I made some flip remark on Twitter after looking at Stickam.com that I have a theatrical relationship to technology. Scott had asked us if anyone had been using the video conferencing chat site www.stickam.com for education. All I saw there were young people in chatrooms. It looked very 1997 (I have to stop using that as a critical term). I logged into a chat room there with the screen name "DatelneNBC" -- someone there said that half the room left when I did that. We then joked around for a few minutes about how if I was actually there with Chris Hanson that I did not have anything to worry about and that I was free to leave. Back in 97 I used to go on CUSeeMe with my Mac SE next to my real computer. At the time, the SE would in no way support the net in such a way that teleconferencing was possible -- but it looked like I had the SE actually teleconferencing. I also occasionally had an alien puppet with me. My primitive b/w camera made it look really cool. It would occasionally trip people out.
I was told later that I was completely on the social end of stickam.com and that it really is worth looking at as a teaching tool/meeting room.
It did get me to thinking about Grotowski's idea about the "Theatre of the Poor." That basically theatre can occur where ever two or more are gathered. Things like sets are in the end extraneous. Theatre, according to G, is a series of choices about communication and expression. We engage in theatre in our face-to-face life all the time -- we decide what role we are in and then make choices about how we choose to express ourselves. Those same choices happen online. You can consciously choose a role or persona (and maybe something absurd like alien puppets) and make discoveries or critiques of communication. But in the end the technology is superfluous -- it is the communication. Grotowski was not a huge fan of technology, especially in the theatre, but I saw one of his sets that had two chairs and a single light so even he relied on technology :)
I present myself to my family in one way, my students in another, and old college chums in yet another. I think I have a blog or other web application to support all of those roles. I had one of our students in my summer class first follow me on "geoffcain" at twitter and I warned her that most of those postings were about instructional design, and I don't think I am going to issue that caveat again. I really don't want to discourage people from getting to know me. My intent was not to have her not follow me but to warn her that she might get a bunch of postings on how to adjust settings in photoshop. But then why shouldn't she see that that? It is part of who I am! I have to learn to own that. It is funny how conscious I was about those roles. LiveJournal is great because I can post recipes to my family or talk about golf with others and not have to subject people I work with to those postings -- I can target many audiences with one tool.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Should we use publisher content in online courses?
I think it is fine if instructors use publisher content. The problem comes in when inexperienced online teachers confuse content for teaching. We try to show through our course development process at Tacoma Community College that the instructor is there to facilitate interaction and not just deliver content. There has to be a process in place where instructors understand what an online course is and how to review content for interactivity as they create the course.
Also on the downside are the fees that publishers charge the students for this content. I personally do not like access fees on top of what they are already paying — but if we don’t mind supporting courses with $200 textbooks, why should be be concerned with the fees? Again, I think we should be using open sources texts and course materials. In the best cases, some of the commercial material really supports the teaching and is appeals to a wide variety of learning styles; more often than not, they are test banks and hastily thrown together multimedia or flash objects. In a consumer culture, we tend to think we have bought an end product and say “how do I adapt my course and teaching style to these materials?” In an open source culture, we get the product and say “great, how do we get started in adapting this to our needs?”
Often, publisher materials are no bargain — the instructors (the better ones) still have to wade through the .pdf libraries and test banks to cull and adapt the best materials and to check and see if the material meets the course objectives. I have seen course cartridges loaded into courses only to watch instructors, over the course of a year or two, significantly edit and adapt the material: in other words, the material did not match the goals of the course or the teaching style of the instructor until that instructor put in the work anyway. In the meantime, the course is no bargain for the students either.
Also on the downside are the fees that publishers charge the students for this content. I personally do not like access fees on top of what they are already paying — but if we don’t mind supporting courses with $200 textbooks, why should be be concerned with the fees? Again, I think we should be using open sources texts and course materials. In the best cases, some of the commercial material really supports the teaching and is appeals to a wide variety of learning styles; more often than not, they are test banks and hastily thrown together multimedia or flash objects. In a consumer culture, we tend to think we have bought an end product and say “how do I adapt my course and teaching style to these materials?” In an open source culture, we get the product and say “great, how do we get started in adapting this to our needs?”
Often, publisher materials are no bargain — the instructors (the better ones) still have to wade through the .pdf libraries and test banks to cull and adapt the best materials and to check and see if the material meets the course objectives. I have seen course cartridges loaded into courses only to watch instructors, over the course of a year or two, significantly edit and adapt the material: in other words, the material did not match the goals of the course or the teaching style of the instructor until that instructor put in the work anyway. In the meantime, the course is no bargain for the students either.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Slideboom
Okay, I look at a lot of widgetware every week but I am really excited by this. This is not a new tool exactly -- they have been around for a bit but this is the first (to my knowledge) web 2.0 tool that allows you to share Power Point presentations with embedded sounds and music. I typically use slideshare.com (which now allows you to link a podcast with a presentation), but this seems like an easier solution.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Then what could Connectivism be?
Thinking more about the inherent instability of information, Connectivism may not be a learning theory but a means of addressing/mediating this instability. But then again, could that be one of the roles of learning theory itself and Seimens has just hit upon the latest iteration?
The Library in the New Age by Robert Darnton
This article makes some important points about our relationship to information and technology that are particularly relevant to Connectivism and what is happening at Tacoma Community College 's news site -, the Tacoma Challenge. In the article, Robert Darnton argues that every age was an "Information Age" and that information has always been unstable. Each generation, whether from print, telegraph, radio, TV, computers, deals with its own "future shock." This is one of the challenges to Connectivism: is it a learning theory (with a complete epistemology)? or does it merely describe our relationship to networks and information? Does Connectivism give us a theory or explain a learning modality? As media became more pervasive, it became important for educators to understand how people learn via the modalities of sound, vision, etc. As networks and information become more pervasive, it becomes more important to explore how the mind uses networks for learning.
The second part of the article deals with the nature of the news; he says that news has always been an artifact and never corresponded exactly to what has actually happened. One of the criticisms I hear about the Challenge is that it is not run by AP trained professionals as if this is some kind of assurance of integrity. I appreciate the journalistic ideal of the truth but I have read enough news to appreciate it as an ideal and not reality. Traditional reporting in my view has as much integrity as the collective wisdom of the community captured over time as a single report hurriedly scratched out on a deadline and then repackaged by an editor. The Challenge has moved from traditional newspaper to student run news site. The goal is to create a network of information that will have some of the traditional journalistic ideals but not dependent upon them. There will be no single story but people reporting on events, sending in pictures, and responding to postings: a collective story created by the community, not handed down by an authority.
The second part of the article deals with the nature of the news; he says that news has always been an artifact and never corresponded exactly to what has actually happened. One of the criticisms I hear about the Challenge is that it is not run by AP trained professionals as if this is some kind of assurance of integrity. I appreciate the journalistic ideal of the truth but I have read enough news to appreciate it as an ideal and not reality. Traditional reporting in my view has as much integrity as the collective wisdom of the community captured over time as a single report hurriedly scratched out on a deadline and then repackaged by an editor. The Challenge has moved from traditional newspaper to student run news site. The goal is to create a network of information that will have some of the traditional journalistic ideals but not dependent upon them. There will be no single story but people reporting on events, sending in pictures, and responding to postings: a collective story created by the community, not handed down by an authority.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Why reproduce buildings in a virtual world?
When first exploring Second Life, I asked that a lot. Here we have this fully scriptable, three dimensional virtual world and we are doing everything we can to reproduce the limitations of the first world (there is an old Zen master who laughs everytime I refer to Second Life as the "virtual world"). After working with instructors in Second Life and participating is some classes, I find that there are some bad reasons to create buildings and some good ones. The wrong reason is to re-create the brick and mortar classroom. Some hold class sessions in Second Life but using it as a virtual meeting is limited by the high tech requirements. Students often have to be on campus to take advantage of this as a meeting space. But creating assignments that utilize the familiar in different ways transforms a virtual meeting is to something more akin to theater. While working as an instructional designer on a courtroom simulation, I began to work and see the space more as a set designer than an instructional designer. I had been looking for courtroom furnishings in SL for months and there just does not seem to be much call for that. Harvard uses a virtual courtroom. I finally was satisfied that my own building skills would allow me to create rudimentary furniture. I have created a courtroom now that looks like it is made entirely from Ikea furniture but it is functional. It does not have to be perfect. I can get people in the right places and they get the idea about how it is supposed to work. The students will participate in the fiction with a willing suspension of disbelief because that is how they tend to approach all media, especially an avatar-based virtual world. Virtual space=theatrical space.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Why not Second Life?
I was just reading Kapp's blog where he says that we should be thinking virtual worlds, not just Second Life. I am all for that. I think that most of what constitutes learning in Second Life is not specific to the platform itself but in the possibilities of the virtual 3-d world. But the reason why Second Life is such a rich experience is because of all of the layers of junk (gaming, gambling, commercial brick-a-brack, etc.). It is a good education environment precisely because Second Life is not a purely educational environment. It is not even secondarily or tertially an educational environment. All of the teaching tools, scripting, and communication methods have roots in the undercurrent of gaming that propels the innovation in Second Life. This does not come from the platform but the people using the platform. I shudder to think what a 3-d world would look like that was created by and for educators. There would be a lot of forms to fill out. You would not be able to own land until you were tenured. It would only operate 35 hours a week and would be down all summer. You could teleport to other islands as instantly as you have received prior authorization from the vice-president for inter-island travel.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
TileStack - Your Creative Playground
TileStack - Your Creative Playground: "Remember that great application that used to come with all Macs called HyperCard? Ever wished it would return, only better? Say hello to TileStack!"
I liked Hypercard. I knew people from all walks of life who used it. It was free, included with all Macs, and the scripting language was easy to learn. Users could build some fairly complex applications in a short period of time. There are a lot of tools out there that do what Hypercard can also do and the tools are used for what most people used to use Hypercard for (contacts, recipes, etc.) but the presence of a powerful but simple scripting language means that users have to ability to take it far beyond the vision of the creators. Most often, Hypercard stacks were pretty basic, but in the hands of the right user, it could really fly. For instance, in the final days of Hypercard, someone built a complete bulletin board system from nothing but Hypercard. A bulletin board was a pre-WWW system that users would dial into to leave messages, host games, and communicate with one another. BBSs were often stacks of modems in people's garages. Applications like Hypercard democratize technology.
I liked Hypercard. I knew people from all walks of life who used it. It was free, included with all Macs, and the scripting language was easy to learn. Users could build some fairly complex applications in a short period of time. There are a lot of tools out there that do what Hypercard can also do and the tools are used for what most people used to use Hypercard for (contacts, recipes, etc.) but the presence of a powerful but simple scripting language means that users have to ability to take it far beyond the vision of the creators. Most often, Hypercard stacks were pretty basic, but in the hands of the right user, it could really fly. For instance, in the final days of Hypercard, someone built a complete bulletin board system from nothing but Hypercard. A bulletin board was a pre-WWW system that users would dial into to leave messages, host games, and communicate with one another. BBSs were often stacks of modems in people's garages. Applications like Hypercard democratize technology.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Web 2.0 Student Success
Char Gore and I are creating (and co-teaching) a class for summer and fall called "Student Success" or something generic like that. It will go through the curriculum committee again with something more descriptive maybe. It is a credit only, two unit course that will be multimodal which means that the students can take it completely online or come in once a week to the lab where we will be basically doing a workshop. The whole point of the class is to give new Health Information Management students the tools to succeed in college and in real life by introducing them to the tools to manage their work, manage information, and to build communities. The class is based on the "15 Minutes" article by Stephen Abram who has a particularly useful blog. There are no papers in the class. It is portfolio assessed. The students start a blog and learn about new tools each week and embed and link to those tools in their blog and write (or record/podcast/film) about what they found helpful or difficult. They will also look for other tools like the ones we recommend and evaluate them (free research for the next iteration of the class). At the end of the class, they will have a portfolio of tools and a network of colleagues. Our goal is to eventually bring the class to the whole college. It serves as an introduction to the our learning management system and Elluminate as well.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
SketchCast
This is my test of SketchCast. I got an e-mail from Cable Green, the eLearning Director Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. He often sends out emails with new tools. I love that web 2.0 is figuring out how to get voice on the web so quickly. I see good things in SketchCast's future. Aspirat primo Fortuna labori is never truer than with Web 2.0 start-ups: they get a lot of initial atttention and then they either flourish or fade depending on how they respond to user feedback and more importantly how people use their product. I am all for anything that puts voice and images together on the web quickly (and for free). I would like to see more drawing tools: shapes and lines -- I would love to be able to do voice annotations on a concept map and to share it easily.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
How Second Life Affects Real Life - TIME
How Second Life Affects Real Life - TIME
One of the more remarkable things about this article is that it is appearing in Time Magazine. I like seeing this in the mainstream press. The article looks at research at Stanford that explores how a person's avatar can effect them in "real" life. I am glad the behavioralists at Stanford are catching up. A great description of this process is already found in Carl Jung. One of the reasons that I think teaching works in SL is the phenomenon of projection and transference.
"The possibilities are — virtually — endless. Inhabit buffed-up versions of yourself to lose weight, cuter versions of yourself to gain confidence, or older versions to start putting money away for the future (that last one is being studied at Stanford now). "The most stunning part is how subtle the manipulations are and how difficult they are to detect," says Bailenson, "but how much it affects real life later on."
This research really holds up. Ever since I created an avatar in Second Life, I just get better looking everyday.
One of the more remarkable things about this article is that it is appearing in Time Magazine. I like seeing this in the mainstream press. The article looks at research at Stanford that explores how a person's avatar can effect them in "real" life. I am glad the behavioralists at Stanford are catching up. A great description of this process is already found in Carl Jung. One of the reasons that I think teaching works in SL is the phenomenon of projection and transference.
"The possibilities are — virtually — endless. Inhabit buffed-up versions of yourself to lose weight, cuter versions of yourself to gain confidence, or older versions to start putting money away for the future (that last one is being studied at Stanford now). "The most stunning part is how subtle the manipulations are and how difficult they are to detect," says Bailenson, "but how much it affects real life later on."
This research really holds up. Ever since I created an avatar in Second Life, I just get better looking everyday.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Spike Lee and Nokia team up for film - International Herald Tribune
Spike Lee and Nokia team up for film - International Herald Tribune: "Spike Lee and Nokia team up for film
By Laura M. Holson
Published: April 24, 2008
Who says cellphones are good only for talking? Today they are bringing together two unlikely brand names: Nokia and Spike Lee.
Lee, the director, is teaming up with Nokia, the cellphone maker, to direct a short film comprising YouTube-style videos created by teenagers and adults using their mobile phones.
By hiring Lee for the project, Nokia is seeking to combine the populist appeal of user-generated content with the power of a famous director's pedigree. The film will have three acts, each three to five minutes long, with the theme loosely based on the concept of humanity."
Friday, May 02, 2008
2008 Pacific Northwest Higher Education Teaching and Learning Conference
I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the 2008 PNHETL Conference in Spokane. George Seimens was the plenary speaker. It was really good to hear him speak. It cleared up a lot of questions I had about his book. He had a section that talked about objects containing knowledge. And now I think he means the information in context of the objects use. Our philosophy instructor who came with us was politely quiet on the subject. I think Seimens is one of the most important writers in education right now because the field has gotten pretty calcified. He is a revolutionary and a catalyst. He eschews the typical layers of research references (although I consider him widely and well-read in the field) and actually gets down to describing what is happening in people's lives in our relation to information and what is happening in education.
Like his fellow Canadian, Stephen Downes, Seimens seems uncomfortable with virtual worlds. In his opening plenary, he made comments about how SL was "empty"; there is no one there. Downes also makes this comment. If you come to a brick and mortar college at 8:30 P.M. on a Friday night, it too will be empty, but we don't get rid of the school. Second Life is only really useful when there are people there. That is the whole point: it is actually a suite of communication tools that allow people to interact with one another and their environment in some very significant ways. His closing plenary included the statement "We do not need Second Life to provide games in the classroom" misses the point of using SL entirely. Educators in SL, and yes, there are thousands, do not see it as a game, but as a way to increase the interaction between the instructor and students, students with one another, and the students with the content of the course. Seimens did call it one of the more innovative uses of technology at the conference. He also called for administrators to support the innovators on campus and to reward their failures (that is authentic attempts to move technology and info management forward that do not always have buy-in).
Like his fellow Canadian, Stephen Downes, Seimens seems uncomfortable with virtual worlds. In his opening plenary, he made comments about how SL was "empty"; there is no one there. Downes also makes this comment. If you come to a brick and mortar college at 8:30 P.M. on a Friday night, it too will be empty, but we don't get rid of the school. Second Life is only really useful when there are people there. That is the whole point: it is actually a suite of communication tools that allow people to interact with one another and their environment in some very significant ways. His closing plenary included the statement "We do not need Second Life to provide games in the classroom" misses the point of using SL entirely. Educators in SL, and yes, there are thousands, do not see it as a game, but as a way to increase the interaction between the instructor and students, students with one another, and the students with the content of the course. Seimens did call it one of the more innovative uses of technology at the conference. He also called for administrators to support the innovators on campus and to reward their failures (that is authentic attempts to move technology and info management forward that do not always have buy-in).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
3-d Handsfree
I think this is a very significant development. I represents an important step between the physical presence and the virtual. There is no telling where this can go but that is the true spirit of exploration and discovery.
Friday, April 25, 2008
New Media Festival
I am organizing a "New Media Festival" here at Tacoma Community College. We will design workshops for the students in new media, open source, and web 2.0 tools, have the students create media, host the media online (YouTube, PodcastPeople, iTunes, etc) but collect it all at the Tacoma Challenge. We will then give awards out in the Fall where we will show nominees and give out awards and prizes.
The purpose of this enterprise is many-fold. I am looking for a way to bring all of these great tools and resources we have on campus to the attention of the students. I want to help create cross-discipline curriculum (why can't the art dept. work with the computer music class?). I want to host all of the entries in the student news site (The Tacoma Challenge) and thereby increase the community. It will have gone from a newspaper, to a news site, to a community of people sharing ideas in completely new ways.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Gig Harbor Presentation
PowerPoint as an Interactive Teaching Tool
From: geoffcain, 3 hours ago
Eight principles for keeping PowerPoint real.
At a minimum, a presentation format should do no harm to content. Yet again and again we have seen that the PP cognitive style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content. Thus PP presentations too often resemble the school play: very loud, very slow, and very simple. -- Edward R. Tufte, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, p. 22.
PowerPoint as an Interactive Teaching Tool: Eight Techniques
by
Geoffrey B. Cain
The following techniques are not meant to replace your current use of PowerPoint as an information delivery tool, slide show, etc. These techniques are meant to apply principles of interactive teaching that you probably already use in your lectures or your class activities. These slide suggestions are meant to help you prevent the computer from interfering with your teaching.
1. Opening Slides:
“Take a moment to reflect on your experience of PowerPoint. Think of a negative example and a positive example.”
An opening slide is an opportunity to allow students to engage prior knowledge. Students learn effectively when they make connections between what they already know (prior knowledge) and new content to which they’re exposed. The opening of a lecture can facilitate these connections by helping students exercise their prior knowledge of the day’s subject matter.
Present an “opening question” on a PowerPoint slide and give students a moment to think about their response. The instructor may then ask a few students for answers. This strategy focuses students’ attention on the day’s topic. It provides the instructor with useful feedback on what students know and don’t know about the material being presented. The opening question might be a question that informs the entire lecture -- a point that can be returned to throughout the lecture.
2. Problem-Solving Slides:
Slide contains a question and the answer is left blank to let the students answer first.
With PowerPoint, the instructor can raise a question, give an example that needs correction, present a formula, and then ask the students to solve the example. When the instructor clicks the slide again the correct answer (or a correct answer) appears. The instructor can either go on to the next problem or discuss how to arrive at the correct answer. This is also an example of a non-linear teaching technique because where the lecture goes depends upon the student feedback.
3. Non-Linear PowerPoint Slides
“Three categories that should be understood together.”
PowerPoint often breaks information up into little discreet bits and breaks down meaning by extracting from the whole. In other words, some kinds of knowledge lose their meaning or significance when broken up into the bite-sized chunks that PowerPoint traditionally encourages. With use of simple animations, three columns of information can be highlighted one column at a time “on click.”
4. Focusing Activity Slides
“Think about how you might apply what you have learned today in your particular discipline. Discuss these applications with your neighbor and be prepared to share with the class.”
Interactive learning strategies like this can be used as transition points in the lecture. Employed in this way, these strategies give students an opportunity to think about and work with material just presented before moving on to new information. They also help the instructor gauge how well students have understood the content, perhaps shaping what the instructor discusses during the remainder of the period.
“List as many characteristics of a good lecture that you can.”
Focused listing is a strategy in which students recall what they know about a subject by creating a list of terms or ideas related to it. To begin, the instructor asks students to take out a sheet of paper and begin generating a list based on a topic presented on a PowerPoint slide. Topics might relate to the day’s assigned reading, to a previous day’s lecture material, or to the subject of the current session. Instructors often move around the room and look at students’ lists as they write, briefly summarizing major trends or themes as a way of closing the exercise. Others ask students randomly to share the contents of their lists before moving on with their lecture. In either case, focused listing need not take more than a few minutes.
5. Questioning Slides:
“Questions?” or “Come up with one test question based on this lecture and try to stump your partner.”
Asking students to come up with a question about the lecture before they leave the room encourages them to think about the material and form their own sense of closure to the lesson. The instructor can choose a couple of students at random and answer their questions in the remaining time. If collected in writing, the questions can also serve as a classroom assessment technique to help instructors judge how well their students are learning. When the students know that there are questions at the end of a lecture, they tend to take more focused notes.
6. The Blank Slide
“ “
One way to gain students’ attention and to remind yourself to stop for questions is to insert a blank slide into your presentation. This is a disruption that casts the student’s full attention on the lecturer. You can go to a questioning slide, check student comprehension, and move on to the next part of your lecture. You can also use the “b” key at anytime to black out the screen when you think it is an appropriate time to bring the material off the screen and into the classroom. You can hit the "w" key and get a white screen (think spotlight). Hitting those keys again returns you to the presentation
7. The Game Slide
“Jeopardy”
This, of course, does not replace assessment but can be a way to check or enhance student learning in the middle or at the end of a lecture. Questions do not have to be based on mere rote memorization (e.g. questions can be created and sorted by Bloom’s Taxonomy).
8. The Mnemonic Visual Slide
The final technique is not really a technique but an admonition to think before you use any graphic. Make sure you understand why you are using the graphic. Aesthetic reasons are often enough, but as a designer, you have another opportunity to reinforce information or create a mnemonic device for your students or yourself as a speaker. The irony here is that in the renaissance, there were handbooks on how to memorize large amounts of information. A few of those books would outline elaborate pictures that stood in for places in the mind where information could be stored. Your illustrations can do that for your lectures and in turn, help your students remember the information as well.
The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers. -- Sydney J. Harris
SlideShare Link
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies
Each month, the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (RCCS) publishes a set of book reviews and author responses. books of the month for April 2008 include:
Always Already New: Media, History, and the Data of Culture
Author: Lisa Gitelman
Publisher: MIT Press, 2006
Review 1: J. Patrick Biddix
Review 2: David Heineman
Review 3: Michelle Rodino-Colocino
Author Response: Lisa Gitelman
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
Author: Henry Jenkins
Publisher: NYU Press, 2006
Review 1: Susan Keith
Review 2: Anne Kustritz
Review 3: Darby Orcutt
Review 4: J. Richard Stevens
Author Response: Henry Jenkins
Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
Author: David Weinberger
Publisher: Times Books, 2007
Review 1: Lucinda Austin
Review 2: Geoffrey B. Cain
Review 3: Erika Pearson
Author Response: David Weinberger
Online Matchmaking
Editors: Monica T. Whitty, Andrea J. Baker, James A. Inman
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007
Review 1: Trudy Barber
Author Response: Andrea J. Baker
Enjoy. There's more where that came from.
David Silver
david silver's blog
Always Already New: Media, History, and the Data of Culture
Author: Lisa Gitelman
Publisher: MIT Press, 2006
Review 1: J. Patrick Biddix
Review 2: David Heineman
Review 3: Michelle Rodino-Colocino
Author Response: Lisa Gitelman
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
Author: Henry Jenkins
Publisher: NYU Press, 2006
Review 1: Susan Keith
Review 2: Anne Kustritz
Review 3: Darby Orcutt
Review 4: J. Richard Stevens
Author Response: Henry Jenkins
Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
Author: David Weinberger
Publisher: Times Books, 2007
Review 1: Lucinda Austin
Review 2: Geoffrey B. Cain
Review 3: Erika Pearson
Author Response: David Weinberger
Online Matchmaking
Editors: Monica T. Whitty, Andrea J. Baker, James A. Inman
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007
Review 1: Trudy Barber
Author Response: Andrea J. Baker
Enjoy. There's more where that came from.
David Silver
david silver's blog
Wikis and Emergent Roles for Teaching and Learning
I was really pleased at the turn-out for this presentation. Wikis are being used for a wide variety of educational applications in many different kinds of educational settings.
Gail Burns and David Reed are using Blackboard, Moodle, and along with Moodle they are using Atlassian's Confluence wiki software. They use it for:
1. Building knowledge bases
2. Event planning
3. Collaboration on documents
4. Meeting minutes
5. Student collaboration
David Reed trains and manages Student Technology Assistants. The STA program is a year long program. Students are paid to participate. They spend semester in training learning about:
1. Web design
2. Office productivity
3. Graphic design
4. Software training
5. LMS support
They then spend the next semester helping faculty with projects, supporting the lab, and training the next generation of STAs in STA workshops. It is a brilliant idea.
At this point, the wiki was used to post meeting minutes and announcements.
They lost their workspace and to replace it, David divided their time between face-to-face meetings and posting on to a wiki. He decided that they needed some wiki projects to bring them together. These projects included:
1. An STA mission statement (an informal document)
2. An "Open House" project where they created posters, signs, and slogans.
3. The STA workshop wiki
STAs began to post to the wiki things they wished they knew about or wanted to learn. Other STAs began to post skills they had and this began to inform the direction of formal and informal workshops.
I think our eLearning Dept. at TCC could really learn from this program. I would love for those STAs to meet some of our student workers.
Next came Barbara Shroeder, the head of the Academic Technologies dept. She came up with a "best practices" list for wikis in education:
1. Create a culture of trust - students have to learn the risk-taking involved with writing and editing online.
2. Set up guidlines (http://wikipatterns.com)
3. Create a common goal for the wiki
4. Create meaningful assignments
5. Include explicit instructions
6. Remind students of deadlines
7. Define roles
8. Examples and models of collaborative activities should be modeled
9. Clear expectations should be provided
10. Patience - students may take a while to get the hang of new tech.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Room of the Dons, Lobby Level
Speaker(s)
* Gayle Burns, Manager of Academic Technologies, Occidental College
* David Reed, Academic Technologist, Occidental College
* Barbara Schroeder, Instructional Designer, Boise State University
* Session convener: Crista Copp, Senior Director, Educational Technology, Art Center College of Design
Abstract
Institutions increasingly encourage students to take an active role in their own learning. Wikis can facilitate this process by offering many ways for faculty and students to collaborate and create content. This panel of wiki experts from Boise State University and Occidental College will discuss their experiences in using wikis, including emergent roles in the teaching and learning process, critical to the effective use of this new technology.
Gail Burns and David Reed are using Blackboard, Moodle, and along with Moodle they are using Atlassian's Confluence wiki software. They use it for:
1. Building knowledge bases
2. Event planning
3. Collaboration on documents
4. Meeting minutes
5. Student collaboration
David Reed trains and manages Student Technology Assistants. The STA program is a year long program. Students are paid to participate. They spend semester in training learning about:
1. Web design
2. Office productivity
3. Graphic design
4. Software training
5. LMS support
They then spend the next semester helping faculty with projects, supporting the lab, and training the next generation of STAs in STA workshops. It is a brilliant idea.
At this point, the wiki was used to post meeting minutes and announcements.
They lost their workspace and to replace it, David divided their time between face-to-face meetings and posting on to a wiki. He decided that they needed some wiki projects to bring them together. These projects included:
1. An STA mission statement (an informal document)
2. An "Open House" project where they created posters, signs, and slogans.
3. The STA workshop wiki
STAs began to post to the wiki things they wished they knew about or wanted to learn. Other STAs began to post skills they had and this began to inform the direction of formal and informal workshops.
I think our eLearning Dept. at TCC could really learn from this program. I would love for those STAs to meet some of our student workers.
Next came Barbara Shroeder, the head of the Academic Technologies dept. She came up with a "best practices" list for wikis in education:
1. Create a culture of trust - students have to learn the risk-taking involved with writing and editing online.
2. Set up guidlines (http://wikipatterns.com)
3. Create a common goal for the wiki
4. Create meaningful assignments
5. Include explicit instructions
6. Remind students of deadlines
7. Define roles
8. Examples and models of collaborative activities should be modeled
9. Clear expectations should be provided
10. Patience - students may take a while to get the hang of new tech.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Room of the Dons, Lobby Level
Speaker(s)
* Gayle Burns, Manager of Academic Technologies, Occidental College
* David Reed, Academic Technologist, Occidental College
* Barbara Schroeder, Instructional Designer, Boise State University
* Session convener: Crista Copp, Senior Director, Educational Technology, Art Center College of Design
Abstract
Institutions increasingly encourage students to take an active role in their own learning. Wikis can facilitate this process by offering many ways for faculty and students to collaborate and create content. This panel of wiki experts from Boise State University and Occidental College will discuss their experiences in using wikis, including emergent roles in the teaching and learning process, critical to the effective use of this new technology.
Space Defines Destiny: assessment of a learning studio
This presentation at the Western Regional Educause conference was particularly interesting to me because of the struggles we have gone through to get Second Life working in a lab and classroom environment, and because of conversations we have had in our department about learning spaces.
* Jim S. C. Tom, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, University of Missouri-St Louis
"This session will present the planning, use, and assessment of our first flexible technology-enhanced classroom or learning "studio"—an immediately useful yet also provocative and experimental space. We will show how the completed space itself challenged our faculty and students to redefine what learning at UMSL could mean."
They wanted to create a learning space that would challenge the typical teaching space model that includes fixed seating, "sage on the stage" teaching, and a culture of discomfort that does not invite engagement or participation.
They created a discussion group on innovative classroom design called the "Provost's Forum" that included staff, faculty, students, facilities and planning. The result was a working paper on classroom design. They decided that a learning space should be flexible, comfortable, social, and accessible. They created a team to design the space that included their IT department, faculty, a systems integrator (I want that job), and interior designer (what a relief! don't the IT dept. choose the colors!), and facilities. This is really a radical idea: get teachers to help design learning spaces with those who have to build and use this space.
They built a prototype classroom that would have assessment of the project built into its use. This is different from a culture that builds spaces but does not follow up on how they are used.
Assessment included:
1. Faculty observations
2. Blogs
3. Video recordings
4. Surveys of all users
5. Debriefing meeting with faculty
The room included two projectors facing opposite walls, a plasma screen, white boards, an area with couches, circular tables that were made of moveable quarters on wheels, a cart of laptops, sympodium, and a document camera. Their budget for the one room came in at $222,000!
They found that the rooms promoted engagement. The comfortable space was less threatening to students who said that it felt like a privilege to use the room and that it made them want to learn and participate. Faculty said that "the space is the message." Space not only determines how the students feel about learning but it also communicates how the institution feels about teaching and the students as people.
Spaces reflect the values of the institution.
The classroom had no obvious front or back. It encouraged the faculty to circulate among the students.
They learned that training teachers how to use the space was important.
* Jim S. C. Tom, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, University of Missouri-St Louis
"This session will present the planning, use, and assessment of our first flexible technology-enhanced classroom or learning "studio"—an immediately useful yet also provocative and experimental space. We will show how the completed space itself challenged our faculty and students to redefine what learning at UMSL could mean."
They wanted to create a learning space that would challenge the typical teaching space model that includes fixed seating, "sage on the stage" teaching, and a culture of discomfort that does not invite engagement or participation.
They created a discussion group on innovative classroom design called the "Provost's Forum" that included staff, faculty, students, facilities and planning. The result was a working paper on classroom design. They decided that a learning space should be flexible, comfortable, social, and accessible. They created a team to design the space that included their IT department, faculty, a systems integrator (I want that job), and interior designer (what a relief! don't the IT dept. choose the colors!), and facilities. This is really a radical idea: get teachers to help design learning spaces with those who have to build and use this space.
They built a prototype classroom that would have assessment of the project built into its use. This is different from a culture that builds spaces but does not follow up on how they are used.
Assessment included:
1. Faculty observations
2. Blogs
3. Video recordings
4. Surveys of all users
5. Debriefing meeting with faculty
The room included two projectors facing opposite walls, a plasma screen, white boards, an area with couches, circular tables that were made of moveable quarters on wheels, a cart of laptops, sympodium, and a document camera. Their budget for the one room came in at $222,000!
They found that the rooms promoted engagement. The comfortable space was less threatening to students who said that it felt like a privilege to use the room and that it made them want to learn and participate. Faculty said that "the space is the message." Space not only determines how the students feel about learning but it also communicates how the institution feels about teaching and the students as people.
Spaces reflect the values of the institution.
The classroom had no obvious front or back. It encouraged the faculty to circulate among the students.
They learned that training teachers how to use the space was important.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Educause Presentation
I was on a panel today at the Western Regional meeting of Educause speaking on Second Life. It was a very interesting presentation because the people we were presenting with originally had their presentation entitled "Second Life from the Slow Lane." Imagine their surprise when they found themselves on a panel with John Miller! But the really interesting part is that while we are working with simulations and models, these two are actually working out the human dimension to Second Life. Their work in SL is connectivity rich while we are programming rich.
Jeffery Lamb is using Second Life with his Spanish class to basically create a "semestre abroad" approach. In Second Life, his students go to a virtual Barcelona and Mexico and talk with native Spanish speakers. He also makes them use the Spanish "Segunda Vida" client so when they want to change their avatar's hair and such they have to learn the names of the various body parts and colors in Spanish. This is terrific because the students then have a natural, invested interest in learning the language. And then when their hair is right, they are hanging out with native Spanish speakers. I found this more exciting than any of the programming or widgets I have seen in SL. This is what it should really be about -- people working and learning together. I want to bring this to our college and to our state!
Here is the blurb from the program:
Teaching and Learning in Second Life
Session Details
Track 1
Monday, March 31, 2008
4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Room of the Dons, Lobby Level
Speaker(s)
* Geoffrey B. Cain, Instructional Designer / English Instructor, Tacoma Community College
* Jeffrey Lamb, Spanish Instructor, Solano Community College
* John Miller, Nursing Instructor, Tacoma Community College
* Sandra Rotenberg, Librarian and Distance Education Coordinator, Solano Communityt
This panel discussion examines both the process and product of teaching in Second Life from the perspectives of instructors and an instructional designer. Participants will see how instructors use Second Life to teach foreign languages and nursing, illustrating the breadth of possibilities virtual reality offers to introduce students to other cultures and clinical procedures. The experience enhances students' critical thinking, decision making, and diversity awareness.
Jeffery Lamb is using Second Life with his Spanish class to basically create a "semestre abroad" approach. In Second Life, his students go to a virtual Barcelona and Mexico and talk with native Spanish speakers. He also makes them use the Spanish "Segunda Vida" client so when they want to change their avatar's hair and such they have to learn the names of the various body parts and colors in Spanish. This is terrific because the students then have a natural, invested interest in learning the language. And then when their hair is right, they are hanging out with native Spanish speakers. I found this more exciting than any of the programming or widgets I have seen in SL. This is what it should really be about -- people working and learning together. I want to bring this to our college and to our state!
Here is the blurb from the program:
Teaching and Learning in Second Life
Session Details
Track 1
Monday, March 31, 2008
4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Room of the Dons, Lobby Level
Speaker(s)
* Geoffrey B. Cain, Instructional Designer / English Instructor, Tacoma Community College
* Jeffrey Lamb, Spanish Instructor, Solano Community College
* John Miller, Nursing Instructor, Tacoma Community College
* Sandra Rotenberg, Librarian and Distance Education Coordinator, Solano Communityt
This panel discussion examines both the process and product of teaching in Second Life from the perspectives of instructors and an instructional designer. Participants will see how instructors use Second Life to teach foreign languages and nursing, illustrating the breadth of possibilities virtual reality offers to introduce students to other cultures and clinical procedures. The experience enhances students' critical thinking, decision making, and diversity awareness.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
3-D Mind Mapping
I have always been, and probably always will be, a big fan of Inspiration. This is a fairly traditional (but extremely flexible) concept mapping software. I believe that the traditional uses of software such as this can be great for communication, brainstorming, and as presentation tools. But one claim is that such software somehow represents how we think. Software packages like this seem all too linear and flowchartish to really represent thought; especially with what we are discovering about the nature of memory, that memories are not held in single neurons or even tightly grouped neurons but are patterns distributed over the whole brain. A single part of the brain can be damaged and the brain can remap memories. I am wondering if concept maps that are movable in three dimensions are not a more accurate representation of thought. (Is there really a connection between how concept maps communicate and the structure of thought?) I am currently experimenting with Personal Brain and with some concept mapping in Second Life. What I like about Personal Brain is that the user organizes links in a 3-d virtual space where anything that is clicked on is brought to the center and the other links shift around the new center. I find that this captures my style of thinking (meta-tangential ADD?) -- I will create some films using this and Jing and see what I come up with. Ultimately what I am looking for is 3-d collaborative mind maps and I think I have found some solutions in Second Life.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Deschooling Web 2.0
I was in colleague's office this morning rambling about Ivan Illich's Deschooling Society. If you don't know who he was, he was a radical intellectual in the 60s and 70s and very popular with the alternative schooling types. One or his ideas is that schools are made to contain knowledge rather than share it. This is why school rooms in fascist, communist, and capitalist countries all look the same. Anyway, Charlie Crawford sent me a note this morning pointing to Chapter 6 which contains Illich’s “Four Networks” which is about the decentralization of knowledge but actually is also a good description of the ideal web 2.0 learning community (i.e. MERLOT and possibly some aspects of the future Tacoma Challenge?).
1. Reference Services to Educational Objects-which facilitate access to things or processes used for formal learning. Some of these things can be reserved for this purpose, stored in libraries, rental agencies, laboratories, and showrooms like museums and theaters; others can be in daily use in factories, airports, or on farms, but made available to students as apprentices or on off hours.
2. Skill Exchanges — which permit persons to list their skills, the conditions under which they are willing to serve as models for others who want to learn these skills, and the addresses at which they can be reached.
3. Peer-Matching — a communications network which permits persons to describe the learning activity in which they wish to engage, in the hope of finding a partner for the inquiry.
4. Reference Services to Educators-at-Large — who can be listed in a directory giving the addresses and self-descriptions of professionals, paraprofessionals, and free-lancers, along with conditions of access to their services. Such educators, as we will see, could be chosen by polling or consulting their former clients.
The thing that is so ironic about this is that Illich was not too keen on technology, but technology seems to be what is facilitating this vision now.
The purpose of the Challenge isn’t to be a reference service, but it could certainly be a hub where students share their learning experiences and connect to people and resources. The podcasting project and the blog tools in Drupal can facilitate this. In ancient Greece, the paideia, was not just one institution, but the whole community. The Challenge, and other open source content management systems, can be this connection.
1. Reference Services to Educational Objects-which facilitate access to things or processes used for formal learning. Some of these things can be reserved for this purpose, stored in libraries, rental agencies, laboratories, and showrooms like museums and theaters; others can be in daily use in factories, airports, or on farms, but made available to students as apprentices or on off hours.
2. Skill Exchanges — which permit persons to list their skills, the conditions under which they are willing to serve as models for others who want to learn these skills, and the addresses at which they can be reached.
3. Peer-Matching — a communications network which permits persons to describe the learning activity in which they wish to engage, in the hope of finding a partner for the inquiry.
4. Reference Services to Educators-at-Large — who can be listed in a directory giving the addresses and self-descriptions of professionals, paraprofessionals, and free-lancers, along with conditions of access to their services. Such educators, as we will see, could be chosen by polling or consulting their former clients.
The thing that is so ironic about this is that Illich was not too keen on technology, but technology seems to be what is facilitating this vision now.
The purpose of the Challenge isn’t to be a reference service, but it could certainly be a hub where students share their learning experiences and connect to people and resources. The podcasting project and the blog tools in Drupal can facilitate this. In ancient Greece, the paideia, was not just one institution, but the whole community. The Challenge, and other open source content management systems, can be this connection.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Open Source Textbooks
I am in the middle of a conversation elsewhere on the net about open source textbooks and open source in education in general. I think this is certainly the way to go. The print industry moves far too slowly for the field of educational tech. anyway.
And speaking of educational technology; There is an article in the Feb. 15th Chronicle called "One Way to Rein In the Cost of Textbooks: Make Them Free." It is by Paul F. deLespinasse, who is from Adrian and has four textbooks available online. He says that given modern technology, "there is no reason why textbooks could not be extremely cheap, if not free." He says that most of the cost comes from things like printing, distribution and marketing. He also said that texts that are radically innovative never make it through the publication process. I love this point "...faculty members who do not wish to rely on miracles to produce texts based on new approaches to the subjects can post their materials on the Internet. That would increase the richness and diversity of materials that instructors can choose from as they develop courses, and would benefit students both intellectually and financially.
What is interesting about his take is that I assumed that true experts in the field, seasoned, experienced scholars like deLespinasse would not be interested in open source texts. I thought that adjunct faculty or up and coming scholars would be more interested in this, but his own work proves me wrong.
He points out in his article that some of the disadvantages of online publishing is that online texts are not subject to review and the editorial process. For myself, this just points out how crucial organizations like MERLOT are.
The article is worth checking out. (Unfortunately, the Chronicle is still a very commercial publication, and to read the article online, one must have a paid subscription.)
And speaking of educational technology; There is an article in the Feb. 15th Chronicle called "One Way to Rein In the Cost of Textbooks: Make Them Free." It is by Paul F. deLespinasse, who is from Adrian and has four textbooks available online. He says that given modern technology, "there is no reason why textbooks could not be extremely cheap, if not free." He says that most of the cost comes from things like printing, distribution and marketing. He also said that texts that are radically innovative never make it through the publication process. I love this point "...faculty members who do not wish to rely on miracles to produce texts based on new approaches to the subjects can post their materials on the Internet. That would increase the richness and diversity of materials that instructors can choose from as they develop courses, and would benefit students both intellectually and financially.
What is interesting about his take is that I assumed that true experts in the field, seasoned, experienced scholars like deLespinasse would not be interested in open source texts. I thought that adjunct faculty or up and coming scholars would be more interested in this, but his own work proves me wrong.
He points out in his article that some of the disadvantages of online publishing is that online texts are not subject to review and the editorial process. For myself, this just points out how crucial organizations like MERLOT are.
The article is worth checking out. (Unfortunately, the Chronicle is still a very commercial publication, and to read the article online, one must have a paid subscription.)
Monday, February 11, 2008
Open Source Resources for WA CTCs
I was in a meeting today with Cable Green on open source. Here are the opening notes that were posted on Injenuity's blog before the meeting:
Cable Green will lead a discussion on how the Washington Community and
Technical Colleges can actively participate in and contribute to the
Open Educational Resources (OER) movement.
He doesn’t have the answers but brings a host of questions that higher
education needs to wrestle with to increase learning opportunities,
lower costs, and form a more perfect global learning space.
* How do we educate all stakeholders about open educational resources
(software, content, standards, publishing) and why they are an important
part of our system’s future?
* How do we make it easy to share learning materials, courses and
degrees?
* What are the policy implications of sharing content? Are we all so
unique that we can’t use one another’s courses? How many different
Algebra 101 courses do we need?
* Under what circumstances will faculty “receive” what has been built by
others? How do we collectively get past the issue of “I need to build it
myself?”
* Is content is a strategic advantage? Or do walled gardens wither and
die without the winds of collective input and continuous iteration?
* How much longer can our students afford traditional textbooks? Why
can’t we develop open textbooks?
* How much longer can our libraries afford buying access to articles our
faculty published? What is stopping us from an open publishing movement
for academic journal articles?
_______________________________________________________________________________
I have been interested in open source teaching materials since I have been involved in teaching or education support. We have really lost something in this age of "intellectual property" and copyright. I don't think I would be the teacher I am today if it wasn't for the other teachers who were gracious enough to share ideas, curricula and syllabi.
I am creating an open source developmental English textbook. I am going to offer it on LuLu.Com but the whole book will be in a Creative Commons rather than a restrictive copyright.
All of the teaching tools that we create in Second Life should be available to all teachers.
Faculty claim to be interested in the students welfare when they say that they do not want to have "their" students learn online because of the cost. Yet, they will assign textbooks that cost over a hundred dollars.
Cable Green will lead a discussion on how the Washington Community and
Technical Colleges can actively participate in and contribute to the
Open Educational Resources (OER) movement.
He doesn’t have the answers but brings a host of questions that higher
education needs to wrestle with to increase learning opportunities,
lower costs, and form a more perfect global learning space.
* How do we educate all stakeholders about open educational resources
(software, content, standards, publishing) and why they are an important
part of our system’s future?
* How do we make it easy to share learning materials, courses and
degrees?
* What are the policy implications of sharing content? Are we all so
unique that we can’t use one another’s courses? How many different
Algebra 101 courses do we need?
* Under what circumstances will faculty “receive” what has been built by
others? How do we collectively get past the issue of “I need to build it
myself?”
* Is content is a strategic advantage? Or do walled gardens wither and
die without the winds of collective input and continuous iteration?
* How much longer can our students afford traditional textbooks? Why
can’t we develop open textbooks?
* How much longer can our libraries afford buying access to articles our
faculty published? What is stopping us from an open publishing movement
for academic journal articles?
_______________________________________________________________________________
I have been interested in open source teaching materials since I have been involved in teaching or education support. We have really lost something in this age of "intellectual property" and copyright. I don't think I would be the teacher I am today if it wasn't for the other teachers who were gracious enough to share ideas, curricula and syllabi.
I am creating an open source developmental English textbook. I am going to offer it on LuLu.Com but the whole book will be in a Creative Commons rather than a restrictive copyright.
All of the teaching tools that we create in Second Life should be available to all teachers.
Faculty claim to be interested in the students welfare when they say that they do not want to have "their" students learn online because of the cost. Yet, they will assign textbooks that cost over a hundred dollars.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Second Life for Educators
The above is a link to a presentation that I put together that discusses Second Life and teaching. As an instructional designer, I am trying to wrap my head around how this fits into the course design process. In all of my work, teaching and course development, I am interested in how interactivity is built into a course. Whenever I look at a course the first thing I think is: how are the students going to interact with the course materials, the instructor, and one another. I am putting together three presentations that focus on the pedagogy of virtual environments. This is the first. I am saving the "how to get cool hair" tutorials for YouTube and working on the boring stuff (teaching situations that do not immediately require a light saber).
Friday, January 18, 2008
Google Generation
Pioneering research shows ‘Google Generation’ is a myth: "Pioneering research shows ‘Google Generation’ is a myth.
* All age groups revealed to share so-called ‘Google Generation' traits
* New study argues that libraries will have to adapt to the digital mindset
* Young people seemingly lacking in information skills; strong message to the government and society at large
"A new study overturns the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation' – youngsters born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most web-literate. The first ever virtual longitudinal study carried out by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an apparent ease and familiarity with computers, they rely heavily on search engines, view rather than read and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they find on the web."
What fascinates me about these studies is that they never take into account what the students will need to know and what skills they will need after they graduate. The methods and techniques they are being taught with now will teach them how to be an early nineteenth cent. clerk or book-keeper's assistant (think "Bob Crachit"). I am not saying that critical thinking and information literacy are not important, I just seriously doubt they can be taught by people who do not understand the way information and technology is changing the way people think and process information.
* All age groups revealed to share so-called ‘Google Generation' traits
* New study argues that libraries will have to adapt to the digital mindset
* Young people seemingly lacking in information skills; strong message to the government and society at large
"A new study overturns the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation' – youngsters born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most web-literate. The first ever virtual longitudinal study carried out by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an apparent ease and familiarity with computers, they rely heavily on search engines, view rather than read and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they find on the web."
What fascinates me about these studies is that they never take into account what the students will need to know and what skills they will need after they graduate. The methods and techniques they are being taught with now will teach them how to be an early nineteenth cent. clerk or book-keeper's assistant (think "Bob Crachit"). I am not saying that critical thinking and information literacy are not important, I just seriously doubt they can be taught by people who do not understand the way information and technology is changing the way people think and process information.
Friday, January 11, 2008
elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age: "Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. Learning needs and theories that describe learning principles and processes, should be reflective of underlying social environments."
I just finished reading Seimens' book "Knowing Knowledge" and this article is a good summary and over-view of his ideas. His book clarifies a lot of this, although I am looking forward to asking him about how learning resides in appliances when he presents as the keynote in Spokane. His definition of "learning" must be different than mine. I am thoroughly entrenched in constructivism, but I think this is a necessary evaluation of our new relationship to information.
I just finished reading Seimens' book "Knowing Knowledge" and this article is a good summary and over-view of his ideas. His book clarifies a lot of this, although I am looking forward to asking him about how learning resides in appliances when he presents as the keynote in Spokane. His definition of "learning" must be different than mine. I am thoroughly entrenched in constructivism, but I think this is a necessary evaluation of our new relationship to information.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Second Life for Educators
This is a presentation I developed for the State of Washington that is an introduction to Second Life for instructors who have never heard of it before. This is for those faculty members who you know would benefit from this but don't really know what it is. I made this using Articulate Presenter. I have more presentations coming soon on developing curriculum in Second Life and how to design assignments.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Kapp Notes: Shooting Educational/Instructional Videos
Kapp Notes: Shooting Educational/Instructional Videos
We here are Tacoma Community College are going to be more involved in film making. I want to do more to capture on film things that teachers do in the classroom that works well for other teachers. This collection of of links for Karl Kapp showed up just in time!
We here are Tacoma Community College are going to be more involved in film making. I want to do more to capture on film things that teachers do in the classroom that works well for other teachers. This collection of of links for Karl Kapp showed up just in time!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Second Life Extreme Make-Over
As strange as this sounds, people seem to care as much about how you look in Second Life as they do in First Life. You may remember what this is: it is a world filled with avatars who fly around, have jobs, socialize and meet for education projects. And Second Life is like this too. After talking with people in Second Life, some told me that my avatar was unprofessional looking -- it was too generic and too new looking. It was like representing the school in a dirty rain coat. I had a lot of lindens (Second Life money) because a paid account gets an allowance. I rarely spend any money because I spend most of my time in education sites and projects were stuff is free or very cheap. But I started to talk to people in and out of Second Life and they said "yes, it does matter." I shows that I don't care what I look like, have not spent anytime customizing my avatar, and that I must not hang out with regulars and veterans of the virtual world. I was stunned at first but why would it be any different in Second Life as it is in First Life? I went with an acquaintance who decided to help me shop for skin, hair, eyes and clothes (out of mercy for me and to preserve her reputation as someone who does not hangout with newbie dorktards). It felt like a cross between "Frankenstein" and "Queer Eye." We teleported to all of these shops looking at avatar bodies. We picked one that looked vaguely like me if you were looking into a Futuroscope with squinty eyes into an alternative universe in which I was reincarnated as a male model. The skin has raging muscles, tan, gorgeous, and the package comes with a flaccid penis. You can wear it or not just like a pair of sunglasses. I never thought I would ever live to say that I would PAY for a flaccid penis. I bought hair, eyes that look like they reflect light and move, nice clothes, and a Rolex watch. My old avatar had died and was reborn in Orange County.
It is strange looking at all this as a Buddhist. There in Second Life, avatars are born, live in an essentially immaterial world and crave material things.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
CogDogRoo � StoryTools
CogDogRoo � StoryTools: "The Fifty Tools Below you will find 50 web tools you can use to create a story. Again, your mission here is not to review every single one, but pick one that sounds interesting and see if you can produce something. I have used each tool to produce an example of Dominoe story and links provided where available to examples by other people. Please share your products or thoughts in the discussion area of this wiki."
I beg to differ. I think we do need a review of each of these tools. Not all web 2.0 tools were created equal. I think this would be a good project for this blog as each one of these could certainly be used in my English classes.
I beg to differ. I think we do need a review of each of these tools. Not all web 2.0 tools were created equal. I think this would be a good project for this blog as each one of these could certainly be used in my English classes.
"You got Drupal in my Second Life!" "You got Second Life in my Drupal!" | Social Signal
"You got Drupal in my Second Life!" "You got Second Life in my Drupal!" | Social Signal
Rob Cottingham at Social Signal wrote a brief posting on the Second Life Framework project. This allows interaction between Drupal and Second Life. I work as a consultant for the Tacoma Challenge which is using the open source content management system Drupal as its platform. We are also using Second Life in the nursing program. This new module is exactly what companies like Blackboard have been looking for: a way to get projects and scripts in Second Life to speak to programs and databases outside of SL. Blackboard offered a $25,000 prize for anyone who could do this in Bb. I think it is extremely typical, funny, and ironic that the ones who do it first are the open source community. The state board in WA has just purchased an island in SL to host projects at the various community and technical colleges. This integration of Drupal and SL will certainly be on that list of projects.
Rob Cottingham at Social Signal wrote a brief posting on the Second Life Framework project. This allows interaction between Drupal and Second Life. I work as a consultant for the Tacoma Challenge which is using the open source content management system Drupal as its platform. We are also using Second Life in the nursing program. This new module is exactly what companies like Blackboard have been looking for: a way to get projects and scripts in Second Life to speak to programs and databases outside of SL. Blackboard offered a $25,000 prize for anyone who could do this in Bb. I think it is extremely typical, funny, and ironic that the ones who do it first are the open source community. The state board in WA has just purchased an island in SL to host projects at the various community and technical colleges. This integration of Drupal and SL will certainly be on that list of projects.
Friday, December 07, 2007
VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, docs and videos.
VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, docs and videos.
This is a very interesting new tool. We are gathering ideas for its use in education.
http://voicethread.com/share/26224/
This is a very interesting new tool. We are gathering ideas for its use in education.
http://voicethread.com/share/26224/
BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Virtual theft' leads to arrest
BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Virtual theft' leads to arrest
This story has a lot of interesting implications for virtual worlds. When the story first went around, it sounded like someone was arrested for stealing a virtual item, and in a sense, this is true. But the really critical issue is that the teens stole passwords to gain access to account that had money associated with them. This is just fraud.
This story has a lot of interesting implications for virtual worlds. When the story first went around, it sounded like someone was arrested for stealing a virtual item, and in a sense, this is true. But the really critical issue is that the teens stole passwords to gain access to account that had money associated with them. This is just fraud.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tacoma Community College in SL
I have been working with John Miller on grants and research into Second Life for about a year now. His first class in Second Life has been what I would consider an unqualified resounding success. Often, Second Life, a 3-d, multi-user, virtual environment, is used as an online meeting room. There are good reasons to do that; it can be a great meeting space because of the range of expression, demonstration, and participation that is possible in this space. But its most powerful asset is the ability to create 3-d animated simulations. Combined with role-playing, instructors have a very powerful teaching tool. Click on the link above to the article for an example.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
CIT2007 -- Second Life presentation & round table
These are photos from John Miller's presentation, my walk over the bridge, and the round table we went to. This was hard. There were so many interesting people, I was just stunned. It was great to make contact with people who I have known online and now get to meet in person.
Using Second Life’s 3D Online World to Train Online Students: CIT2007
This was a presentation I rode shotgun on with John Miller at the League for Innovation's Conference on Information Technology. It is on teaching in Second Life.
Using Second Life’s 3D Online World to Train Online Students
Instructional designers and faculty in any educational program will benefit from this presentation. Included in this presentation is the unveiling of an innovative emergency/nursing education simulator (NESIM). Live patient simulations will be created and role played while RN student teams use the NESIM simulator to apply critical thinking skills and interventions.
1. Learn about SL
2. Learn how to use SL for education
3. Learn how to use simulators for interactive education
4. Learn how to develop basic simulation strategies and incorporate them into existing courses
5. Learn how to train in medical fields in SL
RL Time & Location - Conference on Information Technology, Nashville, TN Rock and Roll Room, Renaissance Hotel, 3:15pm CST, Monday, November 12, 2007 http://www.league.org/league/partners/confer_profile.htm#cit
SL Time & Location - ISTE Auditorium http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/207/51/23 1:15pm SLT, Monday, November 12, 2007. Be prompt. This is a multi-location presentation in SL. The presentation will begin and end at ISTE Auditorium.
SL Event Information and Instructions
* Join the group, CIT ‘07 SL Nursing Ed Sim, before the conference. The presentation will be in voice, in group mode using this group. Please go to Preferences, Voice Chat, put a check in the boxes Enable voice chat and Start Viewer in Push-to-Talk mode. Please make sure that Push-to-Talk in toggle mode is not checked. This will eliminate sounds from your rl on the listening end. Please only press to speak, Push-to-Talk trigger) if specifically invited to by the moderator, padlurowncanoe Dibou.
* A landmark to NESIM will be sent out in a group notice. NESIM is usually “access list only” but will be open during the presentation.
* Please IM text the moderator, padlurowncanoe Dibou, with questions during the presentation. She will forward them to the appropriate presenter. Any questions not addressed during the Q&A, will receive a personal response, post-presentation.
* Direct pre and post event questions to padlurowncanoe Dibou by IM, notecard, or email, padln@hotmail.com
* Direct NESIM pre and post event inquiries to JS Vavoom by notecard or email, jsvavoom@gmail.com
SL and RL Event Outline
* Live SL Musician, Komuso Tokugawa, will entertain with a few songs as attendees arrive, attain notecards, and set up group and SL voice preference for the event. The RL event will observe and listen on the big screen as RL presenters greet, pass out materials, and provide an overview of SL.
* Opening Remarks - padlurowncanoe Dibou (Cathy Walker)
* NESIM Project overview - JS Vavoom (John Miller) and Dante Arbusto (Geoff Cain)
* NESIM simulator description - JS Vavoom (John Miller) and markin Pau (David Bodily)
* Go to NESIM for live demo with Tacoma Community College RN students.
* Q&A at NESIM — text moderator, padlurowncanoe Dibou, with questions.
* Return to ISTE. Results and future SL education plans - JS, markin, and Dante (John, David, and Geoff)
* Q&A at ISTE — text moderator, padlurowncanoe Dibou, with questions.
Presenters
* John Miller MN, BSN, ADN, RN, instructor of nursing, Tacoma Community College (SL - JS Vavoom)
* David Bodily BSN, RN, instructor of nursing, Western Wyoming Community College (SL - markin Pau )
* Geoff Cain MS, instructional designer, Tacoma Community College (SL Dante Arbusto)
RN Students
* Rebecca Bean, RN nursing student, Tacoma Community College (SL - 2B Schmooz)
* Marisa Aslanian, RN nursing student, Tacoma Community College (SL - BayBay Bedrosian)
A Special Thanks To
* Andy Duckworth, BA, distance learning coordinator, Tacoma Community College
Event Coordinator
* Cathy Walker, Educational Technology and Network Admin, St. Vincent de Paul (SL - padlurowncanoe Dibou)
Monday, November 12, 2007
21st Century Learning Styles and Mobile Technologies
Mon. 11:00 AM
21st Century Learning Styles and Mobile Technologies
Chris Dede, Professor, Learning Technologies, Harvard University, MA
Where are we going with all technologies and the opportunities thye represent.
Evolution of Education
Shifts in knowledge and skills
Development of new teaching methods
Changes in learnings
Emerging information tech is changing all of these.
He showed an animoto type film that was part of a Panasonic commercial.
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
Emerging interactive media
New work uses new tech but we are teaching with old tech.
Changes: thinking is now distributed (across space, time, and media).
Showed another video from Microsoft. (Annoying, loud and long.)
Microsoft also makes crap films.
Jenkin’s Framework for New Literacies
Don Leu’s “Characteristics of New Literacies”
“Next Generation” Interfaces for Distributed Learning
WorldDesktop
Multi-user environments
Ubiquitous Computing
“River City Project” website was mentioned.
Question: Why ubiquitous computing?
Student ratio
Cost
Wireless mobile computing
Equity and effectiveness
“Animistic environments for learning”
There were a series of unaddressed buzz words in quotation marks.
He made the point that microprocessors are everywhere. A possibility of an “animistic world.” “Smart objects and intelligent contexts” enable “augmented realities.”
Harvard’s hand-held devices projects
Good for portable research assistants and traveling conduits for learning.
Lecture is a weak form of teaching.
“Handheld Augmented Reality Project” Another video was shown. This project used handhelds to engage students in roleplaying and problem solving using language and math. Used pocket PCs with GPS devices. He wants to do the same thing in the future with GPS enabled phones.
Each team has a GPS
Virtual characters
Video
Maps
Pedagogical models
Constructivism
Apprenticeship and mentoring
Collaborative learing
How People Learn 1999
“Situated Learning”
A culture of learning where everyone brings something to the table to contribute to the learning.
Mediated, situated, immersed
There is the challenge of being able to get students to work as a team, assessment is not based on tests and papers, but with data mining.
We can’t expect students to learn the way we teach; we must teach the way they learn.
Learning modalites should also include media intelligence.
“Neomillenial” Learning styles
He teaches a distributed learning course
Implications for professional development
Codesign, coinstruction, guided social constructivism, assessment beyond tests and papers.
Professional development and communities of unlearning
Developing fluency in using emerging interactive media
Unlearning assumptions about teaching
Closed with McLuhan.
21st Century Learning Styles and Mobile Technologies
Chris Dede, Professor, Learning Technologies, Harvard University, MA
Where are we going with all technologies and the opportunities thye represent.
Evolution of Education
Shifts in knowledge and skills
Development of new teaching methods
Changes in learnings
Emerging information tech is changing all of these.
He showed an animoto type film that was part of a Panasonic commercial.
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
Emerging interactive media
New work uses new tech but we are teaching with old tech.
Changes: thinking is now distributed (across space, time, and media).
Showed another video from Microsoft. (Annoying, loud and long.)
Microsoft also makes crap films.
Jenkin’s Framework for New Literacies
Don Leu’s “Characteristics of New Literacies”
“Next Generation” Interfaces for Distributed Learning
WorldDesktop
Multi-user environments
Ubiquitous Computing
“River City Project” website was mentioned.
Question: Why ubiquitous computing?
Student ratio
Cost
Wireless mobile computing
Equity and effectiveness
“Animistic environments for learning”
There were a series of unaddressed buzz words in quotation marks.
He made the point that microprocessors are everywhere. A possibility of an “animistic world.” “Smart objects and intelligent contexts” enable “augmented realities.”
Harvard’s hand-held devices projects
Good for portable research assistants and traveling conduits for learning.
Lecture is a weak form of teaching.
“Handheld Augmented Reality Project” Another video was shown. This project used handhelds to engage students in roleplaying and problem solving using language and math. Used pocket PCs with GPS devices. He wants to do the same thing in the future with GPS enabled phones.
Each team has a GPS
Virtual characters
Video
Maps
Pedagogical models
Constructivism
Apprenticeship and mentoring
Collaborative learing
How People Learn 1999
“Situated Learning”
A culture of learning where everyone brings something to the table to contribute to the learning.
Mediated, situated, immersed
There is the challenge of being able to get students to work as a team, assessment is not based on tests and papers, but with data mining.
We can’t expect students to learn the way we teach; we must teach the way they learn.
Learning modalites should also include media intelligence.
“Neomillenial” Learning styles
He teaches a distributed learning course
Implications for professional development
Codesign, coinstruction, guided social constructivism, assessment beyond tests and papers.
Professional development and communities of unlearning
Developing fluency in using emerging interactive media
Unlearning assumptions about teaching
Closed with McLuhan.
Eon Reality: Visualized Learning: Technology,Convergence, and Learning
Emerging and Future Educational Technology
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Visualized Learning: Technology,Convergence, and Learning
Innovations in visualized learning have fueled a convergence of technological advancement,acceptance, and advanced learning, and can be effectively connected to online, real-time assessment and other learning modalities using 3D digital objects and other visual assets. Session participants interact with these immersive technologies and become aware of the potential impact of this convergence.
Software package...
Jamie Justice, Director, Visualized Learning and
Innovation, Kentucky Community and Technical
College System, KY
Http://eonreality.com
Innovation and environment
How do we appeal to all types of learners no matter what their age or learning style. He spoke of digital natives, immigrants, and millenials and then coined the term "centurians" for those who are in multiple centuries (???) Anyway...
Telepresence and tele-environments
Technology is creating new kinds of learning environments.
Visual environments that are totally immersive like SIQuant, a virtual model of 10 actual Portugese villages.
Visualized learning = shortened learning cycles and immersive education.
"Eon Digital Consortia"
"Interactive Digital Center"
Eon Reality software is being used at KCTCS to enhance workforce education.
Teaching and Learning methodology: meeting student needs.
innovative instruction <-- instructional factors --> assessment
\ /
\--------------> curriculum <-----------------/
workforce training
application
The software creates 3-d models to help learners "see" and experience the object being worked on. Example: a manufacturing plant uses 80 robots to create a product. It would cost too much to create training facilities that would train all of the workers. This software can do a lot of that work.
He had a slide that quoted Neil Fleming
--a collection of data is not information
--a collection of information is not knowledge
--a collection of knowledge is not wisdom
--a collection of wisdom is not truth
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Visualized Learning: Technology,Convergence, and Learning
Innovations in visualized learning have fueled a convergence of technological advancement,acceptance, and advanced learning, and can be effectively connected to online, real-time assessment and other learning modalities using 3D digital objects and other visual assets. Session participants interact with these immersive technologies and become aware of the potential impact of this convergence.
Software package...
Jamie Justice, Director, Visualized Learning and
Innovation, Kentucky Community and Technical
College System, KY
Http://eonreality.com
Innovation and environment
How do we appeal to all types of learners no matter what their age or learning style. He spoke of digital natives, immigrants, and millenials and then coined the term "centurians" for those who are in multiple centuries (???) Anyway...
Telepresence and tele-environments
Technology is creating new kinds of learning environments.
Visual environments that are totally immersive like SIQuant, a virtual model of 10 actual Portugese villages.
Visualized learning = shortened learning cycles and immersive education.
"Eon Digital Consortia"
"Interactive Digital Center"
Eon Reality software is being used at KCTCS to enhance workforce education.
Teaching and Learning methodology: meeting student needs.
innovative instruction <-- instructional factors --> assessment
\ /
\--------------> curriculum <-----------------/
workforce training
application
The software creates 3-d models to help learners "see" and experience the object being worked on. Example: a manufacturing plant uses 80 robots to create a product. It would cost too much to create training facilities that would train all of the workers. This software can do a lot of that work.
He had a slide that quoted Neil Fleming
--a collection of data is not information
--a collection of information is not knowledge
--a collection of knowledge is not wisdom
--a collection of wisdom is not truth
Sunday, November 11, 2007
From Tagging to Teaching : Practical Examples of using Blackboard Scholar for Social Bookmarking CIT2007
11:00 AM From Tagging to Teaching : Practical Examples of using Blackboard Scholar for Social Bookmarking
Grand Rapids Community College
Agenda
• Define social bookmarking
• Provide an overview of Scholar
• How GRCC got started with Scholar
• Examples in Teaching and Learning
• Scholar in the future
They defined social bookmarking.
The practice of saving bookmarks to a public web site and tagging them with keywords.
Saving your bookmarks online, share resources, discover new links, and tag your bookmarks.
Social bookmarking is resource sharing. A resource is anything with a URL.
Bb Scholar is part of the Blackboard Beyond Initiative
Centrally hosted
Integrated with Blackboard
Customized for education
RSS reader
Has social networking abilities.
It must be accessed through an LMS. Accounts are free and they don’t go away.
Academic resources shared across courses and institutions throughout your academic career.
Uses the same kind of bookmarking technology as delicious bookmarks.
Has fields for tags, discipline tags, course tags.
Gave a basic explanation of folksonomies and the intelligence of crowds. Overtime people begin to use the same kinds of tags. Others begin to shape how everyone else begins to use the information.
The tag cloud feature works a lot like delicious.
Instructors can create a “Scholar Course Site” – the only ones who can access the page is the members of the class. Instructors can move the elements of the page from course to course. This still feels like how to make web 2.0 back into web 1.0.
GRCC roll out
Student orientations, e-mails, news letters, training sessions
Educational uses of Social Bookmarking:
Enhance computer literacy
Allow students to contribute to course resources
Provide student-centered learning
Social networking with an academic focus
They are using for basically gathering resources. Sharing links.
This tool is for instructors that do not understand the true power of web 2.0 and are really concerned about control and access.
They are still concerned about librarians and teachers as gatekeepers to knowledge.
There is a sharing piece to it. One of the real strengths of a true web 2.0 app is the collective wisdom of the unwashed masses. As Charlie Crawford said to me, "the barbarians are at the gates and they are not going back!"
Grand Rapids Community College
Agenda
• Define social bookmarking
• Provide an overview of Scholar
• How GRCC got started with Scholar
• Examples in Teaching and Learning
• Scholar in the future
They defined social bookmarking.
The practice of saving bookmarks to a public web site and tagging them with keywords.
Saving your bookmarks online, share resources, discover new links, and tag your bookmarks.
Social bookmarking is resource sharing. A resource is anything with a URL.
Bb Scholar is part of the Blackboard Beyond Initiative
Centrally hosted
Integrated with Blackboard
Customized for education
RSS reader
Has social networking abilities.
It must be accessed through an LMS. Accounts are free and they don’t go away.
Academic resources shared across courses and institutions throughout your academic career.
Uses the same kind of bookmarking technology as delicious bookmarks.
Has fields for tags, discipline tags, course tags.
Gave a basic explanation of folksonomies and the intelligence of crowds. Overtime people begin to use the same kinds of tags. Others begin to shape how everyone else begins to use the information.
The tag cloud feature works a lot like delicious.
Instructors can create a “Scholar Course Site” – the only ones who can access the page is the members of the class. Instructors can move the elements of the page from course to course. This still feels like how to make web 2.0 back into web 1.0.
GRCC roll out
Student orientations, e-mails, news letters, training sessions
Educational uses of Social Bookmarking:
Enhance computer literacy
Allow students to contribute to course resources
Provide student-centered learning
Social networking with an academic focus
They are using for basically gathering resources. Sharing links.
This tool is for instructors that do not understand the true power of web 2.0 and are really concerned about control and access.
They are still concerned about librarians and teachers as gatekeepers to knowledge.
There is a sharing piece to it. One of the real strengths of a true web 2.0 app is the collective wisdom of the unwashed masses. As Charlie Crawford said to me, "the barbarians are at the gates and they are not going back!"
The Best of Both Worlds: Second Life + Moodle = Sloodle! CIT2007
9:45 AM – 10:45
The Best of Both Worlds: Second Life + Moodle = Sloodle!
See how the world’s most popular learning management system can be linked to the most
popular 3D virtual world. Sloodle incorporates tools within Second Life that tie to a Moodle installation, allowing for in-world blogs that post to a website, chats between avatars and online students, and even in-world attendance tracking. Come learn how this exciting project started, where it stands now, and where it is headed.
D.I. von Briesen, Instructor, Futures Institute, Central Piedmont Community College, NC
Avatar: Icabad Vallejo
Used a flickr account at the beginning of the presentation – it was a collection of pictures from Second Life.
He opened the presentation with Radio Paradise in Windows Media Player.
Handed out a playing card that had the URL www.tropicalteachers.com
He discussed the importance of mood established by creating an environment – he used images and pictures to open the workshop to create an atmosphere.
They have a campus Island. He is offering office space for free for educators.
There are weekly meetings sloodle.
Question: how do you create a mashup between Moodle and SL? Why would you want to do this?
Second Life is good for:
1. Proximity
2. Emotional investment
Every Weds. 2:00 PM there is a developers meeting.
Jeremy Kemp at San Jose State headed up sloodle.
A mash-up actually has to use an API. Code that allows other programs to talk to one another.
Linden Labs made the code open source (the client not the server)
Question: How does a quiz happen in Second Life? Is it something that we should be doing in SL? Quizzes can be given some visual reinforcement.
There is a chat integration between sl & moodle. They use a chat logger. If someone was logged into Moodle, they can use this to chat with people in Second Life. This allows others who can not get into SL, are on a PDA, or a low connection speed.
He has a history instructor that gives extra credit for building virtual, historical sites.
Why would you want to give a slide show in SL? There is a sense of being and communicating in a space. There is a powerpoint that discusses this. But he says it is too long. The screens are going to be able to share from Flickr.
They are asking what is appropriate for teaching. An HUD for students should be able to reflect how people communicate in real time.
He considers Second Life as a 3-d web.
He used the Sloodle toolbar HUD (heads up display). User still has to authenticate into Moodle. The HUD has a blog and classroom gestures. The 3d world has a line of communication between SL & Moodle. HUD puts all the gestures one needs all in one place.
There are modules you have to install on Moodle.
Princeton just bought 9 islands.
We were at a place in SL called sloodleville (Sloodle Learning Center).
There is no connection between the assignments and the gradebook.
They want to create an in-world browser.
The Best of Both Worlds: Second Life + Moodle = Sloodle!
See how the world’s most popular learning management system can be linked to the most
popular 3D virtual world. Sloodle incorporates tools within Second Life that tie to a Moodle installation, allowing for in-world blogs that post to a website, chats between avatars and online students, and even in-world attendance tracking. Come learn how this exciting project started, where it stands now, and where it is headed.
D.I. von Briesen, Instructor, Futures Institute, Central Piedmont Community College, NC
Avatar: Icabad Vallejo
Used a flickr account at the beginning of the presentation – it was a collection of pictures from Second Life.
He opened the presentation with Radio Paradise in Windows Media Player.
Handed out a playing card that had the URL www.tropicalteachers.com
He discussed the importance of mood established by creating an environment – he used images and pictures to open the workshop to create an atmosphere.
They have a campus Island. He is offering office space for free for educators.
There are weekly meetings sloodle.
Question: how do you create a mashup between Moodle and SL? Why would you want to do this?
Second Life is good for:
1. Proximity
2. Emotional investment
Every Weds. 2:00 PM there is a developers meeting.
Jeremy Kemp at San Jose State headed up sloodle.
A mash-up actually has to use an API. Code that allows other programs to talk to one another.
Linden Labs made the code open source (the client not the server)
Question: How does a quiz happen in Second Life? Is it something that we should be doing in SL? Quizzes can be given some visual reinforcement.
There is a chat integration between sl & moodle. They use a chat logger. If someone was logged into Moodle, they can use this to chat with people in Second Life. This allows others who can not get into SL, are on a PDA, or a low connection speed.
He has a history instructor that gives extra credit for building virtual, historical sites.
Why would you want to give a slide show in SL? There is a sense of being and communicating in a space. There is a powerpoint that discusses this. But he says it is too long. The screens are going to be able to share from Flickr.
They are asking what is appropriate for teaching. An HUD for students should be able to reflect how people communicate in real time.
He considers Second Life as a 3-d web.
He used the Sloodle toolbar HUD (heads up display). User still has to authenticate into Moodle. The HUD has a blog and classroom gestures. The 3d world has a line of communication between SL & Moodle. HUD puts all the gestures one needs all in one place.
There are modules you have to install on Moodle.
Princeton just bought 9 islands.
We were at a place in SL called sloodleville (Sloodle Learning Center).
There is no connection between the assignments and the gradebook.
They want to create an in-world browser.
Virtual Classes in Virtual Worlds CIT2007
Conference Notes – The League for Innovation CIT 2007
Sunday, Nov. 11
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Virtual Classes in Virtual Worlds
Cathy House, Professor, Trukee Meadows Community College, NV
Travis Souza, Coordinator, e-learning, Trukee Meadows Community College, NV
They are using Moodle and Second Life. They are using SL in online courses. A real estate course and an art course use SL.
They gave a basic, step-by-step demonstration on how to set up an account. The description should have given more of an idea that this was going to be a basic beginners’ demonstration. They should have taken some kind of poll to figure out if anyone is using SL or not.
The hand-out gives me some ideas for creating our own tutorials.
Some pros and cons of SL will be discussed.
They showed ICT teaching materials
Methods for teaching:
1. Using webpages as objects of a wall
2. Static presentation
3. Watching videos
4. Infocards
5. Navigation maps (teleports)
6. PowerPoint and interactive white boards
7. RSS feeds
8. Movies
9. LMS
a. Angel
b. Moodle (sloodle)
They then went into “Who’s using SL?”
• Harvard
• University of Florida
• NYU
o Digital communication
• Suny
• Ohio University
There was someone here who is using Active Worlds and online games.
They then took us to the usual places Harvard and NOAA.
They went to www.simteach.com.
www.lynx.tncc..edu/sloodle
Sunday, Nov. 11
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Virtual Classes in Virtual Worlds
Cathy House, Professor, Trukee Meadows Community College, NV
Travis Souza, Coordinator, e-learning, Trukee Meadows Community College, NV
They are using Moodle and Second Life. They are using SL in online courses. A real estate course and an art course use SL.
They gave a basic, step-by-step demonstration on how to set up an account. The description should have given more of an idea that this was going to be a basic beginners’ demonstration. They should have taken some kind of poll to figure out if anyone is using SL or not.
The hand-out gives me some ideas for creating our own tutorials.
Some pros and cons of SL will be discussed.
They showed ICT teaching materials
Methods for teaching:
1. Using webpages as objects of a wall
2. Static presentation
3. Watching videos
4. Infocards
5. Navigation maps (teleports)
6. PowerPoint and interactive white boards
7. RSS feeds
8. Movies
9. LMS
a. Angel
b. Moodle (sloodle)
They then went into “Who’s using SL?”
• Harvard
• University of Florida
• NYU
o Digital communication
• Suny
• Ohio University
There was someone here who is using Active Worlds and online games.
They then took us to the usual places Harvard and NOAA.
They went to www.simteach.com.
www.lynx.tncc..edu/sloodle
Enhanced Podcasting Presentation
Enhanced Podcasting
From: geoffcain, 14 minutes ago
This is a presentation on podcasting by Geoff Cain and Andy Duckworth from Tacoma Community College presented at the 2007 CIT.
SlideShare Link
Friday, October 26, 2007
Creating an Online Course Development Process
Creating an Online Course Development Process
Poster Session - Emerging Technologies
Thursday, October 25, 2007 4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m.
Ballroom 6E, table 29
Speaker(s)
* Geoffrey B. Cain, Instructional Designer, Tacoma Community College
* Charlie Crawford, Dean of Student Services, Tacoma Community College
Abstract
Tacoma Community College has created an online course development process. The process is designed to support faculty by providing a clear time-line for course development, a discussion of what kind of training faculty will need to develop and teach online courses, the kind of support faculty will need, and online course development rubrics for quality assurance and peer review.
Available Resources
The following resources have been provided by this session's speaker(s). To download a file, right click the link and select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As."
Flow Chart Poster [PPT 155 KB ] This was the file we used to make our flow chart of our course development process. October 26, 2007 1:32 PM
Course Development Timeline [DOC 31 KB ] A time line is a useful way to communicate to faculty exactly what kind of time commitment is involved in developing courses. October 26, 2007 1:34 PM
Course Review Rubric [DOCX 18 KB ] This was the rubric that we used to make another poster. Developing a rubric for your institution will require that everyone in your particular institution jointly understands the outcomes and goals of the course, the division, and the principles of distance learning. In other words, there is no out-of-the-box solution to this. October 26, 2007 1:37 PM
Course Development Guide [DOC 112 KB ] This is the online course development guide we give to instructors. The idea behind the guide is to let the instructors know all of the resources that are available to them. This is meant to be a process that not only ensures quality but also supports faculty. October 26, 2007 1:40 PM
Course Sign-Off Form [DOC 35 KB ] Again, this form is not only for our record keeping, but also a way to provide instructors an idea about all of the people that are here to help them through the course development process. October 26, 2007 1:42 PM
All of these forms are customized to our institution and are here for research and discussion purposes (your results may vary). We are very interested in your feedback in this ever evolving process. If you use or revise this documents, please email us at gcain@tacomacc.edu so we can take advantage of your research as well.
Poster Session - Emerging Technologies
Thursday, October 25, 2007 4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m.
Ballroom 6E, table 29
Speaker(s)
* Geoffrey B. Cain, Instructional Designer, Tacoma Community College
* Charlie Crawford, Dean of Student Services, Tacoma Community College
Abstract
Tacoma Community College has created an online course development process. The process is designed to support faculty by providing a clear time-line for course development, a discussion of what kind of training faculty will need to develop and teach online courses, the kind of support faculty will need, and online course development rubrics for quality assurance and peer review.
Available Resources
The following resources have been provided by this session's speaker(s). To download a file, right click the link and select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As."
Flow Chart Poster [PPT 155 KB ] This was the file we used to make our flow chart of our course development process. October 26, 2007 1:32 PM
Course Development Timeline [DOC 31 KB ] A time line is a useful way to communicate to faculty exactly what kind of time commitment is involved in developing courses. October 26, 2007 1:34 PM
Course Review Rubric [DOCX 18 KB ] This was the rubric that we used to make another poster. Developing a rubric for your institution will require that everyone in your particular institution jointly understands the outcomes and goals of the course, the division, and the principles of distance learning. In other words, there is no out-of-the-box solution to this. October 26, 2007 1:37 PM
Course Development Guide [DOC 112 KB ] This is the online course development guide we give to instructors. The idea behind the guide is to let the instructors know all of the resources that are available to them. This is meant to be a process that not only ensures quality but also supports faculty. October 26, 2007 1:40 PM
Course Sign-Off Form [DOC 35 KB ] Again, this form is not only for our record keeping, but also a way to provide instructors an idea about all of the people that are here to help them through the course development process. October 26, 2007 1:42 PM
All of these forms are customized to our institution and are here for research and discussion purposes (your results may vary). We are very interested in your feedback in this ever evolving process. If you use or revise this documents, please email us at gcain@tacomacc.edu so we can take advantage of your research as well.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Teaching and Learning Experiences in a User-Created Virtual World
Teaching and Learning Experiences in a User-Created Virtual World
Metropolitan B, 3rd Floor (Sheraton Hotel)
* David M. Antonacci, Educational Technology Liaison, The University of Kansas Medical Center
* Stephanie Gerald, Web Designer/Developer (e-Learning Specialist), The University of Kansas Medical Center
* David Thomas, Lecturer, School of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center
Second Life is a user-created virtual world simultaneously played by thousands of people around the world. In this session, we'll share our experiences of teaching in Second Life. Using the interaction combinations integration model we developed as a framework, we will describe our projects, outcomes, and recommendations.
They began in SL on NMC Campus. 140, 124, 116
They are currently creating an operating room in SL.
Skyart Seurat
Pietro Maracas
Joanna TrailBlazer
Professor Beliveau
Corwin Carrilon
They immediately ran into sound issues.
Over half of the audience had an avatar.
Questions: How can we teach with this.
Three basic ways for teaching and learning in SL.
Classes like gaming and virtual communities
Using as a communication medium
Discussions
Lectures
Presentations
Student built deliverables
Using is for learning activities.
They have come up with a model that uses interactions in three combinations:
People/People
People/Object
Object/Object
Professor Beliveau uses this to deliver lectures, allow students to report their work, and they also use a blog. Two classes: field research in virtual worlds, then the field research class with advanced techniqes -- a semester long field research project. No coding or building. Careful about subject protection.
David Thomas uses SL to teach architecture and urban planning and uses SL as a lab. Because he teaches environmental design he can use SL itself to study places in SL. He sends them off on field trips in SL. There are some building activities where they have to compete or cooperate. Students all hated building in Second Life. These students have used CAD software. Dynamic, active, independent learning. His one rule: "Don't do anything on screen that will get your teacher fired."
R.? Hollingsworth
She says that she is not facile with Second Life. Librarians in Second Life from University of Kentucky first introduced her to SL. Caladon Library exhibits. Recruiters are using it as a way to experiment with role-playing "how to be a scholar" and how colleges work. "Between shadow and light: comingling between virtual realities"
A panelist from Hong Kong who didn't identify himself
For a year, teachers group in SL. Usually sometime between 20 to 40 teachers all meet to meet in SL. He also teaches courses in how to teach using Web 2.0. He talked about being a professional development professional.
Someone asked about scripting and another asked about finances.
One panelist has been using the free services for two years.
Question: Hints on how to convince administrations in conservative institutions
Univ. of Kentucky decided to buy an island to "protect" the students.
What is the future of this in higher education? In about three to five years from now it will be a part of what we do as teachers. About 25 % of our teachers will be using this. There are lots of virtual worlds.
GeoffCain: Indigenous Cultures: From Observing to Experiencing, from Videography to 3D VR Immersion
GeoffCain: Indigenous Cultures: From Observing to Experiencing, from Videography to 3D VR Immersion: "Indigenous Cultures: From Observing to Experiencing, from Videography to 3D VR Immersion Wednesday, October 24 10:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. Track 1: Indigenous Cultures: From Observing to Experiencing, from Videography to 3D VR Immersion Grand Ballroom C, 2nd Floor (Sheraton Hotel) * Linc Kesler, Director & Associate Professor, First Nations Studies Program, The University of British Columbia * Ulrich Rauch, Director, Arts Instructional Support & Information Technology, The University of British Columbia A challenge arises in making digital information and communication technologies accessible to indigenous communities. From digital preservation of cultural and historic artifacts to embedding culturally sensitive materials in academic courses, technology can become a double-edged sword: it can be deployed to obfuscate a critical analysis of how “communication” is understood as meaningful by First Nations themselves."
The Rapid eLearning Blog
The Rapid eLearning Blog: An e-book by an author who uses Articulate. "Everyone wants to create e-learning courses that engage their learners. Yet there’s a lot of debate about what exactly engagement means. So I figured I’d boil down the different ways to engage learners and see how we can use them to make our elearning courses better."
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Audacity Tutorial for Podcasters
Audacity Tutorial for Podcasters: "How to Podcast
'The definitive step-by-step guide on how to podcast
(including getting started, marketing, improving audio quality,
making money, and more).
This is the home of the free podcast tutorial that will take
your podcast from concept to launch fast and for minimal cost.'"
'The definitive step-by-step guide on how to podcast
(including getting started, marketing, improving audio quality,
making money, and more).
This is the home of the free podcast tutorial that will take
your podcast from concept to launch fast and for minimal cost.'"
OSx86 Project - Home
OSx86 Project - Home: "So, in my eternal quest for free stuff, I ran across this 'hack' for OS X and immediately fell in love. You can now use box.net (very Web 2.0) just like you use .mac… except box.net gives you a gig of space for free and more space if you invite friends to sign up (with a link like the one I just used... it's also neat because they are listed as 'friends' in your account). All you have to do is sign up, set up a DAV on your Mac, give it your login name (for the secure connection) and you're ready to go. UneasySilence has some screenshots."
Friday, May 19, 2006
elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age: "Connectivism:
A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
December 12, 2004
George Siemens
Update (April 5, 2005): I've added a website to explore this concept at www.connectivism.ca
Introduction
Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. Learning needs and theories that describe learning principles and processes, should be reflective of underlying social environments. Vaill emphasizes that “learning must be a way of being – an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep abreast o the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (1996, p.42)."
A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
December 12, 2004
George Siemens
Update (April 5, 2005): I've added a website to explore this concept at www.connectivism.ca
Introduction
Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. Learning needs and theories that describe learning principles and processes, should be reflective of underlying social environments. Vaill emphasizes that “learning must be a way of being – an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep abreast o the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (1996, p.42)."
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Tama’s eLearning Blog ? Blog Archive ? A Podcast About the iGeneration Course (And Some Serious Thinking About Student Privacy & Podcasting)
Tama’s eLearning Blog ? Blog Archive ? A Podcast About the iGeneration Course (And Some Serious Thinking About Student Privacy & Podcasting): "A Podcast About the iGeneration Course (And Some Serious Thinking About Student Privacy & Podcasting)
In a comment on yesterday’s post, Burks Oakley, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois, pointed out that in his latest podcast produced for his Burks on Learning blog, he did something of a showcase or review of my iGeneration course, focusing on its use of blogs and podcasting. "
In a comment on yesterday’s post, Burks Oakley, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois, pointed out that in his latest podcast produced for his Burks on Learning blog, he did something of a showcase or review of my iGeneration course, focusing on its use of blogs and podcasting. "
Tama’s eLearning Blog ? Blog Archive ? Higher Ed Blog Con & Legal Issues in Podcasting
Tama’s eLearning Blog ? Blog Archive ? Higher Ed Blog Con & Legal Issues in Podcasting: "Higher Ed Blog Con & Legal Issues in Podcasting
James pointed out today that Higher Ed Blog Con is well under way. All the papers and talks are being posted online throughout April and there are some fantastic things coming up. The first day had a great talk from Mark E. Ott called “Giving the students what they want: Short, to-the-point e-lectures” which compares screencasts and podcasts and looks at the utlity of both (the paper also led me to Mark’s really interested educational technology blog “My Educational Diatribe” which I shall be reading from now on.)
Also of great interest given my podcasting inclinations was a talk by Colette Vogele and Elizabeth Townsend Gard entitled “Legal issues in podcasting the traditional classroom“. Their abstract:
Colette Vogele and Elizabeth Townsend Gard will explore the legal aspects of podcasting in teaching and higher education. Colette is the author of the new Podcasting Legal Guide (soon to be available at Creative Commons and the Center for Internet and Society) and Elizabeth focuses her research on copyright in an academic environment. Colette will explain legal basics surrounding podcasting, and Elizabeth will focus on the higher education environment, particularly podcasting the traditional classroom. The presentation will address copyright, trademark, and right of publicity/privacy questions that arise in the context of podcasting in the teaching scenario. Copyright questions have to do primarily with third-party materials that are used in the podcast, and the rights under which the podcasting teacher wishes to distribute her content. Traditional licensing, Creative Commons licensing, and public domain dedications would be addressed. Questions about ownership of the podcast content (e.g., the institution vs. the teacher?) would also be discussed. Elizabeth will focus the second part on “What questions should we ask when we podcast the traditional classroom?” This will look at at the specifics of Section 110 of the Copyright Act , which includes both exceptions to using copyrighted materials in the traditional face-to-face classroom teaching and the additional recent exceptions added with the TEACH Act. How does podcasting change classroom choices? What choices do podcasters have when podcasting the classroom? This part will also look at the additional issues of ownership of the podcasted lecture and student work that is podcasted.
You can download the entire presentation (with both .mov files and the powerpoint slides) and I recommend you do as the two offer a great primer on thinking through the legalities of podcasting in academia."
James pointed out today that Higher Ed Blog Con is well under way. All the papers and talks are being posted online throughout April and there are some fantastic things coming up. The first day had a great talk from Mark E. Ott called “Giving the students what they want: Short, to-the-point e-lectures” which compares screencasts and podcasts and looks at the utlity of both (the paper also led me to Mark’s really interested educational technology blog “My Educational Diatribe” which I shall be reading from now on.)
Also of great interest given my podcasting inclinations was a talk by Colette Vogele and Elizabeth Townsend Gard entitled “Legal issues in podcasting the traditional classroom“. Their abstract:
Colette Vogele and Elizabeth Townsend Gard will explore the legal aspects of podcasting in teaching and higher education. Colette is the author of the new Podcasting Legal Guide (soon to be available at Creative Commons and the Center for Internet and Society) and Elizabeth focuses her research on copyright in an academic environment. Colette will explain legal basics surrounding podcasting, and Elizabeth will focus on the higher education environment, particularly podcasting the traditional classroom. The presentation will address copyright, trademark, and right of publicity/privacy questions that arise in the context of podcasting in the teaching scenario. Copyright questions have to do primarily with third-party materials that are used in the podcast, and the rights under which the podcasting teacher wishes to distribute her content. Traditional licensing, Creative Commons licensing, and public domain dedications would be addressed. Questions about ownership of the podcast content (e.g., the institution vs. the teacher?) would also be discussed. Elizabeth will focus the second part on “What questions should we ask when we podcast the traditional classroom?” This will look at at the specifics of Section 110 of the Copyright Act , which includes both exceptions to using copyrighted materials in the traditional face-to-face classroom teaching and the additional recent exceptions added with the TEACH Act. How does podcasting change classroom choices? What choices do podcasters have when podcasting the classroom? This part will also look at the additional issues of ownership of the podcasted lecture and student work that is podcasted.
You can download the entire presentation (with both .mov files and the powerpoint slides) and I recommend you do as the two offer a great primer on thinking through the legalities of podcasting in academia."
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Journal of Educational Technology & Society
This is an interesting journal that looks like it has some practical articles amidst all the theory...
This is an interesting journal that looks like it has some practical articles amidst all the theory...
Free Curricula Center: "Overview of the Free Curricula Center
The Free Curricula Center (FCC) helps students worldwide reach their educational potential by producing and distributing university level curricula that can be copied freely and modified cooperatively.
Specifically, FCC serves as a focal point for the development and sharing of textbooks, instructor guides, and other educational materials. These materials, called free curricula, are released at no cost into the public domain or under an 'open source' style license. This license allows anyone to make and distribute copies without having to pay, and to modify the curricula as long as those modifications are released under the same terms.
The Center helps its participants work together to create textbooks, instructor guides, and other materials for the subjects in which they have expertise. We do this by providing online tools to help educators collaborate successfully and by proving a space on the Internet where students can have free, easy access to their finished products. We also serve as a link to the resources of others, and mirror their material when permitted."
The Free Curricula Center (FCC) helps students worldwide reach their educational potential by producing and distributing university level curricula that can be copied freely and modified cooperatively.
Specifically, FCC serves as a focal point for the development and sharing of textbooks, instructor guides, and other educational materials. These materials, called free curricula, are released at no cost into the public domain or under an 'open source' style license. This license allows anyone to make and distribute copies without having to pay, and to modify the curricula as long as those modifications are released under the same terms.
The Center helps its participants work together to create textbooks, instructor guides, and other materials for the subjects in which they have expertise. We do this by providing online tools to help educators collaborate successfully and by proving a space on the Internet where students can have free, easy access to their finished products. We also serve as a link to the resources of others, and mirror their material when permitted."
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