NetGeners.Net Introduction - The Ne(x)t Generation Learner

The ne(x)t generation learner - Skills you need in lifelong learning knowledge and information societies

Introduction Flashmeeting to the Free and Open NetGeners.Net Course v.080317 Watch the meeting at: http://flashmeeting.open.ac.uk/fm/13e7e0-12360

The NetGeners.Net Course

The ne(x)t generation learner - Skills you need in lifelong learning knowledge and information societies

NetGeners.Net is a pilot course in the light of free and open education!

This course is free:

free to attend without any charge,

free of cost for books or other materials,

free for anyone independently of prior education; and

free in terms of your personal time commitment that you decide to dedicate to it (Though we would like you to spend on a minimum 2 hours per week). The only thing you will need is a PC and internet access.

Participants of this course can expect tutoring (support), but will not receive any official degree awarding certificate or credit points from the course team.

Objectives of the course?

The objective of this course is for you to become a knowledgeable ne(x)t generation learner that:

Is able to update his skills and knowledge self-dependently within a lifelong learning context

Knows how to take full advantage of the web to support your own learning, to collaborate with others and use the tools required to do so

Is capable to find sources at the web and to critically evaluate and analyse them

Is aware about available free online and desktop software solutions that facilitate learning, knowledge exchange and collaboration

Knows how to find online communities, to engage in them for personal support, and to and understands the way they function

Has the today's required soft skills; like to communicate, collaborate and engage in discussions with others, defend your own work and thoughts and present them, know how to manage a project, or how to resolve conflicts

What you can expect during the course?

Create your own course learning projects or to join into the learning projects of others

Learn from reviewing and studying the learning project activities, outcomes and presentations of the other course's learning projects

This course does not expect you to solely study pre-outlined course materials, instead the course is envisioned as a collaborative learning experience

Gain exposure to the various conceptual issues through collaboration with each other

Think of this course as a seed, rather than a finished product

Activities and tasks:

Engage in personally meaningful activities by working in one or more learning projects within your area of interest to create solutions to problems

Establish (or join) project teams and team roles, including work assignments and roadmaps

Search for and engage with available online content and communities

Re-experience how others learn at the web

Create materials yourself and share your project results with others and reflect on them

Integrate your contributions into the NetGener.Net course so future learner would be able to build on them

Use a broad range of collaborative technologies

Present your project results, learn from the presentation of others and discuss those results

You will be asked to take on an ACTIVE role that will include try and error attempts, experimenting and taking a risk of not completing a learning project 100% as you might have liked.

What are learning projects?

A learning project should tangle one aspect relevant to learning at the web and cover one or more of the following 5 areas: Content, People and Communities, Tools, Soft Skills, or Legal Aspects. As an example: if you start a learning project in the area of “Content” you might want to focus on Wikipedia and show how you use Wikipedia to provide you with information. You might want to draw up some key points you use to evaluate quality and reliability of what you find at Wikipedia – or you might want to pull together indicators that others already provided to compare and discuss them.

Example learning project?

I am interested in this course, so what shall I do ?

Ok, here we go – step by step: 1 st You should register at the NetGeners.Net course side. 2 nd You now might take a look at the course category to check about existing learning projects that are of your interest. At the beginning most of those existing learning projects are just suggestions from our side and still need someone (you?) that would like to take on the role of a project leader. 3 rd (Option A): If you found a learning project that meets your interest you can add it to your favourites . Afterwards you should contact the project leader of this learning project and ask how and where to contribute to it best. 3 rd (Option B): There are no existing learning projects you are interested in. If this is the case than you can register your own learning project within an area of your interest (see also the section below “Learning project overview at the course category”). 4 th Start working on the learning project(s)