Inspiring learners

A little bit of background to this one...

I work full time in a traditional brick university... but I'm also lucky enough to get to work part-time for the Open University, both as an Associate Lecturer and as a Moderator on a couple of their short courses.  One of the latter is T189 - Digital Photography: Creating and sharing better images.  Now, for this fully online course, students work for 10 weeks creating and sharing their images using a Flickr-esque OU system called 'OpenStudio'.  They get used to posting images, commenting on them and for those that engage with the course, there's a real sense of community - even though the students never actually meet in person.  What there also is, every single presentation of the course, is the spontaneous student-created groups on Flickr (just do a quick search on Flickr for T189 Groups and you'll find our students soon enough!).  And what I love more than anything is that long after the course has finished, they're still there.  Taking their photographs.  Sharing their brilliant images.  Constructively discussing and commenting.  Setting each other challenges to develop their skills and maintain their interest.  It really is just the most amazing thing to see and I love that years after the course - and just a 10 week course at that - the students are still there.  Still learning.  Still supporting.  Still creating.  For me, it exemplifies what learning can and should be.  The seed was planted and given just the right amount of nourishment to grow into the future.

Anyway, take a look at this.  These brilliant former T189 students have gone and set up their first online exhibition:

"After taking part in the Open University Course: "T189 Digital Photography: creating and sharing better images" course first run in May 2007 a number of the students have continued to share images through a Flickr group. 

In late 2009 we realised that between us we had started to build up a collection of photographs that firstly we are quite proud of and secondly that we'd like to share with a wider audience. 

Thus we conceived the idea of a joint exhibition of our work. In the spirit of the course, which is run on-line, the we decided that the exhibition should also take the form of a website and this is it. Thank you for taking the time to visit. We hope you enjoy it."

Isn't that just the most superb thing?  This is what happens when learning extends beyond targets, quotas, learning outcomes and assessment.  Deep, long lasting engagement.  I feel extremely fortunate to have a connection with such an amazing group of students.  All power to them!

Oh look... more fingers in the educational pie...

Just seen this little article in The Guardian...

Why David Cameron's schools policy is out of date | Politics | The Guardian:

"We can stop worrying about how to improve schools. It's simple, according to David Cameron. It's a good school if it's got a uniform, and children get up when an adult walks into the room, and teachers set and teach by ability. That clear? Good. But try telling Sean O'Regan that all good schools have uniforms. He runs Edith Neville primary school, with one of the most deprived intakes in London. Its results are brilliant, Ofsted calls it an outstanding school, and it has no uniform. 'People think a uniform is a shortcut to raising standards of behaviour,' O'Regan says, 'but it is not.'

School uniforms are a British obsession. In most of Europe and America, they don't bother. It always seems to be the apostles of economic liberalism who are keenest to dictate every inch of what our children wear. I'm not saying uniforms are always wrong. I've met heads who make good use of them. It's ignorant to make a simple rule out of it. The same applies to teaching by ability. There's a lot to be said for setting – placing children in ability groups for different subjects – though much less for streaming."

*shudder*

When, when, when will politics get its ugly, opinionated, ignorant backside out of learning? Actually, it often seems that the moment something goes mainstream - a practice that kinda worked in a particular context, extrapolated beyond all reason - dogma and ill-informed dictate overturn good intention.  Reminds me of this xkcd cartoon:

What follows is my random musing.  Feel free to switch off at this point, or go visit some more of those fab xkcd cartoons if you'd rather!   :o)

Anyway, it often seems to me that politicians can't seem to steer away from an inherent belief that education is something which must be done to others.  "Sit still!!  Stand when an adult enters the room.  Wear that tie.  STRAIGHTEN THAT TIE!!!!! 6 sixes are 36, 7 sixes are 42..."

Real learning seems incidental or sidelined.   Provided that predefined 'learning outcomes' and targets are achieved, who cares what really went on in that learner's head, huh?  I'm also bothered by the idea of setting by ability as if ability remained static.  As if ability was measured by volume.  That somehow you're given a certain amount in this life.  We'll teach to that ability, no more and no less.  Just doesn't make sense to me that 'ability' is a label which is so happily bandied about.  Label this child as 'gifted',  that child as 'weak'.  No get out of jail.  No chance of parole.  You are the ability you're allotted.

Education = Extrinsic motivation, carrot and stick, rules and requirements
Learning = Intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, creativity, expansion, curiosity etc...

How much easier to meddle with the former.  How much damage to inflict on the potential of the latter?  Today's musing is done.  More pondering later no doubt!

PS  They don't wear uniforms at my kids' school either.  Shocker, huh?  :o)

The ePortfolio myth

Had a bit of a thought today about ePortfolios.  Yes, I know... not many people have terribly many thoughts about ePortfolios they're probably doing something else more interesting instead, me, however... I think about this stuff.  :o)

So... anyway... my thought.  It concerns the oft touted phrase you hear in, oh, probably the second breath after the word ePortfolio and that is 'supporting lifelong learning'.  Everyone's at it, from manufacturers of ePortfolios to bodies such as JISC.  I wondered to myself what do we really mean by that?  Lifelong?  Seriously???  ePortfolios have been around for a blink of an eye in educational terms and yet... suddenly... they support or even better, they 'harness' lifelong learning.  How can anyone make such grandiose claims?

I'm reminded a little of the BBC Doomsday Project which took place when I was a child in the 80s.  There we were, writing about our local areas... storing photographs and other snippets to make our mark in history.  It really was touted as a Doomsday Book Mark II from what I remember (I was one of the schoolchildren who participated in what was probably an early instance of wiki-esque generation of content!)... and yet... where is it now?  Lost to incompatibility and data preservation issues.  Published less than 25 years ago - hardly the average lifespan - and yet, gone.  Whizz forward a quarter of a century and here we are again spouting about 'supporting lifelong learning' with a technology which is unproven and lacks the basic interoperability standards to help it move towards any kind of sustainability.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.  I put it to you that ePortfolio is being over-promoted off the back of an unsupportable claim, that of 'harnessing lifelong learning'.  Furthermore, I pronounce it 'guilty' as charged.

PS  I really don't care whatever it was I wrote for the Doomsday project back in 1984/85 - so, like old family photos, I'll leave leafing through my ancient bits of childhood work for dewy eyed relatives and continue moving forwards with an underpinning of experience, qualifications and confidence which doesn't need a 'lifelong' record of stuff to support.

PPS  You didn't see me say this... right?  ;o)

PPPS  I have a whole other theory about the currency of learning and the expiry date of 'evidence'.  But I'll save that ranty waffle for another day.

Prezi for Educators

Now, I haven't quite made up my mind about Prezi.  I've seen some really interesting presentations, but I've also seen a lot of seasickness-inducing efforts and since the latter outweighs the former, I've been struggling to get a sense of what I could do with it.

However... if you are interested in having more of a go with Prezi and you're a student or teacher... then have a look at the free Student / Teacher license upgrade option.  All the stuff you can do with the free account, but an additional ability to make your Prezis private... remove the Prezi watermark... and get an additional 400MB of storage - all of which would normally cost you $59 / year.  Gotta be worth an extra look, for that, I reckon!

Let the bad times roll: Job losses bite into HE

One word for this story...

"Ouch"

Read more below:

Thousands to lose jobs as universities prepare to cope with cuts | Education | The Guardian: "Universities across the country are preparing to axe thousands of teaching jobs, close campuses and ditch courses to cope with government funding cuts, the Guardian has learned.

Other plans include using post-graduates rather than professors for teaching and the delay of major building projects. The proposals have already provoked ballots for industrial action at a number of universities in the past week raising fears of strike action which could severely disrupt lectures and examinations.

The Guardian spoke to vice-chancellors and other senior staff at 25 universities, some of whom condemned the funding squeeze as 'painful' and 'insidious'. They warned that UK universities were being pushed towards becoming US-style, quasi-privatised institutions.

The cuts are being put in place to cope with the announcement last week by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) that £449m – equivalent to more than a 5% reduction nationally – would be stripped out of university budgets.

The University and College Union (UCU) believes that more than 15,000 posts – the majority academic – could disappear in the next few years. Precise funding figures for each university will be released on 18 March."

Difficult times ahead. Could wax lyrical about this being an opportunity for efficiency savings, OER being mainstreamed into education, working smarter not harder, innovating our way out of a restrictive financial climate, opportunities for change etc. But... doesn't the above just suck? Bankers and governments get us into a financial nightmare... and Higher Education gets to pay a significant price as a result.

Ouch.

eLearning Pedagogy Speak Generator

For those moments when you need to find that latest bit of eLearning pedagogical terminology in an important meeting for high-level funding, I thought you might like my eLearning Pedagogy generator.

Feel free to use at will. :o)

Google docs and sharing stored files

Just noticed a nice new little feature in Google Docs - the ability to upload any type of file without having it converted to a Google Docs. Now, I know this seems like a pretty minor feature but it's actually going to be a useful little bunny to know about if you don't want Google stripping out the formatting for a document you just want to store and share with others. Okay, so there are better services for file sharing which allow you more than the 1GB / 25oMB per file limit imposed by Google (the superb Dropbox is one which immediately pops into my head), but you have to love the convenience... again... of Google allowing you to just get stuff done via a simple tweak to a service.

Stuff which Google has tweaked in Docs lately which has made a difference:

1. File storage without converting your file

2. Sharable folders

3. Bulk uploads

4. Translation of words, phrases or entire pages into any of 40+ languages.

What's not to like?

Sarah 'I sold my soul to Google but I liked what I got in return' Horrigan :o)

And to sum up...

Well - after a frantic couple of months (parents ill, I moved house, waiting for exam results - passed my MEd - woo hoo!, job changes at work, piles of marking, swine flu, sick children etc etc etc)... I just thought I'd pop onto my blog to say 'hello' and to reflect, briefly, on this year's bits and bobs.

2009 Highlights
So... my highlights from this year:

1. Social networking makes your brain turn to mush
2. But it's okay... because just about everything else gives you cancer anyway
3. The VLE was dead
4. Then it wasn't
5. Twitter took over the world
6. While Google Wave-d
7. Microsoft Bing-ed... then got sued for binging and their Word was no longer law
8. And Facebook kept managing to annoy people for messing with layouts and privacy settings
9. But it still won the battle of the social networks
10. And Apps were 'it'

Reading stuff
Oh, and when time got tight and I was under pressure, I still found time to catch up with Steve Wheeler's excellent Learning with 'e's, John Connell and Martin Weller's ed tech goodness, Jane Knight's tool recommendations, Mashable's stream of social media goodness, educational goings on with The Guardian and ReadWriteWeb for their tech trend interpretations.

Tech stuff
I also still love Google Reader, Delicious , YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs, SlideShare and Twitter

... while Slideboom, WordPress, Plurk, ScreenToaster and Diigo have also emerged as useful tools during the past 12 months.

However, SecondLife I still don't get but nor do others, Google Notebook was quietly left to die,
Etherpad sparkled with usefulness then disappeared and Google Wave is very, very alpha and I'm waiting for the lightbulb moment with it.

And next year?
But... next year will be another year of ed tech loveliness, I'm sure. Funding crisis in HE or no, there's always interesting stuff happening and with luck... we'll find ways of making learning more interesting, relevant and (dare I say it?) engaging for everyone concerned.

Scaffolding and online synchronous communications

Steve Wheeler has just posted something interesting about the ZPD and scaffolding in his 'always worth a read' (©Sarah's Made-Up-Taxonomy of blog types, 2009) blog. Anyway, he posted it and it reminded me that I'd been interested in just this thing a few months ago when I was doing my research project to finish off my MEd. I was interested in the impact of a tutor when students were learning in an online synchronous (chat) environment. I wanted to know what happened to any conversation and associated learning... and whether or not the tutor's presence enriched the experience.

Anyway, I ran my research project and got some interesting results. Although the activity itself was fairly carefully constructed so as to provide a light scaffolding for the main body of discussion and the environment was controlled so that I was able to compare both sessions - how each discussion evolved was up to the participants. Different types of reflection were evident in the session with the tutor present and that which took place when just the students were around. The flow of the conversation altered. The type of questions and responses changed. Students seemed to be more passive in the tutor-led session and although there was plenty of conversation, the expectation seemed to be that the tutor was in the driving seat and the ownership of that communication shifted noticably.

If, having read the above blurb, you'd like to read the full report of the research I carried out, then feel free!

Twitter lists as online identity

In the last few weeks, Twitter lists have appeared on the scene. I've seen a few useful bits and bobs about the lists and how they might be used (Mashable has some good ideas) but the thing that surprised me most of all was that Twitter lists are an interesting tool to discover a little more about your own online identity. All you need to do is to see what lists you're on by clicking on the 'listed' link on your profile. Simple, huh?

It's interesting to see other people's perceptions of you. Me, I seem to feature on a fair few elearning / ed tech lists (as well as my favourites so far 'fab education folk' and 'geek girls'!) as well as a few Open University ones. It's interesting to see where you're being placed and how much control (or not!) you have over your online identity. It reveals, also, your main purpose for using Twitter. I tend to use it to communicate with others in ed tech. There are other places where I might talk about other bits of my life / personality... but I've always been fairly purposeful where Twitter's concerned. Other people may find that they feature on a wider variety of lists... but either way... have a look... it's really interesting to see where you fit in to Twitter's strange patchwork of communication!

PS Until someone puts you in a comedy list and you think 'Eh? How did that happen???!' :o)