Distributed Publishing Framework: a couple of ways to look at it…

My excellent colleagues and I have been mapping out a few ways to describe what is essentially a framework for authoring content that gets the most bang for the buck in terms of re-usability. If you want to know how we are leveraging the concept of embed code across blog and Mediawiki environments, Brian Lamb has put together a great screencast - hosted on Blip.tv. If you’re interested in the broad strokes related to conceptualizing what this means to the average content author (instructor or student), you may be interested in these few slides I put together on Slideshare:

Mind Mapping Madness

I had alot of fun presenting at the 2008 Educational Technology User’s Group Spring Workshop last week. The theme was Creativity and it was aptly held at Vancouver’s Emily Carr Institute of Arts and Design

The session was hands-on and I used Novamind as a presentation tool and Bubbl.us for some hands on brainstorming activity. The diagram of our collective output is right or in flash format here: Mind Mapping Tips.

Bubbl.us was easy to use in a short presentation format. Here’s why:

• easy to create accounts (no email confirmations necessary).
• easy to use: we didn’t provide any step by steps - just a little hands on support here and there as needed.
• nicely embedded into our Mind Mapping Resources wiki for post session follow up.

For me, the pleasure in presenting comes from the participants - their questions, contributions and new ideas. This session was no exception on that front!

Will using Facebook, IM, Skype, etc. make me a better teacher?

Probably not. Though your choice of tools should probably be related to the kind of communication network you want/need to establish with your learners. For some this will be as simple as e-mail or online discussion forum in WebCT/Vista. For others, it may involve a range of instant messaging for office hours, Wimba for online tutorials, maybe even Facebook if all learners in the class are there already. Whether or not any of these strategies is effective is, to a large degree, dependent on how committed both you and your learners are to making it work.

The topic of teachers and social media was recently explored on CBC’s radio show Spark in an interview with danah boyd, of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and Marc Fisher, of the Washington Post. The blog discussion was lively and fascinating following the interview and I’d encourage you to spend some time on the site:

Here’s an excerpt from one of the blogger participants:

I am a lecturer at a university in BC. I allow my students reasonable access: I do use email (obsessively) and virtual classroom technology, and promise my students that I will respond “in a timely manner” (my time, not theirs). I encourage Facebook, Moodle, and Google study groups and chat/IM - so that students who often live more than an hour away from each other in our area can use technology to help make their lives a little easier.

Does this make me more effective than the instructor who oversees f2f study groups, who offers specific office hours, who volunteers time in the Writing Centre and makes sure her students come for extra help?

Of course it doesn’t. The one thing research in pedagogy has shown time and time again is that any technique works for most students as long as the teacher is committed to it.

Sharon Taylor, March 5th, 2008 - Posted on CBC’s Spark blog.

And what do students think makes for a good instructor? Recently, some of the students involved in the LEAP project, asked their peers to share their thoughts on teaching and learning via U.Stream from the Ike Barber Learning Centre. If you’d like to review the archived video clips, they are available here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/leap-ubc.

Here are a few highlights:

It would be good if they (profs) would give us an opportunity to do our own research/ academic reviews. Trevor, 4th year student

I like it when profs emphasize discussion, interactivity – not just reviewing notes. I can do that on my own. Teena, 2nd year student

I know that I’m really learning something when I choose to think about it outside of class – not just what I have to remember for a paper or mid term.

Profs may have taught the same thing over and over, but I haven’t learned the same thing over and over. Cadence, 2nd year student

Most profs don’t use technology enough… to bring people together in a closer environment.

Luke, 2nd year

I really like it when my profs put presentations and course materials online. It helps me follow along with class work …

Interactive study guides and online quizzes (not for grades) but for self tests is a great thing.

Facebook is a good way (for me) to connect with classmates and organize meetings, study groups…as opposed to all the junk you could do on that site.

Alec, 2nd year

In an ideal world, learning would be more collaborative and interactive…

One of my profs really encourages interaction and discussion our entire hour lecture. In another class, my prof lectures the whole time, we don’t really have any choices, which makes it boring – totally unlike the other class.

Kevin, 3rd year

The bottom line? Learners recognize good instructors. They are the ones who make the subject matter come to life in a meaningful way, who use classroom time wisely and who want to know what learners’ think. They have high expectations and provide the guidance necessary for students to really learn - not only about the subject matter, but about themselves as learners and citizens. It has very little to do with technology. It has to do with a deep commitment to learning and the willingness to try and fail in an attempt to improve. After all, learning transcends the boundaries of the individual course or instructor but you can make an impact on what your learners will take with them. What do you want that to be?

Facebook, Fear and Frustration

The latest Facebook incident, reported recently in the Toronto Star, involves an online study group, a charge of academic misconduct and university policies that seem outdated and open to misinterpretation. It seems a classic representation of the clash of two cultures being played out in higher ed these days: the open, collaborative, network culture vs. the closed, competitive, individual culture.

The consequences for this student seem dire and the effect on others - disheartening. After all, it was a study group - doing what study groups have done for generations - except this time they did it online, exposed in a way they likely didn’t consider and now are paying for. And what about policy interpretation? Did the instructor make students aware of the policy on plagiarism as it relates to study groups? Policies related to plagiarism and collaboration are murky at best, not only at Ryerson but here at UBC (and I suspect other institutions as well. (Ryerson; UBC ).

For me, this example brings up a larger question about learning. What is it about learning that we really value? Is it about the individual passing of tests and competing with others to be the best? Is it about finding ways to collaborate with others in order to see problems from different perspectives and work towards solving them in a way that is perhaps beyond the flexibility and adaptation that one person can demonstrate? And what do we know about learning that might help us to re-shape some of our policies to reflect changing values? The editors of How People Learn: Brain, Mind Experience and School tell us that time on task is not enough to ensure that learners will choose effective learning strategies. In fact, learners need time and frequent feedback in order to “monitor their learning and actively evaluate their strategies and their current levels of understanding.” In my own experience, study groups (in whatever form) have provided this support.

There’s alot to think about here. I look forward to the outcome of this one.

Things Unseen

Words

I don’t take your words

Merely as words

Far from it.

I listen

To what makes you talk -

whatever that is-

And me listen.

Shinkichi Takahashi (Zen poet).

For me, Zen poetry (all poetry) brings the things unseen in everyday life into sharp focus. There is a power in the things unseen that can’t be measured, evaluated, planned or reduced to the mundane. It’s about relationship. When I think about how this relates to learning and teaching, I am reminded that two teachers can employ the same teaching strategies and get very different results. What’s different? Their intentions to connect with the learner. Some make that connection in everything they do. Some don’t. My son says it like this:

“Some teachers are teachers. Some are people who teach. I rather have the person than the ‘teacher’.”

Where the person comes first, the intention of the teacher will always involve the learning rather than the teaching. At least I think that’s what my son is saying.

Musing on Boot Camp

On my way to work this morning, I found myself thinking about the concept of “boot camp.” It’s everywhere: get fit bootcamps; software training bootcamps - at UBC, we even have a Vista Bootcamp for Faculty new to the CMS. Boot camps are wildly popular - despite their decidedly militaristic roots. Why? What’s at the root of this phenomenon? Do we really want to be told what to do - whipped into shape - stripped of our choices? Yes - maybe - sometimes - at least I did - when choice and free will starting to become a little too taxing… here’s the story…

I spent the entire fall trying to figure out the best way to get fit. I wanted something that would work for me - and most everyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not particularly good at following rules. I regularly throw away instructions in the (often mistaken) belief that I can figure it out myself. So, I spent alot of time thinking about what exercise I could do to improve my stamina, my energy level, my strength. I never made it past the park to the gym - despite the elaborate fitness plan that I set up in my mind. Then it occurred to me - I have waaaay too much to think about to be doing this! I need someone to tell me what to do. Someone to keep me on track -jump start me into action. All I need to do is show up. So I joined the Gladiator Bootcamp at my local community centre.

What a relief! Sure, I rest when the lead gladiator guy isn’t watching - cheat my way through sit ups (occasionally) and choose the lightest bar bells (consistently) but I don’t have to make decisions about what to do next - gladiator man will tell me!

What does this have to do with learning and technology? We have more choice today than we’ve ever had - in terms of how a course is delivered, the tools we use to support learning, even how and when we learn. Back to my reflection…is the Bootcamp appeal a reaction against too many choices - information/ choice overload? I would imagine that bootcamp is a phenomenon only in “free” societies - I doubt that this is all the rage in Beijing or even Bhutan. I’m reminded of Eric Fromm’s Escape From Freedom in which he argues that freedom can produce anxiety. In turn, we react to the anxiety associated with our perception of freedom by employing a variety of strategies and mechanisms to make ourselves less anxious. One of these mechanisms (authoritarianism) is about giving up our power (and decision making) by following someone else.

This may be a stretch, but I’ve certainly observed that (in general) there has been a steady rise in the general level of anxiety among the Faculty and professional staff I work with and, when this happens, people generally don’t want to talk about process and principles - they want the prescription (the fix). So we (in our supporting roles) do our best to balance the need to alleviate anxiety with the quick fixes, while being attentive to the “windows for learning” that naturally open up a crack when people are less anxious.

And does this trend toward anxiety have something to do with (what seems like) a resurgent desire among some faculty for templates, checklists and basic prescriptive instructions for managing their online teaching activities? Students don’t seem to want this (at least to the same extent) but maybe this because many of them (the younger ones) are still in the stage of experimenting with their new found sense of freedom - and they are enjoying it too much to give any of it up.

In Bhutan, decisions are made by the monarchy in order to keep the happiness quotient up among the people. In bootcamp - decisions are made by the leader in order to indoctrinate or train. I still prefer freedom and feel very lucky to have it (or at least the illusion of it)- but a little bootcamp went a long way to improve my happiness quotient!

I like visual maps…

I think better when I can draw it out. Over the years I have used, become addicted to (and probably annoyed people) with my Omnigraffle project design maps.  Here are a few examples of the kinds of maps I have used with colleagues and students in the early development of a highly collaborative project involving social software (beta tools mainly), many partners and various objectives.

I also use NovaMind concept mapping and free tools like Bubble.us  and Gliffy.

The essential features for me are:

•  easy to use and flexible (with features like: drag, drop, move, hide)
• exportable to different formats
• shareable: which is only possible with Omnigraffle and Novamind if other collaborators have the software installed - however the web based tools only require an account sign up (easy and straight forward).

I find that the mind mapping tools are most useful when brainstorming about the various pieces/ perspectives related to a single concept or theme.  The other visual mapping tools (like Gliffy or Omnigraffle) tend to be most useful in looking at relationships between things/themes/components.

Multi-tasking Revisited

Found an interesting and entertaining article on multitasking today by way of George Siemens’ blog . I’ve been thinking about multi-tasking for a while now and I’ve come to the opinion that we have trapped ourselves in the illusion that we can do more in less time and that all we need are more tools to do it better. We ignore the costs to our health and sanity and this isn’t surprising since it seems our values (at least in the Western world) tend toward hyper-connectivity over just about anything you can name. I guess we’re worried we’ll miss something important. And we probably are – that’s the tragedy.

The thing is that us polychrons like to do more than one thing at a time and we’re not so happy following a linear path to getting things done. In fact, what parent doesn’t do more than one thing at once – at least some of the time? But multitasking has become a way of being – a chronic state. What’s more, multitasking is the antithesis of flow and flow is good for us. We need to feel fully engaged in our activities from time to time – without interruption.

It seems to me that “fit” and “context” are important. Doing more than one thing at a time may be a good fit for me but some are happier doing one thing at a time. And there is a time and a place for both approaches.

If I want to learn something new, I need to focus my attention in a more complete way than if I am picking up a few new ideas about something that I am already familiar with. If I’m having a conversation with someone, I want to be fully present (usually). If I am expected to manage deadlines, be on time and produce outcomes, I need to turn on the monochronic switch. If I am responsible for a team of people that work together in polychronistic harmony – all the better for me – but if not, we’ll be flexible.

So, while polychronicity may be good (for those so inclined), multitasking (as a chronic state) is undoubtedly unhealthy.

Learners Owning Learning

Who owns learning? The simple answer to that question is “learners do.” Yet, to realize the level of ownership talked about at the recent ELI Annual Meeting, learners also need to be able to evaluate and assess and demonstrate their learning. And not only the learning that is valued by the Faculty, but learning that is valued by the learner. Preparing learners for this kind of a shift is one thing – the institutional reform necessary to transform the learning experience is a mammoth task.

In this month’s Educause Review , Seely-Brown and Adler offer a great overview of both the promise and challenges for learners and those who care about learning in a 2.0 world, which they describe as active, passion-based and beyond the boundaries of formal education to include life-long learning.

“Finding and joining a community that ignites a student’s passion can set the stage for the student to acquire both deep knowledge about a subject (“learning about”) and the ability to participate in the practice of a field through productive inquiry and peer-based learning (“learning to be”). These communities are harbingers of the emergence of a new form of technology-enhanced learning—Learning 2.0—which goes beyond providing free access to traditional course materials and educational tools and creates a participatory architecture for supporting communities of learners.”
Seely-Brown and Adler: Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0: Educause Review (Jan/Feb 200

Seems to me that many learners are there: participating in social/learning communities of many varieties. Some associate the value of these communities with their learning, others - not so much. And some others are not there for reasons related to access, choice, inhibition or perceived lack of value to their learning. We’re in there, too, trying to figure out what this means to our institutions. A number of ELI participants attended a learning circle to discuss some of the institutional issues related to the use of social software and our hosts documented some of our results in this wiki.

Learning 2.0 is about collaboration, collective intelligence and participation and will necessarily challenge every aspect of our traditional institutions and ways of thinking that are rule based, hierarchical and credential focused. Hang on for a long, winding, wild ride!

Note: ELI has posted some excellent presentations from the Annual meeting. Definitely worth a look.

Privacy Policies and Social Software

We know that students are using a variety of social software tools in their daily lives: Facebook, Del.icio.us and IM to name a few. Faculty are beginning to experiment with many of these tools in their courses. In OLT, we work with Faculty and students to help them understand the various applications of some of these tools for learning.

The increased use of third party social software in academia raises a host of policy and pedagogical issues, not the least of which relates to student ownership over personal data, privacy laws and the public institution’s responsibility with regard to personal information. Since most of these tools store user account information on U.S. based servers, we wonder about the implications related to the B.C FOIPOP and Protection of Privacy Act . What are our obligations when discussing the potential of these tools for enhancing learning?

Recently, some of my colleagues and I met with UBC’s Access and Privacy Manager (Legal Affairs) to get some clarification on the university’s official position regarding the use of social software. We learned that the key factors are informed consent and voluntary use.

Implications for learners and faculty?
• UBC sanctioned, student authored academic support sites where these tools are discussed and (in some cases) recommended: good place for some quick tips for identity management.

• Most social software sites have some sort of privacy policy that students and other users should be made aware of.
• Learners cannot be required (as participants in a course) to set up accounts for applications that are hosted outside of Canada. Seems obvious, but often misunderstood.
• Shared, generic accounts (set up voluntarily by an individual with a shared password and login) are OK.

The thing is that we’re likely not going to stop using the social/collaborative tools that we like - we just need to use them more responsibly and with full awareness of how our personal info. is being used - shared. Our job is to do what we can to help learners and Faculty understand the implications - not to make it more difficult for them to do what they need to do - using the tools that work for the job at hand.  More on one students’ frustrating ride with the ethics process, online surveys and the U.S.Patriot Act….

Think I’ll go and learn a bit more about OpenID…