In principle, I agree with (and advocate for) the concepts expressed in this article: Personal Knowledge Management Tools Ready For Enterprise Use: "Be it wikis, weblogs, messaging systems or new forms of publishing, personal knowledge management has taken content into new enterprise environments that attract people who want to share information effectively for profit with the ease that people doing it for fun on the Web enjoy. When anyone from any enterprise could be a part of this collaborative publishing environment it's time for publishers to examine more closely how their content can be central to these highly productive user/publishers."
The challenge, however, is that not everyone is a blogger...and not everyone wants to share their information. Information sharing is more a function of culture than strategy. And culture is very difficult to change. While the hype about blogs in the enterprise grows, I think we are not yet at a position of large scale change. Like Will Richardson mentioned on a recent panel, if it doesn't hurt enough, we won't change. Blogs and wikis are small (although needed) challenges to existing organizational structure and processes. Much, much more is needed before we'll see large scale transformations.
Malcolm Gladwell's views of tipping points (the point at which a concept/product/idea begins explosive growth and adoption) is information in how certain technology sites and tools gain favor with end users. Adoption is partly about creating an effective tool...partly marketing...and partly luck. This assessment, while valid in part, fails to fully account for why certain sites and ideas achieve "tipping point" levels - YouTube and MySpace: "YouTube and MySpace are runaway hits because they combine two attributes rarely found together in tech products. They're easy to use, and they don't tell you what to do."
I've been following a revisited discussion a listserv about the "tool nature" of technology - i.e. we use technology as a tool to achieve a particular aim. I've long advocated that each tool needs to be selected and used based on the intended task. Blogs work to facilitate conversation, wikis for collaboration, podcasts for lectures, and so on. Beyond the notion of a tool, however, rests the concept of affordances - what does this media enable us to do/achieve that is not possible without it? With elearning, I see access, flexibility, and efficiency as the key affordances. Many feel that the richness of face-to-face environments can't be duplicated online (I agree that it can't be duplicated - I would suggest that we shouldn't even try to duplicate it, and instead focus on what the online medium is best able to achieve). The growth of podcasting and video logging extends the sometimes text-based medium of online learning...adding elements that can create a richer, multi-faceted learning experience. This article - Prime Time for Vlogs? - is focused on the marketability of vlogs and provides some insight into growth and production concerns.
Reality and virtual worlds are blurring. Many people move seamlessly between both. My Virtual Life presents the incredible story of Second Life: "A lot of other real-world businesses are paying attention. That's because virtual worlds could transform the way they operate by providing a new template for getting work done, from training and collaboration to product design and marketing."
I participated in a panel discussion this afternoon at the Milken Institute (Blogs, Wikis, MMORPGs, and YASNS: Shaking Up Traditional Education) - meeting and dialoguing with members of the panel was the conference highlight for me).
I was impressed with the attendance. Initially, I expected that we would have limited number attending (the conference is geared toward decision makers in financial, healthcare, and education - but most of the conversation I had with people were at a fairly high level beyond the implementation of blogs/wikis). The room was full...with many not being able to get in (a good problem!). Feedback following the session was very positive. While many of the participants were business focused, their reason for attending seemed to be the education of their children. Will fielded several questions from individuals trying to understand Myspace and needed changes at the K-12 level. Like many of the other panels at the conference, I left with the impression that people understand the issue, but a vision, will, and path to move forward are lacking.
As educators, we feel we have part of the solution to the problem, but we don't have a seat at the power table. We can't impact change systemically. Our change happens in a small box (online or physical), consisting of 20 - 30 learners at a time. While this is what we must do, it's important to rethink how we create influence and impact change. How we get to the power table, and gain access to decision makers, is going to be critical in spreading our message.
I started blogging some of the session, but became too involved in the conversation. Here are a few bits: (David Weinberger covered the panel much more effectively than I did...Will weighs in with his thoughts as well).
Will: blogging has taught me more than anything I've learned through formal education. His focus is - rightly in my eyes - on what blogging enables, not just simply blogs themselves.
Liz: people who want to learn from my syllabus can't see it - they can't ask me questions. It goes away from access at the end of the course. We end up with a dialogue that isn't possible in a classroom. I can bring in authors and outside experts.
Adrian: Make it a learning space and a special kind of learning space. Talk technologies - that is learning that provides concepts through the course activities.
David - this works. We can know stuff together. (Breaking a mindset or limitation). You have to share and be willing to participate in this space. We've been told to simplify (starting with the Greeks) - that knowledge is a simplification of a complex issue. Today, knowledge is complexification. We can take simple issues, and turn it over in blogs and wikis, exploring the deeper aspects.
Doug - art and music were places of passion...but we are teaching to the test. We need to integrate artistry back into the curriculum.
I've pulled together a page of others who are blogging the Milken Institute Global Conference with SuperGlu. If I've missed you, send me an email.
I attended the presentation on Media Convergence and the Revolution in Marketing and Brand Building (Milken Institute). Edgar Bronfman Jr. (Warner Music) and Mike Kelly (AOL) (among others) explored the changing role of marketing and branding in a decentralized society. As goes media, so goes education. A few key ideas presented (not saying that I agree with all of them):
I asked the panelists what specifically the media companies (music, AOL, video) need to do to gain user trust (most panelists presented a good picture of the nature of the problem, but clear directions for making the transition to a "new media" company were lacking). A long history of antagonism with the end user has resulted in distrust. I personally trust a peer-filtered system (like fellow bloggers in my learning network). The responses were essentially unsatisfying. The panelists, while providing insightful dialogue, didn't leave me inspired or confident that their organizations were able to move beyond understanding changes to making the transition.
Over the next few days I will be blogging from the Milken Global Conference in LA. I've attended many education conferences, but the feel of this conference is dramatically different. Part of the spirit is driven by the nature of the speakers and the nature of the challenges they are trying to address. CEO's, leaders, and celebrities dot the speaker list. The problems being explored include global economics, health care, cultural/societal conflict, and education. While I highly doubt clear solutions will be provided (these problems are simply too complex, situated in too many cultural contexts with different value points), simply having the conversation provides a sense of optimism.
Interesting statistic: health care – the US has almost half of the global expenditures in this field (and 50% of the people in the history of the world who have ever lived to be over 65 years of age are alive today). Two major challenges in the world: Growing middle class (developing world), aging population (developed world). Michael Milken is currently speaking - the tone is strongly on globalization (primarily in health care), but the concern of emerging and developing economies has application for the education market.
I've stated in the past that the two biggest exports of North America (specifically USA) will be entertainment and education. Unfortunately, the education element is not prominent among these global thinkers. What is the vehicle for better markets, better health, and better societies? Can we really talk globalization without focusing on education? Aging, healthcare, disease prevention, capital markets, etc - all of these fields are perpetuated, maintained, and fostered through learning structures.
Learning, as probably the most critical human activity for the development of better (defined as low crime, available health care, standard of living) societies is the structures of learning. The challenge we face is that our approaches to learning (as I've often said) is that our structures don't meet our needs, our society, or our global world. Learning, perceived as an activity outside of the structure of daily living, is simply not working. Learning happens continually (as natural as breathing, as constant as a beating heart). We need a new vision for learning. I've tackled it from the end of connectivism, but it is depressing to see that so many organizations continue to see learning as an add-on, not an enabler to better functioning on every level of life and business. One message that is coming through, in health care (and I would posit in education), is that the technology is at a sufficient level to make huge changes and transformations. Potential and capacity are not the missing elements - vision and will are the bottlenecks.
During my morning bloglines reading, I came across a post (Gadgetopia, I believe) about Amazon's use of wikis in book reviews/overviews: Amazon's most edited wikis. The concept of wikis, like blogs, is so simple that it's easy to question whether it's really a big change. Much like planning a trip, however, the small degrees at point of origin substantially impact the destination. Wikis and blogs seem fairly "non-revolutionary"...but the starting point leads to a very different destination for communication and learning than an LMS or traditional course.
Our learners don't have the skills they need to learn today. We've taught learners how to learn in a classroom, how to memorize, how to take true/false, mutliple choice test, etc. Essentially, we've given our learners the skills they need to navigate our education system today. But things are changing, and unfortunately, it appears that our educational institutions are slow in responding (Dave Warlick has recently done some good thinking on this subject with his notion of "flat classrooms"). Our students are graduating with skills that would have served them well 20 years ago. Today, a learner needs a skill set that reflects the environment in which they will be working (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has some useful publications in this area). The Chronicle recently ran an article on the Governor of Michigan's requirement that all students must take at least one online course before graduating high school. It's a start...but far too little. We need to teach learners the skills they will need tomorrow - pattern recognition, not information processing, connection-forming, not content consumption, critical thinking, not memorizing. It's a huge task, and I don't feel that many institutions "get it".
Will Richardson expresses a concern that is continuing to grow in scope: "And by and large, that’s what I’m really looking for more than anything at this point. Filters of good information. Trusted sources that consistently produce links and thinking that I can learn from. I’ve become a very demanding reader…"
If you haven't done so, I strongly encourage you to follow Rob Reynolds' weekly "What up and What Matters" presentation. He keeps the sessions short (usually five minutes) and runs through the key happenings of the week in relation to technology and education. I look forward to listening to the presentation each week. My only suggestion: add a listing of links cited (though he does that as he blogs throughout the week...but for a "one-shot" overview, it would be nice).
Using Cellphones for Learning: "I think it would be great if we can use cell phones as a teaching opportunity for all of us - kids and faculty, because I'm sure it is only the first of many potentially useful / potentially disruptive tools that will be coming down the pike in the future."
Dave Barry says that "newspapers are dead". Might as well extend that and say every static content-presentation structure is dead (or doomed).
Lectures, or any learning experiences, need to be evaluated based on what they are intended to achieve. Sitting in a classroom, and having an instructor lecture (with limited discussion) is not sufficiently valuable to justify confining it to a physical medium. If the intent is mainly content presentation, I would recommend podcasting, video logging, or advanced readings. Podcasts have gained attention recently as an additional tool available to instructors. Podcasting augments, or adds an additional facet, to the learning experience. It's not about replacing a process that works well...it's about providing an alternative to processes that aren't working well. I enjoy a good lecture...but sometimes, I can listen to the lecture while driving, running, etc. That frees up my "physical space" for learning activities that require me to be present. iPods as classroom tools are growing trend among national college campuses: "Though using iPod technology would introduce many new advantages in education, it also leaves more room for distraction in the learning process. Some students are skeptical about whether the iPods would be used purely as study tools or as an easy excuse to skip class. Students agree that something would have to be done to regulate the new technology."
Blogging Questionnaire: "In other words, blogging is not for the impatient educator. It requires patience and thoughtfulness wherein time and effort is needed to make lessons and assignments develop appropriately."
Yochai Benkler has published a book on "The Wealth of Networks" ...it's available for free download. It's receiving excellent reviews. Quote: "Information, knowledge, and culture are central to human freedom and human development. How they are produced and exchanged in our society critically affects the way we see the state of the world as it is and might be; who decides these questions; and how we, as societies and polities, come to understand what can and ought to be done...change brought about by the networked information environment is deep. It is structural."
Learning is Messy: "The masses of teachers and administrators looking to be enlightened? No! (well maybe a few, but VERY few) The early adopters that see and saw the implications straightforward are the few and the brave. So the questions have been asked and numerous and various answers have been proposed about how to change how school is done and how using these “New Tools” fit into that scheme and how do we get the message out?"
Is Web 2.0 Enterprise Ready?: "McAfee first explains why past knowledge management "solutions" rarely solved anything. He then explains what makes Web 2.0 technologies different. "The good news," he writes, is that the new technologies "focus not on capturing knowledge itself, but rather on the practices and output of knowledge workers.""
For all my chatter about the changing nature/need of learning, I think I've largely ignored what is becoming one of the most interesting trends: the absolute blurring between online and physical spaces. A Virtual World's Real Dollars: "It's easy to see why Second Life has captured the attention of Bezos and other investors. Second Life is a three-dimensional digital world in which players can do just about anything: Create an avatar that acts as an online alter-ego, fly around landscapes dotted with dance clubs and gardens, and socialize via text messaging with friends' avatars. The population inside Second Life has grown eightfold from a year ago, when just 20,000 "residents," as they're known, called it a second home."
Why face-to-face still matters: - this post makes the same erroneous assumption about learning that most classroom instructors make: that we can't duplicate the richness of physical spaces online. And I disagree. 100%. Learning online is a different type of interaction, and as such, it can be challenging to compare with F2F. I'm teaching a class now with learners from six different locations (including a group in the studio/classroom). Even if I subscribe to the metrics detailed in this article, (i.e. online learning is not as rich as F2F) many remote learners would not have the opportunity to learn the material without the medium - ie. they would have to travel, take time off of work. Some is better than none.
Online learning has many different dimensions that are generally untapped - design, content, socialization, etc. To say one medium is better than another is to ignore the unique affordances of each.
Most of our learners have developed skills in the classroom space - they know how to act and function. Online, we are still building skills and habits - though looking at the success of instant messaging and social network sites, it appears that younger learners have made significant strides in skill building. Without spending an insane amount of time qualifying online and F2F, I think it's almost impossible to value one above the other. Each for the task at hand.
I will be sitting on a panel at the Milken Institute - (Blogs, Wikis, MMORPGs, and YASNS: Shaking Up Traditional Education) early next week with Will Richardson (I've been reading his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms - a wonderful introduction to the new learning opportunities available through simple, social tools - if you're trying to transform your teaching, this is a great place to start), David Weinberger, Liz Lawley, and others. As I've stated in other forums, the substantial value of blogs and wikis is not the tools themselves...it's what the tools enable. We have always needed more dialogue-focused views of learning...we have always had the need for collaboratively-created content (though both of these considerations are more substantial in the current pace of society). As educators, we haven't always been able to move in those directions because we lacked the tools, time, or skills needed. In my opinion, the best tools are those that align with how people like to learn in the absence of barriers (though I often talk about transforming learning, I wonder if it's not more accurate to say that the intent is to transform the process of learning by eliminating barriers that obstruct the rich experience of unhindered learning - i.e. spend some time watching how children learn through trial and error, or reflect on how you meet learning needs in your hobbies and areas of personal interest). Blogs and wikis are largely about reducing the hierarchical barriers imposed by organizations and instructors.
A short, optimistic article on how social media (blogs, wikis, RSS) will impact business (and society) in the future: Future of Social Media: "...there’s no doubt in my mind that social media is going to be a huge disruptive force in the way we consume information.Its impact will not be welcome in all segments of business and society, but it will ultimately be a very good thing. Users are way ahead of businesses in the adoption cycle, but that won’t last for long."
It's up, after much speculation: Google Calendar. I had a quick look through the tool - looks interesting...imports data from Outlook, allows invitations, reminders, calendar sharing, and integrates with Gmail.
The Brain - Videos: excellent educational videos on the human brain - how it works, breaks down, illnesses, etc. I particularly enjoyed a video on "learning as synaptic change". The researchers communicate that learning (whether it's a word, concept, or other process) involves a physical change in the circuitry of the brain - that learning actually leaves a biological trail in the brain. But learning is not only about creating new connections; it's also about deconstructing existing connections, a concept the researchers referred to as "streamlining connections".
This is completely useless, but still humerous - instead of networks of value, how about networks for loathing? Anti-social networks: "Nemester is an online community that connects paranoids, egotists, villains, and monomaniacs through networks of competing agendas and incompatable ideologies for bitter conflicts, mutual loathing, or to find their one, true nemesis."
Revisioning the LMS: an examination of formal learning management systems and component-based learning environments: "Given this revolution in technology innovation, static solutions such as learning management systems need constant updates and patches to take advantage of this dynamic and fluid digital environment. Most formal learning management systems are not designed to allow for this type of flexibility. As such, the concept of a component-based system offers a fresh perspective as a means of managing online teaching and learning...Ultimately, a component-based learning environment serves as an ecosystem or a point of aggregation for a variety of components."
Chris' thoughts resonate with my own - stop seeing our learning tools as walled structures (monolithic with limited functionality) and start seeing them as ecologies - systems that adapt and evolve as users needs change. However, the real adoption issue is one of buy-in and trust from decision makers (a point Mark makes in my previous post on LMS). I know that learners can learn in the component-based model (or call it a personal learning environment). It's happening online as learners move beyond classrooms and start blogging, podcasting, etc. It's happening as learners share files and photos, or collaborate using Writely. The effectiveness of component based learning environments is not on trial - it has been demonstrated that they work. The real issue is whether CBLE's can be harnessed to produce the intended learning outcomes valued by most educational facilities (and whether the learning can be measured in traditional ROI models). While I advocate for significant transformation, the desire for structure is not one that our organizations are currently prepared to abandon. We have to accept that any significant change will happen (at least over the next while) within the construct of this environment.
Experts in an age of multi-narratives, multi-text and small ‘t’ truth: Dave Cormier asks a big question: "How, I ask you, does one get to be an expert… or, maybe more importantly REMAIN an expert, in such quickly changing times? In times where ‘authority’ is so hard to quantify?"
Dave notes that he and I have differing views on subject/objective reality, so I'll leave that concept alone...he raises an important point about how individuals become "experts" when knowledge changes rapidly. He arrives at a conclusion with which I don't agree (i.e. that we only have "best" options, not "correct" options...we have options that are correct today, and some would posit that principles (i.e. gravity) are correct regardess of era or viewpoint. In a sense, I feel like Heisenberg trying to say yes, both objective and subjective are right - it just depends on context and nature of the element being considered - or that the more precisely something can be conceived as subjective, the more it becomes objective).
This is where we come together in our thinking "At the moment of choice, someone is marginalized, a path of discovery is closed off, a possibility for exploration is nipped in the bud". I agree. Learning is a process of exploration. It is more like a river than a lake...more like a process than an event. He ends by stating: "An expert, then, would be someone who can present the possibilities that exist, and explain how different choices can lead to different kinds of results. As the quantity of information increases, and the diversity of opinions multiply, I don’t see how any one single person can be an expert in the old sense of the world." Absolutely. While he then moves to community as the vehicle for meeting te multi-faceted needs of learners, I move toward networks.
Librarian 2.0 - two screen casts at the end of the page provide insight into blogging in library environments (while it doesn't say anything new about blogging, it does describe the experience of moving online from a librarian's perspective and reactions of university staff)...I have to reflect on this quote a bit more:"‘The Song Remains the Same,’ It’s Just a Cover Song Using New Instruments" (the author asserts that "regardless of the technical aspects of the changing information landscape (Library 2.0?), the song, generally, remains the same when it comes to the messages subject librarians need to convey." I think the change in libraries, museums, and schools is of such a magnitude that the song may be changing as well. Much like television changed live theatre, the internet is transforming learning, communication, and information seeking.
Informal Learning - CLO: "The pace of change itself is accelerating. In the past, workers learned how to do something. In the future, they will need to learn what changed last night. In the past, execution required knowledge and skill. Future execution will require ingenuity, alacrity and innovation."
I see learning slightly different than Jay does; his conception of learning is based on the ecological principle of adaptation - that our learning is a process of adjustment to change...whereas I see learning as creating the change itself, not only adjusting (the adaptation metaphor is a bit too passive for my liking). Setting the differences aside, Jay has done some hard thinking on the changing nature of learning...and has concluded that much of our future will require a greater emphasis on, and harnessing of, the constant learning opportunities that exist in our daily lives (outside of courses). I'm looking forward to his soon to be published book on the subject...
New Trends in Online Traffic - the general concept of this article (people are moving away from content and toward conversation in their online habits) supports much of what I've been saying over the last few years: while curriculum is (and will continue to be) important, the real value/interest of today's learners rests in connections, dialogue, and conversations. If that's the case, how should it influence our work as educators? What should we do differently?
The New Story: "Its not so much that technology has changed the nature of teaching and learning, but that technology has changed the nature of information and how the world works, and how people work and learn and play. Because the world that we are preparing our children for is changing so dramatically (and continuing to change), we must rethink the what, how, and why we are teaching our children, and retool our classrooms to accomplish new goals."
While I take a slightly more radical approach (I think we need to revisit our learning structures and spaces (i.e. classrooms) in their entirety, not just retool), David makes a really important statement - things are changing, and we need to change as well. Many thinkers have devoted time and energy on this subject...and while the picture of needed change is becoming more clear, our understanding of "how to get there" is not. Some would have our river of change meander through classrooms, others suggest it flows through completely new models. Some suggest an evolution, others suggest a transformation.
The theme of 21st century skills is becoming more prominent, as the realization dawns that something fundamentally different is happening in our learning spaces. Are 21st Century Skills Right Brain Skills? suggests that we need to augment our analytical skills with right-brained skills. In paricular the author draws on Daniel Pink's suggestion (and adds his own), stating that we need to extend our learning approaches by focusing:
not just function, but also design
not just argument, but also story
not just focus, but also symphony
not just logic, but also empathy
not just seriousness, but also play
not just accumulation, but also meaning
not just knowledge, but also learning
While blogs are real-time tools, quickly expressing changes in thoughts, direction, or new activities of the online space, the continuous partial attention we (okay, I) afford to development of new initiatives means that we/I'm aware that something is happening, but we/I don't always understand things fully. Recently, Dave and Jeff (of edtechtalk) have been working on wikis, webheads, doing barn raisings, and many other things that I've only followed peripherally. Webcast Academy. I just came across their Webcast Academy site (at least, I think it's theirs). They intend to "create a hands on, collaborative learning environment for those interested in producing live, interactive webcasts."
Spent some time on this site reviewing links (not too many listed yet, but I did find a multiplication game my son will soon be forced to play :)). Educational Freeware: "This site is dedicated to listings, descriptions and reviews of the best free educational software for Windows, both web based and downloadable."
Make your LMS dance. Personally, I don't want my LMS to dance. What I want is it to be less like an LMS and more like how I actually work and learn. I don't think this point is registering with LMS developers. As long as I have to completely alter my learning approach, your tools will chafe. What I truly want is for my LMS to undergo an application change (sort of like a gender change :)).
Many of the things I've expressed with connectivism are reflected in concepts of information literacy. I recently encountered some resources on Big6 - one viewpoint of managing information overload: "Speeding things up can only work for so long. Instead, we need to think about helping students to work smarter, not faster. There is an alternative to speeding things up. It’s the smarter solution—one that helps students develop the skills and understandings they need to find, process, and use information effectively. This smarter solution focuses on process as well as content. Some people call this smarter solution information literacy or information skills instruction."
Anyone who has ever spent time in a meeting with someone selling some type of educational technology (hardware or software) will find this article most satisfying (and perhaps revealing).
Most of us don't need to be told that stress is bad for us. In a learning setting, however, stress has not been adequately researched. Part of learning is going through a process of confusion - i.e. we don't know the answers and we are trying to make sense of the concepts. Not knowing is typically viewed as worthy of stress. If current research on how stress impacts the brain holds, then we should be spending time developing learners competence in handling uncertainty. We need to teach learners to accept and cope with ambiguity, confusion, and contradiction. Learner flows through those spaces.
How I work: Bill Gates: "Staying focused is one issue; that's the problem of information overload. The other problem is information underload. Being flooded with information doesn't mean we have the right information or that we're in touch with the right people."
Reinvention: "I too am finding the need to move beyond the "echo chamber" a bit, to keep learning about new things instead of revisiting the common themes. We need to extend this conversation, I think, 'cause I'm just becoming more convinced that schools and education aren't going to change before society changes."
Part of what I see is that society is changing, but education doesn't understand the nature (and depth) of that change). We still think we are dealing with an entity that we can control, box, etc. Education has long been a driver of change in society, but the current lethargy in adjusting to new social and technological environments is disconcerting.
Essential sites for students: "The mind and brain sciences are among the fastest moving areas in terms of research and discovery. Getting to grips with the area can sometimes seem daunting, partly because of the academic language, or just due to the sheer volume of information that needs navigating.
The following are some of our favourite sites that condense or communicate the essentials in a more accessible manner:"
YouTube - a video hosting service, is experiencing tremendous growth...and that's not sitting well with established media. From an educational standpoint, there is much potential to use this service to enhance learning. A word of caution, however, some videos are very educational, but not in the sense we as educators would generally like them to be! Like everything else online, the space is open to abuse and inappropriate content.