The web has its stranglehold on me. I'm struggling to keep up with what I want from it. Aaaarrrgh! How do I handle it.
Ok, settle down. This is simply a matter of prioritisation. I have yet again taken on more than I can handle. Most is voluntary, personal learning and the sort. Reading blogs, trying to comment on blogs. I need to find ways to fit all this in.
I don't have the answer yet. I'll let you know when I do.
What it does highlight is that there is no way to keep up with everything as it evolves. Impossibility. I just need to let some stuff go.
Initially, this will be FOC08 and CCK08. These will both be useful courses but I am not keeping up with the requirements within them. I'm also trimming my blogroll. This will be reflected in the sidebar soon enough.
I'm getting more involved in Diigo and can see how this may make me slightly more productive.
Showing posts with label FOC08. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FOC08. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Further exploration of facilitation - Web 2.0 in my classroom
I have been reflecting on my role as a teacher versus my role as a facilitator, and how these may differ. I understand my role and place when teaching is required. I know who I am teaching yet realising this may be a different group of people who wish to learn from me, different in group definition anyway. I have tried to represent this in a concept map, below;
The left hand side represents what I am referring to as teaching. The right, facilitation. As I develop this the key component that I realise is in a facilitation relationship, the learner holds the power. They determine whether to engage in the learning / interaction / action, the level of engagement, and perception of quality is based on their prior experience and expectations. This says to me I need to "let go" when facilitating. I needn't be in control of direction, pace or outcome. However my knowledge can still be useful.
In my concept map I have only considered two entities, myself and the learning community as a whole. I know communities will interact within themselves, however as a newbie to concept maps I am not ready to represent that yet. Consider this a work in progress.
I am now attempting to implement some real facilitation within the boundaries of one of my classes. (As I said, little steps.) I am still restricted by assessment criteria and somewhat by timelines. But I can "open" the remainder of the learning. I'm attempting to establish a Diigo classroom where we can share research. Vicki Davis (teacher extraordinaire) is attempting something similar and you can read her dedicated post here.
I have established a netvibes universe that will provide RSS feeds for relevant information including lesson materials. I intend to include materials developed by the learners which could be anything from text to whiteboards to photostreams to video etc. This universe also provides a blog feed on my thoughts about the class, which the learners will be encouraged to respond to and therefore have input into activities and direction of learning. I intend to have them all sign up to netvibes, and then become owners of the universe also.
Facilitation, a new challenge.
The left hand side represents what I am referring to as teaching. The right, facilitation. As I develop this the key component that I realise is in a facilitation relationship, the learner holds the power. They determine whether to engage in the learning / interaction / action, the level of engagement, and perception of quality is based on their prior experience and expectations. This says to me I need to "let go" when facilitating. I needn't be in control of direction, pace or outcome. However my knowledge can still be useful.
In my concept map I have only considered two entities, myself and the learning community as a whole. I know communities will interact within themselves, however as a newbie to concept maps I am not ready to represent that yet. Consider this a work in progress.
I am now attempting to implement some real facilitation within the boundaries of one of my classes. (As I said, little steps.) I am still restricted by assessment criteria and somewhat by timelines. But I can "open" the remainder of the learning. I'm attempting to establish a Diigo classroom where we can share research. Vicki Davis (teacher extraordinaire) is attempting something similar and you can read her dedicated post here.
I have established a netvibes universe that will provide RSS feeds for relevant information including lesson materials. I intend to include materials developed by the learners which could be anything from text to whiteboards to photostreams to video etc. This universe also provides a blog feed on my thoughts about the class, which the learners will be encouraged to respond to and therefore have input into activities and direction of learning. I intend to have them all sign up to netvibes, and then become owners of the universe also.
Facilitation, a new challenge.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Expanding my mind - What is a community?
After a recent email discussion and a direct comment on my misunderstanding of the Facilitating Online Communities course (FOC08), I have retreated to the corner for some quiet reading and thinking time. As our facilitator had stated and challenged, teachers were hesitant to step outside their experience of education to contemplate community facilitation in a broader context.
So I've chased some reading and listening, and some thoughts, to expand my understanding of what Leigh Blackall is attempting to get us to consider. These thoughts below are not inter-related, but have stemmed from my thinking, reading and listening.
Firstly, I should consider the concept of community similar to what is my PLN. There are a range of connections I utilise to provide me inspiration and knowledge, but I do not manage them. The information they generate is independent of me, however they form a significant part of what is me. My facilitation of these is simply seek, sort and utilise. It was when I considered this that I began to understand (hopefully) what Leigh is talking about. So what roles exist in this community. Certainly I am the moderator, selecting to digest and utilise only the information I deem important or interesting. My moderation does not extend to influence over what information is published or posted within the PLN, simply what is attended to. In regards to facilitation, I believe this relates to the environment I establish for the PLN. For example, I use a netvibes account to aggregate the blogs I read and juice for podcasts. Times of aggregation and distribution from there is my facilitation. Do I have a teaching role in this community, I don't believe so.
Secondly, I reflected on my experience within my son's soccer team. As the coach I have a direct role for teaching, and this is obvious. I then thought of community as how the parents interact. We organise outings to the park, volunteering for reffing and washing jerseys, collecting match payments etc. No-one takes control of this, is just happens. This to me represented the community aspect. A group coming together under similar interests, and interacting within the environment. Each person offered to contribute, and the others supported the contribution. Again, within this community there is no teaching and I perceive we all facilitate to a degree. With this particular community I perceive moderation would be personal and internal.
To delve back into my world as a teacher, I can see how this developing understanding could produce interesting learning experiences and outcomes within my classes. It certainly ties in with my beliefs about connectivism and transformative learning.
I believe I am beginning to develop a true understanding of community and how their existence and function does not necessarily have to end in an educational goal.
So I've chased some reading and listening, and some thoughts, to expand my understanding of what Leigh Blackall is attempting to get us to consider. These thoughts below are not inter-related, but have stemmed from my thinking, reading and listening.
Firstly, I should consider the concept of community similar to what is my PLN. There are a range of connections I utilise to provide me inspiration and knowledge, but I do not manage them. The information they generate is independent of me, however they form a significant part of what is me. My facilitation of these is simply seek, sort and utilise. It was when I considered this that I began to understand (hopefully) what Leigh is talking about. So what roles exist in this community. Certainly I am the moderator, selecting to digest and utilise only the information I deem important or interesting. My moderation does not extend to influence over what information is published or posted within the PLN, simply what is attended to. In regards to facilitation, I believe this relates to the environment I establish for the PLN. For example, I use a netvibes account to aggregate the blogs I read and juice for podcasts. Times of aggregation and distribution from there is my facilitation. Do I have a teaching role in this community, I don't believe so.
Secondly, I reflected on my experience within my son's soccer team. As the coach I have a direct role for teaching, and this is obvious. I then thought of community as how the parents interact. We organise outings to the park, volunteering for reffing and washing jerseys, collecting match payments etc. No-one takes control of this, is just happens. This to me represented the community aspect. A group coming together under similar interests, and interacting within the environment. Each person offered to contribute, and the others supported the contribution. Again, within this community there is no teaching and I perceive we all facilitate to a degree. With this particular community I perceive moderation would be personal and internal.
To delve back into my world as a teacher, I can see how this developing understanding could produce interesting learning experiences and outcomes within my classes. It certainly ties in with my beliefs about connectivism and transformative learning.
I believe I am beginning to develop a true understanding of community and how their existence and function does not necessarily have to end in an educational goal.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Teaching or Facilitating
This discussion has particular relevance to me. I recently submitted a portfolio for an accreditation titled "ICT Pedagogical License Advanced" which required engagement in a specific online community and writing of a belief statement about my practices. The community discussed and blogged about Theories of Learning that are relevant today. I focussed on the theories of constructivism, connectivism and transformation. Transformative theory, as proposed by Mezirow (Mezirow, J. (Ed.). (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress.
Based upon my understanding of the inter-relationships between constructivism, connectivism and transformation, I believe learning is the progressive development of a person's capability to effectively utilise knowledge and skills productively within and across their experienced contexts. This results from both cognitive and social processes based within the three learning theories. I expect and encourage learners to develop higher order thinking skills. Information is manipulated and knowledge is constructed in a learner centred environment. Higher order thinking, and hence transformation of learning, depends on deep knowledge, knowledge being seen as problematic, and a problem based curriculum. ((2001) Retrieved April 15th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int.html))
It has been suggested that transformative learning processes require higher levels of cognitive functioning that most adults do not achieve (Merriman, 2004). I disagree, and believe my initial constructivist approach allows for development of higher order thinking skills and cognitive functioning that ensures learning can be successful.
To lead into transformational learning from constructivism negates a significant concern with transformational theory. Transformation theory does not address the role of power relationships in the learning process, yet transformation often disrupts power relationships (McDonald, Cervero, & Courtenay, 1999). Initially my constructivist approach allows the establishment of power relationships, whilst my planned progression of learning results in a progressive (controlled) transfer of power within the learning relationship. My initial constructivist approach facilitates the development of a safe, trusting learning environment which is essential for transformation in group learning. (Tisdell et al. in Wilson & Hayes, 2000).
These statements reinforce the need for me to initially construct the learning environment. They also support the notion that even when the teacher isn't the central point of the learning environment, they are still a key figure in its effectiveness and direction. Indeed information and content are useless unless people have skills to disseminate these. Exchange and interaction with information and content is important. This will facilitate the transfer of learning across contexts, and the wider application of ICTs in the learner's lives, as indicated in the productive pedagogy of connectedness to the world, by providing value and meaning beyond the immediate education context. ((2001) Retrieved April 15th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/connect/con3a.html))
Through this process, involving constructivist, connectivist and transformative approaches to learning, I provide the means for students to independently and collaboratively learn from others and to collaborate to build knowledge. Student learning initially occurs within networks that I have determined are appropriate, relevant and safe. As my learners develop the skills for safe and effective networking and collaboration, I provide them with the opportunity to continue learning outside of the classroom boundaries.
This creation of the learning environment needs to include the development of intellectual quality, as referred to in the productive pedagogies. Within my learning environments this includes the development of deep understanding of content, concepts, skills and processes. Within Health Education, this can be based on substantive conversation, in particular sustained exchange. This sustained exchange is enhanced with ICTs, continuing outside classroom boundaries with non-class members. Due to the nature of Health Education, and the need for safety and trust in a transformative learning environment (as discussed previously), I endeavour to create a supportive classroom environment, another aspect of the productive pedagogies, with a particular focus on social support. This can also be enhanced with the effective use of ICTs, in particular their ability to provide some anonymity and access to knowledge outside the classroom and its occupants. Development of social support within a supportive classroom environment enables the substantive conversation required for deep understanding and intellectual quality. ((2001) Retrieved April 15th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int.html))
Teaching in modern society requires shifting between traditional roles and understandings to transformative learning where the teacher adopts the role of a facilitator. As Leigh Blackall has mentioned in his blog (http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/to-facilitate-or-to-teach/) this can cause conflict in some educators. We are traditionally not comfortable relinquishing the power in our learning environments yet when we do the learning we can both witness and experience is beyond what we could have planned. However, the teacher (as in position) must still control (as a concept) the learning that occurs. This does not necessarily mean restricting the content and comments of learners.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What is an Online Community?
I have followed with interest the conversation that has occured within the google groups email, and followed links suggested from other networks I am associated with. This research has lead me to the following belief of what an online community is.
Firstly, I believe that as educated people we tend to get caught up in the expanding nature of the english language. New words and conjunctions of words are developed at a rapid rate, often without significant attempt to define the emergent terms. When we are fronted with a task of presenting what we believe the definition of a term is, like terms are suggested for contemplation and debate. I do not want to enter into the discussions over the differences between communities, networks or groups. I am not interested in exploring the range of community types that exist and whether they relate to researched models. Rather I want to as simply as I can express what a community is, and then offer thoughts on how online communities differ from face to face communities.
In any community there is a buy in, some action to become involved. This suggests that the individual member has some desire to be involved initially, with depth of involvement to be realised at a later date. This is true for my online communities also. I need to subscribe to the blogs, enrol in the course, follow people on twitter and befriend them on Facebook. I actively seek inclusion within the community. However I also choose the level of interaction.
To me the vast difference between online and face to face communities is the pressure for action. It is difficult to be a lurker in a face to face community. Community members would be suspicious of the person sitting and simply gathering all the information but not contributing. Yet this occurs readily in online communities. We will all see many more visits to our blogs than comments posted. Anonymity is an advantage to some in the online communities. In any community members will have individual goals. Anonymity in online communities allows the uninterrupted (and not embarrassing) gathering of information without contribution.
Another significant difference is the ability to "switch off" interaction with specific community members, or whole communities. If I decide someone's tweets are of no use to me, I can simply switch them off without needing to front the person and asking them to stop sending them. This unlimited ability to build of each community exactly what we desire is specific to online communities. This cannot occur face to face without much emotional strain. Similarly, someone can switch me off and I don't necessarily know about. This has the added effect of reduced feedback to me as the contributor, I don't know I am no longer of interest let alone why.
The benefits of online communities are expressed many times over by many people. To me, how else can I readily communicate with people in other parts of the world as easily (and at the same time) as people in my own neighbourhood.
So what is an online community? It is a unique experience where the individual member can build the environment they desire, contribute at a level they are comfortable with and have complete control over what interaction they experience. I guess this is why some online communities fail, as members with vastly different goals ultimately don't collaborate. Unless there is a motivated group that continue facilitating contributions, the commnity will stagnate.
Firstly, I believe that as educated people we tend to get caught up in the expanding nature of the english language. New words and conjunctions of words are developed at a rapid rate, often without significant attempt to define the emergent terms. When we are fronted with a task of presenting what we believe the definition of a term is, like terms are suggested for contemplation and debate. I do not want to enter into the discussions over the differences between communities, networks or groups. I am not interested in exploring the range of community types that exist and whether they relate to researched models. Rather I want to as simply as I can express what a community is, and then offer thoughts on how online communities differ from face to face communities.
In any community there is a buy in, some action to become involved. This suggests that the individual member has some desire to be involved initially, with depth of involvement to be realised at a later date. This is true for my online communities also. I need to subscribe to the blogs, enrol in the course, follow people on twitter and befriend them on Facebook. I actively seek inclusion within the community. However I also choose the level of interaction.
To me the vast difference between online and face to face communities is the pressure for action. It is difficult to be a lurker in a face to face community. Community members would be suspicious of the person sitting and simply gathering all the information but not contributing. Yet this occurs readily in online communities. We will all see many more visits to our blogs than comments posted. Anonymity is an advantage to some in the online communities. In any community members will have individual goals. Anonymity in online communities allows the uninterrupted (and not embarrassing) gathering of information without contribution.
Another significant difference is the ability to "switch off" interaction with specific community members, or whole communities. If I decide someone's tweets are of no use to me, I can simply switch them off without needing to front the person and asking them to stop sending them. This unlimited ability to build of each community exactly what we desire is specific to online communities. This cannot occur face to face without much emotional strain. Similarly, someone can switch me off and I don't necessarily know about. This has the added effect of reduced feedback to me as the contributor, I don't know I am no longer of interest let alone why.
The benefits of online communities are expressed many times over by many people. To me, how else can I readily communicate with people in other parts of the world as easily (and at the same time) as people in my own neighbourhood.
So what is an online community? It is a unique experience where the individual member can build the environment they desire, contribute at a level they are comfortable with and have complete control over what interaction they experience. I guess this is why some online communities fail, as members with vastly different goals ultimately don't collaborate. Unless there is a motivated group that continue facilitating contributions, the commnity will stagnate.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Characteristics of an online community.
The question has been posed, what is a online community? At first reflection I wondered whether I was thinking deep enough on the issue. Was the concept of "online" and "community" as simple as they were obvious?
I am a member of twitter, delicious, facebook and diigo. Each of these services allows me to put something on display for others to see. I can achieve the same process in other ways. I could send SMS or email messages containing the exact same content and push them out to everyone in my contact list. I could spend the time to call people on the phone and advise them what I was thinking or doing. However this requires me to seek the connections and push the information.
To me, the key characteristic of an online community is we seek the connections and information we desire, it is not pushed to us. Any updates I receive through the services I use has required me to "buy in" and agree to updates. I have sought the information that others have posted in the space. If I find a particular person's updates irrelevant I can ignore them or even request no further updates from them. Each individual builds their own online community depending on the tools they use and the people they follow.
This then sparks the thought of tools as enablers for the community. As my repertoire of tools has expanded, my community has expanded. However with that I feel I have also lost regular contact with some people. There are then tools we can use to gather, sort and present the information from the services we subscribe to. I can use Twhirl to view and manage twitter posts. I can establish personal portals (eg. netvibes) and install a facebook widget. The possibilities are never ending.
So what is an online community. At its core it is a personal community constructed by the individual. It is often thought online communities cross boundaries, however boundaries as constructed by the individual still exist. The potential for them to grow beyond control is immense, therefore the ability to facilitate an online community and the skills I learn in this course will enable my personal community as well as any learning communities I endeavour to manage.
I am a member of twitter, delicious, facebook and diigo. Each of these services allows me to put something on display for others to see. I can achieve the same process in other ways. I could send SMS or email messages containing the exact same content and push them out to everyone in my contact list. I could spend the time to call people on the phone and advise them what I was thinking or doing. However this requires me to seek the connections and push the information.
To me, the key characteristic of an online community is we seek the connections and information we desire, it is not pushed to us. Any updates I receive through the services I use has required me to "buy in" and agree to updates. I have sought the information that others have posted in the space. If I find a particular person's updates irrelevant I can ignore them or even request no further updates from them. Each individual builds their own online community depending on the tools they use and the people they follow.
This then sparks the thought of tools as enablers for the community. As my repertoire of tools has expanded, my community has expanded. However with that I feel I have also lost regular contact with some people. There are then tools we can use to gather, sort and present the information from the services we subscribe to. I can use Twhirl to view and manage twitter posts. I can establish personal portals (eg. netvibes) and install a facebook widget. The possibilities are never ending.
So what is an online community. At its core it is a personal community constructed by the individual. It is often thought online communities cross boundaries, however boundaries as constructed by the individual still exist. The potential for them to grow beyond control is immense, therefore the ability to facilitate an online community and the skills I learn in this course will enable my personal community as well as any learning communities I endeavour to manage.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
(FOC08) - Where will this take me?
As mentioned in my last post, I've undertaken an open, online course hosted on wikieducator. The course is entitled Facilitating Online Communities. In this first week, the active members of this course have been having many discussions within the google groups email forum. These email conversations have opened a new world of thought for me.
How do you facilitate a community to encourage participation by many, when open registration will result in a range of abilities and needs? There needs to be the chance for lurking if that is what the participant wishes, but the facilitator would no doubt want engaged interaction to enable learning. I know that in any group situation there will be members who dominate the conversation, how do we encourage the "shy" to contribute. As a teacher in face to face environments this is a little easier. You can "see" the people not engaging. Whereas online, are they lurking, or are they not there at all?
The other train of thought the course has inspired is the old question of which tool is best. In this first week we have been exposed to wiki, blog, email forum and RSS aggregator. These are not new concepts to me, but to many in the course they are. So the thought is which tool is the best for open online communication. I will hold my judgement on this until the course completion.
What excites me about this course is the opportunity to engage and network with a range of talented and knowledgeable individuals. I am yet to be involved in a network or community where I did not learn. This is connectivism at it rawest.
Have you been involved in online learning before? Leave a comment about your experiences.
How do you facilitate a community to encourage participation by many, when open registration will result in a range of abilities and needs? There needs to be the chance for lurking if that is what the participant wishes, but the facilitator would no doubt want engaged interaction to enable learning. I know that in any group situation there will be members who dominate the conversation, how do we encourage the "shy" to contribute. As a teacher in face to face environments this is a little easier. You can "see" the people not engaging. Whereas online, are they lurking, or are they not there at all?
The other train of thought the course has inspired is the old question of which tool is best. In this first week we have been exposed to wiki, blog, email forum and RSS aggregator. These are not new concepts to me, but to many in the course they are. So the thought is which tool is the best for open online communication. I will hold my judgement on this until the course completion.
What excites me about this course is the opportunity to engage and network with a range of talented and knowledgeable individuals. I am yet to be involved in a network or community where I did not learn. This is connectivism at it rawest.
Have you been involved in online learning before? Leave a comment about your experiences.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A venture into open learning
I've been thinking about my ongoing education recently, and in particular searching the web for learning specific to pedagogical application of ICTs. It has disappointed me that such courses are rare in Australia. I have fortunately stumbled across 2 open courses being offered by generous individuals. The first of these is Facilitating Online Communities conducted by Leigh Blackall of Otago Polytechnic. This has spiked my interest as it is based within WikiEducator which promises free e-learning content. At this point there seems to be about 70 people enrolled which will no doubt encourage wide ranging discussion. I am concerned about keeping up with the input from so many people, but I will develop a system.
The second open course I've found is the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course offered by George Siemens and others. There are currently 1200 people signed up to participate in this course. How it progresses will be interesting.
So I've set myself new challenges. I hope my work life will permit these to occur.
The second open course I've found is the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course offered by George Siemens and others. There are currently 1200 people signed up to participate in this course. How it progresses will be interesting.
So I've set myself new challenges. I hope my work life will permit these to occur.
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