Quality Everywhere in ELearning or Why Velcro Matters

Quality everywhere: Hooking learning quality to communities, informal learning and Web 2.0 EFQUEL Lisboa 2008 Nancy White/Full Circle Associates

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gitboy/373784185/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gitboy/373784185 /

1. Some context 2. Some strategies 3. Many questions

http://www.plexusinstitute.org/complexity/index.cfm?id=3

What needs to grow beyond the boundaries of formal learning? http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsevilla/189528500/in/set-1368427/

Beyond our curriculum and courses… http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/206426067 /

Beyond our “classrooms” http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/206426067 /

Beyond our institutions… http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/206426067 /

What is emerging?

The buzz part 1 social learning in a networked world

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/653541864/in/set-72057594139269787/ Photo via Flickr CC www.flickr.com/photos/azlijamil01/231592469/

Learning Communities Knowledge Networks Communities of Practice Online Communities

From David Wilcox

Many: Networks We: Communities Me: the Individual Personal identity, interest & trajectory Bounded membership; group identity, shared interest Boundaryless; fuzzy, intersecting interests

Informal learning “What happens the rest of the time.” – Marcia Connor http://agelesslearner.com/intros/informal.html

Jay Cross Informal Learning Evangelist http://informl.com/the-informal-learning-page/

Connectivism – George Siemens Connectivism : A Learning Theory for the Digital Age http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Rhizomatic Learning Dave Cormier http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=550 A rhizomatic plant has no center and no defined boundary ; rather, it is made up of a number of semi-independent nodes, each of which is capable of growing and spreading on its own, bounded only by the limits of its habitat (Cormier 2008 ). …. In the rhizomatic view, knowledge can only be negotiated , and the contextual, collaborative learning experience shared by constructivist and connectivist pedagogies is a social as well as a personal knowledge-creation process with mutable goals and constantly negotiated premises.

The rhizome metaphor, which represents a critical leap in coping with the loss of a canon against which to compare, judge, and value knowledge, may be particularly apt as a model for disciplines on the bleeding edge where the canon is fluid and knowledge is a moving target .

Thank you, Dave!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphrodite/66231929/ The buzz part 2 “Web 2.0”

“… it was designed to allow people to work together by combining their knowledge in a web of hypertext documents.” (From Tim Berners-Lee’s Bio)

The simplest thing that could possibly work… Ward Cunningham, inventor of the wiki

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/483849193/in/set-72057594139269787/

Stephen Downes, August 13 th One Laptop Per Child, Reviewed by 12-Year-Old Pretty good review. The author, a 12-year old with previous computer experience, puts the computers through its paces before writing. While satisfied with the programs and the usability, he complains that the computer is too slow and the battery doesn't last long enough. Don't skip the comments, as the (adult) readers alternate between being impressed by the review and not believing that a 12-year old wrote it. It's worth remarking (again) that children today spend their days reading and writing on the internet. So a literate review from a 12-year old should not be a surprise. SG, Freedom to Tinker August 13, 2007 [ Link ] [Tags: Usability , Experi ence ] [ Comment ] http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=41279

Tech + Social: Technology has fundamentally changed how we can be together

TOGETHERNESS SEPARATENESS http://www.flickr.com/photos/angerboy/201582453/

Community time Community space Shifting engagement….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldcafe/227358678 / INTERACTING PUBLISHING

Vocabularies, tools, concepts, methods, stories, papers, pictures, reports… Conversing, experimenting, practicing, learning, planning…

INDIVIDUAL GROUP

Designed for groups, experienced as individuals Does not imply homogeneity Multimembership Attention

http://www.flickr.com/photos/philwalter/348238734/ Strategies and Tips

How do we enable people to…

discover & appropriate useful technology

be in and use communities & networks (people)

express their identity

find and create content

usefully participate

? ? ?

Build in HOOKS! (think velcro !)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjaniceryuvallos/1600857189/ Technology Hooks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani3l3/364684710/ “ Technology stewards are people with enough experience of the workings of a community to understand its technology needs, and enough experience with technology to take leadership in addressing those needs…

Stewardship typically includes selecting and configuring technology, as well as supporting its use in the practice of the community.” Wenger, White and Smith, 2007

Togetherness Separateness Interacting Publishing Individual Group

addressing inherent community tensions Tools Group asynchronous discussion boards teleconference chat instant messaging member directory wiki blog telephony/ VoIP individual profile page e-mail e-mail lists scratch pad RSS “ new” indicators subscription podcast content repository presence indicator buddy list security Q&A systems RSS aggregator newsletter calendar videoconference application sharing whiteboard site index participation statistics search subgroups personalization community public page version control document management UseNet content rating scheduling polling commenting networking tools tagging bookmarking shared filtering geomapping www.TechnologyForCommunities.com Etienne Wenger Nancy White John Smith Individual Interacting Publishing synchronous Group asynchronous

Community activities oriented to … … meetings … context … community cultivation … access to expertise … projects … open-ended conversation … content publishing … individual participation … relationships © 2006 Wenger, White, and Smith

… meetings … access to expertise … context … community cultivation … projects … open-ended conversation … content publishing … individual participation … relationships © 2006 Wenger, White, and Smith Community activities oriented to … Course

Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Learner’s Blog Central Blog External Reader External Reader RSS FEED Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader Reader External Reader Roster Syllabus Schedule Course

Support Community … meetings … access to expertise … context … community cultivation … projects … open-ended conversation … content publishing … individual participation … relationships © 2006 Wenger, White, and Smith Community activities oriented to …

Forums Directories Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog Social networking tools Support Community

… meetings … access to expertise … context … community cultivation … projects … open-ended conversation … content publishing … individual participation … relationships © 2006 Wenger, White, and Smith Community activities oriented to … Edubloggers’ network

Edubloggers Community my arise between the blogs around shared interest Edublogger #2 Edublogger #3 Edublogger #1

People Hooks http://www.flickr.com/photos/micheleryan/418311581/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/qwirksilver/133694322 /

Create paths and patterns of connection DURING a Course

Guests

Field trips

Identification of related groups and networks

TWITTER

Identity hooks???

Side Note: Me Online Today

Profiles

Portfolios with meaning outside of a course

Reputation

Content Hooks http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankfarm/281433729 /

http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/253218488/ SEARCH

Content creation…

Tagging

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/2312541719/

Participation hooks (I was tempted to say practice…)

Role model and apply tools & processes

Adoption takes time: Wiki Wednesday & FAQ Project

try, reflect, iterate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/418922552/in/set-72157600218310366 / PLAY!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjaniceryuvallos/1600857189/ The velcro of bridging to informal learning…

Technology

People

Content

Identity

Practice

Challenges

Time

Swiftly changing technology

Language and Culture

Learning preferences

Swiftly changing culture and context

Understanding our roles

policy makers

researchers

elearning quality related organizations

decision makers

eLearning practitioners

LEARNERS!

Evolving a “Quality Literacy”

What does the quality co-construction of learning mean?

… solo learning?

What are the tensions between quantity and quality ?

What constitutes quality communities and networks ?

Is it worth it ?

Tackling the barriers?

Tickling the edge of organizational change

Can we take a whole systems approach?

Leadership walking the talk

Epilogue Resources http://onlinefacilitation.wikispaces.com/Quality+in+Informal+and+Community+Learning Or http://tinyurl.com/4sff2k Contact Nancy White nancyw at fullcirc dot com http://www.fullcirc.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/poagao/527259905/