SESSION DESCRIPTION
• Event: Technology in Learning & Teaching Unconference
• Date: Friday 25 September 2009
• Session: Alternatives to the LMS/Open Learning Frameworks
• Facilitator/Presenter: Mike Bogle
• Session Time/Location: 11 to 11:30, Meeting Room 1, Macquarie University
QUICK SURVEY: Comfort levels/experience with
technology.
How many people:
• Maintain a blog?
• Don’t know what a blog is?
• Have edited a wiki?
• Wonder what difference is between blogs and wikis?
• Have a Twitter Account?
• Use a Feed Reader?
• Do not know what RSS is?
• Have to contend with internet filters and limited access to technology?
ABOUT THE ETHERPAD DOCUMENT
This session incorporates use of Etherpad at http://bit.ly/mquncon09 to establish a space for
synchronous editing by many people at once and facilitate:
• Collaborative note-taking
• Inclusion of examples, references/tutorials and resources
• Back-channel discussion
• Identification of questions or topics for further discussion and debate
Notes/Suggestions:
• This document does not automatically save itself. Please try to periodically save a
version so we have back-ups of the document in case of problems.
• Only 16 people can be in the document at one time. If you plan on taking a break
from editing, and the room is nearing capacity, please logout so others have the
opportunity to participate.
Exporting the Document
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• The document will be exported and imported into the unconference wiki for
further collaboration and discussion.
• You may also export a copy for yourself – Formats supported include: PDF,
HTML, TXT, Word, and OpenOffice; see the menu options at the top of the page.
INTRODUCTION
Marshall McLuhan (1964) - “The medium is the message.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_medium_is_the_message
• “...the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic
relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.”
• “As the society's values, norms and ways of doing things change because of the
technology, it is then we realize the social implications of the medium.”
In the discussion between LMS and PLE “the message” in McLuhan's sense is the role
and place of the learner relative to the learning process.
BLOGS
Examples: http://wordpress.com, http://blogger.com
• Reflections,
• Feedback and discussion
• Coursework and assignments,
• Embed media,
• Establish a personal portal to preserve all the work you’re doing
[Demonstration]
• Individual blog: http://techticker.net
• Group blog: http://blogs.unsw.edu.au/telt
• Course blog: http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/connectivism/
WIKIS
Hosts: Wikispaces (http://wikispaces.net); PBWorks (http://pbworks.com); Google Sites
(http://sites.google.com)
• collaborative websites that support quick editing by groups of people;
• often can embed media and pull in RSS feeds;
• Frequently Publicly visible and contain multiple pages
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[Demonstration]
• Example: “Students Uncensored: UNSW Wikispaces in Action” -
http://hums3001.unsw.wikispaces.net/
• MQUNCON09 wiki - http://mquncon09.pbworks.com/
• See Richard Buckland's YouTube video - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=m1-8OOrBi0o
COLLABORATIVE DOCUMENTS
Examples: Google Docs (http://docs.google.com), Zoho Suite (http://zoho.com), EtherPad
(http://etherpad.com)
• As with wikis can be shared and edited by multiple people;
• Generally better suited to work you don’t want publicly visible.
• Supports different document types - spreadsheets, word processing documents, forms
and presentations
• Etherpad even let’s you collaborate synchronously.
[Demonstration]
Google Docs: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhcrjp2r_116cctt3phd (view only)
EtherPad: http://etherpad.com/HPfJeYFizi
MEDIA HOSTING, STREAMING, SHARING
Examples: YouTube (http://youtube.com), Vimeo (http://vimeo.com), Blip.TV
(http://blip.tv), Archive.org (http://archive.org); Flickr (http://flickr.com); Picasaweb
(http://picasaweb.google.com/)
• Access to clips by org’s like Nat Geo, NASA, Whitehouse, PM, et al
• Host and deliver your own content. Neither blogs or LMS are built to serve up video.
• Content is embeddable/reusable elsewhere
• Recontextualise, inspire reflection via blog posts
[Demonstration]
• Course (Instructor) - Richard Buckland (YouTube) – course playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6B940F08B9773B9F
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• Course (Student) Wendy Drexler (Networked Student) - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA
• Students – Project Icarus – Home of the original $150 near-space launch -
http://space.1337arts.com/
◦ exemplifies – embedding, blogs, discussion, openness, impact of networks
COMMUMICATION & DISCUSSION
Examples: Twitter (http://twitter.com); Skpe (http://skype.com); DimDim
(http://www.dimdim.com/); SecondLife (http://secondlife.com); Google Groups
(http://groups.google.com)
• wide variety of options,
• one- to-one (text based) tools such as instant messaging;
• one-to-one (video based) via Skype; MSN
• many-to-many via Twitter or discussion boards for text and connect, dim dim, and
Elluminate for video and electronic whiteboards;
• virtual worlds like SecondLife, OpenSIM and even MMORPGs like WoW
[Demonstration]
• Hash Tag Discussions: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23cck09
• See Jokaydia Unconference this weekend – http://jokaydia.wikispaces.com/
unconference09
Clearly there is a lot of potential out there, however one key consideration in the use of the
distributed frameworks is how to establish some structures around them so it’s easier to keep
track of all the activity and information.
RSS & AGGREGATION
Feed Readers
Examples: Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/), Bloglines
(http://www.bloglines.com/), Newsgator (http://www.newsgator.com/)
DIY Portals
Examples: http://netvibes.com, http://pageflakes.com/
• Create spaces that pull in updates from disparate spaces.
• Supports different formats and widgets – aggregate blog posts, Social bookmarks,
podcasts, videos, search results, tag results
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[Demonstration]
• http://www.netvibes.com/mikebogle
• http://www.pageflakes.com/mbogle/21870959
Syndication
• pull in feeds from many different locations
• re-publish them through a single space
• original source content continues to exist; just provides structure independent activity
and funnels distributed sources of content through a single channel
[Demonstration]
• Tweets in Perpetuity – http://p2.techticker.net
• MDCM2002 Course blog - http://mdcm2002.newsouthblogs.org/
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