A Tweet and a Poke
How Educators Harness the
Power of Social Networks
Walls Optional
Camosun College
May 1, 2009
Dr. Alec Couros

#wallsoptional

who is this guy?

Shifts in Edtech Group growth
Individual growth
Objectivism
Cognitivism
Constructivism
Social Learning
(Leinonen) (Schwier)

journey

knowledge
what is k?
•
how is k acquired?
•
how do we know what
•
we know?
why do we know what
•
we know?
what do humans know?
•
who controls k?
•
how is k controlled?
•

assumptions re: school
knowledge is scarce
•
access can be controlled
•
boundaries make sense
•
expertise rests only in individuals
•
learning can be managed
•
change is slow
•
institutions can rest on reputation
•
we can predict the future
•
is the best way to learn
•

reactions: forms of openness
open education
free software
open source software
open educational resources
open content
open access publication
open access courses open teaching
open accreditation

how are creative works
produced and shared?
cathedral vs. the bazaar

how we view knowledge
and creative works
copyright/copyleft/commons

open content, access,
publication, accreditation
how we view learning -
institutional & informal

access we have to free
or inexpensive tools

Rocky Mountain News
1859 - 2009

social networks
redefine communities,
•
friends, citizenship,
identity, presence, privacy,
publics, geography.
enable learning,
•
communication, sharing,
connections, collaboration,
community.
networks formed around
•
shared interests & objects.

lightbulb
vs.
ipod

human networks

netbooks & 1:1

microblogging

Google/Twitter
Greasemonkey script

geotagging

streaming video

Each technology
creates a new
environment.
The old environment
becomes content for
the new environment.
The effects of media
come from their form
not their content.

cornflakes or cadillacs

media literacy
Accessing, analyzing,
•
evaluating, and creating
messages in a variety of
forms.
• Enable skillful creators,
consumers, and
disseminators of media.
• Facilitate an
understanding of
strengths, weaknesses,
and influences of media
forms.

how ideas spread

cautions
Soulja Boy

cautions
new challenges

affordances
new motivations

new forms

re/think:
toward open &
networked learning

content

privacy

toward open educational experiences

interaction

social
architecture

transparency

professional
learning

I can haz pln
adapt

connecting
become a learner (again)
•
experiment with the tools
•
learn to read new media
•
explore online communities
•
participate in web and f2f events
•
be critical, but open-minded
•
it begins with a single
•
connection, but you will be
embraced by the network

advantages
greater access
•
currency & adaptability
•
improved economics
•
adaptive pedagogy
•
preserved knowledge
•
greater diversity of voice
•
sustainable communities
•
transparency for critique
•
long-term connections
•

Don’t limit a child to your
own learning, for he was born
in another time. ~Tagore
web: couros.ca
twitter: courosa
google: couros
alec.couros@uregina.ca

Videos:
Barcelona 1908
Open Doctrine
Cisco Telepresence
Anthro Intro to Youtube
Mother of All Funk Chords
EC&I 831 Course Trailer
Tweenbots
Related Flickr Set Available
This presentation is released under a CC-AT/
NC/SA license. Contact me if you’d like the
original slide deck in Keynote format.