Everything old is new again – or is it?

Janine Bowes

Distance Education Tasmania

http://jbowes.edublogs.org

This session will start at 11:00am AEDST

Preparing this presentation – a humbling experience

• Like preparing your home for visitors• Appearances matter – what’s my current digital footprint

like?• Time to do some Spring cleaning

– Getting sidetracked ..new products and ideas– 3 months off is a long time in Cyberspace– BUT if you have the networks you can quickly get from A to B

• Re-engaging with networks and spending some regular time leads to relevant serendipitous conversations with colleagues to bounce ideas

Irony - do a search on your own title

From the e-learning world

17-Jun-02 Psychology of Blogs (Weblogs): Everything Old is New Again…Similarly, talking about one component of the Internet -- in this case, blogs --

without understanding the context of what came before makes for a less complete understanding. It also makes it easier to overstate the case for what makes them unique (or, not so unique, as we'll see below). http://psychcentral.com/blogs/blog_new.htm (accessed 29-Oct-07)

17-Apr-07 Everything old is new againAt last nights SFWIN I saw something novel…A web 2.0 solution that doesn't

use an ajax-y web service. …... using Peer to Peer technologies wrapped around a localized app, this tool does one thing many online services fail to…they let you work offline.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=353 (accessed 29-Oct-07)

Audience profile – place yourself with upper case letter

novice Very experienced / specialist

60 +

50

40

30

3 questions to explore

1. Are there some timeless e-learning principles?2. Getting up to speed and staying up to date

– How do newbies get up to speed?– How do old timers stay fresh?– How do we stay up to date and develop ways to

rapidly come to grips with and adopt new technologies in appropriate ways?

3. How do we make sound decisions about which technologies to use for a given purpose?

Structure of session – 3 stories and some other stuff woven in

• Activity – your e-learning journey• Story – Stitching • Amble and Activity – Digital world-view• Story – 7-8 Science lessons online• Story – Confronting experiences in

Second Life• Revisit questions

Your e-learning journey

• Quiet time:1 minute

• Think…..then write or draw privately

How did you describe your journey?

In terms of – Tools– Processes– Events– People– Networks?

……..?

Expressed as– Diagram?– Timeline?– Dot points?– Circles?

……..?

Stitching Story

Criteria for public face• Simple• Sustainable• Current info • Organically grow the story

Other needs• Manage membership

Possible solution

Coming soon…1.5 hours to set upincluding initial placeholder content

Use tried and tested tools

Single sign on where possible

Feedback

World viewrefers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which

an individual interprets the world and interacts in it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_view

How we interact with the world and individuals is influenced by our world view

In education we seek to expand a learner’s world view so that they have a broader outlook, are (hopefully) more tolerant, and better able to deal with change

What is a world view?

F. Heylighen, (2000): "What is a world view? ", in: F. Heylighen, C. Joslyn and V. Turchin (editors): Principia Cybernetica Web (Principia Cybernetica, Brussels), http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/WORLVIEW.html

What about a “digital world-view”?

Possible definitionrefers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which

an individual interprets the digital world and interacts in it

Digital world – digital media, devices and environments with which humans interact?

Is a digital world-view just a digital lens through which your general world view is passed?

Can one be disconnected from the other?

Digital world-view

…..interpretation of the term depends on your world view and your context.

4 examples

Digital World View – 4 examples

Multimedia company DigitalWorldVIew.com

Marketing story promoting benefits of digital camera

Academic article making reference to young peoples’ digital world viewNewspaper story about going

global in business

Digital world view – academic

The ability to manipulate or ‘edit' identity is a concept already assimilated into the digital world-view of many young learners

13-Mar-2007

Playing the Game, Role Distance and Digital Performance By John Carroll and David Cameron (Australia)

http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/cpci/atr/journal/volume6_article11.htm (accessed 29-Oct-07)

Digital world view – going global

…One of the interesting things about digital media is that it's very pervasive, it's in how you communicate and how you do basic tasks. It's even part of your lifestyle in terms of how you watch movies, look at television and listen to music.

16-Sep-2006

A digital world viewby Linda Daly

http://tribune.televisual.co.uk/2006/09/16/77463.html (accessed 29-Oct-07)

Digital world view – using digital cameras

Student Sahiba Sandhu carries her Olympus digicam wherever she goes. Whenever she sees anything worth snapping, she whips out the Olympus and shoots instantly. If she doesn't like the result she simply erases the shot and moves on.

24-Jan-2004

A digital world viewby unknown journalist

http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/jan/24spec4.htm (accessed 29-Oct-07)

Digital world view – .com’d!24-Jan-2004

DigitalWorldView.comCommercial website

http://www.digitalworldview.com/ (accessed 29-Oct-07)

Your market is Evolving…We offer you Solutions

Digital World View was created to offer multi media solutions and services with options and choices from industry leading technology providers

Digital world view – your mental schema?

Activity: Close your eyes or look into the distance. A stranger

approaches from the early 1990s. He has travelled forward in time. He asks you “What is the digital world?”

How do you respond?

Quiet time:1 minute

Think…..then write or draw privately

Story – grade 7-8 ScienceBackground• 2007- return to teaching school students after 10 years

of other roles (all ICT/online learning related)

• Distance Education Tasmania has used Centra (conferencing) for 4 years and now an embedded part of student learning - for lessons, meetings, assemblies, Centra cafe

• Scheduled to take a weekly online extra curricular science class for years 7-8 (3/4 hour)

Dilemmas/challenges aka opportunities to learn

• I knew about Centra conceptually but how long would it take to become fluent?

• How can I exploit this environment to maximum effect with these students?

• Can I use it to promote an inquiry approach to learning ie put into practice Teaching for Understanding as a planning model

Mini investigations online

Cont….

Mini investigations online cont..

Cont….

Mini investigations online

Check progress

• Fluency - took about 6 weeks for me to feel reasonably fluent – students helped heaps!

• Inquiry – student feedback positive

• TfU – not really enough time in one lesson to do well

Upping the ante – series of lessons Inquiry: Saving energy by changing to CFLs vs driving cars lessSeries of Centra lessons over 6 weeks

1. Pooling class knowledge/Literature search /annotated webliography2. Share results/discuss/plan questions for guest3. Online guest for specialist input/Q&A4. Task – teams to prepare presentation of argument about benefits of

either changing globes or driving cars less5. Input from drama teacher about debating and hotseating as modes of

performance6. Work on task – discussion about two modes. Students request demo7. Mock debate/hotseating on topic of “Goldilocks was really a criminal”

– thanks to colleague teachers!8. Student hotseat presentations in Centra

The final performance

The final performance

Progress check – lesson series

Plus - mock debate powerful for teachers and students. Quality of chat among students impressive.

Minus – learning design did not include enough scaffolding for the range of abilities. This could be addressed with more planning.

Interesting

•was the learning time efficient? How can we tell?

•as a model it has potential to be developed

Story - Second Life perils

Revisiting the 3 questions

1. Are there some timeless e-learning principles?

2. Getting up to speed and staying up to date– How do newbies get up to speed?– How do old timers stay fresh?– How do we stay up to date and develop ways to rapidly come

to grips with and adopt new technologies in appropriate ways?

3. How do we make sound decisions about which technologies to use for a given purpose?

Timeless principle 1?

To be an effective online teacher you need to first be an online learner

New twist?To be an effective online teacher you need

to be a lifelong reflective online learner

Timeless principle 2?Being a good teacher is a necessary but not

sufficient condition for being a good online teacher

New twist?Yes but it’s also about recognising the learning

that is happening without the teacher – and working with that.

Timeless principle 3?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater…unless– If it ain’t broke don’t fix it? Maybe…– It’s not about adding in every latest tool– It IS about being alert for new genres of tools

and thinking through the implications

New twist?

Sometimes we need to be willing to take a completely fresh look

Reference:http://www.slideshare.net/flexilearn/stanley-frielick-moodle-moot-nz07 (a slide within the slideshow – original reference http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/scott/blogview?entry=20050125170206

Timeless principle 4?

A fundamental question when using technology for learning is“What does it add or what new possibilities does it

enable?”– Is it about addressing issues of access – time and/or

place?– Is it about the learning process?

Be clear about purpose

Others?

3 main messages1. Are there some timeless e-learning principles and if so what might they

be?

2. Getting up to speed and staying up to date– How do newbies get up to speed?– How do old timers stay fresh?– How do we stay up to date and develop ways to

rapidly come to grips with and adopt new technologies in appropriate ways?

3. How do we make sound decisions about which technologies to use for a given purpose?

Getting up to speed and staying up to date

The web as a jigsaw• No edges• Growing• Develop more of the

big picture over time• Focus on immediate

area of interest

Focus on your area of interest and learn as much as you can

Like eating an elephant• One bite at a time• Everyone starts somewhere

– it’s a personal journey• Good news is that the newer tools are easier,

more powerful and more accessibleo the later you start the easier the journey in some ways

but by definition you will not have the depth of experience

• Other people are the key – mentors, networks, in person and online

disruptive technologies

Some tips that work for me in staying on top of the game

• See handout

3 main messages1. Are there some timeless e-learning principles and if so what might

they be?

1. Getting up to speed and staying up to date1. How do newbies get up to speed?2. How do old timers stay fresh?3. How do we stay up to date and develop ways to rapidly come

to grips with and adopt new technologies in appropriate ways?

2. How do we make sound decisions about which technologies to use for a given purpose?

How do we make sound decisions about which technologies to use for a given purpose?

• Macro and micro levels of this question– Text chat or whiteboard for brainstorming?– Has the LMS has its day?

a final word for the Baby Boomers

What we have to see is that we are the only generation which will know both mediums – the print and electronic.

We are the only ones who will be able to make comparisons, who will be able to assess, evaluate and transfer our experience, expertise, and wisdom from the old forms to the new.

We have a great deal to offer. The only condition is that we become (technologically) proficient.

Dale Spender, Nattering on the Net (1995) p xvi