Special Issue IRRODL — Connectivism: Design and Delivery of Social Networked Learning

This special issue of IRRODL provides an opportunity to step back and reflect on how these dramatic social and technological changes impact education. In 2004, connectivism was presented as a new theory of learning that addresses learning in complex, social, networked environments. Since that time, numerous articles, open online courses, and online conferences have explored connectivism’s application in education. As articles in this issue reflect, sharp criticism and support have been offered. We hope this issue will help to advance the discussion, to clarify areas of needed research, and to contribute to ongoing debate about the influence of the Internet on teaching and learning.

What's the best way to deal with ever-changing streams of content? When information has shrinking half-lives?

From DSC:
After looking at some items concerning Connectivism*, I’ve been reflecting upon the following questions:

  • What’s the best way for us to dip our feet into the constantly moving streams of content?
    (No matter the topic or discipline, the streams continue to flow.)
  • What’s the optimal setup for K-12 based “courses”?
  • What’s the optimal setup for “courses” within higher education?
  • How should L&D departments deal with this phenomenon?
  • How do publishers and textbook authors want to address this situation?

Thinking of Gonzalez (2004; as cited in Siemens (2005)) description of the challenges of rapidly diminishing knowledge life:

“One of the most persuasive factors is the shrinking half-life of knowledge. The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD). To combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, organizations have been forced to develop new methods of deploying instruction.”

Stephen Downes addresses this and points to a possible solution to this phenomenon in his presentation from 3/15/11 entitled “Educational Projection: Supporting Distributed Learning Online.”

Excerpt/slides:

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I need to put more thought into this, but wanted to throw this question out there…more later…

 

 


* From DSC: Some of the items I looked at regarding Connectivism — some directly related, others indirectly-related — were:


Siemens, G.  (2005).  Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.  Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm.

Downes, S.  (2005).  An introduction to connective knowledge.  Retrieved from http://www.  downes.  ca/post/33034.  Downes noted that this was published in Hug, Theo (ed.  ) (2007): Media, knowledge & education – exploring new spaces, relations and dynamics in digital media ecologies.  Proceedings of the International Conference held on June 25-26, 2007.  November 27, 2007.

Kop, R.  & Hill, A.  (2008).  Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, v9 n3 p1-13 Oct 2008.

Tracey, R.  (2009). Instructivism, constructivism or connectivism? Training & Development in Australia, December, 2009. p08-09, 2p.  Retrieved from EBSCOhost. ISSN 0310-4664.

Kerr, B.  (2007).  A challenge to connectivism.  Retrieved at http://learningevolves.  wikispaces.  com/kerr.

Sims, R.  (2008).  Rethinking (e)learning: A manifesto for connected generations.  Distance Education Vol.  29, No.  2, August 2008, 153–164.  ISSN 0158-7919 print/ISSN 1475-0198 online.  DOI: 10.  1080/01587910802154954

Lisa Dawley.   (2009).  Social network knowledge construction: emerging virtual world pedagogy.  On the Horizon, 17(2), 109-121.   Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 1880656431).

Hargadon, S.  (2011).  Ugh.  Classic politics now extends to social networking in education.  Retrieved from http://www.  stevehargadon.  com/2011/03/ugh-classic-politics-now-extends-to.  html.

Cross, J.  (2001).  Crowd-inspired innovation.  Retrieved from http://www.internettime.com/2011/03/crowd-inspired-innovation.

Rogers-Estable, M..  (2009).  Web 2.0 and distance education: Tools and techniques.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 55-60.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059921).

Marrotte-Newman, S..  (2009).  Why virtual schools exist and understanding their culture.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 31-35.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059881).

Hilton, J., Graham, C., Rich, P., & Wiley, D. (2010). Using online technologies to extend a classroom to learners at a distance.  Distance Education, 31(1), 77-92.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2074810921).

Attwell, G. (2010). Personal learning environments and Vygotsky. Retrieved from http://www.pontydysgu.org/2010/04/personal-learning-environments-and-vygotsky.

10 Steps for Working Smarter with Social Media — from the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies by Jane Hart
Webinar for Learning & Skills Group, 17 March 2010

Excerpt below:


10 Steps for Working Smarter with Social Media
Webinar for Learning & Skills Group,  17 March 2010

Workplace Learning is changing!

 

A number of people, my Internet Time Alliance (ITA) colleague Charles Jennings in particular, have highlighted the fact that  training that simply involves filling people’s heads with knowledge, is ineffective and inefficient – as most people forget what they have learnt very quickly.  And that online courses, which do pretty much the same, take time, effort and money to develop.

 

Many are also “over-engineered” solutions – and this often leads to resentment by those who have to spend time to work through courses – when the material could have been provided in a much simpler way. But in fact this whole approach to workplace learning is not sustainable in a world that is moving very fast and where there is need for access to constantly changing information.

 

On the other hand, although we have now realized – due largely to the work of (my ITA colleague) Jay Cross that most of an individual’s “real” learning takes place outside formal learning .. continuously … in the workflow … by reading or listening to things, or more significantly in conversations and interactions with other people, L&D have struggled to understand how to harness informal learning, and perhaps understandably often try to force it into the formal model they feel comfortable with it.

 

But it is in fact, the emergence of social media, that has really begun to make us think differently about the way work and learning is happening.  For an increasing number of individuals and groups are using these new technologies in the workplace to  connect with colleagues both inside and outside the organisation in order to share ideas, resources and experiences – often under the radar of IT and L&D.   This use of social media has become a revolution in the sense that these tools are now in the hands of the employees.  So the question is what role does L&D play in all this?

 

One key thing to remember is Learning is not the end goal; but is a means to an end.  It’s about PERFORMANCE; people doing their jobs (better).  In fact it’s all about working smarter.  So what is working smarter?


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Also related:

When textbooks and social media collide — CampusTechnology.com by Bridget McCrea
A professor at a Christian liberal arts college in Michigan puts textbooks together with social networking to get students jazzed about historical events.

Right around the time that the term “social networking” was starting to roll off the tongues of school administrators and teachers, Christian Spielvogel was already deep in the throes of a project that would combine the next concept with traditional textbooks.

The year was 2007, and Spielvogel, now an associate professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, MI, was experimenting with the idea of implementing gaming and computer simulations while on sabbatical at the University of Virginia. Having conducted intensive research into the public memory of the Civil War period, Spielvogel wanted to “un-romanticize” public perception of the conflict and create a more realistic, engaging, and even risky learning experience for high school and college students.

Using the University of Virginia’s Valley of the Shadow digital archive as a guide–and funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Virginia Foundation for the Humanities for financial support–Spielvogel developed an online reenactment and multiplayer role-playing simulation that takes place during the American Civil War.

Little did Spielvogel know at the time, but his creation would become an early example of how computer gaming can be successfully combined with education. “At the time, there had already been some efforts made to develop games and simulations with most of them based on single-player models,” said Spielvogel, “but the whole idea of a multiplayer experience that allowed a group to become involved in the game and interact online was still pretty new.”

New technologies introduced at the DEMO Spring 2011 Event
Promising new products and prototypes of 2011 that have never been seen before. These are real products that are ready for market.

February 28:

Consumer Technologies

  • AboutOne.com from AboutOne, LLC
  • ecoATM from ecoATM
  • flyRuby.com from flyRuby.com
  • Manilla from Manilla
  • MindWave BrainCubed Education Bundle from NeuroSky
  • PhotoRocket from PhotoRocket
  • Primadesk from Primadesk, Inc.
  • SocialEyes from SocialEyes
  • Cyclic Variations in Altitude Conditioning™ from CVAC Systems, Inc.
  • ICaR Expert Systems from ICaR Systems (Alpha Pitch)
  • KloudDock from InfiniWing, Inc. (Alpha Pitch)
  • Qffers App from Dvmmy (Alpha Pitch)

Enterprise Technologies

  • DataRoket from DataRoket, Inc.
  • GageIn from GageIn, Inc.
  • Swivel from FaceCake Marketing Technologies
  • VIOLIN Platform from EMBRIA Technologies
  • Workface from Workface, Inc.
  • The Webcam Social Shopper from Zugara
  • Outline.com from Outline.com (Alpha Pitch)

Cloud Technologies

  • ApSynth from ApSynth
  • Cloud9 IDE from Ajax
  • Defensio for Facebook from Websense
  • EPflow from EyePredict
  • Kuggaa from Kuggaa
  • Nimble from Nimble
  • Stratosphere from V3
  • VECTOR™ from HBMG, Inc.

MARCH 1

Social and Media Technologies

  • eLive from eLive Entertainment
  • FetchFans.com from Fetch Plus Asia Pacific, Pte. Ltd.
  • GutCheck from GutCheck
  • HeyStaks from HeyStaks
  • Ecobe.com from Ecobe (Alpha Pitch)
  • Marginize from Marginize
  • Next Island virtual world from Next Island
  • OneGoodLove.com from OneGoodLove.com
  • Pixable Photofeed (on iPad) from Pixable
  • Speaku from Speaku (Alpha Pitch)
  • SocialReplay from Silentale
  • Thoora for Tablets from Thoora
  • TrendSpottr from TrendSpottr
  • Viafoura from Viafoura
  • The Geco from The Geco (Alpha Pitch)

Mobile Technologies

  • Dynamic Device Identity from mSIGNIA
  • Guardly from Guardly
  • HighNote from HighNote
  • JetStreamHD from Nuvyyo, Inc.
  • MobileNation from MobileNation
  • News360 for iPad from News360
  • Screach from Screenreach Interactive, Ltd.
  • ShowUhow Product Experience Platform from ShowUhow, Inc.
  • Small Business iPhone and Android Apps from Bizness Apps
  • ON Voicefeed from Life Is Better ON

DEMO 2011 event -- February 28 - March 1, 2011

The Connected Life at Home — from Cisco

The connected life at home -- from Cisco

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From DSC:

How will these types of technologies affect what we can do with K-12 education/higher education/workplace training and development? I’d say they will open up a world of new applications and opportunities for those who are ready to innovate; and these types of technologies will move the “Forthcoming Walmart of Education” along.

Above item from:

Tagged with:  

2020 Workplace — from Harold Jarche

In The 2020 Workplace, Jeanne Meister & Karie Willyerd make 20 predictions at the end of the book. William Gibson said, “the future is already here –  it’s just not very evenly distributed.” Here are my thoughts on where we are with some of these predictions…

EDUCAUSE Review - Top-Ten Articles of 2010 | If this e-mail message does not display correctly or hyperlinks are missing, please type http://educause.informz.net/educause/archives/archive_1278910.html into your browser's address bar.
The ten most widely read online EDUCAUSE Review articles from 2010 focused on innovation, current IT issues, individual/collaborative learning, attention, openness, the future campus, scholarly publishing, and libraries.

In case you missed them in 2010:

1.

Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
2.

Bret L. Ingerman, Catherine Yang, and the 2010 EDUCAUSE Current Issues Committee
3.

Larry Sanger
4.

Howard Rheingold
5.

danah boyd
6.

Brian Lamb and Jim Groom
7.

Diana G. Oblinger
8.

Rick Anderson
9.

Keith Webster
10.

David Wiley

Content Curation Tools: How to pick the right venue? — from Content Curation Marketing by Pawan Deshpande

Content Curation Venues

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By definition, content curation is the act of continually identifying, organizing, and sharing the best and most relevant content on a specific topic or issue online.  When evaluating which content curation tool to use, there are three primary areas of consideration:

1. The Inputs – Where does the content curation tool get information from? What type of content will this allow me to curate?  Will it help identify and recommend relevant content?

2. The Organization  – What does this tool offer in terms of organizing content once it has been identified?  What type of data models does this represent content as? In a simple chronological list, or an inter-linked structure? Does it let me annotate and editorialize the curated content?

3. The Venue – How and where can I share the content once I have decided to curate it?

In this blog post, I am primarily going to focus on the decided on a content curation tool based on the venue – the channels to which your content is curated.  And just like most things, there’s no one right answer.  It really depends on your goals and objectives.

Revolution or evolution? Social technologies and change in higher education —  from The Chronicle by guest bloggers Derek Bruff, Dwayne Harapnuik, and Jim Julius

Have you ever heard about a clever and effective use of some new educational technology (blogs, wikis, Twitter, smart phones, whatever) and thought to yourself, “Wow, that’s a great idea, but I’m pretty sure that I have a few colleagues who wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it”? New social technologies, along with the easy access to information that the Web provides, can open up new avenues for learning that have the potential to revolutionize higher education. Some have argued that higher education must be radically transformed or it will face extinction. But is revolution possible in an environment where evolution–in fact, slow evolution–seems the norm?

We explored this question during an interactive session we led at the recent annual conference of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in St. Louis…

Also see:
Their Prezi on this.

Millions of TV’s (as completely converged/Internet-connected devices) = millions of learners?!?

From DSC:

The other day, I created/posted the top graphic below. Take the concepts below — hook them up to engines that use cloud-based learner profiles — and you have some serious potential for powerful, global, ubiquitous learning! A touch-sensitive panel might be interesting here as well.

Come to think of it, add social networking, videoconferencing, and web-based collaboration tools — the power to learn would be quite impressive.  Multimedia to the nth degree.

Then add to that online marketplaces for teaching and learning — where you can be both a teacher and a learner at the same time — hmmm…

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From DSC:
Then today, I saw Cisco’s piece on their Videoscape product line! Check it out!

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Georgia Tech Center to explore 21st century universities — from CampusTechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

The Georgia Institute of Technology is setting up a new center specifically to serve as a living laboratory for testing new forms of education. Driven by the growth of social networking, online learning, and other developments, the Center for 21st Century Universities will enable faculty at the Atlanta institution to experiment with new approaches to curriculum and its delivery. According to former College of Computing Dean Rich DeMillo, who will lead the center, it will also work with national and international groups involved in higher education reform. The first item on the center’s agenda is to develop a seed grant program for promising early proposals.

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