Swarm Intelligence
Quote: "It is better to socialize decisions with those that are involved in them - not as a mealy-mouthed "empowerment" exercise, but as a means to get the best ideas out in the light of day, to allow all to make their contributions and raise their concerns, and to recognize what is good based on merit and not on personage."
What Works in Blended Learning
Quote: "Blended learning is the latest buzzword in corporate training. It sounds so simple: mix e-learning with other types of training delivery. But questions persist. What are the best ways to blend delivery types? When do you blend? What blends work best with what? And the $million question: Will the term blended learning replace e-learning?"
Comment: Blended learning treats technology the way it should be treated in an educational context: as a tool to achieve intended outcomes. Technology in learning affords two benefits: increased access to learning...increased effectiveness of learning.
While this article describes the process of a formal blended learning project, I think it's important to realize that simply adding a discussion forum, mailing list, or collaborative space, to an existing course can be an effective start.
Ice Machines, Steamboats, And Education:Structural Change And Educational Technologies (.pdf) via Distance-Educator
Quote: "Every revolutionary technology starts with a wimper. It's full revolutionary bang is realized only later after fundamental structural changes are made to accomodate the new technology."
Comment: After detailing how various new technologies have been adopted in the past, the author makes a similar case for the adoption of technology in learning...and then moves into a series of predictions or "Dreams of Transformed Education".
Stephen Downes wins the "most interesting article name of the year (so far)" award: How to Create an RSS Feed With Notepad, a Web Server, and a Beer. Nice. Simple. Quick.
Swing era was a very small world
This short article looks at the networks of jazz musicians and dophins. I think I've made this "prediction" before: networks will become increasingly central to designing and analyzing informal learning. Small communities of practice, loosely joined, are the future of effective, lifelong learning...especially in corporate environments. Any software tool that allows this mix of community creation, with capacity for connecting communities, has a bright future (hey, sounds like blogs, wikis, collaborative spaces...:)).
Multimedia Authoring. Came across this site via a listserv. It lists about 900 resources relating to multimedia authoring. Alan shows up all over the place!
Intellectual Property in Education
Quote: "The IP problem is not going to evaporate until ways are found to balance the monetary demands of creators of intellectual commodities against the need for a free flow of knowledge and the distribution of its outcomes at a reasonable price..."
Comment: ...and I would add, with the provision of an alternative to licensing work under a copyright system that serves the needs of physical resources...not digital. In the spirit of true democracy, we need alternatives - where the content creator can assign uses and release learning materials to the larger community. Copyright is a monopoly. Creative Commons is a start. It's about balance - allow the content creator to earn a living...allow the content user to build/extend/improve the resource.
Open Source Gets Down To Business :
Quote: "There's the question of how does money flow into the open source ecosystem, and what kind of an impact does open source have on the commercial world. People start out thinking that they'll save on licensing costs because the software is free. But it turns out that more of the financial benefit comes from the network effects associated with the transfer of knowledge, and the interactions that happen between people."
Comment: This (open source and commercialism) came up recently in regards to the Elearning Marketplace...and it's a discussion that will be happening much more in the future. The ideological nature of open source needs to be preserved, however, while the movement learns to "play for-profit".
I've seen this mentioned on other blogs in the past...but this is the first time I've looked at the site map of EduResources. Nice. Bookmark it!
Quote: "I believe that there is great value in experimenting with what it means to practice Instructional Design. Currently, I think our practice is too heavily influenced by economics and the demands of business and production. I also feel it has been dominated by our need/desire to find some standard principles of learning that we can rely on to produce satisfactory learning outcomes."
Stories of Adult Learning
"Visit a classroom making wise use of technologies and you will see a judicious blending of tools - no digital imperatives warping values."...I like Stephen Downes' comments on this: "I enjoyed this article, which isn't really a set of stories so much as an extended account of why it is that you have to have some idea of what you're going to do with a technology before actually installing it in a learning environment. It's the old story: new technology plus old practice equals old practice plus a pile of useless junk."
Components of Adaptive Systems: "Just as physics has core principles, so do adaptive systems. The basics involve:
New Australian e-learning centre of excellence starts work: "...focus of the centre: the practical and pedagogical implications of e-learning interoperability standards."
This is a quick update on the post I made earlier about setting up an Elearning Marketplace. I posted a similar message to some listservs...and received a response back from a moderator of a large list (who had deleted the post). A statement was made to the effect of "Why are you doing this? I looked at your site, and you have a lot of open source stuff. This appears to be a conflict." Question was really two-fold: what's your motive...and how does it reconcile with your other articles.
First - my motives. My intent for elearnspace is pretty straight forward. It's stated here. I don't offer a product or service. I have a website. That's about it. It's a source of personal interest. If I see something that I think may interest others, or provide a service, and if I can do...then I'll do it. That's what the marketplace is about. It's weird - people will take some things for free (i.e. subscribe to a newsletter, download software)...but when it comes to a service that may be of use (a very relative concept), the question seems to be "what's the catch?". I wonder if people like Stephen, Maish, or Jay, get questions about why they do what they do (and what their angle is).
Second - in regards to software - open source in no way/shape/form says it doesn't like money. Open source is about freedom...not free. Do some people actually think that by saying "open source" any thought of profit/money is to be excluded? Far from the truth. It's about where on the "money chain" people make money. Traditionally, it's been the creation of a physical product (because that is where the input costs were highest). Now, the costs are farther down the chain - the revenue is generated at the point of providing a service. My focus with elearnspace hasn't been to generate revenue (it's all licensed under Creative Commons)...but if others are trying to make a living - especially at the service provision level - fine by me. I make my choices. They make theirs. I advocate for what I believe in...and they do the same. Few things can be boxed black and white. There's always some bleeding of color.
Third - I setup the Marketplace in response to the amount of requests I get for vendors to be added to the elearnspace site. I thought, the best way to address this was to give vendors control over their own identity. I want to be fair about who's on the elearnspace site...but I don't want it to become a commercial forum. While I have some vendors listed in certain areas, it's tough to keep up with new...and I want elearnsapce to be a resource site with an educational slant. It seemed like a good idea to give vendors their own space as a resources/service to visitors of elearnspace site.
Fourth - my interest in Open Education is based on common sense. Copyright is crippling innovation. The stated purpose of Open Education is to provide an alternative - to give educators a choice about what they do with their content...with the hopeful impact of educators joining together to create an open market of idea and resource exchange. How does that conflict with the creation of a marketplace that offers hardware/consultants/software providers an opportunity to promote themselves?
Did I make a mistake by initiating Elearning Marketplace? I welcome thoughts.
Over the last year, I've received many emails from vendors who would like to have their company listed on the elearnspace site. In response, I've created an Elearning Marketplace. It's an area where a vendor (any producer of products or provider of services related to elearning) can create an account, put up an information page and make themselves accessible to potential customers.
So, if you're a vendor, head over to the site...setup and account, etc. I have a sample page and guidelines available.
Once a reasonable amount of vendors have signed up, I'll begin to promote it more to potential customers. For now, it's in beta. I still have to make some changes before it'll be more usable. Should be ok for vendors to get their information into for now.
John Robb points to this nice Taxonomy of Communication
Knowledge Networks - Mapping and Measuring Knowledge Creation and Re-Use (participio). This excellent exploration of knowledge networks (and the exchange of knowledge within those networks) makes me wonder why more work hasn't been done to explore network concepts in more formal learning environments. Obviously, if a course is heavily lecture based, not much formal networking happens...but if learners are involved in group work, it would be interesting to see how knowledge is transferred from learner to learner...and how it translates to a graphicical representation...i.e. is the teacher at the center of the network? Periphery?
Simulation: bringing e-learning to a new level (TrainingWatch): "The concept behind computer-based simulation in e-learning is simple, and compelling: Practice makes perfect. Pioneered in the 1970s by the military and airlines, simulation training has since become part of the training regimen for nuclear engineers, telecom technicians, and financial forecasters--disciplines where making a mistake in the real world can be costly. And increasingly, e-learning vendors and corporate training departments are applying that logic to mainstream business skills such as team building, project management, consultative sales, customer service, and strategic thinking."
Back-Channeling
Back-channeling ("the process of carrying on secondary 'side-bar' conversations via IM, e-mail and other written media while someone holds forth at the front of the room") is new to me in name...but not in concept. Teaching methodologies change when computers are injected into a classroom environment. Our department at RRC went laptop about 5 years ago. Initially, new students are fascinated with their laptop...but after a few weeks, the fascination changes as they build their instant messaging network and find other uses (censored due to RIAA...:)). When I'm in a classroom lecturing, I have to compete with a learner's ability to visit any site in, or engage in conversation with friends from round, the world. It's a bit unnerving. It's very different teaching a group of multi-taskers with laptops than teaching traditional students (even though they may be as actively engaged in multi-tasking - doodling, day dreaming, etc.).
This article presents a similar dilemma in meetings. Is back-channeling or multi-tasking rude? Allowable? I've taken the approach in a classroom that students have a right to make their own choices (and suffer their own consequences)...so if they want to surf/explore/chat - fine...as long as it doesn't disrupt others.
You Don't Know Me, but... Social Capital & Social Software
If you are familiar with social software - this report probably won't present any new tools. If you aren't familiar - this report is an excellent place to start. The basic premise - as a society, we are getting more technical...and software is getting more social. Increased use of social software will allow organizations to (apparently) move tacit knowledge to codified knowledge (why is it always about making that transition? Why can't tacit stay tacit? Build the pipes to connect...not the tools to convert - that makes more sense to me).
The Best Network Wins (via thought?horizon)
Quote: "The best network wins. In technology, in business, in consumer affairs, in politics, in war, the best network wins. And how do you get the best network? By sharing information more effectively than your competitors -- regardless of who they are."
Comment: Yes!! In a networked environment, the pipe is the key. What's in the pipe is less valuable. Same with learning. What I know today will be obsolete in a few months/years. My network of staying current and continuing to learn is far more important than what I know now. We all build our own "learning network" - it may be colleagues beside us...websites we visit, listservs we subscribe to. What is fascinating about blogging is that it is an interconnected learning network. Tap into one blog...and you're tapped into the whole network. Stick around a bit...and sooner or later, you'll meet them all! For me, blogging is my personal learning network. I have daily access to provocative thinkers who are willing to share and work together to connect the personal learning networks into a larger whole.
New blog: infoshophy (via Library Stuff): "Information structures and information technologies do not develop in isolation. Similarly, the social structures in our society do not develop free from technological influence. The information technology and the social structures in our human society inform and shape each other."
Open source or no: Let the market decide: "The world benefits from competition between open-source and proprietary software and from the pressure that the strengths of each form puts on the other." Excellent point.
Groove: Ten Good Reasons Not To Buy. I like Groove as a learning platform...and as I've stated before, it's the best experience I've had to date with a community/collaboration suite. Still, this article nails it - Groove is complex, bandwidth intensive, and some features (voip, text chat) need work. With that said, I'll still continue to use Groove. It has weaknesses...but it's currently largely in a field by itself. (I'm working with Convea now...and it seems to be a good replacement...). It's so important that the tools we use to collaborate are simple and easy to use. The "early majority" has not yet hit the collaborative tools scene. Hopefully things will be more blog/RSS-like by then...:)
Months ago, I posted list of bloggers focusing on education/technology. I had quite a few responses and additions to my original list. I've transferred the page to its new permanent home. If you want to add someone (or yourself) let me know.
I forgot about about the full text RSS feed until Lilia mentioned it. I had set it up on my "old" blog. David Carter-Tod posted a tag to insert into a Movable Type blog to give a full text RSS. Thanks David...and Lilia!
I have redesigned the elearnspace website - according to the model presented in this short article: The Whole Picture of Elearning. Too often, elearning projects fail (or at minimum, suffer) due to a failure to understand how the pieces all fit together. By focusing on the wrong things (and ignoring others), projects are less effective than desired.
I've added about 20 additional resource pages (and will add more over the next several days) based on interest of readers (and hype in the industry). Inlcuding wikis, RSS, elearning adoption/promotion, semantic web, search, classification, LMS, etc. Look at the site map for more information.
I will be switching the site over to a new server in the next day or two. Unfortunately, some articles and links will be broken (especially from the elearnspace blog - but also to various resource pages).
As always, thoughts/opinions/feedback are welcomed. Please direct them to this post in the new blog.
One of the cardinal rules of blogging is NEVER, EVER change your blog address. Well, I'll be breaking that rule in a few days. If you read this blog via RSS, the new feed will be: http://207.44.177.240/blog/index.rdf.
The physical link to the blog is: http://207.44.177.240/blog/ ...which will change to http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ once I do the DNS transfer.
Computer Programs for Social Network Analysis. Great place to start exploring tools for analyzing social networks.
Data Mining Email to Discover Social Networks and Communities of Practice. Practical illustration of the benefits of social network analysis (in this case - the emails generated due to a project running behind schedule).
Enemies of Learning (.pdf) (via thought?horizon): Short paper - says a lot. A few "enemies":
Man Makes a Living off Nano-Publishing ...sounds like a "dog bites man" story! I wonder if this is an indication of the type of careers in a knowledge economy. If so, bloggers may have a revenue generating future ahead...:). For more: Blogging for Bucks
Usability Heuristics for Rich Internet Applications
Quote: "Rich Internet Applications offer the benefits of distributed, server-based Internet applications with the rich interface and interaction capabilities of desktop applications..."
Comment: Extends Nielsen's Heuristics for Use to include rich media. Web development is ahead of elearning in design considerations...many lessons can be learned here (without the mistakes!).
Elearning Gains Momentum via TrainingWatch: "Like many sectors spawned from the emergence of the Internet, it has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous forecasts, but all indications now point to a growing and vibrant sector"
Blogs and Wikis (via EdTechPost). Great use of blogs and wikis for collaborative/personal learning. See this excellent comparison of the characteristics of blogs and wikis: "Blogs and wikis, because they are different spaces, manifest/take advantage of/engage different epistemic and rhetorical possibilities and serve different rhetorical and epistemic ends. They engage different rhetorics: one topical, carved from the inside out; the other chronological, staying on top of things."
Converging Knowledge Management, Training, and elearning (.pdf)
This paper looks at several obviously converging concepts. Learning is a multi-faceted process...and one aspect is not indicative of the whole. For example, structured, classroom learning does not account for the values of learning through experience...and vice versa. The contradictory characteristics of learning (structured but open, constructive but knowable, personal but communal etc.) are best represented in creating a "whole perspective" view. KM has a role...but so does elearning...and communities...and classroom learning. To assume that learning can be represented/produced by only one approach is to misjudge how learning really happens. This is why the view of an LMS as the center of elearning is so limiting. It's not about one thing...it's about a bricolage.
Tipping Point, Power Laws, Linked, and Weblogs
Interesting summary of Malcom Gladwell's thoughts...explores social networks, powerlaws, etc.
Adaptive Hypermedia (.ppt) via Stephen Downes
Quote: "In Hypermedia every piece of information can be, at the same time, center and periphery, introduction and conclusion, important and unimportant according to the knowledge, interests and navigational choices operated by the user."
Comment: Not that we've got the whole learning objects thing worked out...but this is a fascinating exploration of adaptive hypermedia (AH)...i.e. personalizing learning. I've stated previously that the greatest value of learning objects is not reusability...but rather the ability to personalize learning for the individual learner - "a qualified user can be provided with more detailed and deep info while a novice can receive additional explanation".
The presentation begins with a discussion of adaptive hypermedia...then explores what and how to adapt...and ends with a review of learning object standards. The concept of AH is still new (at least to me)...but it will be interesting to see if it gains momentum and begins to impact on elearning...or if it's turns into "it was a good idea".
When I think of the related fields of knowledge management, elearning, electronic performance support...the notion of adaptive intelligence fits in (and extends the fields) perfectly - it's a blending of many of the front lines of technology. A quick exploration of the author's homepage presents the field in context: networks, artificial intelligence, intelligent education systems, multimedia, integrated learning environment, collaborative authoring, etc.
Upload a File, Go to Prison : "A new bill proposed in Congress on Wednesday would land a person in prison for five years and impose a fine of $250,000 for uploading a single file to a peer-to-peer network." I think most violent crimes carry a lesser sentence. Seems to indicate we value intellectual property more than people...and in fact, this appears to be the whole mindset of movie/music industry.
Friendster: This article focuses mainly on Friendster, but does list several other services seeking to meaningfully connect/network people (also see this analysis of various products).
Why people do not ask questions? : "...sharing your knowledge at least makes you an "expert" while asking others can "show" how "stupid" you are. Next to it there is "not invented here" syndrome and higher satisfaction of inventing your own solutions rather than reusing work of others."
Seven Survival Tips for Knowledge Managers:
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis (via Act-KM list): An online book...exploring how we think/make decisions, how to improve our thinking, tools, etc. Very interesting. This statement caught my eye: "The mind is poorly "wired" to deal effectively with both inherent uncertainty (the natural fog surrounding complex, indeterminate intelligence issues) and induced uncertainty (the man-made fog fabricated by denial and deception operations)."
When Rebooting is Not an Option
Quote: "Rebooting has become routine for many computer users...but...we are moving toward a day when all sorts of electronic equipment-computers, PDAs, cell phones, TV sets, MP3 players, perhaps even the kitchen's microwave-will be exchanging data and trying to make our lives easier and more comfortable. And in this emerging technoscape of pervasive computing, the "turn off, turn on" solution will be of no help."
Wireless Case Study - UBC (.pdf): Interesting comment on their rationalization for going wireless - because it's becoming a part of part of the everyday lives of students - cell phones, handhelds, notebooks. In other words, students expect it. Neat idea - an educational facility responding to the life habits of learners...:).
The Power of Grassroots. Forget the political side of this...the real news is what is happening with a group of people who are using technology as a catalyst for change, connections, communications, and "sharing the message" (whatever the message is).
The Psychology of Change Management (Free registration required...but worth it :)) via KJJ
Quote: "Employees will alter their mind-sets only if they see the point of the change and agree with it-at least enough to give it a try. The surrounding structures (reward and recognition systems, for example) must be in tune with the new behavior. Employees must have the skills to do what it requires. Finally, they must see people they respect modeling it actively. Each of these conditions is realized independently; together they add up to a way of changing the behavior of people in organizations by changing attitudes about what can and should happen at work."
Comment: As educators, we are really in the ultimate change management field...we are constantly directing learners to adopt new/different ways of thinking and doing. This is compounded when we are teaching with technology. It's important to remember, however, that the issue is not the technology, but the underlying mindset that shapes a learners perception of the need to even try.
Communities of Practice resource page. Learning communities and communities of practice play an interesting role in organizations...they are the bridging points between elearning and knowledge management. Expect to hear much more about this in learning environments (as well as social network analysis as a KM strategy).
Traditional classroom learning has carried over to the online course model - learning has a starting point...and an ending point. In reality, our knowledge needs in our jobs are very unlike what we experience in classrooms. Our needs aren't clear...they arise as concerns and frustrations present themselves in our work. Course models of learning can't address this...we need a dynamic, reactionary learning community to meet our unpredictable needs. A course is static and it ends. A community is vibrant and it grows in reaction to the contributions and needs of its members. It's that simple.
Perennial Plagiarism. Great resource on plagiarism from Web Tools newsletter. This resource by Sharon Stoerger is worth bookmarking. I have additional plagiarism information here.
I'm not sure if you've been following the Pilgrim/Winer relationship over the past week. If you haven't, great!...if you have, my sympathies. Over the last year, "the innovators" (aka a-list bloggers) have demonstrated an amazing level of immaturity. Initially, it was the RDF vs. RSS (it goes back prior to RSS 2.0 - see this history) debate, which fractured the syndication protocol for content sharing. Bad blood all around. The elite of the blogosphere reduced themselves to a schoolyard of bullies - arguing, but achieving nothing productive (debate can be very healthy if it leads to something other than more debating).
Now the attention has shifted to the Echo (or whatever the name is today) project (more here). The issue is now more about name calling than debating.. It's way off topic.
I love RSS...but it's being killed by egos. Just as it is on the point of breakout (or tipping)...it's imploding under the weight of the very people who've helped make it popular. Here's a news flash: like every relationship gone sour, it's not just one person...i.e. it's not just Mark or Dave that's at fault.
In sports, there's a statement to the effect of "they didn't beat us, we beat ourselves". Well, AOL's announcement to offer blogging services (and the anticipated entrance of Microsoft) will have a significant altering effect to the landscape. Right now, the innovators and early adopters reign. Add several million new bloggers (who couldn't care less about the technical specs of RSS and the poisoned climate in which blogging's biggest egos interact)...and the whole debate becomes irrelevant. AOL and Microsoft call the tunes. We dance. And, over the next several years as the smoke clears, the innovators can look at each other and honestly say: "They didn't beat us...we beat ourselves".
New Blog: COP^2: "Smatterings of thought about communities of practice, instructional technology, virtual communities, technology-based training, collaborative learning environments, e-learning, organizational learning, and performance improvement." Part of a series of research projects funded by Masie Center.
I just attended a teleconference where Brian Lamb, D'Arcy Norman, and Alan Levine presented The Fuss about RSS (this wiki links to a lot of resources, tutorials, and information). They did a great job! Some of their statements:
Pitch
Quote: "" "Pitch" is a free, online, peer-reviewed journal focusing on facilitating discourse related to free and open access to learning opportunities for all. The goal of the journal is to provide a forum for discussion that will lead to better understandings of the problems and solutions associated with providing broadly available, freely available educational opportunity."
Comment: This is a timely initiative. Discussion of learning material openness needs to happen before a learning object infrastructure is in place. If we wait that long, the existing copyrighted model will simply be adopted. Change is easiest in the midst of other change. Educators attempting to move the existing physical/paper/text based model away from a copyrighted model have a real challenge. However, the digitization of learning material presents a really unique opportunity for educators - things are already changing...now just add that little extra dash of change that encourages sharing. I'm convinced that if we act quickly, open education has a real chance. If we wait...the opportunity will pass us by.
Process for Selecting an LMS (via David Carter-Tod). This resource provides a detailed overview of the LMS selection process. Now, if someone would compile a similar resources detailing the process for determining if an LMS is actually needed (quite often, a combination of simple social tools can be as much or more effective)...
The Nine Pillars of Successful Web Teams
Quote: "Every Web team has its own take on dividing up roles and responsibilities and implementing processes for design and development. Formal titles, job descriptions, and reporting structures can vary widely. But the best teams I've encountered have one important thing in common: their team structure and processes cover a full range of distinct competencies necessary for success."
Comment: Web design and elearning design should be much more alike than they are. Web design is well ahead in terms of team-based, usability-focused, user-researched development model. Educators are used to doing everything themselves - from course conception, to design, to delivery. In elearning, a model of distinct competencies is needed. Depending on the complexity of the project, competencies may be needed in programming, graphic design, instructional design, media (video/audio), etc. One person isn't able to do it all...the model for elearning development that makes most sense should resemble the one listed in this article...(with one addition - opening the content for reuse to the larger education community...:)).
This is a great resource page (via EdTechDev): Start Programming...an online book for the "complete beginner" on programming.
I received this as an email: Are You Normal...and thought it was too interesting to keep to myself...:). I was a bit surprised by the results...and people I've tried it with have been equally "freaked out". Something about the process says much about how we think/learn...and our susceptibility to suggestions. I'd be curious to hear thoughts from others as to how it works...I have my suspicions, but nothing absolute.
Getting Anonymous: Recent pressure from the recording industry threatening lawsuits for music traders has created a new segment of interest in software: anonymous browsing, P2P, etc. While initiatives like Microsoft's Passport are trying to find ways to preserve and authenticate identities, some Internet surfers are taking the opposite approach and opting for invisibility. I guess it's largely a function of the needs of an Internet surfer...but this identity/copyright/IP battle is far from over.
Learning and Games (via slashdot)
Quote: "Games make kids smarter when they play them proactively, that is, when they think about game design, how their own styles of play interact with that design, how different strategies work, and how games relate to other things like books, movies, and the world. Schools may not yet care about this, but modern workplaces care about whether people can think about how their environments are designed and can be re-designed to be better and more productive."
Hi-tech babble baffles many
Quote: "The technology industry must simplify its vocabulary so that consumers around the world can better understand the benefits technology can bring to their lives"
Comment: Hmm...and I can't image the combination tech and education terms (pedagogy, androgogy, brain-compatible classroom, instructional design, synchronous learning, asynchronous learning...etc.) will help clarify the situation for educators trying to integrate technology with teaching...
New Rules of the Game, or New Game? Part-One via Sarah Lohnes: "With the rise of social software, will the established rules of academia need to be revised? Or is the institution itself facing obsolescence?"
Good resource: Logic and Critical Thinking...see also Stephen's Guide to the Logical Fallacies
Q&A with Professor Karen Stephenson
Quote: "Trust is the medium through which important knowledge--the message--is passed. And if you can understand where the leverage is within that trust network you can use it for the benefit of the entire organization...But there is a dark side to trust. You can have too much of a good thing if you will. You could trust too deeply, too much, and when that happens you commune, you change your behavior, you become like them, and you lose your sense of a larger context--one might say objectivity--and then you are not going to be innovative. Real innovation occurs not in the center, but in the periphery. For innovators to survive, they must go around these clique-ish roadblocks."
Surprising findings about video game players
This article presents findings of a study of the video game habits of students: "players are social multitaskers"..."College gamers are not necessarily male -- or anti-social hermits."
Between Technology and Teacher Effectiveness: Professional Development
Quote: "As teachers develop their core technology skills, they need on-going support through a professional development environment that is consistently interwoven with hands-on use of technology to reinforce their efforts and learning."
Comment: The conversation on using and implementing technology is still happening several levels higher than the teacher level. In order for technology to be seemlessly integrated with instruction and learning, the discussion needs to be brought down to the "classroom" level, and the voices of teachers and learners need to be heard and listened to. Success at this level will occur when simple, social tools are placed into the hands of the teachers/learners. Teachers shouldn't have to become technologists to be online teachers.
RSS Killed the Infoglut Star
Quote: "When I started using an RSS newsreader daily, some remarkable things happened that I didn't necessarily expect: I began to spend almost no time surfing to keep up with current technology information, and I was suddenly able to manage a large body of incoming information with incredible efficiency."
Comment: I've had the same experience...more information, dealt with more quickly. Slowing the pace of information isn't a solution to our current information overload...finding new and innovative ways to deal with overload is....which is the basic point I made here. RSS is a great example.
Reference Guide for Instructional Design and Development via Ray...good resource detailing an instructional design process (based on the Dick and Carey Model). Of particular value are the resources that detail questions to ask, information gathering processes, learner characteristics, etc., and a series of links to additional resources. Quick side note: for additional info on various instructional design strategies, see Instructional Design in Elearning
Bloglines: "Bloglines is a server-based RSS aggregation system. Many blogs and newsfeed services publish RSS feeds, special files containing the content of the site formatted for easy parsing. Bloglines allows people to subscribe to these feeds. Once subscribed, Bloglines periodically checks the feed for changes or additions."
Extreme Mobility
Quote: "...varying sets of people used varying sets of tools, for different reasons that matched their own needs, style and culture. PC's are unmatched for people who sit down to do some work or research or purposeful activity, while handhelds are unmatched for people who seek activity to "fill gaps" in time while on-the-go - walking, on a train, in a taxi."
Comment: These comments by Ray Ozzie are partly a Groove advertisement...and partly an expression of how people are making hardware/software decisions based on their own their computing needs. Personally, I think two of the most exciting developments today are wireless and social software. Wireless makes the Internet "everywhere", social software "connects us everywhere". These two trends will continue to ripple throughout learning markets. The Internet existed before the web, but simple connections do not offer much value unless there is application of the connections. Take everywhere access and combine it with everywhere connections between people...and watch communities grow.
AOL Blogs
Quote: "There's no need for concern that this will crowd and clutter the blogging world. You'll never see Aunt Esther's cat blog if no one you know ever links to it. That is precisely what makes weblogs a quality- and interest-driven medium. As Clay Shirky and I told them yesterday: It isn't content until it's linked."
The Internet is Shit
Quote: "And then what? Then we can move on. If we truly understand that the internet is shit then maybe we'll go back to looking elsewhere to check our information instead of just Google. Maybe journalists will do proper research again. If we remember that the medium isn't the message then maybe we'll stop aimlessly surfing for something amusing when we could actually be doing something fun. And, crucially, if the internet is just seen as occasionally unavoidable, maybe those websites that give us something special will be all the more amazing for it."
Using Weblogs to Manage IT Organizations: Valuable thoughts/questions on using blogs in IT.
The Future of Communications:
Quote: "This post is a guide to the different media available for communicating today, and when to use each, and a forecast of how this will change in the next two decades."
Comment: Selecting the right medium for communication should be fairly basic for most people (use email? face to face? phone?)...but, just in case it isn't, this post gives some advice...and incorporates newer technologies like blogs, wikis, and video conferencing. On a side note, I don't think anyone can predict two decades into the future anymore - things spin on a dime, come out of nowhere, move too fast.
Knowledge Representation Timeline (via Jim McGee). A person could get lost in this resource for a VERY long time. Excellent.
A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
The reason we initially get involved in communities is often not the reason that keeps us motivated to stay on - we grow as people...and communities grow and evolve. For example, when I'm learning a new subject (or exploring a new field of interest), my reasons for joining a community are to learn. After a period of time, once I've acquired the language and have an understanding of main concepts of the field, my involvement moves to participation. If I'm truly passionate about the field, I may begin to try and impact directions (i.e. contribute at a "meta-level").
This article has a focus on the technology side of communities (and while this us very necessary) I'm more interested in how ANY community - virtual or face to face - evolves, yet maintains relevance to beginners and veterans...while meeting the changing needs of why people are involved. I think of The Well as an example of a community that was once vibrant...but has failed to grow with the changing needs of how people organize online. A growing community is like an ecology - based on the environment...certain things will "grow"...and others won't. A physical environment cannot be home to every type of plant/animal because of its own ecology. Same for the gathering of people. Each community is unique. What works in one will not work in another...and what works today may not work tomorrow.
You Don't Know Me, but... Social Capital & Social Software
Quote: "Social capital analysts have debated the implications of the Internet for some years now. But this debate has recently been joined from the opposite side, as software experts and developers are showing an increased desire to understand and improve social networks, both offline and online.This report introduces some of the core ideas of this new unified debate, and outlines possible directions for the future."
Netscape Founder Says Web Browsing Innovation Dead
Quote: "Marc Andreessen, co-creator of the pioneering Web browser Mosaic, said he laments that innovation has all but ceased on this essential piece of software that makes surfing the Net possible.
"There hasn't been any innovation on the browser in the last five years. And five years from now there won't be any changes," Andreessen told Reuters on Tuesday.
"Navigation is an embarrassment. Using bookmarks and back and forth buttons -- we had about eighteen different things we had in mind for the browser.""
Comment: While the article is right in saying that innovation is dead in web browsing, it fails to present a reason why (I assume it's due to Microsoft's dominance in the market - isn't it ALL Microsoft's fault, after all...:)), or more importantly, fails to give a vision of what needs to happen for innovation to occur.
Visualizing Information
Quote: "Information visualisation is about to go mainstream. While it may not be the killer application some expect, "infoviz" is going to help users to manipulate data in wholly new ways."
Comment: Information visualization is about showing how information relates to other information (i.e. how information is networked). This article provides several good examples of infoviz use (see Map of the Market in particular). Also lists Grokker...a visualization tool (a trial version isn't available at the site...but they promise one soon).
Information Foraging: "Information foraging is the most important concept to emerge from Human-Computer Interaction research since 1993. Developed at Xerox PARC by Stuart Card, Peter Pirolli, and colleagues, information foraging uses the analogy of wild animals gathering food to analyze how humans collect information online."
Our brave new world: Copying troubles : "CD duplication company Software Images has refused a request to copy 500 Linux software CDs for a Linux Installfest this Saturday, because of concerns the job would breach a contract with Microsoft and infringe intellectual property rights."
Sometimes, a part of me thinks that all of this tightening copyright/IP stuff will right itself and allow for an injection of common sense...creating a model that works for producers and consumers. Then I burst into laughter.
Joe Luft posts a picture on teacher effeciency...very amusing!