Cathy Anderson

#ACTE11 Update so far a great conference!

Written By: Cathy - Nov• 18•11

Attending the ACTE 2011 conference has been a great experience…one thing that made it so fabulous was seeing Sir Ken Robinson in person. He has a dry wit that is unparalleled! Not only that he uses that wit to effectively make his point. For me it was probably like seeing one of your favorite rock stars.

Sir Ken Robinson recognizes how kids lose their creativity, how that keeps them from doing what they dream of doing, and how that actually inhibits the progress of society. Ken Robinson’s Ted talk has been seen by millions, it is here. It is interesting and thought provoking with his observations on education.

Ken Robinson recognizes the value of Career and Technical Education. He recognizes that we need to provide students with opportunities to pursue careers that will provide them with a good wages, opportunities to be creative, and improve their world.

I purchased Ken Robinson’s book; Out of Minds; Learning to be Creative, I did not get his other book The Element. I went back to the ACTE bookstore and it was sold out! His website is here: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/ .

What I also found interesting was Dr. Roach’s presentation, Dr. Roach works for the St. Louis School District as a Principle. What she conveyed regarding what is going on in the St. Louuis School System is exciting to say the least..however I can only hope that we are giving the kids in my home state the same opportunities so that can be competitive.

Following that I went over to the exhibit hall which was filled with a mind bending number of vendors with lots of interesting things for education and things that are high tech. I can’t quite seem to take my eyes off the robots there and wondering how soon it will be until we see these guys patrolling our local malls, schools and maybe airports.

I also couldn’t take my eyes off the mobile emergency preparedness training lab, the simulated backhoe from the North Central Kansas technical college, and some HVAC stuff at another booth. Of course there are training systems like Amatrol, etc. I was on the lookout for medical training simulators but did not see a lot of that sort of thing.

I went over and took in a couple of workshops from vendors. I was impressed on the uses of Mindview software. This software allows the user to create a mind map from which you can create a document with a table of contents, headers, powerpoint, etc. it was impressive. If I thought I were going to pursue any more research this would be a worthwhile investment.

I also attended some sessions on Green Construction. One may think this is just a passing fad, but I think it’s here to stay. We will see this written into building code more frequently and as it spreads we will see the demand increase for carpenters, electricians, plumbers and HVAC with expertise in this area.

I then went to a session on legislative activities regarding CTE education at the federal level. These include Carl D. Perkins, No Child Left Behind, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Workforce Investment Act. In a nutshell until our Representatives quit fighting on the “Hill,” we will keep doing what we have always done and spending money..either effectively or ineffectively on education programs. What this has also done is pushed the responsibility for keeping the services for programs, such as some parts of Perkins, to the State level.

The specifics on the programs can be found here:

Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, Public Law 105-332

No Child Left Behind or Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Workforce Investment Act

In my opinion it is ridiculous that these programs are in limbo because of the political games that occur on Capital Hill. Truth be told change needs to be made in these programs and yet educators and others are hamstrung and bound to the status quo until these programs are revised..however if they are just funded under a continuing resolution that will never happen.
If you want to see creativity in education and change in education then change needs to happen at this level.

Reading is fundamental to how we learn and that seems to be the consensus of a lot of people at this conference. I attended Jim Mile’s session on reading Strategies for Career Academies and CTE. I am interested in learning more about reading strategies and what programs we can implement to improve our students reading levels. Jim Miles is with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Here is a link to a book he has written on that subject. This book was also available in the ACTE bookstore.

This morning I attended the session presented by the open day speaker, Ray McNulty and am I glad I did. McNulty’s thoughts and observations on education are refreshing to say the least. McNulty is also with the International Center for Leadership in Education. McNulty is known for encouraging us to not just settle for the best practice but to push for the next practice. He maybe write in his assertion that we should not just settle for what is proven to work on the basis of data, but to always be innovative in seeking further opportunities in what works.

Some quotes attributed to McNulty: “Educators state we want it to better .. we don’t want it to be different.” “The future is not a place we are going to but a place we are creating.”

“Cooperation is a division of labor and collaboration is an essential skill…” We need to encourage those on our teams to not come up with the one “best answer..” but the next answer and the next answer.

I attended Mark Perna’s session on Millenials. It is my goal to get him to visit our school to provide our faculty and staff with information on tools for retention and strategies for educating millenials. HIs website is here: http://www.mt4s.com/

I attended some other sessions following this ..will try to catch up on those later!

#change11 Thoughts on learning

Written By: Cathy - Nov• 15•11

I am feeling somewhat cynical about learning theories ..this certainly could be due to my lack of knowledge and background in research into learning theories, so when it gets down to it all I am just a cynic.

I have spent years working with students who need remediation in basic skills such as writing, reading and math. I have seen many of them go on a be successful in a chosen career or field. The great thing about the Adult Basic Education programs is that they provide a diagnostic tool which determines where the student’s skills are lacking and then delivers content based upon that student’s individualized learning needs. With this method the student was only learning what he or she demonstrated that they didn’t know and building on skills they already had in place. Its amazing simplistic and effective.

I have also seen student learn through applying what they know, these students learn kinesthetically in a lab or work type setting. This type of learning is amazingly effective..you can see immediate cause and effect of the skills that they have learned and applied..it works.

Learning, to me, is individualized and what works for one person in any given situation may not work for another person in the same situation. Acknowledging that this type of learning occurs is what is disruptive to education right now. It’s disruptive to education because, in my opinion, it means that I as learner can design my learning plan based upon my individualized needs, my learning goals, and also design how I want that learning delivered based upon what will work the best for me.

I will use myself as an example. I like to read but can honestly say I really did not read much of my text books when I got at the graduate level..not in-depth anyway and I am surprised at how many other I know say the same thing. For all of you out there who are seeking fascinating resources to present to your students, I am sure this revelation comes as a disappointment. So how did I learn what I need to learn and successfully pass my grad level courses? By taking lots of notes at lecture and discussion, my background knowledge and experiences of what I already knew and applying it to my tests and essays. Do this mean that my learning should not be validated? No I don’t think so.

I also learned by listening to and talking with others. I think this is what we call social learning today. I think some might call this cheating, at least back in that day or one may question if this is original thinking i.e.) reading the resource materials and developing your own ideas versus what maybe considered copying ideas from others. I don’t see it that way at all. It is a self reflection process with others and defining your own approach and interpretations of the concept you are studying.

I see students working together, studying together and discussing what they are learning everyday. Whether this is online, face to face, formal or informal this is how learning happens. What happens outside the classroom for an individual student is just as important as what happens inside the classroom, formalized lab or clinical learning setting and that is how that student takes what she or he learns and applies it in the real world setting. It is the results, the reactions of others, and feedback that a student receives that reinforces or redirects what they have applied. Cause – effect, feedback and changes that need to be made.

One thing that we recognize is that Motivation! is key. If I am learning in open education resources, in a classroom, or on the job..I need to be motivated, as a learner, to make sure my learning is happening. I also need to be surrounded by other learners and guides or teachers who are just as motivated and who motivate me. We need to understand what it is that motivates us, what engages us and how.

For those of us in education I think we need to develop within others an openness to learning, why learning is important and understand how learning can be motivational and how to instill that in others. It seems like a big task if I had the answer to that I would put it right here;

But I don’t. Maybe someone out there does. But I do think this is why we get excited about the next and best technology, and sometimes technology does unlock that motivational piece. I do think that open education resources is brilliant because it provided learners with access to knowledge and content and if they were motivated they could learn on their own! And with the MOOC concept we participate by the thousands in this learning. We are motivated by our connections and dialogue with others, by opportunity and convenience. And learning is fun, experiential and “rhizomatic” as we learn and connect with others.

This isn’t rocket science and I am not going to research it ..let someone else do that. I just know what I have seen and experienced after 15 years in higher education.

So this is my Change11 post for the week.

Posted in #change11, Collaboration, Connectivisim, Education, Learning theory, Massive Online Open Course | 2 Comments »

A few short notes #change11

Written By: Cathy - Nov• 07•11

Some Random Notes on #change11 blogs

I review a few blogs today. Some of us are contemplating the benefits of Massively Online Open Courses, #change11 and if education as we know it is totally blown up. I reviewed Roland LeGrand’s Mixed Realties blog...”Do the g20 Leaders have a wiki and other questions?” He notes that there is a “Disconnect between the formats for cooperation on the level of our world leaders and the disruptive changes caused by globalization, networks, and the amplification of collective intelligence will lead to even more upheaval.”

On Apostolos K’s blog he writes about Rhizomatic Knowledge..Provides a great overview of Rhizomatic and explains the definition of Rhizones came from the Greek word for “root.” Ideas are multiple, interconnected, self-replicating…”there may be no end (since roots do continue to grow both around and through obstacles) but they do have a beginning, so there is a start.”

On Jeffrey Keefers Silence and Voice blog — Educational Research and Virtual Identity in Post Modernity…Provides a summary of Nancy White’s MOOC…

I Listened to Nancy White’s session so it is interesting to read someone else’s interpretation of the presentation. The most interesting topic in Nancy’s presentation was that reference to Social Artist. She defines social artist as, from Jeffrey’s blog “someone who teaches and supports learners by using creative and sympathetic means to patiently encourage them to establish and follow their own goals while being connected with a larger and increasingly complex and chaotic world. “

Nancy did talk a lot about change…change as a concept has lost it’s novelty for me though ..change is just what I do.

This is a short blog. I review other blogs such as Sui Faiii John Mak’s a good read, very introspective and reflective on education and learning. I really appreciated his ideas and thoughts on blogging such as:

“Blogging to me open up new opportunities to share my understanding and perceptions about others, the community and the world.” Just a great thought to share.

I want to blog more on Direct Learning. But I am getting sucked into some thoughts and projects that I share on my other blog on photographs and photography. It is a bit more personal in nature.

Posted in #change11, Collaboration, Connectivisim, Open Courseware, Open Education Resources | No Comments »

#change11 Open Education Resources; Rory McGreal, Tony Bates, and Direct Instruction ..

Written By: Cathy - Oct• 30•11

I have been thinking a lot about this blog post, really I have. Part of the reason for this thinking about this posting is because so much of what we are discussing goes right to the heart of changing what I do to make a living, pay the bills, even the way I identify myself to the world. Oh I know..I seem to represent myself as a somewhat ed tech knowledgeable individual. However, I have been in denial regarding the disruption of the college and university system due to open education resources, technology, and massively open online courses.

I have listened to Tony Bates, Rory McGeal and the wrap up sessions, unfortunately not being able to catch the sessions in person. The presentation by Rory McGeal was choppy due to technical issues. Even so I still gained enough from that presentation to learn that there is a consortium of colleges and universities in Canada who are now implementing a plan for formalizing a process of providing courses via open education then providing students with assessments. In other words, the students will access, for free, the information they need to pass an assessment, then pay for the assessment in order to demonstrate mastery of the content. This is nothing new I have been blogging about Open Education Resources for a while on this blog now; I am familiar with them but maybe not as familiar with the momentum of the movement right now. It’s growing.

Many new initiatives are being undertaken to change education. New models and methods to pay for education ..some of which, if are implemented in the US could break the backbone of support to many higher education institutions today. One is something like this: http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=21596

The Open University (OU) has today announced its fees for new students in England as £5,000 per full-time equivalent study (120 credits) from 1st September 2012. The amount that students pay each year will be determined by the number of credits they are studying. For a typical student studying 60 credits in a year, the fee will be £2,500 per year.

Initiatives such as this means that student can move through their studies at their own pace, learning is individualized, and student learn what they need to know.

Dr. McGreal’s Blog is here: https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/blog/owner/rory which contains a wealth of resources on OER and the #change11 presentation. Furthermore if you are interested in reviewing a draft of the OER basic guidelines as published by UNESCO you may want to review their draft here: http://oerworkshop.weebly.com/guidelines-for-oer-in-higher-education.html

I did not comment much on Tony Bates presentation on planning…let me say it’s essential. I have always been anti-planning, not really understanding the process I suppose, but I have since learned an institution needs to have that plan at the forefront to communicate internally and externally what it’s about and where it intends to go and how.

The educational master plan is key to have at the forefront for planning budgets, technology and facilities, as well as enrollment strategies. Am I getting it right this time, no not necessarily but we are getting close, thanks to people like Tony Bates for moving this along. My big issue with planning has always been that it seems like our plans are two steps behind the advances and changes in budgets and technology and even the changing needs of students. The adage has always been that plans are living documents and that may be the truth, however I think the people in an institution get “planning fatigue” it seems impossible to keep up with our ever-changing environment. However, it is the dialogue occurs in the development of a plan that is essential for providing the groundwork for a solid future. . We will keep planning, we will realize our plans are perfect and we will keep changing them..it’s the way of the world.

I do intend to write more about Direct Instruction and my thoughts on that…especially since the discussion revolving around how to make students successful academic is to to teach them to read. It’s as fundamental as that.. any discussion?

That’s right..READ .. let me say it again..student need not only to learn how to READ but to COMPREHEND what they read! And my assumption is that the research may demonstrate that the best way to teach students to read is via DIRECT INSTRUCTION…

We will sort this one out later… any expert out there on this?

Posted in #change11, Connectivisim, Free Education, Future, Learning theory, Massive Online Open Course, Open Courseware, Open Education Resources, Strategic planning | 1 Comment »

#change11 David Wiley, Super Crunchers, and Future Shock

Written By: Cathy - Oct• 23•11

I listened to David Wiley’s Presentation for #change11 and, as always, found him fascinating as he detailed his career in promoting Open Education Resources. There are a couple of points from his presentation I would like to follow up on: the model of Western Governor’s University, the book Super Crunchers, and from that Direct Instruction.

Western Governor’s University is based upon competency. In September 2002 the National Post-
Secondary Educational Cooperative issued a report on competency based educational models in higher education. From the National Center for Educational Statistics the NPSEC is:

National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) was established by NCES in 1995 as a voluntary organization that encompasses all sectors of the postsecondary education community including federal agencies, postsecondary institutions, associations and other organizations with a major interest in postsecondary education data collection. NPEC’s mission is to “promote the quality, comparability and utility of postsecondary data and information that support policy development at the federal, state, and institution levels”

They define the following:

Competencies are the result of integrative learning experiences in which skills, abilities, and knowledge interact to form bundles that have currency in relation to the task for which they are assembled.

Competency-based initiatives seek to insure that students attain specific skills, knowledge, and abilities considered important with respect to whatever they are studying or the transitions for which they are preparing. Utilizing competencies requires the development of three distinct, but interactive components:

Demonstrations are the results of applying competencies. It is at this level that performance can be assessed.

They identify the exit point for competency-based instruction as follows:

Defining competencies: usually done by members of the profession with a “public protection” perspective;

Assessing competencies: various methods used including licensing exams, completion of accredited programs, and successful experience in specified levels of practice; and

Standards for judging competence: established in practice, laws, or certifications that have credibility with employers.

Western Governor’s University states the following about competency based learning and their model for education:

Our online degrees are based on real-world competencies as opposed to seat time or credit hours. Our focus is on ensuring you possess the skills and knowledge you need to be successful, not whether you’ve attended class or not. (“Show us what you know, not how long you’ve been there.”)

WGU shows steady growth in enrollment with over 20,000 students enrolled in 2010. They also graduated over 7000 students in that same year. My daughter is now enrolled there and is benefitting from this model of education. WGU demonstrated stringent admissions standards and rigorous review of courses transferred in, she did not get as many credits transferred in as we think she should have but we understand those requirements.

Based upon Wileys review of the book during this discussion I picked up Super Crunchers, by Ian Ayers. I recommend this book, not only does it present information on what type of data on “us” is gathered and reviewed but why. It is very readable even if you do not have a statistics background. Here is a link to Ian Ayers website.

This book led me to reviewing information on Direct Instruction which Ayers referred to as one of the most effective instructional models, has been proven by super date, and has provided demonstrated results. Ayers contends that this model is resisted by teachers because it is rote, routine..each bit of information and how it is imparted is scripted.

Direct instruction is a general term for the explicit teaching of a skill set using lecture or demos of the material rather than the exploration models such as inquiry based learning.

I am going to research this instructional method more and post more on this later.

I am also going to mention Future Shock here too.. for some reason this course on change reminds me of Alvin Tofflers 1970’s book.

Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term “future shock” as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of “too much change in too short a period of time”. The book, which became an international bestseller, grew out of an article “The Future as a Way of Life” in Horizon magazine, Summer 1965 issue.^[1][2][3][4] The book has sold over 6 million copies and has been widely translated.

What I found interesting was the documentary starring Orson Welles on YouTube:Future Shock Part One

Future Shock Part Two

Future Shock Part three

Future Shock Part four

Future Shock Part Five

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

#change11 random notes trying to tie it together

Written By: Cathy - Oct• 15•11

Change11 a lot of random notes on this week!

I have been grasping at what digital scholarship means for me. Digital is defined in various ways such as;

Electronic technology that generates, stores, and processes data in terms of two states: positive and non-positive. Positive is expressed or represented by the number 1 and non-positive by the number 0. Thus, data transmitted or stored with digital technology is expressed as a string of 0′s and 1′s. Each of these state digits is referred to as a bit (and a string of bits that a computer can address individually as a group is a byte).

Prior to digital technology, electronic transmission was limited to analog technology, which conveys data as electronic signals of varying frequency or amplitude that are added to carrier waves of a given frequency. Broadcast and phone transmission has conventionally used analog technology.

Digital technology is primarily used with new physical communications media, such as satellite and fiber optic transmission. A modem is used to convert the digital information in your computer to analog signals for your phone line and to convert analog phone signals to digital information for your computer.

By http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/definition/digital

Or as:

Expressed in discrete numerical form, especially for use by a computer or other electronic device: digital information.

Electronics

a. Relating to or being a device that can generate, record, process, receive, transmit, or display information that is represented in discrete numerical form.

b. Relating to or being a service that provides information expressed in discrete numerical form:

Relating to or being a profession or activity that is performed using digital devices: a digital librarian; digital photography.

5. Using or giving a reading in digits: a digital clock.

6. Characterized by widespread use of computers: living in the digital age.

By: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/digital

And Scholarship is defined as:

In its most fundamental terms:

1. learning; knowledge acquired by study; the academicattainments of a scholar.

2. sum of money or other aid granted to a student, becauseof merit, need, etc., to pursue his or her studies.

3. the position or status of such a student.

4. a foundation to provide financial assistance to students.

By: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scholarship

And as:

The methods, discipline, and attainments of a scholar or scholars. Knowledge resulting from study and research in a particular field.

By: http://www.answers.com/topic/scholarship#ixzz1arYzIDHV

An interesting article on Scholarship by Conrad Weiser entitled The Valuing of a University: Rethinking Scholarship

The search for meaning behind the term “digital scholarship” led me to the term Engaged Scholarship, I felt this article abstract had a good definition:

Engaged scholarship represents one way for making our research relevant to organizational practitioners by bridging the gap between theory and practice. Engaged scholarship is viewed as a form of collaborative inquiry between academics and practitioners that leverages their different perspectives to generate useful organizational knowledge. We explore the possibilities associated with engaged scholarship in three specific contexts: (1) theory-building and research, (2) pedagogy, teaching, and education, and (3) institutional opportunities and constraints as they relate to issues of tenure and promotion and creation of the engaged campus.

Ernest Boyer was forward thinking when in 1996, in his article The Scholarship of Engagement, in the Journal of Public Service and Outreach he presented the term Sharing of Knowledge. He defined this as the communal nature of scholarship, which recognizes other audiences for scholarship than the researcher’s peers

David Starr-Glass in his article, Reconsidering Boyer’s Reconsideration: Paradigms, Sharing, and Engagement, in the International Journal for the Scholarship for Teaching and Learning, July 2011; further expanded upon Boyer by stating: Boyer did not see the concrete blocks of disciplinary research but rather envisaged the fluidity with cross-boundary dialogue, shared understanding, communicated knowledge, and engagement with wider publics.

Starr-Glass identified Boyer’s Four Domains of Scholarship as follows:

Scholarship of engagement…universities, through research, simply must push back the frontiers of human knowledge…. we argue against shifting research inordinately to government institutes…that could directly or indirectly diminish the free flow of ideas (p. 16)

Scholarship of Integration … place discoveries in a larger contexts and create more interdisciplinary conversations into what Michael Polanyi … has call the ‘overlapping [academic] neighborhoods or in the new hyphenated disciplines, in which the energies of several disciplines tend enthusiastically to converge … we need a new formulation, a new paradigm of knowledge, since the new questions don’t fit the old categories (p. 16).

Application of Theory … becoming what Donald Schön of MIT has called ‘reflective practitioners’, moving from theory to practice, and from practice back to theory, which in fact make theory, then, more authentic (p. 17).

Scholarship of Sharing: Scholarship is a communal act… academics must continue to communicate not only with their peers but also with future scholars in the classroom in order to keep the flame of scholarship alive. And yet, on many campuses it’s much better to prepare a paper and present it to colleagues at the Hyatt in Chicago than to present it to the students on campus, who perhaps have more future prospects that one’s peers. (p. 16).

I am not going to go into much explanation but here are some other readings I have done this week:

Digital Anthropology:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthro/digital-anthropology/index.html

Stuff on culture:

http://culturematters.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/digital-anthropology-at-ucl/

. Skills training in digital technologies, including our own Digital Lab, from internet and digital film editing to e-curation and digital ethnography.
2. Anthropological theories of virtualism, materiality/ immateriality and digitisation.
3. Understanding the consequences of digital culture through the ethnographic study of its social and regional impact and issues of the digital divide.

http://ksuanth.weebly.com/wesch.html

#change11 reading:

http://littlebylittlejohn.com/change11-position-paper/

Seeking more definition of Social Learning:

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/03/lms-and-social-learning.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_intelligence

Looking at past MOOC:

http://rowanpeter.wordpress.com/epcop-mooc/

I listened to David Wiley’s presentation so here are some random notes regarding publishing; He states that the current model of textbook publishing is broken, probably irrevocably…the clock is not going to turn back to the textbook being a static learning content delivery mode. In my notes I indicate this is a student driven change. Students are asking for cheaper more interactive means of delivering their learning content. Is this because we are now dealing with learners who are well versed in the use of technologies for entertainment and learning? I am not going to drop into that generational lingo here because I don’t buy it! I would much prefer interact learning environments but as a baby boomer I am not the millenials generation that is promoted as “digital natives.”

Another term I came across this week that needs further examination is “bookifying education.” I found it and I lost not coming across it again. I will need to continue to seek that source.

Some notes from Allison Littlejohn’s presentation:

Knowledge is becoming increasingly and openly available for problem solving and learning.
Our views of what constitiute learning is broadening.
New knowledge definitions of connecting people and knowledge are emerging

O’Reilly’s 7 principles of Web 2.0:

Web as a platform
Harnessing collective intelligence
Data is the next Intel Inside
End of Software release cycle instead is in perpetual beta cycle
Lightweight programming models
Software beyond single device development
Rich user experiences

What it means:

Sharing what you have learned, created, proved
Innovate to be more creative, inventive, and imaginative
Reuse what others have already done
Collaborate to take advantage of what others already know
Learn by doing from others and for existing information

All of this “stuff” leads to Collective intelligence. Collective intelligence is defined as a shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals.

In his presentation David Wiley recommended and I had to get the book Super Crunchers!

Reading it now.

Posted in #change11, Collaboration, Connectivisim, Massive Online Open Course, Open Education Resources, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »

#change11 yet another MOOC posting!

Written By: Cathy - Oct• 08•11

I can remember being quite excited a few years ago by some of the ideas, challenges, and strategies I discovered being presented by John Seeley Brown. He is the author or coauthor of several books and articles including: A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change and The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion neither of which I can claim to have read but I intend to do so. Revisiting his website today I find it to be a rich environment for learning..and LEARNING is the reason why we are all here. Once again I revisit JSB’s website and review some of his work and find his cutting edge ideas on learning, change, and how our society is changing as intriguing and interesting today as it was a few years ago.

I skimmed several different documents on his website and in other places such as the article MindShift, and the Measuring the forces of long-term change The 2009 Shift Index, he co-wrote with John Hagel III and Lang Davison. This statement from Measuring the Forces of Long Term Change articulated what I was hoping to address in this blog; The exponentially advancing price/performance capability of computing, storage, and bandwidth is driving an adoption rate for the digital infrastructure that is two to ﬁve times faster than previous infrastructures, such as electricity and telephone networks. Also on page 9 of this same document: Knowledge ﬂows—which occur in any social, ﬂuid environment where learning and collaboration can take place—are quickly becoming one of the most crucial sources of value creation. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media foster them, as do virtual communities and online discussion forums and companies situated near one another, working on similar problems. Twentieth century institutions built and protected knowledge stocks—proprietary resources that no one else could access.

In a blog by Lynn O’Shaughnessy on 10/3/2011 she provided a definition of digital badges, does the title of the blog, Forget the College Degree Earn Digital Badges Instead, foretell the future of education? Maybe. Now this concept has launched due an endowment from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,Mozilla, the US Department of Education and US Department of Veterans Affairs among others. From the Mozilla Blog, “Open Badges will let the learner gather badges from any site on the Internet, compiling into a story about what you know and what you have achieved.” The details of the competition are available on the Digital Media Learning website. The competition is designed to encourage individuals and organizations to create digital tools that support, identify, recognize, measure and account for new skills, competencies, knowledge, and achievements for 21^st Century learners wherever and whenever learning takes place. You collect badges on the Internet, which create your online reputation, helping you get a job, find collaborators with similar interests, and build prestige. I was surprised to find support for this initiative via the department of education.

Open Badges provides an avenue for providing recognition that learning happens everywhere, Mozilla, the open badges project is working to solve that problem. Takes into consideration the many types of learning: Traditional classroom learning, internet based projects, self-directed training, information gathering, community participation, and on the job experience.

I ask a few questions such as how do you validate your learning; a badge is a symbol, or indication of some accomplishment, quality of learning, and interest. It is an online record of achievement. The badge tracks the recipient’s community of interest and the work it took to achieve the accomplishment. A badge maybe defined as a way of validating social learning, a means of validating via communities of practice what was learned. Badges document information of how it the information was learned, who issued it and the date of issue. Where will my digital badge record be house? Face book? Linked in? or some site of my choosing?

Another “digital” initiative is that of Digital Promise. This initiative is from the US Government, to support a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education; formal and informal in order to provide American with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy. The purpose of Digital Promise is as follows:

Support research to improve education, teaching and learning that is in the public interest.
To support research and development

Encourage the widespread adoption and use of effective innovation and a digital approach to improving teaching and learning.

Digital Scholarship:

What impact has digital scholarship had on your practice and what difficulties have you encountered?

And a few of my own:

What is digital scholarship and am I a digital scholar?

From the website, Bloomsbury Academic and the Connexions website the following definitions of Digital Scholarship were found:

In recent practice digital scholarship has mean several related things: building a digital collection of information for further study and analysis, creating appropriate tools for collection building, creating appropriate tools for the analysis and study of collections, using digital collections and analytical tools to generate new intellectual products, and creating authoring tools for these new intellectual products, either in traditional form or in digital form.

And with that ends my blog posting for #change11…WHEW .. I have a lot of catching up today..keep MOOCING!

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#change11 Mobile Learning week and other random stuff on Web 2.0

Written By: Cathy - Sep• 24•11

Yes I know sometimes my blog posts can take a tour of thing in a random manner, this post will be no exception. I have a lot going on lately but I wanted to blog and keep blogging throughout this #change11 MOOC. This week’s guest facilitator for #change11 was Ziraini Wata Abas from the University of Malaysia, speaking on Mobile Learning. I will comment a bit on Mobile Learning. Mobile learning is the future, what we can do on smart phones or tablets is the wave of the future! I am not a fan of reading or “typing” on the smartphone old age, thick fingers and poor eyesight are taking a toll on me..and I think a lot of us feel the same way. There is no doubt that a tablet is in my future. The big present season is upon us soon. (hint hint)

From her presentation:

: Presentation to #change11 Ziraini Wata Abas from the University of Malaysia,

: #change11 presentation by Ziraini Wata Abas from the University of Malaysia,

: From Presentation to #change11 by Ziraini Wata Abas from the University of Malaysia,

Use: Module Learning, Self managed learning face to face tutorials, online learning synchronous learning sessions

Everyday there are new Web 2.0 applications, some stick and others fade away. Of course Twitter has staying power, Facebook, blogging, etc. Other I use include Google, blogging, Evernote, Goodreads etc., if you are a Goodreads user look me up in there. Some I think I should use include social bookmarking tools, Youtube, voicethreads, etc. I think if I were in the classroom I would use some of these more than I am now. Not sure if these count but I am also learning how to use snagit and Camtasia Studio.

Much discussion occurs regarding how Web 2.0 is defined. Some of these definitions include: the sue of the Internet for applications supporting the communication, interaction, participation, creativity and collaboration of users. Examples are some of those I noted that use above and others such as Wikis, YouTube and other video sites.

Web 2.0 is a social gathering place, a forum for social networking, chatting and facilitating social and global community involvement.
Web 2.0 is the new collaboration space with applications for brainstorming, visualizing, and sharing ideas. Learning together, solving problems, and managing group, conversations projects and events.
Web 2.0 is the new “desk” and library with applications for finding, organizing, sharing and evaluating using technology and all sorts of information.
Web 2.0 is the new stage with applications for creating and presenting original multimedia content.
Web 2.0 provides a platform for interacting between users experiencing online technology. Content created by users friendly web sites.
All about presenting information and engaging users. Web 2.0 allows users to interact and collaborate. Social media began with blogging and facilitated the democratization of publishing.

Web 2.0 in the classrooms; For social communication and listening to others. Communication such as responding, engaging with others, providing access to knowledge and information, reducing communication barriers and costs.

Web 2.0 is a marketing tool for the new breed of web design that is making interaction an embedded part of the presentation on the web. A combination of technology and applications that allow for customers to actually interact with the company and eachother. Web 2.0 is starting to define the opportunity for amateur writers and developers are able to create applications and web sites that get more credibility than other traditional news sources and software vendors. Web 2.0 may allow for more effective and efficient use ..it also allows for more meaningful use of the technology available to our students in their learning. Organizing the goals of curriculum and technology into a coordinated and harmonious whole.

Telearning: Technology enhanced learning

Folksonomies: create access paths to information resources using text. It is a resource based system versus a classification based system.

Via some research I came across the Social Media University Global this is of special interest to me because we are considering starting a social media program at the technical school where I work.

New sites I looked at today? www.mapship.com ; for sharing your life story via a geographical map of where your life milestones occurred. and www.ampa.org.uk; aMap is short for argument map..the intent is very simple ..to map out complex arguments in a clear visual format. ..promotes critical thinking and brainstorming.

Animoto: Helps people better share their stories and express themselves via online media by immersive technologies in the field of video technology. Uses Artificial Intelligence technology which analyzes and combines user selected images, video clips to achieve the same editing and production of TV and film. www.animoto.com

Voice threads: collaboration, multimedia shows that contains images, documents and videos. http://www.voicethreads.com

Posted in Collaboration, Connectivisim, Education Technology, Online Learning, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »

#change11 or what is a MOOC?

Written By: Cathy - Sep• 15•11

Yesterday I started participating in a MOOC. What is a MOOC? It is a Massive Online Open Course. And what is that? A course, it’s large, has course materials, a way to connect and collaborate in a networked . It is an event around which people who care about a topic can gather together and talk about it in a connected way. You do not pay to participate in the course, you pay for credit if you wish. This is a participatory course and engage with the materials and each other and other material you find on the web.. .. most importantly how you network. The course is distributed by all the content that people find and connect to the course. Change11 is starting now and last to May 2012 this should be a rich learning experience.

This MOOC is Change11 and is facilitated by Dave Cormier, George Siemens, and Stephen Downes. So what is this course all about? Change introduces course participants to the major contributions being made to the field of instructional technology by research today. Geography and boundaries do not define education and who participate in education. For example Change11 has almost 30 guest facilitators from 11 different countries. My observation of this course and MOOCs is that through connectivism we all learn more and better.

MOOCs are boundaryless and test our capacity to learn and absorb information. Taking this course now fits very well with my desire to see what the future will hold in education. “Rapid change” was a search term I was using the other day but “deep change” also comes to mind. Other terms for research, that actually came from the Change11 website include “Hyper growth of information and knowledge” and “Rapid Dissemination of information.”

We tend to define history into a timeline of eras. This current era has been dubbed the information age, the connected era, or the knowledge age. This is also an age of rapid change driven by the disaggregated innovation in technology and the technology driven activities, dominated by the focus on development information by many. This change is currently being supported by a platform of mobile technology. Mobile technology is changing not only how we learn but where and when. These smartphones are bringing us information on the Internet and the ability to share and connect more people everyday. These phones not only push data and information to people but allow for users to create, collect and push information to others.

We are creating new territory for how we communicate, work with others, create and share information. This new territory has no history upon which to draw from experience to make decisions..we have only the present and we can only speculate about the future and impact upon humans, our knowledge and new technologies. This course will allow us the opportunity to collaborate together and experience first hand this new way to learn. In addition to this we can evaluate whether or not this is an effective way to learn.

Bits and Pieces notes on articles and stuff (I probably should throw away)

Written By: Cathy - Aug• 14•11

It’s summer and as a result my blogging has suffered due to neglect! The start up of classes at higher education institutions across the nation is looming ..now my life shifts gears to a different kind of busy..one that keeps me more chained to a desk. As some of you may know I have been struggling, primarily with a move, etc., and secondarily, what most of you probably don’t know, is with the relevancy of virtual worlds in education and, on a personal level, on a personal level.

It is hard work to start over somewhere else, whether that is virtually, professionally or in a new neighborhood. There is the getting to know new people, etc., adjusting to different rhythms and tempos. I like change, however managing the details of this change has taken far longer than I anticipated.

So today I am sifting through a box of papers and articles from a past life and a past job. There is good stuff here, it is all relevant to what I am currently doing and what I anticipate I will be doing in the future. One current document I must address is one which addresses special program accreditation for a program at the higher ed institution where I work. You may find this related information useful:

Academic Program Accreditation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recognized_higher_education_accreditation_organization

I decided to put the details of this accreditation process aside..I read it a few days ago …how necessary is this …there seems to be a cost associated with this sort of process, which in accord with the new program integrity rules seems burdensome to institutions. Is there a better way to ensure quality? What is the point of institutional accreditation by the regional accrediting bodies?

Next on top of the pile is a document from OECD/CERI. The article is “New Millennial Learners in Higher Education Evidence Policy Implementation”

Main points from this report include:
The lives of today’s learners are highly dependent on technology up to the extent that their external and cultural practices would not be as they are if digital media were not available anytime anywhere to them.

Students are not only accessing, managing, and sharing knowledge in dramatically different ways as their teachers often do, but also have radically new expectations regarding what a quality education experience should be.

Possible barriers noted in this report regarding the growth of online education:

Speed of increase in access may supersede that of the capacity of infrastructure in many countries..including the US, percentage of students who actually own a computer. Who are the true digital millennial learners?

Information regarding usage of computers and technology available:

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/298

Interesting information which I believe is related only to the United States.

This information provided by US News indicates that 37% of mobile customers have access to a smartphone, access advertising using QR codes, and use WIFI finder to find hotspots. Users access and/or use their smartphones during the following times:

While they are traveling, during idle time, for school information and related matters, when they wake up and right before they fall asleep.

Students like to access news on their smartphones in small chunks, 3 paragraphs or less, 30 second audio sound bites and one minute videos. Many smart phone users are accessing this content while doing other things such as listening to music, watching TV, Walking or shopping.

Resources:

http://www.usnewsuniversitydirectory.com/articles/smartphones-have-influenced-higher-education_11684.aspx

http://testkitchen.colorado.edu/projects/reports/smartphone/smartphone-survey/

The following are tools that educators can use in their classrooms if their students have smartphones:

http://www.socrative.com/

http://textthemob.com/

http://mclear.co.uk/sites/classdroid/

https://studyboost.com/

Other notes I have made this summer:

From the European Journal of Archaeology, April 2007 by Shawn Graham. This is a review of Second lives: online worlds for archaeological teaching and research: Linden Labs, Second Life, www.secondlife.com

The authors describe Second Life as “a world hosed over a number of computer servers where ever object, structure and simulated acre of land resides in a database.” Objects are built and created in Second Life are programmable via Linden Scripting Language that governs object and avatar behaviors. Everything in Second Life has been created by Linden Labs and the residents of Second Life. Over the years the environment has become more realistic and more aesthetically pleasing as residents have uploaded more and more textures.

Second Life/Virtual worlds are being explored for potential for therapy and counseling. This site is a peaceful Zen-like environment in Second Life that provides opportunities for meditation, Tai-chi, yoga, guided meditation and rebirth therapy. I went to the rebirth site ..you must have a headset as you hear “womb sounds” here. The concept is simple .. where else but in Second Life could you actively spend time both in the womb..experiencing the sounds in this way makes for a very immersive experience. Another site I visited was New Ways counseling and Support. I believe they are approaching what they do responsibly by focusing on real life and second life users.

Notes from these sites are as follows:

Sunshine Therapy Center:

Rebirthing Therapy, return to the womb

Deep inside the human subconscious lies the memory of the comfort and security of our mother’s womb – where fear, loss, pain and stress were nonexistent, even in our wildest imaginations. Safe in the womb, we felt no fear, experienced no pain, and were sheltered from the chaotic outside world.

Here you can experience that comforting environment, feel again the warmth, and hear the sound of her heartbeat, and connect to those original feelings of safety.

Spend some time here to find a new peace within yourself, a new hope, in touch with the powerful part of yourself, and increased awareness of creativity and sensitivity.

A lot of us are in a time and space where we run around, never being able to, or wanting to sit down and be still, be with ourselves, because it’s too painful, too frightening.

Rebirthing is a powerful medium used to clear blocks.

During a Rebirthing session you have the opportunity to clear completely all the negative patterns that you’ve built up over years, the fear of not feeling good enough, the destructive patterns, the behaviors that you’ve built up over time. It’s like being a sponge and finally getting an opportunity to clear and release everything. You literally breathe away the pain, fear and trauma, and let it go.

Rebirthing is not a mind therapy, it works with and on an emotional level. Different people react in different ways: some people cry, some express anger, some are very quiet. It does not matter how you react, what matters is that the process works and works very quickly and thoroughly.

As you conquer your fears you will have the courage to face the world, be ready to step out into the unknown, and take the challenge of becoming a new and stronger individual.

When you feel you are brave enough and are ready to face life again, just walk towards the birth canal, and jump out into the unknown…..

New Ways Counseling and Support:

We are a team of people experienced in SL, we know how this world may affect you. We are here to support you with personal issues, either SL or RL related. Non-judgmental listening and reflection will enable you to find new ways. Realize however this is a support center and not an emergency center. In case of problems asking for immediate attention call your local RL emergency number.

It’s nice to know about places in Second Life that offer counseling and support, I would in no way advise anyone to counsel others on their own in virtual worlds but refer that individual to real life support or assistance, if the issues have to do with Second Life then perhaps New Way is the way to go.

So I am getting my writing groove back..catching up on articles and notes..unfortunately though there is still a lot of stuff in this box! It’s great to have a busy life … Hope your summer has been a good one and continues to be so!