Saturday, 28 July 2007
Shift Happens
Did You Know 2.0 is a thought-provoking "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. This June 2007 update of an original includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. It even has its own website. Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE.,Labels: Fisch, learning futures, Scott McLeod, Shift Happens, shifthappens, Web 2.0
posted by Helen Whitehead 11:58 AM
Monday, 23 July 2007
Tag cloud of recent posts
apps communities community copyright courses design e-facilitation e-learning e-moderating earth elearning emoderating emoderator gis google learning life model net network nlabwomen07 online practice technologiescreated at TagCrowd.comLabels: tag cloud
posted by Helen Whitehead 12:43 PM
Plagiarism and Kids on the Net
I was discussing plagiarism software with some colleagues. One said that "one of the most successful techniques is simply to input a whole suspicious sentence into Google in quotes and see what comes up."
I quite agreee. I do this when I am suspicious about submissions to Kids on the Net. On New Year's Day I wrote to a young American girl to say that I wouldn't be publishing her poem because it was a straight copy. I'm usually quite gentle because I sometimes think that teachers give children models and aren't specific enough about how to use the models to create their own poems (plus I think sometimes children remember by heart more than they realise). So I just suggested she try to write her own along the same lines.
Cue an irate and offensive email from child's father saying he "saw her write it". Followed by an embarrassed climbdown when I sent him the URL of the poet's site where it was clearly available to see.
And I still feel guilty because I probably got that child into trouble on what should have been a happy family day!
I've had two girls (American again) fighting over the rights to a poem and I was able to prove that one of them had submitted it to Kids on the Net much earlier than the other even knew about. One of them was about to fail at graduating from high school because she insisted it was her poem. Both had dedicated teachers willing to swear their pupil would never lie. Such a disappointment for the one on the losing side :(Labels: Kids on the Net, plagiarism, poems, poetry, young writers
posted by Helen Whitehead 8:40 AM
Thursday, 19 July 2007
Blogs vs communities of practice
A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions:
- What it is about - its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members
- How it functions - mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity
- What capability it has produced - the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities, artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time? (Wenger 1998)
I've been reading an interesting post from back in 2004 comparing blogs and online communities of practice.
In summary:
What blogs provide that other web-based collaboration tools do not:
- Blogs are more respectful of their authors and of their audience
- Blogs are better connecting tools.
What Communities of Practice provide that a network of bloggers cannot:
- Communities are better social structures for problem-solving, knowledge stewarding and innovation
- Communities of practice are better social structures for learning
How blogs and CoPs live together?
- Blogger networks generate communities of practice (and communities of practice generate projects)
- Communities of Practice can use blogs to communicate with the outside world.
I wonder how that discussion would be updated now? Certainly you wouldn't talk about "weblogs" now! I might have a think about this and post my thoughts at a later date.Labels: blog network, blogging, blogs, communities of practice, emoderating, online community
posted by Helen Whitehead 9:06 AM
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Motivating online students
Keller's ARCS model of motivation
Attention
Relevance
Confidence
Satisfaction
How can I offer all these elements in an online course?
Attention: make sure the activities are engaging and interesting, perhaps even a bit controversial
Relevance: meanwhile, being completely relevant to the subject of study and the context in which they are studying - which varies depending on the student - the context of a full-time undergraduate is different from that of a work-based learner on a short professional development course.
Confidence: making absolutely clear the objectives and activities in the course so that the student knows exactly what is expected of them. Good design and navigation helps here too. It is also the job of the e-moderator to be supportive of learners.
Satisfaction: provide a certificate at the end of the course which is perceived as worthwhile. Provide positive and motivational feedback from the e-moderator. In a self-study multimedia course it might be achieved via short formative quizzes reassuring the student of their learning.Labels: ARCS model, e-moderating, e-moderator, emoderating, emoderator, motivation, online learning
posted by Helen Whitehead 1:48 PM
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Learning resources for free
Learn for free on the Web
http://stingyscholar.blogspot.com/
Tools for sharing
There are tools that already exist for sharing your materials. These include:
*
* Open SLedware an initiative of SL educators to make course content accessible to all
* List of 2.0 Apps
* TeacherTube (think YouTube for teachers)
* Zoho show
* Common Content: a open catalog of Creative Commons licensed content
* Poll DaddyLabels: creative commons, e-learning, free apps, second life, Web 2.0
posted by Helen Whitehead 10:34 AM
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Problem-Based Learning in science
Problem-based learning scenarios used at the University of Leicester on an Integrated Science course include building the pyramids of Egypt (and using them for astronomy), mock court cases, film productions, and preparations for the 2012 London Olympics. These are used to teach subjects such as space science, nanotechnology, biomechanics, and quantum teleportation says Derek Raine of the University of Leicester's Physics Department in an article 'Much of What We Were Doing Didn't Work' in the journal Science (6 July 2007:Vol. 317. no. 5834, p. 68)."Working in teams, students are given a real-world problem to research, solve, and then explicate to the class. One exercise casts students as the crew of a cargo plane that has crashed on a desert island and asks them to construct some sort of beacon to communicate their position."
It is a shame that the reason behind the change is the desperate attempt to recruit more students to the physical sciences, but a good thing that innovative approaches like Prof Raine's are now given free rein. (sorry about the pun...)
Labels: physics, problem-based learning, science
posted by Helen Whitehead 11:41 AM
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Ground rules for online courses
In my e-moderating courses recently we have been discussing whether or not ground rules are necessary to manage student expectations.
I'm a great believer in groundrules: I think people like to know where they stand, and if expectations are made clear at the beginning, then it is easier to manage complaints or disagreements at a later date.
Here's an example:Students are expected to:
Students can expect tutors to:
- have the basic technical requirements to access the course (tech requirements re type of computers, operating system and software are given in advance and are as wide as is possible, but if the system doesn't work on Vista, for example, that is made clear before people sign up)
- commit themselves to doing the work required for the course within the timeframe specified
- give feedback to at least two other members of the class (...in each e-tivity - or this expectation can be made clear in each e-tivity)
- take an active part in the online discussion board at least three times per week
- participate in evaluation and feedback schemes where required
- hand in assignments on time. Late assignments will be accepted only at the discretion of the tutor and only in exceptional circumstances.
- abide by our code of conduct (see below)
Copyright statement
- log on to the discussion boards several times a week and be regularly available by email or chat
- respond to queries and posts within a stated time (usually 2 working days)
- provide course material on time
- set each assignment at least a week before its due date
- provide quality course materials which fulfil the stated aims for each course (OK so that one's a bit woolly!)
Students are expected to be aware of the restrictions of copyright and not to breach the copyright of any other student, writer of printed materials, or source on the web. All posted materials remain the copyright of the person posting. Material posted on the discussion boards must not be quoted outside the course without prior permission from the originator.
The teaching environment is private to students and writing posted within your course is available ONLY to students and tutors of that course. It does not constitute publication nor will the material be available on the web permanently.
Example Code of Conduct
This one was developed by the trAce Online Writing Centre community:trAce exists to connect writers and readers around the world in real and
virtual space. As a professional and social online community, as well as a
learning environment, for writers, readers and other artists, and in support of
its purpose, the trAce Online Writing Centre has adopted three general governing
principles:
1. Principle of Tolerance
We are people of many nationalities, ages, cultures and artistic persuasions. We ask that everyone act with respect for others and recognize that effort may be necessary to avoid misunderstandings rising out of our differences.
2. Principle of Artistic and Intellectual Freedom
We are committed to:
a) supporting artistic practice across its entire range
b) recognising such practice as a basic means of expression
c) regarding as fundamental our protection and promotion of the artistic and intellectual freedom of the artists with whom we work.
3. Principle of Responsible Behaviour
We share not only a common sector of cyberspace but also resources, which are provided through real-life support, effort and funding and which are finite. Responsible behaviour is defined as that which conforms to netiquette standards and which does not interfere in the access and use of trAce resources.The above principles were drafted by a representative group of trAce
users in May 2000 and are supported by the organisation as a whole.Labels: copyright, e-facilitation, e-moderating, online community, online courses, online tutor, online tutoring, student expectations
posted by Helen Whitehead 2:00 PM
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
The world in 3D
Maps have been around for a long time, but trying to represent a 3D world in 2D has not been easy and we are used to looking at what are actually distorted representations. Until now, online maps have been the same...
However Google and Microsoft are beginning to change all that in a move that allows online mapping to take advantage of the digital at last. Both have launched 3D maps: unusual to use, but perhaps it will become second nature. In both cases programs have to be downloaded to be able to use the system.
I've been looking at my house - it's frightening how much those satellites can see!
Google Earth http://earth.google.com/
Microsoft's Virtual Earth http://www.maps.live.com/Labels: 3D, GIS, Google Earth, maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth
posted by Helen Whitehead 9:00 AM
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
What is online community?
Community is not the same as commonalityPeople at a bus stop are not a community. people who go online are not a community.
"A community is a group of people who form relationships over time by interacting regularly around shared experiences, which are of interest to all of them for varying individual reasons." Jake McKeeLabels: e-facilitation, e-learning, e-moderation, nlabwomen, nlabwomen07, online communities, online community
posted by Helen Whitehead 9:46 PM
Monday, 2 July 2007
Pay me to be you online?
Rory Cellan-Jones writing on the BBC website says
"I met somebody the other day who told me that online networking was so important, and he didn't have the time, he was paying somebody to be him online. To blog, network, post etc . £1,000 a month too. "
I would like to state for the record - I'm available! Ten years of experience in online social networks (yes they did exist 10 years ago, they just didn't have a trendy label) has to count for something.
Labels: online identity, social networking
posted by Helen Whitehead 1:04 PM
