IIRC, Facebook was started as a way for college students to share their thoughts and experiences regarding college -- all of it, not just classes, learning, opinions about professors or frustration with learning content but the entire social aspect of the university, who not to date, great places to get a beer, frats to avoid, etc. In a way, FB replaced some of the more traditional ways of interacting with other students, i.e., forming a club, electing officers, drafting a charter, roping in a faculty sponsor, setting an agenda and scheduling meeting times that were the most convenient for everyone involved.
Back in the day, before the World Wide Web, there was a series (tens of thousands, actually) of discussion boards on something called USENET that pretty much had everything one was interested in discussing. They all began with "alt." such that, if you were interested in discussing a particular topic (or even finding a companion), you searched groups like, "alt.cognitivescience" or even subgroups such as "alt.cognitivescience.quantum.theory" to engage with like-minded students and individuals. The FB inventors took that idea and made it Web 2.0 since, the old USENET groups were moderated (it's where the terms "flamer" and "lurker" originated, among other things) and one would sometimes wait for days for a reply to a post (bearing in mind that, back then, very few people had access to the Internet) -- suddenly, interaction was immediate and IRT (in real time). The meeting was ongoing and asynchronous.
That's what this PLN is supposed to be about -- Web 2.0 technology used for the purpose of sharing information, interests, gripes, opinions, insights, input, arguments and anything else we can throw into this that will add to the dialog -- and our own education.
Showing posts with label 21st-century learners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 21st-century learners. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Party like it's 1999
EEK! I just looked at the last time I posted and it appears that I've allowed this place to go fallow -- so much for the "post at least once a week" wisdom that old-school bloggers used to share (actually, I think it was once a day!).
Anyway, I took the leap and, over a couple of nights and a couple of beers, put together this video résumé to throw out there to prospective employers:
Many thanks to Stevie Wonder and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Higher Ground" -- please don't come after me for royalties, I need a job!
Maybe I'm being too tough on myself, saying that I've partied like it's 1999 (never considered using THAT song, frankly) by creating a video résumé and posting it on YouTube, for all 11 viewers I've had to see, because I don't think their are a bunch of people doing what I just did. Yeah, I'm no pioneer but it amazes me that more people aren't taking advantage of the technology that's available -- free (for the most part), easy to use and engaging.
The video was created using PowerPoint and converted to an MP4. I played with it in Camtasia and Articulate but I didn't see that those programs added anything to it, so this is what you get. Occam's Razor and all of that.
Par-TAY!!!
Cross-posted at #The Firebird Suite
Many thanks to Stevie Wonder and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Higher Ground" -- please don't come after me for royalties, I need a job!
Maybe I'm being too tough on myself, saying that I've partied like it's 1999 (never considered using THAT song, frankly) by creating a video résumé and posting it on YouTube, for all 11 viewers I've had to see, because I don't think their are a bunch of people doing what I just did. Yeah, I'm no pioneer but it amazes me that more people aren't taking advantage of the technology that's available -- free (for the most part), easy to use and engaging.
The video was created using PowerPoint and converted to an MP4. I played with it in Camtasia and Articulate but I didn't see that those programs added anything to it, so this is what you get. Occam's Razor and all of that.
Par-TAY!!!
Cross-posted at #The Firebird Suite
Monday, June 30, 2014
Cart before the horse on MOOCs
Saying that the MOOC debate rages on is rather like saying, "Mosquitoes bother me," yet I encounter that quotidian statement in pretty much every article I read regarding the issue. It probably doesn't help that the name itself sounds like some street-level pejorative but we use the words we have, not the ones we want.
As a fairly-new construct of how knowledge is delivered, MOOCs would naturally be controversial based on their relatively recent introduction to the education field. However, aside from stale arguments that MOOCs can't deliver what classroom instruction can (an argument that has existed since the introduction of the first online course), most of the arguments I've encountered against MOOCs have been specious, at best.
Probably the most contentious issue surrounding MOOCs is their potential for social and economic equality (as I argued for in the this paper) and it's funny how ironic arguments from the Left and the Right cavil about the death of the academy, the Left squealing about how universities should be opened up to everyone, the Right whining about the death of elite institutions.
Putting matters of delivery aside, MOOCs are the first step in an educational revolution, where learners decide what knowledge matters to them and that knowledge is delivered to them as it matters. For the first time in human history, learners have the capacity to attain knowledge no matter their circumstances or geographical isolation (provided they have a broadband connection). The potential for economic and social justice is here and it's about to be manifest.
Are MOOCs a nostrum? Not at all -- the problem of income inequality has to be dealt with, first and foremost. However, the potential to undercut the current system has begun with MOOCs, especially as learners from marginalized populations take advantage of their educational opportunities an use that position to bring up brothers and sisters.
Indeed, the potential for social and economic change is huge due to the possibles afforded through informal learning opportunities. That possibility will be dealt with in a later post.
Crossposted at The Firebird Suite
As a fairly-new construct of how knowledge is delivered, MOOCs would naturally be controversial based on their relatively recent introduction to the education field. However, aside from stale arguments that MOOCs can't deliver what classroom instruction can (an argument that has existed since the introduction of the first online course), most of the arguments I've encountered against MOOCs have been specious, at best.
Probably the most contentious issue surrounding MOOCs is their potential for social and economic equality (as I argued for in the this paper) and it's funny how ironic arguments from the Left and the Right cavil about the death of the academy, the Left squealing about how universities should be opened up to everyone, the Right whining about the death of elite institutions.
Putting matters of delivery aside, MOOCs are the first step in an educational revolution, where learners decide what knowledge matters to them and that knowledge is delivered to them as it matters. For the first time in human history, learners have the capacity to attain knowledge no matter their circumstances or geographical isolation (provided they have a broadband connection). The potential for economic and social justice is here and it's about to be manifest.
Are MOOCs a nostrum? Not at all -- the problem of income inequality has to be dealt with, first and foremost. However, the potential to undercut the current system has begun with MOOCs, especially as learners from marginalized populations take advantage of their educational opportunities an use that position to bring up brothers and sisters.
Indeed, the potential for social and economic change is huge due to the possibles afforded through informal learning opportunities. That possibility will be dealt with in a later post.
Crossposted at The Firebird Suite
Friday, May 30, 2014
21st-century learning vs. 20th-century thinking
The members of this PLN are all students at an online university where we are currently pursuing Master's degrees in Adult Education and Training and, at the moment, taking a class in technology for adult learners (although much of the material we're studying applies to learners of all ages) -- thus, the impetus for starting this blog.
Although I consider myself fairly informed about new technologies (indeed, some of the readings have seemed quaint to me, even though they're only a few years old), I have to say that several of the assignments have opened my eyes to new methods, ideas, theories and yes, technologies, that I had not been aware of until just now. So much of the literature refers to "emergent" technologies, as well as the emergent properties of learning networks, and I feel something emergent in myself regarding my new-found knowledge.
And then, I get hit full in the face with the reality that, well into our second decade of this century, those of us thinking about how learning should and will occur in the 21st-century remain in a slender minority of thinkers.
This occurred to me when I was participating in this week's class discussion, one largely focused on webcast and podcast presentation technologies. A couple of responses from fellow students to the instructor's questions about the potential downside of those technologies had me wondering how prepared we are, as a society, to embrace how technology will not just demand a change in methods but in the theories and practice of pedagogy.
For instance, a student (in all earnestness) responded that a potential problem with webcasting lectures might be a bad feed or poor connection, disenfranchising the student(s) from the content of a lecture due to forces beyond their control; apparently, that student (the one who made the response, not the one experiencing the "bad feed" -- you know the vicissitudes of the Inter-tubes and all that) was not aware that a webcast can be archived and posted such that it can be viewed at any time. In fact, that student's argument (as I read it) was that a webcasted lecture could only be live, a one-time affair, and that students were at the mercy of a schedule, much like my Psychology 101 instructor who threatened with, "Class starts at 9 am and the doors would be locked from the inside at 9:05 am."
I confess that I was a bit dazed by the response, wondering if that student was oblivious to the fact that, with the Internet and the technology of online learning, instructors not only post the webcast so it can be linked at any time but, if they're good at what they do, they augment their presentations with additional elements (such as interactive capabilities where learners can attempt to emulate portions of the material or access supplemental materials that "plug in" with what is being taught, other video or graphic examples to use, etc.). Given the nature of the response, it was apparent that the commenter didn't understand that the direction of 21st-century education is the freedom of students to make decisions about the what, where and when of their learning. A one-time only, live webcast is counterintuitive to that direction and counterproductive to 21st-century educational goals.
That was one example; I won't spend much energy on another student's response of, "Well, the power could go out and then what are you going to do?" There's little reason to speak (aside from what that student said) on the academic laziness and intellectual paucity of that response.
I recognize that I didn't enroll into a particularly rigorous program (no GRE or GMAT was required), a fact that became abundantly clear when a past team member submitted some work that my HS Language Arts teacher wife said would not receive a passing grade in a Freshman (HS) composition class -- that has happened several times in this program, in fact. Early on, it was apparent to me that I was only going to get out of this program what I put into it (and I write that while attempting to place a tremulous hand on my 30-day Articulate free trial).
My point is not the level of intellect that has enrolled in this program (the we in this PLN share) but in asking, how ready are we to embrace the inevitable change that technology will bring to how education is done? Based on my experience and conversations with other students and other people, most of us are still stuck in a 20th-century paradigm of education (that has a foundation on a 19th-century paradigm, the so-called "factory" method) and are unable to conceive that 21st-century learners will need and demand (based on the technology) a shift in how instruction is delivered.
Although I consider myself fairly informed about new technologies (indeed, some of the readings have seemed quaint to me, even though they're only a few years old), I have to say that several of the assignments have opened my eyes to new methods, ideas, theories and yes, technologies, that I had not been aware of until just now. So much of the literature refers to "emergent" technologies, as well as the emergent properties of learning networks, and I feel something emergent in myself regarding my new-found knowledge.
And then, I get hit full in the face with the reality that, well into our second decade of this century, those of us thinking about how learning should and will occur in the 21st-century remain in a slender minority of thinkers.
This occurred to me when I was participating in this week's class discussion, one largely focused on webcast and podcast presentation technologies. A couple of responses from fellow students to the instructor's questions about the potential downside of those technologies had me wondering how prepared we are, as a society, to embrace how technology will not just demand a change in methods but in the theories and practice of pedagogy.
For instance, a student (in all earnestness) responded that a potential problem with webcasting lectures might be a bad feed or poor connection, disenfranchising the student(s) from the content of a lecture due to forces beyond their control; apparently, that student (the one who made the response, not the one experiencing the "bad feed" -- you know the vicissitudes of the Inter-tubes and all that) was not aware that a webcast can be archived and posted such that it can be viewed at any time. In fact, that student's argument (as I read it) was that a webcasted lecture could only be live, a one-time affair, and that students were at the mercy of a schedule, much like my Psychology 101 instructor who threatened with, "Class starts at 9 am and the doors would be locked from the inside at 9:05 am."
I confess that I was a bit dazed by the response, wondering if that student was oblivious to the fact that, with the Internet and the technology of online learning, instructors not only post the webcast so it can be linked at any time but, if they're good at what they do, they augment their presentations with additional elements (such as interactive capabilities where learners can attempt to emulate portions of the material or access supplemental materials that "plug in" with what is being taught, other video or graphic examples to use, etc.). Given the nature of the response, it was apparent that the commenter didn't understand that the direction of 21st-century education is the freedom of students to make decisions about the what, where and when of their learning. A one-time only, live webcast is counterintuitive to that direction and counterproductive to 21st-century educational goals.
That was one example; I won't spend much energy on another student's response of, "Well, the power could go out and then what are you going to do?" There's little reason to speak (aside from what that student said) on the academic laziness and intellectual paucity of that response.
I recognize that I didn't enroll into a particularly rigorous program (no GRE or GMAT was required), a fact that became abundantly clear when a past team member submitted some work that my HS Language Arts teacher wife said would not receive a passing grade in a Freshman (HS) composition class -- that has happened several times in this program, in fact. Early on, it was apparent to me that I was only going to get out of this program what I put into it (and I write that while attempting to place a tremulous hand on my 30-day Articulate free trial).
My point is not the level of intellect that has enrolled in this program (the we in this PLN share) but in asking, how ready are we to embrace the inevitable change that technology will bring to how education is done? Based on my experience and conversations with other students and other people, most of us are still stuck in a 20th-century paradigm of education (that has a foundation on a 19th-century paradigm, the so-called "factory" method) and are unable to conceive that 21st-century learners will need and demand (based on the technology) a shift in how instruction is delivered.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Please share, educators!
I'm a little frustrated, right now.
My wife forwarded me an announcement for a web presentation through ASTD, titled, "Using gamification and serious games in learning," and I was hoping to watch it. I don't have time to watch it at the moment but I thought that, if I archived it or better yet, embedded the video here, I could watch it at my convenience, when I finally found the time. The added benefit? All of you would get to watch it as well.
Bupkis. No repost on YouTube or anywhere else (if I couldn't embed it, I'd at least link it), no, I have to register at the ASTD site, jump through hoops, agree to allow my spam folder get heavier due to the ASTD "sponsor" getting my email address and then sending me loads of crap, advertisements for doo-dads and programs I have no money for.
Holding information proprietary is decidedly not a 21st-century or Web 2.0 approach (I'm not talking about widget designs, OK?) and the best way to move us forward is to disseminate information in the most efficient, expedient way possible.
Share it!
My wife forwarded me an announcement for a web presentation through ASTD, titled, "Using gamification and serious games in learning," and I was hoping to watch it. I don't have time to watch it at the moment but I thought that, if I archived it or better yet, embedded the video here, I could watch it at my convenience, when I finally found the time. The added benefit? All of you would get to watch it as well.
Bupkis. No repost on YouTube or anywhere else (if I couldn't embed it, I'd at least link it), no, I have to register at the ASTD site, jump through hoops, agree to allow my spam folder get heavier due to the ASTD "sponsor" getting my email address and then sending me loads of crap, advertisements for doo-dads and programs I have no money for.
Holding information proprietary is decidedly not a 21st-century or Web 2.0 approach (I'm not talking about widget designs, OK?) and the best way to move us forward is to disseminate information in the most efficient, expedient way possible.
Share it!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Banning It Won't Stop It
This week one of our readings is about preparing learners for 21st century skills. This is a chapter out of a book of compiled writings from various authors. While this entire text discusses secondary education and we are studying adult education, there are still aspects that correlate and give us a better understanding of the use of 21st century skills, including technology, in general. I thought it was interesting that many schools are still banning various forms of technology in schools despite the increased use of them in learning (Fisher & Frey, 2010). Instead of embracing what the learners have and know, the learners are being punished for this. It seems that a large part of this problem is educators look at the individual names of technology (MP3 player) and sites (Twitter) rather than what they do for learning (presenting, collaborating) (Fisher & Frey, 2010). Educators and institutions need to take a look at their policies regarding technology and revamp these to embrace the utilization in learning while providing learners with ethics and courtesy regarding the use of technology (Fisher & Frey, 2010). At this point, social media and other forms of virtual collaboration are here to stay and continue to grow. I wanted to share the following website that illustrates this in real-time, it's just AMAZING how quickly things are growing.
Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2010). Preparing students for mastery of 21st century skills. In 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Click the image to open the interactive version (via PennyStocks.la).
Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2010). Preparing students for mastery of 21st century skills. In 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Click the image to open the interactive version (via PennyStocks.la).
A little about me...I'm a Midwest transplant to the Pacific Northwest which is beautiful! I have a BS in Criminal Justice Sciences and a MA in Adult Ed and Training. I've been employed with a wonderful company for over 10 years and my current role is as a contact center supervisor in a claims call center. My ultimate goal in life is to motivate and inspire others to the best person they can be in life.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Web 2.0 for this week
My Learning Team (and PLN cohorts) are charged this week with creating a presentation of Web 2.0 technologies for the ostensible purpose of introducing them to adult learners as well as providing a demonstration or even a brief training for those learners on the use of one of the 3-5 online technologies we choose for our project. I've suggested that we take advantage of 30-day free trials for either Articulate or Captivate for this project; the challenge is to learn either in a short amount of time (before next Monday, as usual) but I am bored, bored, bored with PowerPoint.
In the run up to this assignment, we checked out 50 links or so of so-called Web 2.0 technologies (not all the sites were, strictly speaking, Web 2.0 as it's defined) and, although I knew a few of the sites, the exercise of clicking links was enlightening. Really, I was surprised at how much is out there and how many tools there are to move education well outside of 20th-century conventions.
I'm not going to go into any of those sites with this post (so, you're probably wondering, "What's the point of reading this, then?") but it has occurred to me that I would like to use this space to discuss, one or a few at a time, those sites, reviewing them and journaling my own experience using them. I'm inviting my PLN pals to join in the fun -- at a later date, of course.
Until then, we're apparently on the verge of speeding on to Web 3.0, apparently for the sake of making me feel like a dinosaur. For no good reason, then, I feel compelled to share this as an excuse for why I'm asking my Learning Team to take up the gauntlet of using a presentation application other than PowerPoint:
In the run up to this assignment, we checked out 50 links or so of so-called Web 2.0 technologies (not all the sites were, strictly speaking, Web 2.0 as it's defined) and, although I knew a few of the sites, the exercise of clicking links was enlightening. Really, I was surprised at how much is out there and how many tools there are to move education well outside of 20th-century conventions.
I'm not going to go into any of those sites with this post (so, you're probably wondering, "What's the point of reading this, then?") but it has occurred to me that I would like to use this space to discuss, one or a few at a time, those sites, reviewing them and journaling my own experience using them. I'm inviting my PLN pals to join in the fun -- at a later date, of course.
Until then, we're apparently on the verge of speeding on to Web 3.0, apparently for the sake of making me feel like a dinosaur. For no good reason, then, I feel compelled to share this as an excuse for why I'm asking my Learning Team to take up the gauntlet of using a presentation application other than PowerPoint:
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sunday morning Skype session
It's past noon and our group is Skyping (as I type this), to determine which direction our PLN will take... we're feeling very 21st century! In addition, the group (Karla and Mikki) are watching my screen as I demonstrate some of the functions, gadgets and widgets available in Blogger -- pretty much participating in the activities that define a PLN (Professional Learning Network). At the end of our Skype session (the first sentence of this post was typed while providing an example of how to use Blogger, labels for posts in this case), we agreed that we were grateful to have been given this assignment since this is a tool each of us can use beyond this assignment, this class and even this program (Adult Education and Training), a place where we can share new knowledge, ask questions, share our experience with the technologies we're using, air our frustrations... isn't that what a PLN is about?
Without putting too fine a point on this (and avoiding the temptation to turn this post into a paper on Connectivism or shared VLEs), I just want to say that, with the exception that this blog arose from an assignment to this learning team (the existing PLN on this blog), everything has evolved organically, through mutual agreement, one of the defining characteristics of a PLN.
Having said that, I want to point to a massive resource that will add to my understanding of what a PLN is and can be (mostly because I haven't had the time to really work on my Diigo presence):
PLN blogs on Edutopia.
That should do it, for now. In the meantime, I'm hoping to see this PLN's blogroll grow... and, while that happens, having this place attract the attention of other professionals like us who would like to participate!
Without putting too fine a point on this (and avoiding the temptation to turn this post into a paper on Connectivism or shared VLEs), I just want to say that, with the exception that this blog arose from an assignment to this learning team (the existing PLN on this blog), everything has evolved organically, through mutual agreement, one of the defining characteristics of a PLN.
Having said that, I want to point to a massive resource that will add to my understanding of what a PLN is and can be (mostly because I haven't had the time to really work on my Diigo presence):
PLN blogs on Edutopia.
That should do it, for now. In the meantime, I'm hoping to see this PLN's blogroll grow... and, while that happens, having this place attract the attention of other professionals like us who would like to participate!
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Saturday Morning Thought: Everyone knows something already!
It can be easy for those "in charge", whether as an educator or supervisor, to forget that the adults they are leading and developing have....BRAINS! Unless someone has been living in a cave his or her entire life, there are plenty of skills, knowledge, and experience to tap for sharing and learning. And really that person who has been living in cave has skills that most people probably don't have that could easily be transferred to other areas of life. So what made me think of this first thing on Saturday morning? Well, Facebook of course! A good friend of mine posted a recent experience from her class and I wanted to share it. Even though her educator was skeptical (and even laughed at her), I like that he "accepted her challenge" and allowed her to demonstrate how an unrelated skill could transfer into what was being learned. What personally touches me about this, is the fact my friend is in a male dominated field and of course, the class is the same way. The skill she brought could be seen as a "female" skill and again, the fact that her instructor allowed her to show this even with some ridicule, speaks volumes for him as an adult educator and my friend as an adult learner.
A little about me...I'm a Midwest transplant to the Pacific Northwest which is beautiful! I have a BS in Criminal Justice Sciences and a MA in Adult Ed and Training. I've been employed with a wonderful company for over 10 years and my current role is as a contact center supervisor in a claims call center. My ultimate goal in life is to motivate and inspire others to the best person they can be in life.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Learning from Mistakes is Learning!
Ted Talks is a website that has been frequented by management in my previous position as a trainer to provide us with some learning. I enjoy exploring the various topics available so I knew I would find something regarding the topics in class. I searched for project based learning and came across this short (10 minutes) talk. While the focus is on secondary education, which seems to be the trend when it comes to this topic, I think providing this type of education at that time is important to prepare individuals for learning in adulthood. Diana provides several great examples of project and problem based learning, though she never uses those terms. I also like how she discusses learning from mistakes which happens our entire lives in school and career.
A little about me...I'm a Midwest transplant to the Pacific Northwest which is beautiful! I have a BS in Criminal Justice Sciences and a MA in Adult Ed and Training. I've been employed with a wonderful company for over 10 years and my current role is as a contact center supervisor in a claims call center. My ultimate goal in life is to motivate and inspire others to the best person they can be in life.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Cheap and easy infographic
The assignment this week was to create a graphic organizer or infographic -- I opted for the latter, doing so because I had recently discovered Piktochart and fell in love with what it allowed me to do.
Piktochart is an online program for creating spiffy looking infographics, with a free and paid versions of the application (the free version has a very limited selection of templates and capability). Before addressing the plusses and deltas of the program, I'll share what it allowed me to do for last week's project:
Piktochart is an online program for creating spiffy looking infographics, with a free and paid versions of the application (the free version has a very limited selection of templates and capability). Before addressing the plusses and deltas of the program, I'll share what it allowed me to do for last week's project:
From this perspective, you see that they slap their logo on to the end of the infographic, as easy fix with any graphics manipulation program (just slice it off). That's not really a delta, just a minor annoyance. Some deltas are that (at least in the free version) the image library is awfully slim, some of the graphic elements are difficult to manipulate (I gave up trying to use the line tool) and there is no "flip" function for graphics or text. The final delta is that the paid version is really pricey for what you get, especially considering that one could achieve the same results with Illustrator or Photoshop.
The plusses are that the templates are obviously designed by professional graphics designers and, if you own Illustrator or Photoshop (or subscribe to the equally-as-pricey Adobe Creative Cloud), good luck getting the same results, you're more creative than me. And while I find the paid version a bit overpriced, subscription is monthly so there's no being locked into something that will only be used a few times. Finally, while the workspace could definitely use some tweaking (there are other issues than the ones I mentioned above), it is intuitive, with a relatively flat learning curve.
Having said that, it's worth a shot if you're stuck trying to put together a decent graphic organizer.
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