Looking to engage with other communities of practice online? Then be sure to check out the Webheads in Action Online Convergence 2009 happening NOW and this weekend (May 22-24, 2009).
The Webheads are a world-wide, cross-cultural, and vibrant online-community of educators with an open enrollment for anyone who wants to join.
I am going to tune into a bit on UStream, check out the traffic on Twitter (hashtag WiAOC) & then call it a day.
Happy Weekend to all!
Categories: Learning Community · Professional Development · Virtual Communities
Tagged: 2009, action, community, convergence, online, PD, webheads, WiAOC
This question was posed as the central topic of today’s EDUCAUSE web seminar (May 19, 2009) – Where Is the Open Education Movement Going? hosted by Brian Lamb & David Wiley.
Much of the session focused around:
For those of you who missed the presentation, you are able to access the Educause web seminar archive for the slides or recording of the online event. This session was also a good prelude for the Open Education Conference which will be held in Vancouver, BC August 12-14, 2009.
Great comments from the online chat in the session today. Here are a few messages that resonated with me:
- Can’t we set up private areas as well as shareable areas in our online learning environments? Both can be useful.
- Many faculty are online and don’t realize the extent possibly
- Old School Traditional Professors Unite–you have nothing to lose but your chains.
- A lot depends on the way the activities are integrated, and whether the teacher walks the walk him- or herself.
More converstations to follow on Twitter – #opened09
Categories: Higher Education · Open Education
Tagged: access, brianlamb, content, davidwiley, education, educause, movement, opened, openeducation, PD, seminar, session, webseminar
The Higher Education Academy and JISC have recently (May 12, 2009) published a new Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World report (also available as a PDF), which examines the projected future trends in the use of technology in higher education.
The group was created in February 2008 to conduct independent research and review policy implications for higher education, specifically around the experience and expectations of learners and the increase of emerging technologies.
Flickr photo by jrodgers
The HE in a Web 2.0 World report analyzes the use of web 2.0 technologies at colleges & universities in the UK, with regards to the digital divide and information literacy. It is clear that various institutions are utilizing online resources in various ways to support learning and engagement.
Categories: Higher Education · Learning Technologies · web 2.0
Tagged: highered, 2009, web2.0, learning, technologies, emerging, report, UK, trends
Today was the second half of Exploring the Future of Courses: From Courses to Dis/Course web conference. There great things to hear & learn about from the 3 sessions:
It is great to engage with others who share the same passion and interest in the EdTech community. Although there was some great exchange today, I did leave the online conference with many questions and thoughts to ponder. After digesting the wealth of information & presentations I will be sure to share more thoughts.
Many thanks to:
For more follow up discussions check out the Disc09 Moodle.
Categories: Collaboration · Higher Education · Learning Community · Learning Technologies · Professional Development
Tagged: classroom, conference, disc09, online, openlearning, PD, pedagogy, teaching
Exploring the Future of Courses: From Course to Dis/Course is a short, online (FREE) conference May 14 & 15, 2009. Anyone is able to join in the session presentations & discussions that delve into the topic of online learning and course content that is shared in Elluminate & in Moodle.
Current course models of development, creation and sharing is in question for our learners. Many challenges and changes to digital technologies will impact how to best design course content.
Today’s presentations included:
Most of the sessions discussed how educators are managing the challenges new technology presents and its effect on current course models, data-driven material and learner needs in a digital.
For those of you who could not attend today, be sure to join in online tomorrow OR catch up with the conversation online. If are not able to tune in live, be sure to follow along in Twitter, Delicious or blogs with the hash tag – #disc09
[The sessions in Elluminate will be recorded and archived shortly.]
Great question posed by George Siemens, towards the end of his presentation, to further ponder:
“What is the vital currency of education in a world where the information cycle is no longer controllable?”
Categories: Learning Community · Learning Technologies · Professional Development
Tagged: conference, content, courses, disc09, discourse, exploring, future, georgesiemans, learning, online, PD
Here is an archived clip I was reminded of today about the current state of our learners. Although this video past posted back in 2007, I think that the “vision” or purpose of the message still holds true as we support technology & learning.
This video is brought to you by Kansas State University, who has a working group led by Dr. Michael Wesch. This group is dedicated to exploring and extending the possibilities of digital ethnography. You can follow along at Media Cultures or @mwesch.
Categories: Higher Education · Learning Community
Tagged: highered, technology, learning, students, vision, today, KSU, michaelwesch, cultural, anthropology
How much technology should be in K-12 classrooms?
This was today’s topic on CBC Radio One’s Get Talking this afternoon. Much of this discussion evolved from the Ontario Public School Board Association discussion paper What If?: Technology in the 21st Century Classroom. This paper reviewed how technology can support and contribute to learning in school. Many callers shared concerns and questions about the increase of technology in the classroom, with respects to relevance, budget priorities, curriculum needs and instructor knowledge of resources.
Not all listeners approached the topic from a negative perspective. It was apparent that technology is thought to be an excellent instructional tool. One current example is the “adopt-a-teacher” program at Don Mills Collegiate in the GTA. This program supports the idea of how to utilize knowledge from the digital natives – the students. Students are able to share their experience with various emerging technologies that can incorporate into the learning experience.
Walls are coming down between teacher and learner. The idea of fostering learning from both ends brings learning communities to the forefront of education.
Students find the classroom more ‘relevant’ when they have opportunities to interact with real world experiences and practical learning means. Lets engage our students in the entire learning process.
Categories: K-12 · Learning Technologies
Tagged: classroom, K-12, learning, ontario, technology
Most universities and colleges connect with students in web portal environments from recruitment/admission onwards. Many schools are tapping into the personalization and effective information dissemination of this portal experience.
Web portals allow higher education institutions to connect students, staff and faculty in order to share a variety of information and resources that might not appear on a public website. Believe it or not, it has replaced most paper and mail communication for courses, publications and beyond.
Educause has an interesting online publication called Web Portals and Higher Education: Technologies to Make IT Personal which details how you can optimize your web portal for communication, learning, marketing and more!
Recently I was invited to join HigherEdSpace, a “college portal and social networking site for higher education community.” It is designed to network and connect professionals, academics, students and external service providers to the post-secondary forum. I was wondering how this website differs from LinkedIn, Facebook or other higher professional associations I use online.
Some web portals are more inviting and user friendly than others – depending on the interface and software platform. The HigherEd Space portal reminded of ULife and MyMiami web portals I have in the past. The bottom line is that all portals attempt to connect users & house information (events, calendar, courses, etc) in a central location for the university population. But overall, I wonder how effectively web portals are utilized? And are these platforms the best content management systems for communication and learning?
Please share YOUR experience with web portals in higher education – the good, the bad & the ugly are all welcome.
Categories: Higher Education · Virtual Communities
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