Today is the day that the movie of Wrinkle in Time opens in movie theatres. It's appropriate that I revisit this blog now, after a block of time away. I'll make an effort to continue posted here on a daily basis. This week has also been Open Education Week - which I've been participating in, in some small ways.
On Monday, I was one of the guest speakers in a webinar hosted by Katya P. from OCUL (Ontario Colleges and Universities Libraries). I unfortunately was double booked for this time and my efforts to do both at the same time did not work out as well as it could. My open participation was done from a dressing room in a wedding dress shop and finished at a table in a coffee shop.
On Tuesday, I participated in the eCampus Ontario Extend workshop with a colleague - we drove to Peterborough, Fleming College to attend in person. The three 'legs' of this program include 1. daily creates, 2. activity bank, and 3. Domain of one's own [Extend Studios]. This work will be done under the umbrella of six modules [Extend Modules] which will distribute badges as we create and produce content. I started blogging with the Ontario Extend category linking my Five Flames blog site to the RSS feed with other's blogs [Extending into the Open]. I collected a list of #ExtendEast participants on Twitter and shared it on my blog.
Today I'm participating in a webinar [#OER18 preview] hosted by Teresa MacKinnon in the UK with guest speakers Lorna Campbell, Momodou Sallah, and David Wiley. I joined after receiving a notification from Teresa about this session and was able to fit it into the day. The full day of Open Education webinars [Open Education Week Web-a-thon], this being only one of many being done today, has been organized by Jenni Hayman, presented using the eCampus Zoom resource. I'll also be joining Jenni for a few moments in an eCampus Ontario chat session.
It's been a busy week, since I have also suffered through a nasty head cold. This hasn't held me back but did have me staying home rather than driving to teach my class last night. I'm fortunate that my students are capable of creating and participating using digital technologies, so teaching from my home was not a problem. I set up the learning 'events' to engage the students with the content from the web page for the day. Open access, open learning.
Showing posts with label open. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open. Show all posts
Friday, 9 March 2018
Saturday, 24 February 2018
Opening Up
I've just re-read an article by Catherine Cronin - Openness and Praxis: Exploring the Use of Open Educational Practices in Higher Education. I've reflected on Cronin's work on open educational practice before [Cronin Comes into Focus]. This is a piece that I will come back to from time to time since it feeds my research and SoTL directions - "critical approaches to openness are required".
I returned to this piece after a 'trigger' conversation from a hangout held recently. In this general discussion about educational technology in our teaching practice, there appears to be pushback from students who find it challenging to engage in multiple digital spaces within a course of study. The issue brought forward, that created a feeling of discomfort for me, was that of multiple sites for locating information about course content. Since this is exactly what I require and model in each of my courses, I paid particular attention to these comments. The issue appears to be the navigation from closed LMS spaces to open web spaces where similar but not identical information is presented. Conflicting information from one location (LMS) to another (web site) was challenging the students to make sense of what, where, when, and how to complete the course requirements. Mirroring the LMS into open web spaces with consistency and attention to detail is challenging at best, and a web designer or course creator's major concern. Ensuring that the due dates, assignment descriptions, and the specific requirements for each element of the course need to be consistently communicated in each location. With responsive and agile course design, this can be particularly challenging.
As I struggle with this issue - since I firmly believe that course content should live outside the LMS space. I struggle with the LMS requirements from the organizational standpoint. How can I continue to support student success with open course design when the students themselves are pushing back on the open nature of course design? Where can the shift for simplification be reversed to one where complexity and messiness, and an attitude of 'not-yetness' are accepted (Ross & Collier). I'm struggling with this negotiation of open learning while balancing student needs, learning success, and well being. My messy learning opportunities with open and emerging web technologies may not be what students want, need or welcome. How do I find out what students 'really' need? How do I balance that with what I really 'want' to see happen in my teaching practice? Tough questions for self reflection.... more opening up to come.
References:
Cronin, C. (2017, October 17). Open education, open questions. Educause Review. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/open-education-open-questions
Cronin, C. (2017, August). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL), 18(5). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3096/4301
Ross, J. & Collier, A. (2016). Complexity, mess, and not-yetness. In G. Veletsianos (2012) Emergence and innovation in digital learning. AU Press. DOI: doi:10.15215/aupress/9781771991490.01 Retrieved from http://www.veletsianos.com/2016/06/14/complexity-mess-not-yetness/
I returned to this piece after a 'trigger' conversation from a hangout held recently. In this general discussion about educational technology in our teaching practice, there appears to be pushback from students who find it challenging to engage in multiple digital spaces within a course of study. The issue brought forward, that created a feeling of discomfort for me, was that of multiple sites for locating information about course content. Since this is exactly what I require and model in each of my courses, I paid particular attention to these comments. The issue appears to be the navigation from closed LMS spaces to open web spaces where similar but not identical information is presented. Conflicting information from one location (LMS) to another (web site) was challenging the students to make sense of what, where, when, and how to complete the course requirements. Mirroring the LMS into open web spaces with consistency and attention to detail is challenging at best, and a web designer or course creator's major concern. Ensuring that the due dates, assignment descriptions, and the specific requirements for each element of the course need to be consistently communicated in each location. With responsive and agile course design, this can be particularly challenging.
As I struggle with this issue - since I firmly believe that course content should live outside the LMS space. I struggle with the LMS requirements from the organizational standpoint. How can I continue to support student success with open course design when the students themselves are pushing back on the open nature of course design? Where can the shift for simplification be reversed to one where complexity and messiness, and an attitude of 'not-yetness' are accepted (Ross & Collier). I'm struggling with this negotiation of open learning while balancing student needs, learning success, and well being. My messy learning opportunities with open and emerging web technologies may not be what students want, need or welcome. How do I find out what students 'really' need? How do I balance that with what I really 'want' to see happen in my teaching practice? Tough questions for self reflection.... more opening up to come.
References:
Cronin, C. (2017, October 17). Open education, open questions. Educause Review. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/open-education-open-questions
Cronin, C. (2017, August). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL), 18(5). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3096/4301
Ross, J. & Collier, A. (2016). Complexity, mess, and not-yetness. In G. Veletsianos (2012) Emergence and innovation in digital learning. AU Press. DOI: doi:10.15215/aupress/9781771991490.01 Retrieved from http://www.veletsianos.com/2016/06/14/complexity-mess-not-yetness/
Thursday, 22 February 2018
Tensions
Since the previous article I've read made reference to tensions in the spaces between complexity and simplexity in online learning spaces, it's time I took some time to watch Caroline Kuhn's webinar
Tensions concerning personal open designs and institutional closed artefacts in a HE Institution.
Tensions concerning personal open designs and institutional closed artefacts in a HE Institution.
There will be some continuity in thinking between Ross & Collier's article and this work, I think.
I'll capture my notes from this video on a 'vialogue' for further collaborations and discussion. [with the inherent issues of accounts, access, privileges, permissions, etc - the price of annotations in the open]. The Vialogue notes can be found HERE.
Complexity, messiness and 'not-yetness'
This title refers to a book chapter from Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning (Veletsianos, G. 2016) that I've just read. It's Complexity, Mess, and Not-Yetness from Jen Ross and Amy Collier. In this chapter they tackle the utopian vs dystopian narratives currently found in digital technology - from tech determinism to tech imperatives. They suggest a shift away from simplistic narratives and binary reductionism to build on three dimensions of emerging technologies in education - design, embodiment and socio-political contexts of accountability. They argue for messiness in thinking and practice, for working within complexity and being productive within 'not-yetness' (p 20).
First - designing online learning with emerging tech should be 'born digital' not application of face to face experiences transferred to online spaces. Instructors and designers should examine how to thrive in the tensions between complexity and rigidity e.g. "How might instructors design for complexity in learning in spite of these rigidities?" (p. 20). This includes the use of asynchronous, multimodal, collaborative, using speed, brevity, serendipity as pedagogical possibilities. Designing with a 'born digital' perspective means "embracing the open web as a vehicle for complexity and emerging practice (p. 21). Examples such as DoOO and Rhizo14 are shared, where 'emerging' is not fully understood or set in stone.
This connects for me in terms of the CDL course design that was 'born digital' and continues to live digital - in all it's messiness and complexity. Some of the students are enjoying the experience, thriving on the loose, less rigid, multiple means of expression. Others are challenged in this type of environment - requiring more guidance, structure and frequent 'announcements, emails, and notices' to keep themselves organized in the 'flow' of the course. Since I've been there, done that, know the experiences as a student (with the MET program) it's easier for me to live in this complex, messiness than other instructors could/would be.
Second - Ross and Collier examine the messiness that is the 'embodiment' of the instructor within emerging tech spaces. Face to face embodiment involves issues relevant to power, gender, race, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc - all of which disappears in digital teaching spaces, where it's believed that the 'body is left behind'. [This specifically links to the COI model of instructor presence, which isn't mentioned here.] Emerging tech and immersive environments further the need to examine the embodiment of 'instructor' through the use of avatars and digital representations. Relating to this is Audrey Watters' writing about the importance of 'bodies' when we learn in communities. Ross and Collier conclude this section by stating that "theories of online embodiment should acknowledge the complex interplay between physical bodies, the digital objects that are constructed or perceived as the instructor's online body, and the online learners and their physical and digital bodies" (p. 24).
This connects to my current work as both a face to face instructor AND an online instructor - how I use my 'presence' in each space is dramatically different. In the online course, I reach out and 'meet' each of the students in a google hangout just so they have a sense of ME as the instructor. In the physical classroom, I sit down at the table or wander around the room as conversations and technologies are being used so this 'embodiment' is still challenging but differently. The 'negotiation' required in the online, digital sessions requires agreement between student and instructor to determine the time, space, location. In-class 'embodiment' requires little negotiation or navigation.
Third - Ross and Collier address the idealogical framework and current cultural context in which emerging tech is bound - where there exists "narrow views of how products and services can demonstrate value to consumers" (p. 24). This tackles the messy issues of value propositions, return on investment (ROI) and accountability (what counts, counting clicks and time). Mechanisms of data collection, learning analytics and data trails aim to simplify the learning equations, where 'what counts as learning' is not always what is counted or revealed in the data. Within teaching and research with emerging technologies, the messiness should be exploited and complexity embraced. Narrow outcomes don't capture the lived experiences or holistic learning, often closing off areas worth investigating or exploring, privileging some while failing to acknowledge others. This heightens the need for qualitative approaches to contribute richer pictures of learning in emerging tech spaces that 'accountability-based analytics' can provide.
For me, this echoes the feelings I have in managing the 'click' tracking that can be done within an LMS juxtaposed with the fluid data trails found in the open, exploratory spaces such as Twitter, Slack, and web productions. This 'collecting evidence' is time consuming but I do it as a model for 'reflective practice' in digital spaces. Keeping a record of what I said, when I did it, what I was thinking, while I was doing it, are all pieces that are default mode for me. This is not true for my students. Curating and managing their own data trail through a course is not something they've ever done - most courses they consume information and producing disposable assignments. Keeping a record, journal, copy/paste of digital contributions is an add-on for them, where it's a next step for me. This is a messy practice, many switch-backs, rechecks, revisions as I collect, curate and manage the digital trails for the students. The technology supports this, but the technology cannot do the analysis and reflection for me - or the students. It is their 'lived experience' in the confined and open spaces of the course - a reverse map of their digital journey through the course.
Finally, Ross and Collier share their purpose - to "persuade you that what we need in the practice, conceptualization, and investigation of digital education is MORE rather than LESS complexity and mess. For me, their call to find 'fruitful learning' that can come from "thinking of the body as a relevant site of exploration of the online instructor's role" (p. 27) is a challenge - to think about how emerging and digital technologies opens or closes the image, expression, emotion and connection that individuals have with/from/toward each other in digital spaces. This has direct impact on how we, as instructors, learners, supporters of open educational practices 'dial it up' into the OPEN.
Reference:
Ross, J. & Collier, A. (2016). Complexity, mess, and not-yetness. In G. Veletsianos (2012) Emergence and innovation in digital learning. AU Press. DOI: doi:10.15215/aupress/9781771991490.01 Retrieved from http://www.veletsianos.com/2016/06/14/complexity-mess-not-yetness/
First - designing online learning with emerging tech should be 'born digital' not application of face to face experiences transferred to online spaces. Instructors and designers should examine how to thrive in the tensions between complexity and rigidity e.g. "How might instructors design for complexity in learning in spite of these rigidities?" (p. 20). This includes the use of asynchronous, multimodal, collaborative, using speed, brevity, serendipity as pedagogical possibilities. Designing with a 'born digital' perspective means "embracing the open web as a vehicle for complexity and emerging practice (p. 21). Examples such as DoOO and Rhizo14 are shared, where 'emerging' is not fully understood or set in stone.
This connects for me in terms of the CDL course design that was 'born digital' and continues to live digital - in all it's messiness and complexity. Some of the students are enjoying the experience, thriving on the loose, less rigid, multiple means of expression. Others are challenged in this type of environment - requiring more guidance, structure and frequent 'announcements, emails, and notices' to keep themselves organized in the 'flow' of the course. Since I've been there, done that, know the experiences as a student (with the MET program) it's easier for me to live in this complex, messiness than other instructors could/would be.
Second - Ross and Collier examine the messiness that is the 'embodiment' of the instructor within emerging tech spaces. Face to face embodiment involves issues relevant to power, gender, race, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc - all of which disappears in digital teaching spaces, where it's believed that the 'body is left behind'. [This specifically links to the COI model of instructor presence, which isn't mentioned here.] Emerging tech and immersive environments further the need to examine the embodiment of 'instructor' through the use of avatars and digital representations. Relating to this is Audrey Watters' writing about the importance of 'bodies' when we learn in communities. Ross and Collier conclude this section by stating that "theories of online embodiment should acknowledge the complex interplay between physical bodies, the digital objects that are constructed or perceived as the instructor's online body, and the online learners and their physical and digital bodies" (p. 24).
This connects to my current work as both a face to face instructor AND an online instructor - how I use my 'presence' in each space is dramatically different. In the online course, I reach out and 'meet' each of the students in a google hangout just so they have a sense of ME as the instructor. In the physical classroom, I sit down at the table or wander around the room as conversations and technologies are being used so this 'embodiment' is still challenging but differently. The 'negotiation' required in the online, digital sessions requires agreement between student and instructor to determine the time, space, location. In-class 'embodiment' requires little negotiation or navigation.
Third - Ross and Collier address the idealogical framework and current cultural context in which emerging tech is bound - where there exists "narrow views of how products and services can demonstrate value to consumers" (p. 24). This tackles the messy issues of value propositions, return on investment (ROI) and accountability (what counts, counting clicks and time). Mechanisms of data collection, learning analytics and data trails aim to simplify the learning equations, where 'what counts as learning' is not always what is counted or revealed in the data. Within teaching and research with emerging technologies, the messiness should be exploited and complexity embraced. Narrow outcomes don't capture the lived experiences or holistic learning, often closing off areas worth investigating or exploring, privileging some while failing to acknowledge others. This heightens the need for qualitative approaches to contribute richer pictures of learning in emerging tech spaces that 'accountability-based analytics' can provide.
For me, this echoes the feelings I have in managing the 'click' tracking that can be done within an LMS juxtaposed with the fluid data trails found in the open, exploratory spaces such as Twitter, Slack, and web productions. This 'collecting evidence' is time consuming but I do it as a model for 'reflective practice' in digital spaces. Keeping a record of what I said, when I did it, what I was thinking, while I was doing it, are all pieces that are default mode for me. This is not true for my students. Curating and managing their own data trail through a course is not something they've ever done - most courses they consume information and producing disposable assignments. Keeping a record, journal, copy/paste of digital contributions is an add-on for them, where it's a next step for me. This is a messy practice, many switch-backs, rechecks, revisions as I collect, curate and manage the digital trails for the students. The technology supports this, but the technology cannot do the analysis and reflection for me - or the students. It is their 'lived experience' in the confined and open spaces of the course - a reverse map of their digital journey through the course.
Finally, Ross and Collier share their purpose - to "persuade you that what we need in the practice, conceptualization, and investigation of digital education is MORE rather than LESS complexity and mess. For me, their call to find 'fruitful learning' that can come from "thinking of the body as a relevant site of exploration of the online instructor's role" (p. 27) is a challenge - to think about how emerging and digital technologies opens or closes the image, expression, emotion and connection that individuals have with/from/toward each other in digital spaces. This has direct impact on how we, as instructors, learners, supporters of open educational practices 'dial it up' into the OPEN.
Reference:
Ross, J. & Collier, A. (2016). Complexity, mess, and not-yetness. In G. Veletsianos (2012) Emergence and innovation in digital learning. AU Press. DOI: doi:10.15215/aupress/9781771991490.01 Retrieved from http://www.veletsianos.com/2016/06/14/complexity-mess-not-yetness/
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Webinars... oh my!
So Jenni sent a reminder out today for our upcoming OER Fellows day long 'retreat' to meet. It'll be the first time we get together and learn together. She also reminded us that we should be prepared to share our research plan and a webinar idea we have.
So, after reading Tony Bate's blog post That Was 2017 in Online Learning, I'm re-framing my thinking. Tony writes that "There’s a long way to go with open educational resources". He identifies five key points about why OER is not as prevalent as it should be. The point that caught my attention speaks to my work as an OER Fellow:
"stop thinking of OER as something different from everything else on the Internet; all open content has value, whether it is specifically designed for educational purposes or not; this means coming up with course design models that exploit open content for the purpose of developing 21st century skills such as knowledge management, analysis of source reliability, etc."
The next point he makes is that "Instructor training in teaching remains a huge problem" with the following statement providing a HUGE aha moment for me:
"less than half the instructors based their innovation on a theory of learning or a change of teaching method to produce different outcomes, such as skills development. Without a grounding in pedagogy and a knowledge of the research into how people learn, it is impossible for most instructors to see the real potential of digital technology for improving their teaching"
I forget that what comes naturally to me, after a lifetime in the field of education, is the underlying, implicit and tacit knowledge I bring to my course design, delivery and teaching strategies. My mediation and decision making with digital teaching and learning is based on years of experience with educators of all ages and stages. This is my gift to give.
Further to this, I'm thinking there may be some ways to focus my particular skill set into the webinars. Since eCampus Ontario managers are already doing a Bento Box series where new e-tech tools are shared, there really isn't a need for a WHAT style webinar. It's time to shift my thinking to the WHY webinar.
So, after reading Tony Bate's blog post That Was 2017 in Online Learning, I'm re-framing my thinking. Tony writes that "There’s a long way to go with open educational resources". He identifies five key points about why OER is not as prevalent as it should be. The point that caught my attention speaks to my work as an OER Fellow:
"stop thinking of OER as something different from everything else on the Internet; all open content has value, whether it is specifically designed for educational purposes or not; this means coming up with course design models that exploit open content for the purpose of developing 21st century skills such as knowledge management, analysis of source reliability, etc."
The next point he makes is that "Instructor training in teaching remains a huge problem" with the following statement providing a HUGE aha moment for me:
"less than half the instructors based their innovation on a theory of learning or a change of teaching method to produce different outcomes, such as skills development. Without a grounding in pedagogy and a knowledge of the research into how people learn, it is impossible for most instructors to see the real potential of digital technology for improving their teaching"
Further to this, I'm thinking there may be some ways to focus my particular skill set into the webinars. Since eCampus Ontario managers are already doing a Bento Box series where new e-tech tools are shared, there really isn't a need for a WHAT style webinar. It's time to shift my thinking to the WHY webinar.
- Why would you integrate media into your course syllabus - the visual syllabus shared in the Catch is a model and one example.
- Why would you stop marking and grading in open learning? links to Jesse Stommel, Laura Gibbs and Dave Cormier's work comes to mind.
- Why would you post your course openly on a blog or web site? thinking beyond powerpoint presentations comes to mind; iterations of course content over time to suit learner needs
- Why should UDL matter in course design? linking in new frameworks for UDL from CAST
- Why SECTIONS should guide your decisions of tech integrations into course delivery.
- Why digital literacies should be integrated into EVERY course.
More info about the SECTIONS model is found in Tony's book Teaching in a Digital Age Chapter 8.
Wayfinding in Digital Spaces?
Media Making Matters?
PLN's and PLE's: Critical decision making in building your digital teaching persona?
Wayfinding in Digital Spaces?
Media Making Matters?
PLN's and PLE's: Critical decision making in building your digital teaching persona?
Monday, 5 February 2018
So.... I'm OPEN
Today, Jenni Hayman sent out a message in the ECHO group with a link to the WikiEducator Research/Open Educators Factory site. This describes a project about open education and lead me onto a web tool to self assess & rate your individual openness.The graphic results are provided immediately, along with some recommendations for readings and viewing to extend your learning. So, I guess I'm not really surprised, but it turns out... I'm an open designer, OER user, open teacher AND and open evaluator.
Open Educator is defined as:
An Open Educator choses to use open approaches, when possible and appropriate, with the aim to remove all unnecessary barriers to learning. She works through an open online identity and relies on online social networking to enrich and implement her work, understanding that collaboration bears a responsibility towards the work of others.
An Open Educator implements openness along four main activities. She:
1. Implements Open Learning Design, by openly sharing ideas and plans about her teaching activities with experts and with past and potential students, incorporating inputs and transparently leaving a trace of the development process.
2. Uses open educational content, by releasing her teaching resources through open licenses, by facilitating sharing of her resources through OER repositories and other means, and by adapting, assembling and using OERs produced by others in her teaching.
3. Adopts Open Pedagogies, fostering co-creation of knowledge by students through online and offline collaboration, allowing learners to contribute to public knowledge resources such as Wikipedia.
4. Implements open assessment practices such as peer and collaborative evaluation, open badges and e-portfolios, engaging students as well as external stakeholders in learning assessment.
Despite that result based on a handful of questions, I'm still not sure about my 'status' as an open educator. As I've been exploring the 'dial it up' model, there are steps and mechanisms to shift my teaching and learning further into the open, but those will need to considered carefully and negotiated. My open means that my students, colleagues and institution are also 'dialing it up' with me. Where do ethics and privacy come into this equation and how can open be balanced with safer internet practices?
Why didn't I think of that!
I'm working on adding articles to Zotero this morning and came across a research piece done in the UK about open media classes at Conventry University in the UK. It caught my attention because of one of the names involved in this photography course - Jonathan Worth. I'd gotten to know about his work in open photography through a Virtually Connecting hangout.
As I'm peeking into the site where the course is described and results are outlined, I'm thinking of the connections to my own work in the MDL4000 course. That's when one statement hit me and I'm thinking - why didn't I think of that!
The #netNarr course that Alan Levine and Mia Zamora are currently teaching is done just like that! Why didn't I think of that! It may be too late for the MDL4000 course since it's on it's way out and wouldn't be sustainable in it's full year framework. But the 3239CDL course could certainly be opened to working professionals - not as an AQ formatted course since that requires university approval - as an open offering to engage with others in open digital spaces for self directed, self driven learning. I will need to think about this and talk to Mia and Alan to see how they've framed their course to engage others in openly connecting with their students.
Reference
Digital Alchemy and Networked Narratives http://netnarr.arganee.world/
McGill, L., & Gray, T. (2015). Open media classes at Coventry University. Jisc Final Evaluation Report 2015. Retrieved from http://comc.loumcgill.co.uk
As I'm peeking into the site where the course is described and results are outlined, I'm thinking of the connections to my own work in the MDL4000 course. That's when one statement hit me and I'm thinking - why didn't I think of that!
- move from broadcast model to collaborative and connected interactions
- inclusion of open students, working professionals and enthusiastic amateurs in conversations and feedback
The #netNarr course that Alan Levine and Mia Zamora are currently teaching is done just like that! Why didn't I think of that! It may be too late for the MDL4000 course since it's on it's way out and wouldn't be sustainable in it's full year framework. But the 3239CDL course could certainly be opened to working professionals - not as an AQ formatted course since that requires university approval - as an open offering to engage with others in open digital spaces for self directed, self driven learning. I will need to think about this and talk to Mia and Alan to see how they've framed their course to engage others in openly connecting with their students.
Reference
Digital Alchemy and Networked Narratives http://netnarr.arganee.world/
McGill, L., & Gray, T. (2015). Open media classes at Coventry University. Jisc Final Evaluation Report 2015. Retrieved from http://comc.loumcgill.co.uk
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Interviews - talking about myself in the OPEN
I've had four interviews now, one video, two audio and one text. I have to admit my favourite was the text one, but it took the longest. I wrote and rewrote my responses to Doug Peterson's questions to make sure it read the way I'd want it said. I was thinking out loud without really talking out loud. Here are the links to these four interviews:
- 101 Open Stories with Jenni Hayman
- Getting Air with Terry Greene
- Que Sera Sarah? with Sarah Lalonde
- An Interview with ... by Doug Peterson
I blogged [What's Your Story?] before I did the interview with Jenni. As I was talking with Jenni, I was referencing the blog post to make sure I'd mention those key points I'd written about. So, in a fashion, I was writing this interview as well as doing the video recording. Writing and thinking go hand in hand for me. Drawing and thinking also works to tease out what's really being said.
Now, I'm returning to the audio and video interviews and getting a transcribed version, as part of my ethnographic study into my open educational practices - how I teach, what I teach and why I teach they way I do. Some insights will occur, I'm sure.
After reading Ethnography in the Digital Internet Era: From fields to flows, descriptions to interventions by Annette N. Markham, there will be some deeper inner dialogues about this work I'm doing. The frameworks described are already tinkling through my brain:
- internet as tool, medium, or network of connectivity; ethnographies of networked sociality
- internet as place or world; ethnographies of immersive environments
- internet as a way of being; ethnographies of the contemporary social world in a digital age
Concepts like 'boundary marking' and 'iterative oscillation' are bringing forward some issues I need to consider in this particular circumstance. More to come.
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
One Day Late
I have subscribed to a couple of listserves and groups to enhance and extend my awareness about all things OPEN. The Open Education Digest sends me information weekly. I can collect them, return to them and link from them to areas of interest. Last week, because of my marking schedule, I put the newsletter aside and got to it today, only to discover that I had missed the day! Yesterday was the tenth anniversary date of the CapeTown Declaration. As I open the document outlining the ten key directions to move open education forward, I am delighted to see several that impact my movement into the OPEN.
I sent an application to join the GO-GN network and received a lovely email response today from Dr. Bea de los Arcos welcoming me to the community. I am happy to join this group since I know there will be lots of support as I venture into the PhD programme. I applied to this group without indicating that I am soon to be a student working toward a PhD so I was accepted on my merits as an openly active educator, which makes me feel even more welcomed. As I checked out the GO-GN twitter stream, I noticed this retweet from Rajiv Jhangiani leading to this report by Rory McGreal about Open Education Resources (OER) Applications from Around the World.
I sent an application to join the GO-GN network and received a lovely email response today from Dr. Bea de los Arcos welcoming me to the community. I am happy to join this group since I know there will be lots of support as I venture into the PhD programme. I applied to this group without indicating that I am soon to be a student working toward a PhD so I was accepted on my merits as an openly active educator, which makes me feel even more welcomed. As I checked out the GO-GN twitter stream, I noticed this retweet from Rajiv Jhangiani leading to this report by Rory McGreal about Open Education Resources (OER) Applications from Around the World.
Thursday, 18 January 2018
Voices in the Air
Yesterday, the podcast that I had recorded with Sarah Lalonde last Friday, went on the air. The conversation was tweeted out to my students and several took time to listen. Some connected conversation happened in class today as a followup. Episode 35: Digital and Media Literacies
Today, as part of my class time, some students who wanted to try podcasting, were given the opportunity to do so. During this time, one student made the decision to also participate - confirming my believe that, given a safe and supportive environment, students will engage in using technologies and media that they may not have tried otherwise. I'm modelling and my students are engaging, moving into the open.
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Moving mountains
I've used this title as the hook to my conference proposal for the Creative Commons Global Summit.
It's also been trickling through my mind in connection to podcasting and teaching the media class. Last night I had set up a google hangout with a teacher candidate, Sarah L. in Ottawa, to talk to my class about podcasting. Since it connected to the topic of participatory culture and new media, it was timely. She spoke for about ten minutes and then the questions started - as posted in a backchannel in Todays Meet, which everyone could see from their laptops. This talk went longer than anticipated, but it was student centered and focused on their participation in new media spaces.
A few students had also created a short sound file, or radio bumper, for VoiceEd.ca which I took, imported and worked with a music track to enhance the clip, and returned to them, as well as sending off to Stephen Hurley to use with his radio shows. Participation in action.
A few students have created a blog post for their making media assignment that they are tweeting out to other Ontario educators through the #OneWordONT project. One has also added their blog post to the Google Plus community set up for this activity. Again, participation in media spaces where other professionals and educators are engaging in conversations together.
It's not a push or pull action for the students or myself, more of an invitation to play. I set up the 'sandbox' and invite others to join WITH me as we try these media making opportunities together. The benefits is that they (the students) will leave at the end of this term with a connected network in participatory spaces where they can continue to chose to engage - in the open!
It's also been trickling through my mind in connection to podcasting and teaching the media class. Last night I had set up a google hangout with a teacher candidate, Sarah L. in Ottawa, to talk to my class about podcasting. Since it connected to the topic of participatory culture and new media, it was timely. She spoke for about ten minutes and then the questions started - as posted in a backchannel in Todays Meet, which everyone could see from their laptops. This talk went longer than anticipated, but it was student centered and focused on their participation in new media spaces.
A few students had also created a short sound file, or radio bumper, for VoiceEd.ca which I took, imported and worked with a music track to enhance the clip, and returned to them, as well as sending off to Stephen Hurley to use with his radio shows. Participation in action.
A few students have created a blog post for their making media assignment that they are tweeting out to other Ontario educators through the #OneWordONT project. One has also added their blog post to the Google Plus community set up for this activity. Again, participation in media spaces where other professionals and educators are engaging in conversations together.
It's not a push or pull action for the students or myself, more of an invitation to play. I set up the 'sandbox' and invite others to join WITH me as we try these media making opportunities together. The benefits is that they (the students) will leave at the end of this term with a connected network in participatory spaces where they can continue to chose to engage - in the open!
Saturday, 13 January 2018
Voices Echoing in the Open
Yesterday, there were many interconnecting waves (sound waves, twitter streams) where voices echoed outward into the open. The 'tens of listeners' who may have heard the echo, may have gained insight or had an idea resonate for them. These voices certainly were opportunities to share my work, teaching, learning and experiences in the OPEN. Now I'll take a critical look and listen to see what I'm saying.
The Getting Air radio podcast that I had recorded with Terry Greene was published and shared on VoiceEd.ca while on the same day, I had agreed to be interviewed by Sarah Lalonde for her VoiceEd podcast show Que Sera Sarah? When networks and PLNs overlap, I thought to myself.
The podcast was mentioned in the OEORangers (#OEORangers) online meeting (using Zoom) right after Terry sent out some tweets about the episode. Sarah saw this tweet and made a connection. This enriched our conversation about the courses I teach at the Faculty of Education.
In terms of critical digital literacy, this falls into many categories:
The Getting Air radio podcast that I had recorded with Terry Greene was published and shared on VoiceEd.ca while on the same day, I had agreed to be interviewed by Sarah Lalonde for her VoiceEd podcast show Que Sera Sarah? When networks and PLNs overlap, I thought to myself.
The podcast was mentioned in the OEORangers (#OEORangers) online meeting (using Zoom) right after Terry sent out some tweets about the episode. Sarah saw this tweet and made a connection. This enriched our conversation about the courses I teach at the Faculty of Education.
So, my next step is to transcribe these two conversations to see and hear what I really did say and how I said it..... as part of my action research. The hope is that I can reflect deeper by listening deeply. I've done this in reverse where I've written a blog post (Why I Listen, Your Voice is Compelling), then recorded it in order to think more deeply and write more accurately, as a reflective practice.Love listening to this podcast as I get ready to speak with @hj_dewaard on #QueSeraSarah tonight ! Thanks for sharing Terry. https://t.co/I3TnmysEQW— Sarah Anne Lalonde (@sarahlalondee) January 12, 2018
In terms of critical digital literacy, this falls into many categories:
- code breaking - figuring out how audio recording tools and devices create podcasts (Zencastr, Audacity, file formats, microphone inputs, settings on computer and software, editing options
- meaning making - relating, interpersonal, tone, voice, context, expressing, multi-authored, modes of communication, translate
- use & understand - creating, artefacts, confidence, explore, networks, audience, applying tools
- analyzing - deconstructing messages, analyzing authorship, questioning impact
- persona - building identity, multiple facets, participating asynchronous and synchronous, managing reputation, community (within open eduators), language and content
Your Inner Superhero Awaits
The eCampus Ontario THE CATCH is a newsletter that is published in the open and shares ideas, tips, and resources for anyone in higher education, but these can also be applied to teaching and learning in K-12 contexts in some way. This week's Catch included a couple of little items that I had shared - another way to curate and collect in open digital spaces.
The Open Source Super Hero Characters, which are recognized to be open source and in the public domain, caught my eye. I immediately found one on the main page listing, that I'll weave into my course in the coming weeks - Storyteller. Once on the page for the character, there is an image, their origin story, and a description of their powers & abilities. At the bottom of the page is this note: "Storyteller is an open source character created specifically for use by anyone. Feel free to use it any way you wish, author citations are not necessary."
Following the links for the image, I was able to download a full sized version for use in my course context, with a proviso to include the following statement when using the image: "The character of (Character Name) is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving (Character Name), in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."
So for educators working on opening their pedagogical practices, there is a need for conversations about how to weave this type of resource into their course as a mechanism to engage students. I plan to use this character as a catalyst for the student's digital storytelling project and provide the link so students can find their own superhero, read their origin story and perhaps build a storyline with classmates about their superhero's journey.
For educators working on opening their pedagogical practices, there is a need for a curated set of open source, public domain, Creative Commons licensed resources, such as the superhero characters. The challenge is finding the right resource at the right time. That's why newsletters and mail lists are an invaluable tool for teachers, educators and designers if they are openly shared.
Following the links for the image, I was able to download a full sized version for use in my course context, with a proviso to include the following statement when using the image: "The character of (Character Name) is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving (Character Name), in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."
So for educators working on opening their pedagogical practices, there is a need for conversations about how to weave this type of resource into their course as a mechanism to engage students. I plan to use this character as a catalyst for the student's digital storytelling project and provide the link so students can find their own superhero, read their origin story and perhaps build a storyline with classmates about their superhero's journey.
For educators working on opening their pedagogical practices, there is a need for a curated set of open source, public domain, Creative Commons licensed resources, such as the superhero characters. The challenge is finding the right resource at the right time. That's why newsletters and mail lists are an invaluable tool for teachers, educators and designers if they are openly shared.
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Couros - PLN's and open teaching
Today, I've read the chapter from Alec Couros titled Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning (see references below). There is lots in this article that I saw reflected in my own teaching. As he lays our the theoretical frameworks, these mirror my own. As he describes the decisions made in course design are similar to my own. What really caught my attention was the description of open teaching:
"the facilitation of learning experiences that are open, transparent, collaborative, and social. Open teachers are advocates of a free and open knowledge society, and support their students in the critical consumption, production, connections and synthesis of knowledge through the shared development of learning networks." (Couros, p 115)
Couros provides a listing of typical activities which resemble those I have integrated into the courses I teach. Since this was written prior to my courses being developed, and the research was conducted as I was completing my MET, I am aware of the influence of this seminal work in the work I currently conduct in the Faculty of Education. (Analysis - interrogating, ideology, authorship, content, questioning)
References
Couros, A. (?) Developing personal learning networks for open and social learning. Chapter 6
Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/ebook/06_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf
Veletsianos, G. ed. (2010). Emerging technologies in distance education. Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120177
"the facilitation of learning experiences that are open, transparent, collaborative, and social. Open teachers are advocates of a free and open knowledge society, and support their students in the critical consumption, production, connections and synthesis of knowledge through the shared development of learning networks." (Couros, p 115)
Couros provides a listing of typical activities which resemble those I have integrated into the courses I teach. Since this was written prior to my courses being developed, and the research was conducted as I was completing my MET, I am aware of the influence of this seminal work in the work I currently conduct in the Faculty of Education. (Analysis - interrogating, ideology, authorship, content, questioning)
References
Couros, A. (?) Developing personal learning networks for open and social learning. Chapter 6
Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/ebook/06_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf
Veletsianos, G. ed. (2010). Emerging technologies in distance education. Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120177
Actions & Reflections
I've been tracking the CDL3239 students as they join into the Slack space and sending out a personal welcome using the @ function in the WELCOME channel. I haven't received any responses to these welcome messages nor have any of the students added any message of their own, other than one student who added a message about where she was located (since this is a course offered to TCs (teacher candidates) from both geographic locations). I've also been following and reviewing the survey results - with only 13 responses so far out of the 36 students in the course. Interesting to see the preliminary graphics and looking forward to more. I'm surprised so far with the fluencies demonstrated but maybe this is a result of the 'early adopters' phenomenon - those who respond first tend to be early adopters of tech and more comfortable with taking initiative? (Analyzing)
I'm also making some changes and adjustments to the MDL4000 course site prior to the upcoming face to face classes. I've reached out, using direct messaging on Twitter, to a TC in the Ottawa area who is active on Twitter, has participated in a number of openly accessible podcasts through VoiceEd.ca, and who has recently updated her web presence. She has agreed to drop into one of my classes (using Google Hangouts) to talk to my class about what she's been doing. My goal is to have students connect to others in the early stages of the profession who are models of active, open teaching practice as well as build connections for their own PLNs. If I bring these connections into focus, perhaps some of the students will revisit their blog sites with renewed interest in building their digital persona (part of the Persona component of CDL) and possibly even participate in the TC2 podcast series on VoiceEd Radio. (Use & Create) (Persona - identity building)
This ties into the Dial-It-Up diagram for the CLOSED - OPEN continuum. There are varying degrees of closed and open in each component of the courses I teach and how students participate in the course activities. For both courses, my approach if not one of coercion but more of active encouragement, supportive exploration, and models that show I have also tried these activities and that I have reflected on the experiences in open, digital spaces e.g. my blog, twitter. I tend to place opportunities and choices into the classes and activities or embed them within the assignment requirements rather than force students into spaces or places that are less comfortable or ones that they may not be ready to explore.
For example, Slack is a required space for the CDL3239 course but participation is specifically linked to collaborative feedback in small groups. Posting a response to the whole group in one of the open channels is not part of the grading or expectations. Posting a response in their small group conversations is graded, but only as a component of their overall project. It's an open opportunity that some engage in but others limit their participation to just the required contributions. There is choice and agency built into the expectations in the use of this digital tool, with code breaking as part of the process built into the course design.
For the MDL4000 course, participation in podcasting is not part of the evaluation unless students chose to explore this form of media production as part on a media-making assignment. Since some may not be comfortable with voice recordings, I do not require them all to do a podcast. But I have recently done a podcast for a VoiceEd.ca radio show, titled Getting Air, I share this with my students as a model. I bring into the classroom activities others (such as Sarah L) who are trying new media productions in their professional practices in order to build digital identity. Included in this is time in class for exploration into code-breaking using voice recording tools such as Audacity and GarageBand. Since I do require students to create a blog site as part of their course assignments, I provide choice and agency in how these blogs are used and how privacies/permissions are applied. I do not evaluate students code breaking abilities in blogging fluency. Rather, I look at the content that is relevant to the media and digital literacies that are part of the course teaching, as well as the progress over time, since the four required blog posts are required over a period of six-seven months. (Meaning Making - reading, relating, expressing).
This links back to Cronin's diagram for making decisions in the continuum from CLOSED to OPEN and how I, as the educator/instructor, negotiate through the macro, meso, micro and nano levels.
I'm also making some changes and adjustments to the MDL4000 course site prior to the upcoming face to face classes. I've reached out, using direct messaging on Twitter, to a TC in the Ottawa area who is active on Twitter, has participated in a number of openly accessible podcasts through VoiceEd.ca, and who has recently updated her web presence. She has agreed to drop into one of my classes (using Google Hangouts) to talk to my class about what she's been doing. My goal is to have students connect to others in the early stages of the profession who are models of active, open teaching practice as well as build connections for their own PLNs. If I bring these connections into focus, perhaps some of the students will revisit their blog sites with renewed interest in building their digital persona (part of the Persona component of CDL) and possibly even participate in the TC2 podcast series on VoiceEd Radio. (Use & Create) (Persona - identity building)
This ties into the Dial-It-Up diagram for the CLOSED - OPEN continuum. There are varying degrees of closed and open in each component of the courses I teach and how students participate in the course activities. For both courses, my approach if not one of coercion but more of active encouragement, supportive exploration, and models that show I have also tried these activities and that I have reflected on the experiences in open, digital spaces e.g. my blog, twitter. I tend to place opportunities and choices into the classes and activities or embed them within the assignment requirements rather than force students into spaces or places that are less comfortable or ones that they may not be ready to explore.
For example, Slack is a required space for the CDL3239 course but participation is specifically linked to collaborative feedback in small groups. Posting a response to the whole group in one of the open channels is not part of the grading or expectations. Posting a response in their small group conversations is graded, but only as a component of their overall project. It's an open opportunity that some engage in but others limit their participation to just the required contributions. There is choice and agency built into the expectations in the use of this digital tool, with code breaking as part of the process built into the course design.
For the MDL4000 course, participation in podcasting is not part of the evaluation unless students chose to explore this form of media production as part on a media-making assignment. Since some may not be comfortable with voice recordings, I do not require them all to do a podcast. But I have recently done a podcast for a VoiceEd.ca radio show, titled Getting Air, I share this with my students as a model. I bring into the classroom activities others (such as Sarah L) who are trying new media productions in their professional practices in order to build digital identity. Included in this is time in class for exploration into code-breaking using voice recording tools such as Audacity and GarageBand. Since I do require students to create a blog site as part of their course assignments, I provide choice and agency in how these blogs are used and how privacies/permissions are applied. I do not evaluate students code breaking abilities in blogging fluency. Rather, I look at the content that is relevant to the media and digital literacies that are part of the course teaching, as well as the progress over time, since the four required blog posts are required over a period of six-seven months. (Meaning Making - reading, relating, expressing).
This links back to Cronin's diagram for making decisions in the continuum from CLOSED to OPEN and how I, as the educator/instructor, negotiate through the macro, meso, micro and nano levels.
- Will I share openly? - my podcast; my voice in Slack; whole group or small group channels
- Who will I share with? - other TC's in other faculties; other faculty members in my own faculty; other faculties in Ontario and beyond; other educators in open spaces
- Who will I share as? - my persona as instructor at faculty of education; as a K-12 educator; as a fellow explorer in open spaces; as an OER eCampus fellow
- Will I share this? - deciding what to share and where to share it....to blog here in this space, on my professional blog space, on my course blog spaces (there is a blog attached to each of the course websites) and/or on my closed, private, journal spaces; will I share this on Twitter?
Friday, 5 January 2018
Cronin comes into focus
I'm reading (meaning making) and deconstructing (analyzing) Catherine Cronin's article Open Education, Open Questions in order to better understand the layers and levels she describes for open "individuals seek to balance privacy and openness in their use of social and participatory technologies at four levels (see figure 3): macro (global level), meso (community/network level), micro (individual level), and nano (interaction level)."
The graphic clarifies the negotiations that individuals (me, my students) continually make when teaching and learning with/about digital literacies. This is compounded by the pressures all educators face as they venture into the public eye of the profession. Teachers candidates who are new to the profession are negotiating through even tougher decisions as their persona as a student shifts to one of being a public teacher. Their decisions are based on multiple levels of emotional responses beyond the course requirements I may establish for them to shift into public, digital spaces. For example, I don't require my students to sign up and use Twitter but I do require them to sign up and use a blog as part of the course assignments. In creating their blog space, I do not require the students to make their blog public so many keep their settings on private or turn of search optimizations. I invite the students at two points in the course to allow me to link their blog sites to the course site - once at mid point and again at the end of the course. I don't assign specific topics for their blog responses but do require four submissions over the duration of the course. Many will post extensively and build the blog as a learning repository, while others may only do the required posts. For me, blogging allows the students to model and experience identity building, reputation management and digital participation, all elements of the critical digital literacy of persona.
Maybe I should include this graphic into my teaching - it may help students understand that everyone is in the practice of negotiating many layers within digital spaces. Something to consider.
NOTES:
 |
| C. Cronin, CC SA |
The graphic clarifies the negotiations that individuals (me, my students) continually make when teaching and learning with/about digital literacies. This is compounded by the pressures all educators face as they venture into the public eye of the profession. Teachers candidates who are new to the profession are negotiating through even tougher decisions as their persona as a student shifts to one of being a public teacher. Their decisions are based on multiple levels of emotional responses beyond the course requirements I may establish for them to shift into public, digital spaces. For example, I don't require my students to sign up and use Twitter but I do require them to sign up and use a blog as part of the course assignments. In creating their blog space, I do not require the students to make their blog public so many keep their settings on private or turn of search optimizations. I invite the students at two points in the course to allow me to link their blog sites to the course site - once at mid point and again at the end of the course. I don't assign specific topics for their blog responses but do require four submissions over the duration of the course. Many will post extensively and build the blog as a learning repository, while others may only do the required posts. For me, blogging allows the students to model and experience identity building, reputation management and digital participation, all elements of the critical digital literacy of persona.
Maybe I should include this graphic into my teaching - it may help students understand that everyone is in the practice of negotiating many layers within digital spaces. Something to consider.
NOTES:
Cronin, C. (2017, October 17). Open education, open questions. Educause Review. Retrieved from
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/open-education-open-questions
The graphic is licensed under Creative Commons and openly available at https://www.slideshare.net/cicronin/open-culture-open-education-open-questions/24
The graphic is licensed under Creative Commons and openly available at https://www.slideshare.net/cicronin/open-culture-open-education-open-questions/24
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