August 23, 2011
Professional conviviality: Get involved in Edutalk conversations across Scotland during 2011-12
EDUtalk,
John Johnstone, August 23, 2011.
Something interesting in Scotland. "Teachers tend to enjoy opportunities to talk with familiar faces and new acquaintances away from the ‘chalkface’, and that it is often pleasant to do this away from, for example, employers', CPD, and union events, where agendas of one sort or another abound. We consider that respectful, face-to-face group interaction remains powerful and important, and that Web technologies should support, not replace this."
[Link] [Comment][Tags: Scotland, Interaction, Great Britain]
TEDxLondon: The Problem Finders at The Education Revolution
Ewan McIntosh,
edublogs, August 23, 2011.
You want an education revolution? You won't find it on TED. You have to admire the way TED keeps discussions of things like education within very strict frames - nothing too radical, nothing that will upset funders and sponsors. And in return for being compliant, speaker's get to be called 'amazing' and well-promoted. McIntosh will discuss his "plea to change learning from a pseudo-problem-filled irrelevance to a universe that inspires young people to become expert problem finders." oooo. So deep. And exactly the same message I saw from Michael Wesch on iDC this week. So what's inspiring this one - some new software from Bill Gates? An Apple campaign ("Ask deeper"). So we get blog posts like this one from Ewan McIntosh: "A very limited number of tickets are available on application from the site to hear an amazing bunch of speakers give their vision and call to action for learning, including a virtual beamover from Sir Ken Robinson in LA." I would be apologizing deeply about access being so limited, not crowing about it. But as the trained seals say: oarf oarf oarf.
[Link] [Comment][Tags: Microsoft, Apple Inc., Web Logs, Online Learning, Paradigm Shift]
Open Course on P2PU: Getting Started With Self Learning
Anya Kamenetz,
DIY-U, August 23, 2011.
Anya Kamenetz is launching an open online course on P2PU about 'getting started with self-learning'. it will be based on the Edupunk's Guide, which as readers know was subject to my own criticism in recent weeks. Which, in turn, raises the question - how do we ensure MOOCs (whether or not this is one) offer credible instruction? Because a 'personal-learning' course has to be about more than how to look up stuff on Google. Of course - some people have said the same about me and my courses! So it works both ways.
[Link] [Comment][Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, Google]
on consolidating
D'Arcy Norman,
D'Arcy Norman dot net, August 23, 2011.
D'Arcy Norman is consolidating. Which is good and all, and something I've always tried to do. Here's the thing. Photos, and even more so, audio and video, cost disk space and bandwidth, and are still expensive to host online. I do, some of it, but there's a cost. I couldn't host my photos on my web site, and yet I still want them out there for people to use if they way to (it's part of my one-man mission to take down Corbis). And while I have put some videos on my site, like the recent gRSShopper demo, I cringe at the thought of 500 megs being downloaded a thousand times. So I want consolidation, but I also want to work with web storage. Somehow.
Abandoning Moodle
Anthony Showalter,
Crucial Thought, August 23, 2011.
I have my own issues with Moodle, but then, I am trying to do something very different from most people. But here's someone who wants an LMS who is sounding the alarm. "Version 2.0 is a design nightmare," writes Anthony Showalter. "The collabsible menus are awful, and the site still feels like Web 1.0. The more I used it, the more I realized it was time for a new solution." He then looks at Haiku Leaning. "And I’m paying for it," he writes. "I’m paying a bit less than five US dollars per month and I get what I need." Of course, five dollars for one instructor or one course translates pretty quickly into the hefty institution-wide costs being paid for commercial systems.
A Look Behind Robert Gagnè's Nine Steps of Instruction
Donald Clark,
Big Dog, Little Dog, August 23, 2011.
Donald Clark offers a nice critical refresher with this look at Gagnè's nine steps of instruction. For example, his isertion of a discussion from Bandura at step six ('elicit the learning by demonstrating it'): "Bandura's theory is often referred to as social learning theory as it emphasizes the role of vicarious experience (observation) of people impacting people (models). Modeling has several affects on learners:
- Acquisition - New responses are learned by observing the model.
- Inhibition - A response that otherwise may be made is changed when the observer sees a model being punished.
- Disinhibition - A reduction in fear by observing a model's behavior go unpunished in a feared activity.
- Facilitation - A model elicits from an observer a response that has already been learned.
- Creativity - Observing several models performing and then adapting a combination of characteristics or styles."
Learn to program the Codecademy away
Ben Werdmuller,
benwerd, August 23, 2011.
Ben Werdmuller writes, "I’m really taken with Codecademy, a series of free tutorials on learning to code. It’s incredibly simple, and you can take the first exercise without signing in. I know quite a few people whose portfolio of skills could be enhanced with a little bit of coding; this is a great start for them. I’m not sure it really gets over the initial “eeurgh” factor many people have when they think about programming – but maybe it’s just not for those people. It’s certainly the friendliest coding tutorial I’ve ever seen." Not free, but maybe a model for free services?
Tablets, Smartphones Changing Media Consumption
Aarom Bear,
Marketing Daily, August 23, 2011.
I think this article is correct to suggest there's a convergence coming. "Tablets and iPhones are fundamentally changing the way people get their entertainment, and they may eventually make those DVD players, GPS and other single-use electronic devices obsolete." When I replace my Palm (which will be soon, as the faceplate is cracked, again) I'll be looking for one device I can use to make phone calls, text messages, play music, watch videos, record and broadcast audio, and give me directions.
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