, the main stumbling block comes from the point at which he says that this group "used it for their social life, rather than practicing technology for the sake of technology" (Castells, p.61) - I don't agree that educational technologists use it for their 'social life'. Sure, there's a strong social element and any successful implementation of technology in education will, in my opinion, have a social element. I think that one ideal is for learning communities to exist no matter what the context... but... there's still that element of 'play' and exploration which comes from being interested in educational technology. Of wanting to find new technologies. Push the boundaries with what they can do. Adapt. Apply. Adopt... or not. Last group - the entrepreneurs. Just don't see the fit there at all.

So, what is it? Is he right that there are only four groups of internet culture? Or are there simply too many shades of grey. Too many examples which don't fit the mould for his groupings to be that helpful? Surely the open culture of the internet means that the boundaries between groups are also necessarily 'open' - and intermingling and structured definitions become increasingly difficult. I don't know if his definitions are that helpful, and his conclusion makes some sweeping generalisations about its cultural make-up which further muddies the waters:

"The culture of the Internet is a culture made up of a technocratic belief in the progress of humans through technology, enacted by communities of hackers thriving on free and open technological creativity, and materialized by money-driven entrepreneurs into the workings of the new economy" (Castells, p.61).

I guess it got me thinking at least!

General twitterings...

2008-02-07T08:02:00.001+10:00

Grief, I really am becoming a Twitter bore... but anyhoo... here is my quick an' dirty list of things which make Twitter slightly less annoying than sitting in the front of the class whilst everyone behind you passes notes and whispers whilst you can't follow what they're saying...

1. Use a browser like Flock which has a built in facility to display and update Twitter in a handy dandy little sidebar
2. Try a desktop client which can sit happily in the background and colour codes entries so you can follow what's headed your way and what's just 'blah'. Twhirl seems to be a goody for doing just this!
3. Find some people to follow who actually have something you might find worthwhile reading. Tweetscan can find entries by keyword - and it's always worth bunging in any old terms to see who's moaning about their boss / work for a laugh. :o)
4. Learn the lingo. There are certain features which will make using Twitter make more sense. The '@' function is one of them... and other useful ones are tucked away and listed as being Twitter nanoformats - yes, it's mildly geeky, but worth a look if you're shy of something to do for a few milliseconds.
5. Look at the alternatives - Pownce, Jaiku, even Facebook status updates... see what else is out there and do a little comparing an' contrasting. The simplicity of Twitter is strangely refreshing.
6. Toddle back to Twitter and decide to find out what other people are saying about it. Web 2.0 Teaching tools entry on Twitter is a great place to start looking if you're interested in using it in education... and then have a wander through the links they suggest. It'll get you thinking at any rate!

Twitter. Not sure. Use it with Flock and Twhirl and see what you think!

General twittering

2008-02-05T21:46:00.000+10:00

This week, I will mostly be trying to get my head round the capabilities of Twitter... and the jury is not quite delivering the strongly negative reaction I've given it in the past, but there's a nagging little voice that won't stop badgering me about the issue of identity and social networking tools...

There seems to be an inherent inflexibility in all of these forms of social networking that they're unable to cope with the niches we create in our own lives. Twitter becomes a little like doing a loud stage whisper about something you're up to - letting those people you want to know, know... and letting those people you actually don't want to know, know too! It's all or nothing. There's no grouping in these things which adequately accommodates the complexity of our messy relationships.

Is everyone destined to become a bland, middle-of-the-road version of themselves for fear of offending someone / some future useful contact / future employer / a.n.other?! Is that where life in the connected world is taking us? I can think of several really useful functions for lots of different web2.0 tools... but... I wonder if in our rush to explore and use these tools during the early days, that we're not risking missing some important functions because they don't yet allow us the subtlety we need?

Twitter?

2008-02-04T23:48:00.001+10:00

Hmmmm... still not convinced. I've started to use Twitter a little more... but in no more meaningful way than the trite head-emptying involved in updating my status on Facebook. I get the idea of building community, but I don't get the idea that building community means I need to know that someone has just put the kettle on or that I let people know I'm off to bed. I suppose that my perspective would be different if I were actively using it in my work, within a small group - but it seems so unsubtle. You update it, or you don't. You follow someone or you don't. You have a limited number of characters so whilst you might say 'ah, but it fosters concise writing', it might also be said to foster trivial writing. What is there of real community building worth that can be said in 140 characters? That couldn't be found in Facebook / MySpace with their additional features...

As I say, I remain to be convinced...

Emergent Education: The Power of Learning in a Networked World

2007-11-05T12:04:00.000+10:00

John Connell » Blog Archive » Emergent Education: The Power of Learning in a Networked World: "Emergent Education: The Power of Learning in a Networked World Nov 3rd, 2007 by John Connell"

Yet another of my 'this could be useful' articles! Some great writing on interconnectedness and education and might induce a brain splurge at a later date - worth returning to.

From the information age to the connected age

2007-10-09T05:35:00.000+10:00

One of those 'useful to stash for later' type articles...

elearnspace: From the information age to the connected age: "From the information age to the connected age From the information age to the connected age: 'The Information Age is the age of the knowledge worker. The Connected Age is the age of the web worker. Knowledge workers create and manage information, massaging it into intangible knowledge goods. Web workers create and manage relationships across knowledge goods, hardware, and people.' I think this is an important distinction - i.e. the importance of networking and connecting as key activities of learners today. Much like Richard Feynman proclaimed the most important point for budding scientists to understand is that 'everything is made of atoms', we need to focus on all learning and knowledge starts with connections. The question naturally arises as to how knowledge is formed through connections...or how understanding is achieved. A simple connection does not necessarily equal deep understanding. But, it is a start. Without the connection (between concepts, ideas, people, information sources (I'm not focusing on the neural level here)), nothing can emerge. It seems rather obvious to state, but I find most discussions of learning and knowledge have a tendency to wash over the primacy of the connection and the network."

Many Eyes

2007-09-06T05:59:00.000+10:00

Yet another 'must look at that again later' article... which I haven't much to say about at the moment, but I'm sure it'll come in handy at a later date, not least because it looks at connectedness, learning theories and lots of other H806 related goodness, all in a handy dandy single paragraph!

elearnspace: Many Eyes: "Many Eyes I'm a huge fan of visualization tools (simply because I see them as instrumental in our ability to manage overwhelming amounts of information...and complex, interconnected relationships). One of my favorite sites is IBM's Many Eyes. Data sets can be uploaded (including free text) and visualized and compared in numerous ways. They recently added a word tree visualization. So I uploaded a few articles...my original article on connectivism (see the visualization of keywords 'learning theories', or type your own in the text box to see how concepts in the article relate. The article is also available as a tag cloud of words. I then grabbed Stephen Downes' article on Connective Knowledge and uploaded it as a data set - see the visualization of network in the article. You can explore different concepts by clicking on linked words (which expand the map view). Or have a look at the tag cloud. Kinda neat."

Web 2.0 What Went Wrong?

2007-08-30T17:27:00.000+10:00

Web 2.0 What Went Wrong? - Trebor Scholz 'journalisms' - Collectivate.net: "Today, is it feasible to live ethical, meaningful lives in the context of the Social Web?"

A course on how connectedness doesn't work? Or is it just questioning it?

Some interesting resources though and worth a sniff when you've a mo.

Connectivism Blog

2007-08-25T06:40:00.000+10:00

Connectivism Blog: "Networks, Ecologies, and Curatorial Teaching"

Another entry on this blog which I'm sure I'll find helpful to refer to at some point. It's quite a nice 'state of play' sorta piece and Siemens summarizes our connectivity explosion succinctly.

In other words... read this properly later, Sarah!

Communications: MySpace Best & Worst Practices for Higher Education

2007-08-16T21:39:00.000+10:00

DIOSA | Communications: MySpace Best & Worst Practices for Higher Education: "Through a process of trial and elimination, DIOSA | Comunications has learned what works and what doesn’t work when communicating through MySpace to higher education target audiences. Like most online marketing, there is an etiquette involved and if you’re not careful, you can detour the very audiences you are trying to attract."

A model for best practice in establishing connectedness in HE using social networking? Or another 'top tips' list which is based on hot air and fingers in the wind?

Will be interesting to revisit...

Privacy and Personalization

2007-08-14T04:17:00.000+10:00

Privacy and Personalization: From Clickstream to Targeted Advertising: "To personalize pages companies need to know things about us - what we like, what we've seen, what we read and what we purchased. Online retailers are in the business of capturing our information to give them a competitive advantage over their competitors. On the other hand with the rise of social web we have begun voluntarily putting our private information online. We blog our corporate strategies, share our family photos, and make lists of our interests. Yet most people are still concerned about privacy. They may not know exactly what it is that makes them so concerned, but they are concerned. In this post I will look at privacy in the context of personalization from user concerns to target advertising and ownership of clickstreams."

Another good article. The risks of being 'too' connected maybe? All that information that you've released about yourself is generous... to a fault, perhaps? What really happens to it all? Why this feeling of slight disquiet? Who knows what about you? And what are they going to do about it?

Comfortably connected yet?

Top-Ten Teaching and Learning Issues

2007-08-14T04:16:00.000+10:00

EDUCAUSE Quarterly | Volume 30 Number 3 2007: "Top-Ten Teaching and Learning Issues, 2007"

Possibly useful for reference later... (i.e. I haven't had chance to read it properly yet but wanted to make a note that at sometime in the unspecified future... I want to)

Strong of will to research, weak of effort...

elearnspace: World Almanac of Educational Technologies

2007-07-30T07:00:00.000+10:00

elearnspace: World Almanac of Educational Technologies: "World Almanac of Educational Technologies"

... that'd be 'world' in the sense of a handful of countries and no mention of the UK then...

Ah, the world is a small place... and growing dramatically smaller all the time. Gotta love our connected world, huh?

Homo Contextus!

2007-07-25T18:16:00.000+10:00

Homo Contextus! « Learn Online: "one of the best presentations about connected knowledge I have seen in a long time.
Serendipity 2.0: Missing Third Places of Learning - Teemu Arina"

Possibly worth a look at in terms of defining connectivity in education. One to snaffle away in any case!

Sarah's H806 blog

Digital Natives quiz

RIP-ping on Learning Objects

What's del.icio.us today...

Twitter in plain English-ish

The connected document

What's del.icio.us today...

What's del.icio.us today...

The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors

What's del.icio.us today...

More connections less solutions?

What's del.icio.us today...

Other web 2.0 musings...

Web 2.0 Much?

What's del.icio.us today...

What's del.icio.us today...

There is good reason to be worried about declining rates of reading | Comment is free | The Guardian

What's del.icio.us today...

What's del.icio.us today...

Felder Silverman Learning Model test

Learning styles classification systems

What John said...

What's del.icio.us today...

What's del.icio.us this week...

Theories of learning - summary

Memorable learning experiences...

The future as we know it...

Where do the educators fit in?

General twitterings...

General twittering

Twitter?

Emergent Education: The Power of Learning in a Networked World

From the information age to the connected age

Many Eyes

Web 2.0 What Went Wrong?

Connectivism Blog

Communications: MySpace Best & Worst Practices for Higher Education

Privacy and Personalization

Top-Ten Teaching and Learning Issues

elearnspace: World Almanac of Educational Technologies

Homo Contextus!