The podcast I chose was one in which I was actually at the taping. Having been there, the podcast really goes a long way to capture the feel of the event.
My rationale for it is included below. I would use the following podcast, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tat_feed/~3/9id-npF4cWI/20100327_hall.mp3 . I would use in both my U.S. History Part I survey and my Military History class as it focuses on a little known aspect of Illinois History, and provides a great example how an event may be turned into a podcast as well.
Jim Mc Intyre
href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tat_feed/~3/9id-npF4cWI/20100327_hall.mp3" .
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Education Ten Years from Now
One of the great things about making predictions about the future, or being a futurist, is that you can get things 100% wrong, and still say, “Hey, who can predict the future?” All kidding aside, the next ten years have the potential to continue the revolutionary developments in learning that have come about as a result of the momentous changes in technology. There are several ways in which this may occur. Certainly, some seem more likely to come to fruition than others. The following essay will examine how some of the technologies examined in the present course may continue to evolve in the teaching field and reach greater applicability. Likewise, it will propose some changes to the field of education that may occur as the discipline comes to grips with the ubiquitous presence of technology.
One possible path is that technology will continue to develop and we will stumble and search out new means of education application, without a real organization or conceptual framework. In other words, we will continue as things have progressed so far. If the use the technology in the classroom, real or virtual, continues in this fashion, it will like continue to contribute to the digital divide. (For information on the digital divide see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide. Last accessed 7/24/10 1:20 PM.) Likewise, it will exacerbate the checkerboard nature of the implantation of technology.
One possibility that could certainly alter this trend, and which is already beginning to emerge in some education programs is the inclusion of a technological component to the education major. For example, at my institution, all education majors must compile and maintain digital portfolios of their work over the period of their education at the college. Moreover, these are posted on the EDU portion of the college website and can be made available to potential employers. Still, more formally, an actual technology class could be included as part of the EDU curriculum. Currently, the EDU curriculum at institutions such as Eastern Illinois University does not contain any formal technology requirement. (For Eastern, see http://www.eiu.edu/~sed_edf/ and http://www.eiu.edu/~ceps/index.php Last accessed 7/24/10 3:32 PM). By the same token, DePaul University does have one class (See http://education.depaul.edu/CoursesAndSchedules/UndergraduateCourses/index.asp Last accessed 7/24/10 3:32 PM ) This will certainly continue to grow, and educators will be expected to be more well-versed in technology coming out of school than is currently the case. An area where this will be very interesting to watch will be at the college level. Currently, the focus in disciplines such as History at the post-graduate level is on the content. One look at the course offered at the university of Chicago support this assertion. (See http://history.uchicago.edu/graduate/aut10gradcourse2.htm Last accessed 7/24/10, 3:33PM). Still, if the current directions in education continue, mere mastery of content will no longer suffice. It will have to be lashed tightly to a solid understanding and ability to utilize education technology and to fit technology to educational outcomes in order for the teacher to succeed.
(I chose these schools as all are recognized in the State of Illinois for their particular specialties. Eastern Illinois University is routine cited for its education program. By the same taken, the University of Chicago is one of the most prestigious schools in the Midwest. (See http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Top_Illinois_Colleges_and_Universities.html and http://www.4icu.org/us/Illinois.htm Last accessed 7/23/10 3:28 PM )
Beyond the manner in which technology will likely change how educators are trained in the next ten years, they will definitely change the way content is disseminated in the classroom. One way in which this could manifest would be the growing use of Kindles in the classroom. I could see this phasing out hardcopy textbooks, which would certainly have an environmental benefit, and could help to reduce the cost of textbooks as well, as there would no longer be the bulk delivery charges. Likewise, an edit feature could be included, as well as a survey function that would allow students and instructors to give virtually instantaneous feedback concerning the reception of certain chapters or sections in the classroom. This sort of response could also lead to much faster changes in editions of textbooks as they are revised to make them more compatible with the learning needs of students. If taken to the extreme, this implementation could lead to a radically different interpretation of meaning of intellectual property. The reason being that if students and instructors can make very clear editorial suggestions to textbooks companies and authors, and these are implemented, whose idea is it anyway?
Still Kindle is a piece of hardware, and these can be costly to purchase at the outset. Another avenue of change would be the web itself. One way in which the web can alter the manner in which we teach and learn with regard to skilled crafts. Many have likened the current technological revolution to the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century and its negative effects on skilled trade. (See http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/578/Information-Revolution-Vs-Industrial-Revolution.html and http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/574/Information-Revolution-Vs-Industrial-Revolution-TECHNOLOGY.html . Last accessed 7/24/10, 3:27 PM ) One article that rejects this argument may be found at http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter03/technologyandinequality.html . At the same time, with the greater speed of the internet, it might be possible to utilize it as a tool to rediscover older forms of artisanal production. This could be used both generally, and in content specific approaches. For example, imagine having someone skilled in the hand-working of wood into furniture, such as cabinet-makers and joiners explain their craft to students in a classroom hundreds of miles away. This could be accomplished with use of the application Skype as a means of contacting Colonial Williamsburg from my classroom in Illinois. (http://www.history.org/almanack/life/trades/tradecab.cfm )
Flickr, as well, may see much greater application in the classroom, and may be combined with other applications such as meemov (http://memoov.com/ ) in order to take pictures and develop them into animations. Imagine animating the streets of Paris for an introductory icebreaker class on the French Revolution! While this may not be possible at the moment, within a decade, it should certainly be feasible. It may even have fallen by the wayside for the use of a more interesting and interactive technology! Imagine taking the idea for Paris above, and making it so that students in the class could break off into small groups and virtually tour entire areas, and converse with students in Paris who are touring a virtual Chicago! Another possible application of Skype, but the time differential would have to be taken into account on this type of experience.
Finally, a technology that could compensate for time differences could very well be something like Second Life. (See http://secondlife.com/ ) To the present, Second Life has remained essentially under-utilized in educations. Some schools do post lectures on the online domain, and these can be occupied by anyone at anytime. Still, for the most part, this approach has fallen out of vogue for the moment. (See http://delicious.com/secondlife/education ) This is most likely due to the fact that currently there really is not a policing facility in the domain, and thus there have been reports of some fairly lude behavior. Once this is dealt with, and some general parameters established, this could be very useful. It might be possible to create a Historical Section of the Domain in which we could walk through a street in Medieval London, or one in ancient Rome. To some extent this is already being done, but the potential has only been scratched. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGR9q43dag .
As stated at the outset of this course, it seems that the only limits are our collective imagination.
Jim Mc Intyre
One possible path is that technology will continue to develop and we will stumble and search out new means of education application, without a real organization or conceptual framework. In other words, we will continue as things have progressed so far. If the use the technology in the classroom, real or virtual, continues in this fashion, it will like continue to contribute to the digital divide. (For information on the digital divide see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide. Last accessed 7/24/10 1:20 PM.) Likewise, it will exacerbate the checkerboard nature of the implantation of technology.
One possibility that could certainly alter this trend, and which is already beginning to emerge in some education programs is the inclusion of a technological component to the education major. For example, at my institution, all education majors must compile and maintain digital portfolios of their work over the period of their education at the college. Moreover, these are posted on the EDU portion of the college website and can be made available to potential employers. Still, more formally, an actual technology class could be included as part of the EDU curriculum. Currently, the EDU curriculum at institutions such as Eastern Illinois University does not contain any formal technology requirement. (For Eastern, see http://www.eiu.edu/~sed_edf/ and http://www.eiu.edu/~ceps/index.php Last accessed 7/24/10 3:32 PM). By the same token, DePaul University does have one class (See http://education.depaul.edu/CoursesAndSchedules/UndergraduateCourses/index.asp Last accessed 7/24/10 3:32 PM ) This will certainly continue to grow, and educators will be expected to be more well-versed in technology coming out of school than is currently the case. An area where this will be very interesting to watch will be at the college level. Currently, the focus in disciplines such as History at the post-graduate level is on the content. One look at the course offered at the university of Chicago support this assertion. (See http://history.uchicago.edu/graduate/aut10gradcourse2.htm Last accessed 7/24/10, 3:33PM). Still, if the current directions in education continue, mere mastery of content will no longer suffice. It will have to be lashed tightly to a solid understanding and ability to utilize education technology and to fit technology to educational outcomes in order for the teacher to succeed.
(I chose these schools as all are recognized in the State of Illinois for their particular specialties. Eastern Illinois University is routine cited for its education program. By the same taken, the University of Chicago is one of the most prestigious schools in the Midwest. (See http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Top_Illinois_Colleges_and_Universities.html and http://www.4icu.org/us/Illinois.htm Last accessed 7/23/10 3:28 PM )
Beyond the manner in which technology will likely change how educators are trained in the next ten years, they will definitely change the way content is disseminated in the classroom. One way in which this could manifest would be the growing use of Kindles in the classroom. I could see this phasing out hardcopy textbooks, which would certainly have an environmental benefit, and could help to reduce the cost of textbooks as well, as there would no longer be the bulk delivery charges. Likewise, an edit feature could be included, as well as a survey function that would allow students and instructors to give virtually instantaneous feedback concerning the reception of certain chapters or sections in the classroom. This sort of response could also lead to much faster changes in editions of textbooks as they are revised to make them more compatible with the learning needs of students. If taken to the extreme, this implementation could lead to a radically different interpretation of meaning of intellectual property. The reason being that if students and instructors can make very clear editorial suggestions to textbooks companies and authors, and these are implemented, whose idea is it anyway?
Still Kindle is a piece of hardware, and these can be costly to purchase at the outset. Another avenue of change would be the web itself. One way in which the web can alter the manner in which we teach and learn with regard to skilled crafts. Many have likened the current technological revolution to the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century and its negative effects on skilled trade. (See http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/578/Information-Revolution-Vs-Industrial-Revolution.html and http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/574/Information-Revolution-Vs-Industrial-Revolution-TECHNOLOGY.html . Last accessed 7/24/10, 3:27 PM ) One article that rejects this argument may be found at http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter03/technologyandinequality.html . At the same time, with the greater speed of the internet, it might be possible to utilize it as a tool to rediscover older forms of artisanal production. This could be used both generally, and in content specific approaches. For example, imagine having someone skilled in the hand-working of wood into furniture, such as cabinet-makers and joiners explain their craft to students in a classroom hundreds of miles away. This could be accomplished with use of the application Skype as a means of contacting Colonial Williamsburg from my classroom in Illinois. (http://www.history.org/almanack/life/trades/tradecab.cfm )
Flickr, as well, may see much greater application in the classroom, and may be combined with other applications such as meemov (http://memoov.com/ ) in order to take pictures and develop them into animations. Imagine animating the streets of Paris for an introductory icebreaker class on the French Revolution! While this may not be possible at the moment, within a decade, it should certainly be feasible. It may even have fallen by the wayside for the use of a more interesting and interactive technology! Imagine taking the idea for Paris above, and making it so that students in the class could break off into small groups and virtually tour entire areas, and converse with students in Paris who are touring a virtual Chicago! Another possible application of Skype, but the time differential would have to be taken into account on this type of experience.
Finally, a technology that could compensate for time differences could very well be something like Second Life. (See http://secondlife.com/ ) To the present, Second Life has remained essentially under-utilized in educations. Some schools do post lectures on the online domain, and these can be occupied by anyone at anytime. Still, for the most part, this approach has fallen out of vogue for the moment. (See http://delicious.com/secondlife/education ) This is most likely due to the fact that currently there really is not a policing facility in the domain, and thus there have been reports of some fairly lude behavior. Once this is dealt with, and some general parameters established, this could be very useful. It might be possible to create a Historical Section of the Domain in which we could walk through a street in Medieval London, or one in ancient Rome. To some extent this is already being done, but the potential has only been scratched. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGR9q43dag .
As stated at the outset of this course, it seems that the only limits are our collective imagination.
Jim Mc Intyre
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Web Applications
Web Applications
With regards to learning styles, if I had a more auditory learning, especially in say an online course, I might suggest the Zoho Notebook with some podcasts imbedded. I would suggest this for the simple reason that you can have audio files on the page, and work with notes and images on the same page. Therefore, instead of having them read and post a written response, I might have them listen to an audio file of a short lecture, and then prepare one of their own as a summary. I like Zoho Notebook for this as they can keep notes as they are listening to the audio file all on the same page.
Likewise, this might be useful with a hearing impaired student I currently have in an online class. In this case, I could post illustrative images and text to the page, and have the student respond similarly.
This may not be so much a consideration of learning styles, as learning situations, but I honestly feel that we need to be concerned with both. In teaching my classes, I assign discussion questions for each chapter in the text. I specify that the responses to these questions should be typed. Increasingly, I find the difficulty of students not having access to computers, or having only limited access. Another challenge I can see coming is the lack of access to word processing program. In my own experience, I purchased a new laptop computer this Spring, and the Microsoft Office suite that came with it was only good for sixty days. Luckily, I have another copy of Office at home, and simply transferred the license.
I can see this becoming more of an issue for many of my students, who have enough to pay for with books, fees and tuition. In this situation, I would suggest Google Docs. Google Docs allows a student to choose from numerous document templates, and create the one that best suits their needs. A student could then go online at any point on campus, including the Library, write up their response, and print it out at the library on a printer. If they want to avoid the printing fee, they could even submit the document to me in an e-mail, which I have allowed for several years.
Jim Mc Intyre
With regards to learning styles, if I had a more auditory learning, especially in say an online course, I might suggest the Zoho Notebook with some podcasts imbedded. I would suggest this for the simple reason that you can have audio files on the page, and work with notes and images on the same page. Therefore, instead of having them read and post a written response, I might have them listen to an audio file of a short lecture, and then prepare one of their own as a summary. I like Zoho Notebook for this as they can keep notes as they are listening to the audio file all on the same page.
Likewise, this might be useful with a hearing impaired student I currently have in an online class. In this case, I could post illustrative images and text to the page, and have the student respond similarly.
This may not be so much a consideration of learning styles, as learning situations, but I honestly feel that we need to be concerned with both. In teaching my classes, I assign discussion questions for each chapter in the text. I specify that the responses to these questions should be typed. Increasingly, I find the difficulty of students not having access to computers, or having only limited access. Another challenge I can see coming is the lack of access to word processing program. In my own experience, I purchased a new laptop computer this Spring, and the Microsoft Office suite that came with it was only good for sixty days. Luckily, I have another copy of Office at home, and simply transferred the license.
I can see this becoming more of an issue for many of my students, who have enough to pay for with books, fees and tuition. In this situation, I would suggest Google Docs. Google Docs allows a student to choose from numerous document templates, and create the one that best suits their needs. A student could then go online at any point on campus, including the Library, write up their response, and print it out at the library on a printer. If they want to avoid the printing fee, they could even submit the document to me in an e-mail, which I have allowed for several years.
Jim Mc Intyre
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Paperless Spaces
I have had some experience with a nearly paperless class. I teach two online courses, and the only paper involved is the textbook. In addition, a colleague and I are developing a textbook for one. When that is completed, the class will be fully paperless. Likewise, in my face-to-face classes, I have essentially placed all assignments and supporting materials online. Our tests are hardcopy, but this is in accordance with a school policy that has exams given at certain times and locations on campus. Computer labs are usually book solid by the computer class, who receive first preference. A hardship I can live with to be sure.
To the extent that I have tried this approach thus far, it has changed my role to some extent in that I guide more, though for really different concepts, I have included short podcast lectures. If anyone is interested the students’ response to the podcasts has been very positive.
If anything, I see learning as measured more profoundly, as student have to write more essays and short answers identifications on assessments. These are more geared to demonstrate depth of comprehension, so they are better determinants than multiple-choice of true and false questions. I do have short quizzes that are multiple-choice, but they are more for diagnostic purposes and the bearing on the overall grade in minimal. In addition, I do assign and online research paper. This is a good place to keep in mind http://turnitin.com/static/index.html which is a really good place to check for plagiarism. The chief difficulty comes in connection with the price. It is very costly, and my institution has not decided to foot the bill yet. A colleague has it through another institution, and allows me have her check suspicious work. In addition, it also worthwhile to point out that since in Blackboard documents need to be downloaded and opened, I can keep a portfolio on each student. this shows their academic development over the semester, and allows for support if the student tries to alter and resubmit previously graded assignments.
I think that a paperless space definitely makes it easier to build a learning network. Based on my experience, students often site websites in their responses on assignments. These same responses go far beyond the material in the textbook. Likewise, they provide me with more resources for teaching the class in the future. Likewise, the assignments, which I grade, using a different colored font in order to provide feedback, form a basis for discussion of the material. Likewise, students seem less inhibited in discussion boards than they do in the face-to-face classroom. They are more willing to respond to the comments of their peers and to mine. Again, they are learning from one another as a network. Working together and exploring the past we create a gestalt, the product of which is far greater than anything we could devise on our own.
Jim Mc Intyre
To the extent that I have tried this approach thus far, it has changed my role to some extent in that I guide more, though for really different concepts, I have included short podcast lectures. If anyone is interested the students’ response to the podcasts has been very positive.
If anything, I see learning as measured more profoundly, as student have to write more essays and short answers identifications on assessments. These are more geared to demonstrate depth of comprehension, so they are better determinants than multiple-choice of true and false questions. I do have short quizzes that are multiple-choice, but they are more for diagnostic purposes and the bearing on the overall grade in minimal. In addition, I do assign and online research paper. This is a good place to keep in mind http://turnitin.com/static/index.html which is a really good place to check for plagiarism. The chief difficulty comes in connection with the price. It is very costly, and my institution has not decided to foot the bill yet. A colleague has it through another institution, and allows me have her check suspicious work. In addition, it also worthwhile to point out that since in Blackboard documents need to be downloaded and opened, I can keep a portfolio on each student. this shows their academic development over the semester, and allows for support if the student tries to alter and resubmit previously graded assignments.
I think that a paperless space definitely makes it easier to build a learning network. Based on my experience, students often site websites in their responses on assignments. These same responses go far beyond the material in the textbook. Likewise, they provide me with more resources for teaching the class in the future. Likewise, the assignments, which I grade, using a different colored font in order to provide feedback, form a basis for discussion of the material. Likewise, students seem less inhibited in discussion boards than they do in the face-to-face classroom. They are more willing to respond to the comments of their peers and to mine. Again, they are learning from one another as a network. Working together and exploring the past we create a gestalt, the product of which is far greater than anything we could devise on our own.
Jim Mc Intyre
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Big Shifts a Big Fish Story
As described in Richardson, there are numerous shifts that have occurred in education. He certainly seems to overrate just how profound these shifts are in affecting the manner in which content is delivered. Still, I will concede that I have been affected by some of these shifts. The one I will focus on is that of many teachers and twenty-four seven learning.
If nothing else, the web 2.0 environment allows for access to any number of content experts in the online domain. Some of these, to be sure, are more deserving of the credentials “expert” than others. Still, students need to be mentored in how to analyze the information. For example, every semester, I assign a research paper to my classes. That assignment now includes in the assignment attendance at a session led by an information librarian that examines which websites are useful and which are not. The notion of the school-day has altered drastically as a result of the influence of technology.
Students, especially those in online courses, tend to work at all hours. It is now common for me to receive e-mail dated at 4AM, and so forth. Some colleagues assert that they expect instant replies at all time, but I do not find this to be the case. On a colleagues suggestion, I made it part of my syllabus, especially for online, that I would be on at certain times of the day—a sort of online office hour. This has worked very well for me as students tend to post their questions around that time. Along the same lines, I have let it be known that I do not keep office hours on weekends. (I do still check the course, but leave time for replies). This way, I do not feel such a slave to the course. Again, this is yet another way in which the shifts have affected my teaching. (If you think about it, it has changed our language, as affect used to mean only emotive changes, whereas effect meant cause and effect. Now this has changed because of Microsoft. \Who is in charge of the language anyhow?)
In the future, I am sure more use of technology will be expected in teaching. The push is on, and will likely remain so to incorporate greater technology in the classroom. This is fine, if it is done in a clear and well-thought out manner. Too often, however, that is not the case. Several years ago, there was a great push at my school to use Second Life in our classes. It flopped. those behind the push, who were not classroom teachers, blamed the students for not being up enough on technology! Who are we here to serve?
If anything, this course has made me more critical of the use of technology in the classroom, and less inclined to support it. I think it is currently a blind alley that some tread down at their own peril. Some good will certainly come of this, but not in the near term, and not until we make certain significant decisions, as a society, about the role we want technology to occupy in our society. Mostly, it will result in some weak educators with strong tech skills stealing the limelight with the spiffy lesson that really does not teach anything useful, just how to look like you know how to make a PC perform.
Jim Mc Intyre
If nothing else, the web 2.0 environment allows for access to any number of content experts in the online domain. Some of these, to be sure, are more deserving of the credentials “expert” than others. Still, students need to be mentored in how to analyze the information. For example, every semester, I assign a research paper to my classes. That assignment now includes in the assignment attendance at a session led by an information librarian that examines which websites are useful and which are not. The notion of the school-day has altered drastically as a result of the influence of technology.
Students, especially those in online courses, tend to work at all hours. It is now common for me to receive e-mail dated at 4AM, and so forth. Some colleagues assert that they expect instant replies at all time, but I do not find this to be the case. On a colleagues suggestion, I made it part of my syllabus, especially for online, that I would be on at certain times of the day—a sort of online office hour. This has worked very well for me as students tend to post their questions around that time. Along the same lines, I have let it be known that I do not keep office hours on weekends. (I do still check the course, but leave time for replies). This way, I do not feel such a slave to the course. Again, this is yet another way in which the shifts have affected my teaching. (If you think about it, it has changed our language, as affect used to mean only emotive changes, whereas effect meant cause and effect. Now this has changed because of Microsoft. \Who is in charge of the language anyhow?)
In the future, I am sure more use of technology will be expected in teaching. The push is on, and will likely remain so to incorporate greater technology in the classroom. This is fine, if it is done in a clear and well-thought out manner. Too often, however, that is not the case. Several years ago, there was a great push at my school to use Second Life in our classes. It flopped. those behind the push, who were not classroom teachers, blamed the students for not being up enough on technology! Who are we here to serve?
If anything, this course has made me more critical of the use of technology in the classroom, and less inclined to support it. I think it is currently a blind alley that some tread down at their own peril. Some good will certainly come of this, but not in the near term, and not until we make certain significant decisions, as a society, about the role we want technology to occupy in our society. Mostly, it will result in some weak educators with strong tech skills stealing the limelight with the spiffy lesson that really does not teach anything useful, just how to look like you know how to make a PC perform.
Jim Mc Intyre
Monday, July 12, 2010
Response to Joel's post
Joel,
I very much agree with your assessment, as the work on Group D’s Wiki would indicate. I think that it fails as a theory as well, and does not live up to some of the basic criteria necessary. Likewise, I think chaos theory has been too often applied out of context in order to justify a jumble of mismatched ideas.
At the same time, I try to be a bit more open minded. Clearly, technology is having a major impact on how and what we teach, and we need to cognizant of that fact as well as responsive to the new environment. Connectivism at least raises that consciousness among educators, and out of the debate, hopefully a more useful learning theory will emerge.
Jim Mc Intyre
I very much agree with your assessment, as the work on Group D’s Wiki would indicate. I think that it fails as a theory as well, and does not live up to some of the basic criteria necessary. Likewise, I think chaos theory has been too often applied out of context in order to justify a jumble of mismatched ideas.
At the same time, I try to be a bit more open minded. Clearly, technology is having a major impact on how and what we teach, and we need to cognizant of that fact as well as responsive to the new environment. Connectivism at least raises that consciousness among educators, and out of the debate, hopefully a more useful learning theory will emerge.
Jim Mc Intyre
response to Group A's Wiki on Connectivism
This post is in response to Group A’s wiki on Connectivism. This wiki is clearly in support of Connectivism, and the resources utilized, especially the You-tube video, are very well organized and nicely presented. At the same time, there is only a brief mention in the first line regarding the controversy surrounding this approach to learning. Likewise, at the end of the wiki page, there are further links to supporting arguments that deal with the criticisms, but the authors themselves do not weigh in on this topic with any thoughts of their own.
It would seem that in order to really advocate something, more than the appeal to authority is necessary. Still, the Group A wiki is very well constructed, and clearly written. It advocates very strongly in favor of the collectivist approach, but could do so with perhaps a bit more critical analytical discussion.
Jim Mc Intyre
It would seem that in order to really advocate something, more than the appeal to authority is necessary. Still, the Group A wiki is very well constructed, and clearly written. It advocates very strongly in favor of the collectivist approach, but could do so with perhaps a bit more critical analytical discussion.
Jim Mc Intyre
Module Six Discussion Summary
Blogological Discussion summary for Module 6
Most of the comments to the initial post were in agreement to one extent or another. There seemed to be consensus on the consideration the Siemens is not very clear on what Connectivism is and how it differs from other approaches to learning. On particularly virulent response stated, “I read Siemens twice and I still think it's a bunch of jargon and half-baked ideas stitched together without any coherent thinking.” In addition, the same reply by Robert McCord noted, I think very significantly, “He doesn't provide one concrete example of connectivism. Nodes and links are all very visual and read like schematics or maps -- yet he provides no diagrams to illustrate his theory.” This is a very significant point in that visual explanations are lacking in Siemens’ work, and yet the web is geared primarily to visual representations of knowledge. Joel Filling further noted in his response, “It seems like connectivism gets too focused on the means of learning instead of the end of the learning, the acquisition and eventual application of agreed-upon, valid content.”
Coming counter to my position was Mrs. Shirley, who asserted “Connectivism is something that should be focused upon and taught. Technology, socialization and information overload is not going away anytime soon. As we begin working with the 21st Century Student, the ability for them to create connections and process information faster will be key to success” I agree with this point. The concern that I raise is more along the lines that we need to be careful in how we teach this skill to our students.
Finally, Holly Lieb summarized clearly a key idea that I had hoped to communicate in my initial post when she wrote, “I really think this technological swing could be a useful instrument in moderation and slowly incorporated in specific lessons, activities, learning points, research, etc., but it cannot be everything!”
Clearly, the academic debate that has raged around connectivism will likely continue for the time being. Likewise, it seems from the response to the initial post, that many of us accept that technology has, is, and will continue to affect the manner in which we both transmit and receive content. The real issue is the degree to which we focus our attentions on the technical aspects of data transmittal and reception. Likewise, it seems that the majority of opinions expressed in the response take a guarded view to the focus on technology as proposed by George Siemens.
Thank you all for your comments and ideas!
Jim Mc Intyre
Most of the comments to the initial post were in agreement to one extent or another. There seemed to be consensus on the consideration the Siemens is not very clear on what Connectivism is and how it differs from other approaches to learning. On particularly virulent response stated, “I read Siemens twice and I still think it's a bunch of jargon and half-baked ideas stitched together without any coherent thinking.” In addition, the same reply by Robert McCord noted, I think very significantly, “He doesn't provide one concrete example of connectivism. Nodes and links are all very visual and read like schematics or maps -- yet he provides no diagrams to illustrate his theory.” This is a very significant point in that visual explanations are lacking in Siemens’ work, and yet the web is geared primarily to visual representations of knowledge. Joel Filling further noted in his response, “It seems like connectivism gets too focused on the means of learning instead of the end of the learning, the acquisition and eventual application of agreed-upon, valid content.”
Coming counter to my position was Mrs. Shirley, who asserted “Connectivism is something that should be focused upon and taught. Technology, socialization and information overload is not going away anytime soon. As we begin working with the 21st Century Student, the ability for them to create connections and process information faster will be key to success” I agree with this point. The concern that I raise is more along the lines that we need to be careful in how we teach this skill to our students.
Finally, Holly Lieb summarized clearly a key idea that I had hoped to communicate in my initial post when she wrote, “I really think this technological swing could be a useful instrument in moderation and slowly incorporated in specific lessons, activities, learning points, research, etc., but it cannot be everything!”
Clearly, the academic debate that has raged around connectivism will likely continue for the time being. Likewise, it seems from the response to the initial post, that many of us accept that technology has, is, and will continue to affect the manner in which we both transmit and receive content. The real issue is the degree to which we focus our attentions on the technical aspects of data transmittal and reception. Likewise, it seems that the majority of opinions expressed in the response take a guarded view to the focus on technology as proposed by George Siemens.
Thank you all for your comments and ideas!
Jim Mc Intyre
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Skype
Skype-Something Really Exciting!
I installed Skype on my laptop, and while I was unable to contact anyone else in our class, I was able to contact one of the facilitators from the workshop I took part in back in June. The conversation was brief, but I am excited about the possibilities here. A clear classroom application that I can see right off that bat is that of having guest speakers come in via Skype. While there are some definitely some logistical hurdles I will need to investigate, I think there is real potential.
One possibility, as alluded to above, is that of having in a guest speaker or lecturer come into the room via Skype. In some of my classes I assign articles as additional reading. How much more of a profound learning experience would this become if the students could pose questions directly to the article author?
Some hurdles I can see for me would be to insure that the classroom PC could support the program, some of them are fairly old. Likewise, unless we can reconfigure the room, only one student could really be on screen with the guest at a time, so the “feel” of the classroom environment would be lost to the guest. In addition, some extra hardware, such as a webcam and audio gear would be necessary.
Another possibility would be to really enhance a conference with additional speakers coming in on Skype. This, again, is very valuable in my context as travel monies and those set aside to support conferences are shrinking due to the economy. This application can offer a very useful alternative.
At the same time, as I usually do, I would like to make one cautionary note. As mentioned above, some of the personal touch is still lost. Though we can see and hear one another, the person is still not in the same room, and that changes the interaction in a profound way. Likewise, while my initial experience was very smooth, I am working on a brand new laptop, with webcam built in and so forth. I wonder what the quality of the connection would be like on more dated hardware. So before I give this my complete support I will play around further. What are your thoughts?
Jim Mc Intyre
I installed Skype on my laptop, and while I was unable to contact anyone else in our class, I was able to contact one of the facilitators from the workshop I took part in back in June. The conversation was brief, but I am excited about the possibilities here. A clear classroom application that I can see right off that bat is that of having guest speakers come in via Skype. While there are some definitely some logistical hurdles I will need to investigate, I think there is real potential.
One possibility, as alluded to above, is that of having in a guest speaker or lecturer come into the room via Skype. In some of my classes I assign articles as additional reading. How much more of a profound learning experience would this become if the students could pose questions directly to the article author?
Some hurdles I can see for me would be to insure that the classroom PC could support the program, some of them are fairly old. Likewise, unless we can reconfigure the room, only one student could really be on screen with the guest at a time, so the “feel” of the classroom environment would be lost to the guest. In addition, some extra hardware, such as a webcam and audio gear would be necessary.
Another possibility would be to really enhance a conference with additional speakers coming in on Skype. This, again, is very valuable in my context as travel monies and those set aside to support conferences are shrinking due to the economy. This application can offer a very useful alternative.
At the same time, as I usually do, I would like to make one cautionary note. As mentioned above, some of the personal touch is still lost. Though we can see and hear one another, the person is still not in the same room, and that changes the interaction in a profound way. Likewise, while my initial experience was very smooth, I am working on a brand new laptop, with webcam built in and so forth. I wonder what the quality of the connection would be like on more dated hardware. So before I give this my complete support I will play around further. What are your thoughts?
Jim Mc Intyre
Friday, July 9, 2010
Flickr Summary
Summaries
Most of the responses to my post on Flickr focused on the legal issues I raised. I feel there is need for some clarification here as well. At my level, I do not need legal permission from a parent to display a students’ work or image. I do need their permission. My concern is that if a parent sees a students’ doing something they do not approve of, or notices them missing form an approved class picture, how does this work with FERPA? A very clear set of suggestions on this topic came from MSQandA:
1) consent to have pictures taken during class time.
2) consent that these photos will be used only for class activities
3) consent that these photos may be used for publications related to the class, class activities or the school (e.g., and then list examples, school newspaper, yearbook, flyer on the school and school activities.) I also note that no identifying information will be provided with photos taken except in the case of the yearbook or school newspaper, without additional parental consent.
Few people picked up on the other question raised, of how to make assignments using Flickr work under my time constraints with regards to my class time with my students. One respondent did. Afriki noted that it might be best to shoot for the smaller assignments that can be completed in a 50 minutes session, as then the assignment could dominate more than the content it is meant to teach.
Great discussion all!
Most of the responses to my post on Flickr focused on the legal issues I raised. I feel there is need for some clarification here as well. At my level, I do not need legal permission from a parent to display a students’ work or image. I do need their permission. My concern is that if a parent sees a students’ doing something they do not approve of, or notices them missing form an approved class picture, how does this work with FERPA? A very clear set of suggestions on this topic came from MSQandA:
1) consent to have pictures taken during class time.
2) consent that these photos will be used only for class activities
3) consent that these photos may be used for publications related to the class, class activities or the school (e.g., and then list examples, school newspaper, yearbook, flyer on the school and school activities.) I also note that no identifying information will be provided with photos taken except in the case of the yearbook or school newspaper, without additional parental consent.
Few people picked up on the other question raised, of how to make assignments using Flickr work under my time constraints with regards to my class time with my students. One respondent did. Afriki noted that it might be best to shoot for the smaller assignments that can be completed in a 50 minutes session, as then the assignment could dominate more than the content it is meant to teach.
Great discussion all!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Connectivism
Connectivism—Really an Option?
After reading George Siemens’ work on connectivism as well as Pløn Verhagen’s response to that work, I am left with some clear opinions, and a number of questions.
First, as my title implies, I want to pose this idea, is this really a direction we should be going in pedagogically? What Siemens implies in his work is that fostering the ability to make connections, to be able to find knowledge, is the main thing that we, as educators, should be doing. He does not seem to answer the question why, more than to state that this is a trend he has observed already occurring. Nazism was a trend occurring in 1920s Germany, should that be supported by educators? Okay, that is too harsh, and I am not a big fan of going to the Nazi well myself, but it does make the point. Just because there is a trend, does not mean we have to support it unreservedly. Perhaps more apropos would be the connection to the experimentation that occurred on college campuses in the 1960s with various hallucinogenic drugs. It was a trend, supported by a professor, Timothy Leary. Again, should that be something that we all sign off on? In both of these cases, history has obviously come down on the negative side. By the same token, this only became clear as the negative aspects in both cases became apparent and the consequences clearly outweighed any gains that were possible. How does all of this play into the concept of connectivism?
To me, this is a call for balance. Certainly, technology has changed, and will continue to change the manner in which we teach. It has also changed content. Some entirely new fields, such as CAD, computer programming, graphics, web design and so forth have all come as a result of changes in computer technology. Perhaps this suggests that we take a more long-term approach to the role of technology in education. What might that look like?
Do these changes in technology necessitate a change in the content of what we teach? Instead of pushing my students to understand the Constitution, do I train them to search out the document and the opinions on it? What about, as Verhagen mentions, analysis?
Learning is definitely about making connections, both within disciplines and across them, and with various means of acquiring knowledge. How can we, as educators, shape these networks? What do we want them to look like? Should we take an active role in shaping these networks? In my reading at least, Siemens is not very clear on these points, and perhaps this is an attribute. I think there are fundamental differences in the manner we develop say math skills form the way in which we learn history and develop a sense of historical context. The learning networks we develop in these areas should reflect that difference, in my opinion.
It is probably clear by now, that I am not ready to sign on with Siemens unreservedly. More, I believe there should be some middle ground that we strive to where we incorporate research tools and technology in to our curriculum. The big question is: What do you think that would look like?
Jim Mc Intyre
After reading George Siemens’ work on connectivism as well as Pløn Verhagen’s response to that work, I am left with some clear opinions, and a number of questions.
First, as my title implies, I want to pose this idea, is this really a direction we should be going in pedagogically? What Siemens implies in his work is that fostering the ability to make connections, to be able to find knowledge, is the main thing that we, as educators, should be doing. He does not seem to answer the question why, more than to state that this is a trend he has observed already occurring. Nazism was a trend occurring in 1920s Germany, should that be supported by educators? Okay, that is too harsh, and I am not a big fan of going to the Nazi well myself, but it does make the point. Just because there is a trend, does not mean we have to support it unreservedly. Perhaps more apropos would be the connection to the experimentation that occurred on college campuses in the 1960s with various hallucinogenic drugs. It was a trend, supported by a professor, Timothy Leary. Again, should that be something that we all sign off on? In both of these cases, history has obviously come down on the negative side. By the same token, this only became clear as the negative aspects in both cases became apparent and the consequences clearly outweighed any gains that were possible. How does all of this play into the concept of connectivism?
To me, this is a call for balance. Certainly, technology has changed, and will continue to change the manner in which we teach. It has also changed content. Some entirely new fields, such as CAD, computer programming, graphics, web design and so forth have all come as a result of changes in computer technology. Perhaps this suggests that we take a more long-term approach to the role of technology in education. What might that look like?
Do these changes in technology necessitate a change in the content of what we teach? Instead of pushing my students to understand the Constitution, do I train them to search out the document and the opinions on it? What about, as Verhagen mentions, analysis?
Learning is definitely about making connections, both within disciplines and across them, and with various means of acquiring knowledge. How can we, as educators, shape these networks? What do we want them to look like? Should we take an active role in shaping these networks? In my reading at least, Siemens is not very clear on these points, and perhaps this is an attribute. I think there are fundamental differences in the manner we develop say math skills form the way in which we learn history and develop a sense of historical context. The learning networks we develop in these areas should reflect that difference, in my opinion.
It is probably clear by now, that I am not ready to sign on with Siemens unreservedly. More, I believe there should be some middle ground that we strive to where we incorporate research tools and technology in to our curriculum. The big question is: What do you think that would look like?
Jim Mc Intyre
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