October 13 - Chautauqua

Chris Schmechel and I were given the opportunity to present with other members of colleges and schools in our region to present in front of the Higher Education Commission. The HEC Board convened several Chautauquas to get input from industry and higher education. Amy Hatfield and Kim McNamara (moderating) did an excellent job organizing the innovation portion of this meeting.

How should I start with Social Networking?

Over the past few days people have asked me how they should start with Social Networking. This is an interesting question for me since I just jumped into it like I jump into everything else. However, one thing I think I do well is help people ease their way into technology.


Usually the previous questions is a prelude to "How do I use it in my business, classroom, etc." If it is you asking these questions, I have a few pieces of advice. Putting first things first, you should definitely get comfortable with the media before trying to launch your professional persona into the fray. Then when you're ready it's time to dive in (I love that part!).


The first step is to ever so gently create a Facebook account. Facebook is relatively easy to get into and there are plenty of people already using it. Here is a link to a tutorial for creating the account and getting set up: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-tutorials/facebook-profile-tutorial



The next step is to invite the people you know that are close friends and family that you don't mind sharing your life details with. Then you can start to branch out into extended family and friends of friends. (Unless of course you are a social butterfly like me and go out and friend all kinds of people.)


You will soon learn that the stream of consciousness from your friends and relatives may be a bit overwhelming at times. I have started to treat it like a constant family reunion. I can't listen to everyone in the room, but I can catch tidbits of interesting information that I can follow up on.


Get involved with this, and next time we will discuss how to use Facebook to begin building a social presence.


(If you have any helpful tidbits or questions please post them.)

Breakout Sessions at WA-ACTE Conference in Seattle

I have been accepted to host a couple of breakout sessions at the 2011 WA-ACTE Summer Conference. The session will discuss integrating Social Networking tools to create engaging learning environments and the integrated use of Tegrity, Elluminate (sorry Blackboard Collaborate), and Google Docs.

There has been nothing but positive feedback from people as I discuss the topic, particularly regarding building community within online learning environments. I believe that this area will be the next area of social innovation as we try to make sense out of learning and living in the 21st century.

If you are interested in the speaker's notes and slide deck I will be posting them shortly after the conference. Of course it will come with a price: a repost on the social network of your choice. ;)

Mahalo

Open Source and the Future of Education

Open Source and Open Information is something I have been passionate about for a very long time. It started as a way to free computers from the proprietary systems distributed by computer manufacturers. The GNU not Unix movement helped to get this started. From the beginning the concept of "Free as in freedom of speech versus Free as in Free Beer" has been the balancing act of the Open movements.
Open Education, like Open Source comes down to a question of Freedom and access versus low cost (Stallman). Freedom is never free, as it always comes with a cost. It means that the responsibility for its use falls on the user. After all, if you exercise your freedom of speech you must be prepared for a reaction. Likewise if you use Open Source/Information you become a steward for the product or information. You become responsible for its use and abuse. If there is a security breach or the information is incorrect there is no one else who is responsible. That lies with you.

However the possibilities are endless. As great minds share those minds we all gain. If you can add your own mindshare to this, the world can become a better place. This opens access to those who may not be able to get information or software due to georgraphic or economic conditions. There is potential for crossing the digital divide as we democratize the electronic media. This is what Freedom is about.

An interesting side effect of the Open Source movement as a socialist concept... it allows the capitalist concept of Adam Smith's Invisible Hand of market forces work more efficiently (Smith, 1776). It levels the playing field a bit, as the cost of entry into new markets gets cheaper for businesses of all sizes.

Free the Software

Fenster - The Free Software Song - Click here for more free videos

References
Fenster, Free The Software. Retrieved from http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/yt-yK9MNPlwr2k/fenster_the_free_software_song.swf

Smith,A (1776) The Wealth of Nations. Retrieved from:http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/smith-adam/works/wealth-of-nations/index.htm

Stallman, R. Why Software Should Not Have Owners. retrieved from http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html

Static and Dynamic Technology

The Static to Dynamic continuum is an interesting topic of discussion and is truly mapping our progression into the future of learning. Static means not changing and indicates where technology has come from, and Dynamic basically means changing, or not static.
In information systems we talk about Dynamic services or content as coming from databases or real-time feeds of data. This means that as systems change, the information shared between the users of the data changes as well.

This is pertinent in modern learning systems, because a pdf generated from a word document today may not be relevant tomorrow. Text books stating Pluto is a planet became outdated as soon as the decision to make it a dwarf planet was reached. However eTexts that are fed from databases could all be changed at one time with a single change in a classification field.

Real time simulations and multi player game environments are good examples of dynamic environments in which both teacher and learners can become part of the same environment and explore context driven information. An interesting blog for Sloodle, a way to assess learning in Second Life within the Moodle open source learning environment, indicates the trend for bringing information and wayfinding together for relevant information.

We have a brave new world ahead of us and I am beginning to emerge from one who fixes and scales technology to one who develops learning and relevance. I often find myself developing mostly static content, however I am always drawn to dynamic collaborative learning. We live in exciting times.

Britt, R. (2006). Scientists decide Pluto’s no longer a planet. MSNBC. Retrieved from:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14489259/

Bloomfield, P.(2010).quizHUD cited in WCC2010. retrieved from:https://www.sloodle.org/blog/?p=213

Tools, Techniques, and Technology

As the world shifts to networked knowledge and learning (Siemens,2008)Education Technologists have some of the coolest tools of the trade. We get the privilege of bringing everything from hardware to cloud computing into the learning equation. The best application of technology are in the areas of collaboration, communication, and content.

Collaboration tools are particularly valuable in applying social-constructivist methods. Using tools such as wikispaces, google sites, and zotero allow students to compare thoughts and ideas on the same document in order to solve problems and come to shared solutions. Collaboration is a building process rather than a cooperative effort. This will require the group to rely on each other. Some requirements for the group effort would require collective mind-mapping, and shared decision making in a positive environment (Pitler et. al., 2007).

Communication tools such as Skype, Google Voice, email and Elluminate allow for swapping of ideas, during the creation of content. In combination with collaborative tools, the communication tools allows for more effective decision making and transferrence of ideas. These ideas can then be posted to the collaboration space for integration into the shared knowledgebase (Pitler et. al., 2007).

Content tools such as blogs, LMS such as moodle, and websites are great for providing elements of reciprocal teaching (Pitler et. al., 2007). This particular blog post is a great example. I am providing my own summary of information regarding tools, and with any luck you will feel inclined to provide feedback.


References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum

Assessment of Learning Communities

What is an Online Learning Community? The commonly used explanation is a group of people who come together to learn particular topics, using the power of social structure, a la Vygotsky to create greater meaning through that social experience. However there is more. but how do we measure this advantage?

The internet creates an amazing way to develop community at great distance and a function that allows us to share ourselves as more than the written word, while allowing us to share thoughts at almost the speed of those thoughts. Our students, in the course of building communities in this medium, will bring a wide array of skills and knowledge to their communities. How do we measure relative learning and synthesis in collaborative space?

In a post from Jonathans Blog, an educator and blogger from the UK, it is necessary for each member of a community to personalize a space of their own in order to become an individual within that community. This is echoed by Pallof and Pratt (2008). However the individual is part of a group, and groups judge themselves for effectiveness as well as the teacher.

According to Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) one of the main roles of the community is peer review. Instructors must develop a structured approach to community building for the students to follow in order to build context for review. The community must know the criteria in which to review their fellow students. Rubrics can be powerful tools in such a situation (Edwards and Edelstein, 2002). In this way, both students and teachers have fair and equitable measures by which to grade and assess the learning activities of the community.

There are questions regarding whether students should be required to work in a group. If the course is designed using socio-constructivist principles I would definitely require it of all students.

However this poses Siemen's biggest questions: How do we measure students as a group, when they have disparate skills? Can we change our academic position of grading individuals to grading their relative contribution to their learning communities?


References:

Edelstein, S.,Edwards J. (2002).If You Build It, They Will Come: Building Learning Communities Through Threaded Discussions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume V, Number I, Spring 2002. Retrieved from: http://distance.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html

Furness, J.(2008).Online Learning Communities for pupils, parents and teachers.Jonathan's Blog. Retrieved from:http://www.jonathansblog.net/online_learning_community_software_schools_vle_facebook_solution

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Principles of distance education: Assessment of collaborative learning featuring George Siemens [DVD]. United States: Walden University.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.