February 3, 2014
Theories Related to Connectivism
Stephen Downes,
Half an Hour,
February 3, 2014
I write a short poist over the weekend highlighting the differences between connectivism, connectionism, constructivism, constructionism, and the like. The number of theories with similar names is confusing. This is my own take on it. I have no doubt there are other theories outside the scope of this short discussion.
Learning Theory and MOOCs
Norm Friesen,
Learningspaces,
February 3, 2014
This is an interesting set of slides from Norm Friesen on the past and future of learninga and of MOOCs. In the middle is a fascinating thought experiment based on the work of J.S. Bruner: What if we were to say... "We depend for survival on the inheritance of acquired characteristics from the culture pool rather than the gene pool? Culture [would] then become the chief instrument for guaranteeing survival, with its techniques of transmission being of the highest order of importance." I think the perspective is interesting, but to me what matters is the concept of the creation of culture, and the way human individuals and human societies adapt to the environment. The theory of transmission, then, boils down to "whatever works."
The attack on our higher education system — and why we should welcome it
George Siemens,
TED Blog,
February 3, 2014
George Siemens offers one of his better columns this week in the TED blog (of all places). Despite "the 18-month intoxicating hype machine," he writes, "our original vision continues to shape our research and teaching practices: networking individual learners to foster knowledge creation." And as he says, "the complex challenges that society faces can only be met through a learning architecture that emphasizes knowledge generation over knowledge duplication." This is a good column, one that should be widely shared.
The Sweetest Fruits are Further Up
Jason W. Dean,
ACRLog,
February 2, 2014
How often have I heard the expression, "go for the low hanging fruit." The point of this post is to say (and I agree with it), "Don't go for the low hanging fruit." Why? Because that's what everyone is doing. "You begin in the manner you intend to continue in. The statement is perhaps a bit convoluted in syntax, but to me it is a reminder to the bar of expectations is set by your actions early, so it’s important to set a good standard early." I know, it's meant as advoice for new librarians. But who among us isn't tempted by the easy score, when we should be working for lasting results?
Share This With All the Schools, Please
Glennon Doyle Melton,
Momastery,
February 2, 2014
OK, I really dislike this style of writing, but it is obviously appealing to a very large audience (this item from a couple days ago has 1277 comments as of this writing). And it contains some really good stuff in between the fluff and hyperbole. "Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week... Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or 'exceptional citizens.' Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children." This is network analysis, created with slips of paper. "Everything – even love, even belonging – has a pattern to it. And she finds those patterns through those lists – she breaks the codes of disconnection."
P.S. here's another one from the same author that's quite good. "I don’t mean that there is no right or wrong in the world. I just wonder if maybe as far as I’M concerned – deciding whether Sherman is right or wrong is not my business. But maybe deciding whether my reaction to him and my thinking about him and my words about him are right or wrong is my business." Well said, and exactly right (at least, as a statement of how I feel I ought to conduct my own life). Also: the idea that there should be an Interdependence Day. On picking up onions.
Anant Agarwal: Why massive open online courses (still) matter
Anant Agarwal,
TED,
February 1, 2014
This TED talk was referred to me by email and I viewed it on Saturday. "Through blended courses Anant Agarwal is pairing online education with face-to-face student-faculty interactions, reshaping the university campus experience." As I've stated before, my first experience with this sort of learning was in 1986 studying philosophy of mind with John A. Baker at the University of Calgary. The key isn't that it's active or self-paced or any other other things he says. The key is that it's open and online - exactly what his in-person MIT blended learning classes are not. But hey, like the commenter Velvet Page says, "this university professor seems to imagine that he created the ideas that drive his online classroom... I'd be interested to know if he's read much about elementary educational trends over the last twenty years, and if he has, why he failed to credit them." But that's TED. The community does nothing. Individual MIT professors having an epiphany - that's everything!
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