The rapid shift in learning behaviours towards networked, online and blended models heralds new ways to imagine notions of learning and education. The movement towards increasingly democratized modes of knowledge making and creating is central to the way our ‘future society’ is developing. Recent years have seen a growing expectation that learners can access materials, resources and networks of experts and fellow-learners in ways that suit their contexts, location, time constraints, personal and professional needs and choice of technology.
In the field of education, e-learning (be it blended or fully online) is increasingly becoming part of both informal, and formal, educational professional learning for teachers. With the growth of social networking, combined with the growing demand for flexible and cost-efficient solutions to professional training, it is vital to understand the limitations and opportunities of the role that social network sites, and their communities, play within educational contexts.
This interpretive, case-based study (scheduled for 2012) will seek to explore the extent to which a New Zealand-based social networking site, the VLN Groups network, can support educators’ professional learning in ways that are meaningful. Findings will aim to identify the affordances and limitations of the VLN Groups social network site in terms of design in the service of learning to make recommendations about how we might improve the design and facilitation to enhance the way the space supports teachers’ professional learning.
Designing for Immersive Worlds: Enhancing Experience to Accelerate LearningNiki Lambropoulos PhD
Designing for Immersive Worlds: Enhancing Experience to Accelerate Learning
Presentation at the Univerisity of Calabria organised by Rocco Servidio 25-06-2012
Contemporary shifts in the landscape of learning and teaching in tertiary education pose a number of fundamental questions regarding the role of educators. As the educator becomes increasingly decentred and displaced as gatekeeper to the repository of knowledge, there is a need to reconsider the pedagogic principles underpinning learning and teaching practices and to align the educational opportunities provided by emergent electronic technologies with these principles. Reflecting on the experience of enabling and promoting student engagement with e-learning technologies, this presentation will question the potential of established pedagogic practices to underpin learning and teaching in a technologically-enhanced environment.
Designing for Immersive Worlds: Enhancing Experience to Accelerate LearningNiki Lambropoulos PhD
Designing for Immersive Worlds: Enhancing Experience to Accelerate Learning
Presentation at the Univerisity of Calabria organised by Rocco Servidio 25-06-2012
Contemporary shifts in the landscape of learning and teaching in tertiary education pose a number of fundamental questions regarding the role of educators. As the educator becomes increasingly decentred and displaced as gatekeeper to the repository of knowledge, there is a need to reconsider the pedagogic principles underpinning learning and teaching practices and to align the educational opportunities provided by emergent electronic technologies with these principles. Reflecting on the experience of enabling and promoting student engagement with e-learning technologies, this presentation will question the potential of established pedagogic practices to underpin learning and teaching in a technologically-enhanced environment.
Game Mechanics: Learning as a Multiplayer ExperienceKevin Lim
I showcase examples and learning points relating to game mechanics for teachers. This was presented at New Media in Education Fiesta 2011, held at Innova JC on June 22, 2011
Before teaching in Second Life be a studentRuth Martínez
Only if you have been there like a student you will consider some aspects not only to improve user engagement if not to enrich the experience and to design the learning activity and, one of the most important things, to research new ways for learning.
As student you will realize the importance of a previous support to obtain an idea about the activity (aims, details and methodology) that you are required to make into Second Life. You will consider some values and needs to be explain before using, for example, communicative tools from Second Life. Should you explain what is a notecard before using it in your class? Should you give a roadmap about what kind or Slurls or land could be useful to visit for the learning activity? So, would you explain how to use the map and the search before? And maybe you wonder how would you determine the level of knowledge about Second Life of your students and, if doing that how to design the learning activity because Second Life has to be a tool for teaching not the subject of your learning activity.
These slides accompanied a session at Wellesley College (January 2013)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand License.
We Used It The Way We Wanted To: Research on Learner Engagement in Participat...Erin Knight
A presentation about an ongoing exploratory study around learner engagement in participatory learning environments. This presentation was presented at EDEN 2010 (a trimmed down version) and the Sloan C Emerging Technology for Online Education 2010 conferences.
Game Mechanics: Learning as a Multiplayer ExperienceKevin Lim
I showcase examples and learning points relating to game mechanics for teachers. This was presented at New Media in Education Fiesta 2011, held at Innova JC on June 22, 2011
Before teaching in Second Life be a studentRuth Martínez
Only if you have been there like a student you will consider some aspects not only to improve user engagement if not to enrich the experience and to design the learning activity and, one of the most important things, to research new ways for learning.
As student you will realize the importance of a previous support to obtain an idea about the activity (aims, details and methodology) that you are required to make into Second Life. You will consider some values and needs to be explain before using, for example, communicative tools from Second Life. Should you explain what is a notecard before using it in your class? Should you give a roadmap about what kind or Slurls or land could be useful to visit for the learning activity? So, would you explain how to use the map and the search before? And maybe you wonder how would you determine the level of knowledge about Second Life of your students and, if doing that how to design the learning activity because Second Life has to be a tool for teaching not the subject of your learning activity.
These slides accompanied a session at Wellesley College (January 2013)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand License.
We Used It The Way We Wanted To: Research on Learner Engagement in Participat...Erin Knight
A presentation about an ongoing exploratory study around learner engagement in participatory learning environments. This presentation was presented at EDEN 2010 (a trimmed down version) and the Sloan C Emerging Technology for Online Education 2010 conferences.
ClassPal : An interactive Doubt clearance portal | Aug 2012 - January 2013
Done under the course in Interaction Design, developed an Interactive doubt posting/clearance
portal to enhance the learning experience for a lecture based classroom. Applied a User-centered
approach to come up with a system for the classroom and interface for individual student. The project
has been selected for publication in the journal Design for All, March ‘13 issue.
In recent years there have been exciting developments in what we know about effective learning practice, including increased calls for a more inclusive approach to learning than we have seen in the past. From competency-rich curriculum to inclusive learning enabled by digital technologies, the time is right to consider what, how and why your school could transform its approach to learning to benefit all, not just some, of the students. Using CORE’s 10 Trends for 2015 as a backdrop, this session will provide a space to explore these ideas. Come prepared to reimagine learning in ways that put your students front and centre.
This CORE breakfast seminar will:
- look at what we know to be sound, effective approaches for thinking about future-focused transformation
explore the big ideas, what we know works and the implications for your own school
- highlight the indicators of effective learning and practice from current research
- share stories of schools who have successfully approached transformation and future-focused learning.
Harnessing the power of connectedness | Growing adaptive expertsKaren Spencer
My session presented at the Connected Education Summit, April 2015 #ConnectAU15
// A future-focused educator: implications for schools, universities, regions and countries
// Connected professional learning: micro and macro levels in digital contexts
// International projects focused on lifting e-capability through networked professional learning
#DEANZ14 | Social networking and professional learningKaren Spencer
ABSTRACT
The trend towards collaborative social software and technology in education appears to be exponential. The notion of ‘Web 2.0’ seems almost traditional in the face of aggregation tools and multi-platform spaces, intertwined by a proliferation of social networking tools. With the roll-out of ultrafast broadband and the development of the N4L managed network in New Zealand, it is timely to consider the extent to which online social networks present both challenge and opportunity for educators’ professional learning.
This paper, derived from a thesis completed in partial fulfillment of a Masters in Education, explores the experiences of educators using the VLN Groups network (www.vln.school.nz) to determine how far this user generated mode of professional learning might extend professional practices in school. The study considered the ways and the extent to which the affordances of the VLN Groups social network site combine to affect educators' abilities to engage in effective professional learning.
This study suggests that the VLN Groups can provide a thriving participatory system that enables educators to engage in an informal kind of professional learning focused on immediate concerns and contexts in their own teaching and leadership situations. It also raises questions related to 'counts' as professional learning and how self-driven learning can be integrated into a cycle of active inquiry into practice. The study makes recommendations for teachers, schools and policy makers related to connecting and coordinating professional learning in ways that maximise opportunities in the digital age.
CORE Education Breakfast series 2014 | Digitising appraisal and inquiryKaren Spencer
These slides accompany the CORE Breakfast series I am facilitating in 2014. Full information and further links here: http://karenmelhuishspencer.com/2014/02/25/my-core-breakfasts-2014-digitising-professional-learning-or-not/
All images used are under CC licences and these, plus references, are in the presenters' notes.
NZCETA Keynote presentation | July 2013Karen Spencer
This slidedeck supports my keynote presentation for the NZCETA conference in Christchurch: http://www.nzceta.co.nz/pages/2013_conference.htm
Link to the videos:
"Entrepreneurs": http://bit.ly/fjfk8R
Enabling eLearning media gallery: http://www.elearning.tki.org.nz/Media-gallery
A joint event between Enabling e-Learning and NAPP [29 May 2013] exploring resourcing of e-learning and what it means for leadership capability.
- Te Toi Tupu/MoE, NZ
This presentation accompanied the keynote I gave to the eWrapper ICT PD cluster on 20 Nov 12.
Feel free to contact me to discuss any of the ideas or resources in this presentation.
Twitter: @virtuallykaren
Francesca Gottschalk - How can education support child empowerment.pptxEduSkills OECD
Francesca Gottschalk from the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the Ask an Expert Webinar: How can education support child empowerment?
A review of the growth of the Israel Genealogy Research Association Database Collection for the last 12 months. Our collection is now passed the 3 million mark and still growing. See which archives have contributed the most. See the different types of records we have, and which years have had records added. You can also see what we have for the future.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
A workshop hosted by the South African Journal of Science aimed at postgraduate students and early career researchers with little or no experience in writing and publishing journal articles.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
#ICOT2013 | Breakout exploring a social network site and teacher professional learning
1. Can social networking sites support meaningful learning?
An exploration of a New Zealand teachers’ network
Karen Melhuish Spencer | @virtuallykaren
Brought to you by CORE Education, and supported by Massey University
2. No hea au?
QuickTime™ and a
H.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
4. • The study: What’s your
‘so what - who cares?’
• The approach
• Tentative findings..
• ..and more questions
Image: Some rights reserved by Tim . Simpson (CC)
5. What do we mean by social
network sites?
clear purpose
privilege the individual
visible connections
afford collaboration and creation
shared spaces
support curation &
aggregation of content
7. Does it make a difference? | A teacher’s tale
…multiple perspectives
…and the discussion is there for
…reliable advice..
others to
• add to
…resources to explore..
• learn from and
• share in theirto helpful ‘experts’…
…connections own networks…
…local context, global views…
…in under 48 hours…for free
Karen Melhuish Spencer
8. The context: New Zealand’s Virtual Learning
Network
http://www.vln.school.nz
22. Can social networking support
effective learning?
“It is pretty random
professional
learning, but
sometimes it’s really
useful.
”
Image by tejvanphotos (CC)
24. The context: New Zealand’s Virtual Learning
Network
http://www.vln.school.nz
25. The study
• Interpretive, ethnographic study, using mixed
methods
• Ethics & limitations
• Online survey [70 responses, 83.6%
completion]
• Interviews with 5 educators
• Grounded theory analysis, followed by
categorisation using Activity Theory
framework
Image: (CC) Some rights reserved by NoJuan
28. “ I am a lead teacher... I
access VLN primarily for:
to gain ideas for my own
development in practice
and to gain practical
ideas to take back to
”
staff.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhwright/5874234034/sizes/m/
29. “ Can't live without it! Enables me
to keep up with the play and
lead the learning of the teachers
and students in our school. So
accessible and being able to
access such a range of topics
and expertise makes a difference,
especially as we often feel
isolated because of physical
distance in our place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34316967@N04/5695457428/sizes/m/
30. “ providing me with real time answers to
my questions, real tried and true
resources and websites and apps, given
me other points of view and access to
resources I would not have found
”
otherwise.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24289877@N02/6983447819/sizes/m/
31. “I am very much a take user rather
than a take and give...I will find a
discussion thread that interests me
or that’s relevant ... I find it via my
emails.. And I can’t even remember
how I have got my email set up to
send me stuff, it is probably the
groups I am in.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrs_logic/3556644715/sizes/m/
32. “
I had signed up but didn't use it.
When I looked for advice about
iPads from ICT cluster facilitator she
referred me there. It has been very
valuable. I had floods of advice
from all around NZ when I asked
a question. Email advice of posts is
also very good. I have even been
able to pass on some things I've
learned - pay back.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bertknot/8236396151/sizes/m/
39. Can social networking sites support meaningful learning?
An exploration of a New Zealand teachers’ network
Karen Melhuish Spencer | @virtuallykaren
Brought to you by CORE Education, and supported by Massey University
Editor's Notes
Update this
Who’s your blacksmith? - Clay Shirky story of specialisms in ‘Here Comes Everybody’ who held the knowledge? who helped you with a new horse? if we can contact all the world’s blacksmith’s what does that mean for our learning? - and what does it mean for the blacksmiths? Quick map on paper.....
‘ shed light on a journey’
For the purposes of this literature review, social network sites are defined as: web-based spaces with an identified purpose that privilege the individual (profile page), make connections visible and overt (‘friends’), afford the creation and collaboration of activity through social media (e.g. blogs, link sharing), offer shared spaces for knowledge exchange and development (e.g. groups, activity stream), and support the curation and aggregation of content. It is also important to clarify the difference between ’network’ and ‘community’. A key difference between a community and a social network is that, in the social network site, the individual user is at the heart of the structure – everyone experiences the network through a profile and set of connections that revolve entirely around them. In a community, one’s relationship and commitment to the group is to the fore, and often the relationships are richer for it
but does it make a difference?
MOE owned space mandated within contracts has a noticeable effect, both positive and challenging on the way teachers are engaging with the site, and how they feel about it in relation to themselves as community members. Stats Estab. 2010, using Elgg open source platform x members MoE contracts inc:
While early incarnations of the Internet allowed for communication via broadcast and brochureware, the rapid rise in web 2.0 social software has allowed people the autonomy and agency, within an “architecture of participation” (Kamel Boulos & Wheeler, 2007, p. 2), to drive that communication themselves, in the form of self-publication, sharing of information, and self-expression. We now understand that we can play more of an active role in knowledge creation than ever before (Dawley, 2009) and the onus is on us to play this active role with purpose, not just in creation but in sharing, and, most importantly, critiquing the worth of what is shared and created.
While early incarnations of the Internet allowed for communication via broadcast and brochureware, the rapid rise in web 2.0 social software has allowed people the autonomy and agency, within an “architecture of participation” (Kamel Boulos & Wheeler, 2007, p. 2), to drive that communication themselves, in the form of self-publication, sharing of information, and self-expression. We now understand that we can play more of an active role in knowledge creation than ever before (Dawley, 2009) and the onus is on us to play this active role with purpose, not just in creation but in sharing, and, most importantly, critiquing the worth of what is shared and created.
While early incarnations of the Internet allowed for communication via broadcast and brochureware, the rapid rise in web 2.0 social software has allowed people the autonomy and agency, within an “architecture of participation” (Kamel Boulos & Wheeler, 2007, p. 2), to drive that communication themselves, in the form of self-publication, sharing of information, and self-expression. We now understand that we can play more of an active role in knowledge creation than ever before (Dawley, 2009) and the onus is on us to play this active role with purpose, not just in creation but in sharing, and, most importantly, critiquing the worth of what is shared and created.
While early incarnations of the Internet allowed for communication via broadcast and brochureware, the rapid rise in web 2.0 social software has allowed people the autonomy and agency, within an “architecture of participation” (Kamel Boulos & Wheeler, 2007, p. 2), to drive that communication themselves, in the form of self-publication, sharing of information, and self-expression. We now understand that we can play more of an active role in knowledge creation than ever before (Dawley, 2009) and the onus is on us to play this active role with purpose, not just in creation but in sharing, and, most importantly, critiquing the worth of what is shared and created.
Dean Shareski With this evolution of the social web, learners, be they students or educators, increasingly expect to access materials, resources and networks of experts and fellow-learners in ways that suit their contexts, needs and choices of technology. Recent technological advances put personalised models of learning in the driving seat. The trend of ‘anytime, anyplace’ learning is increasingly a key enabler for any institution or organisation that wishes to serve its learners who now expect to use mobile technology and 24-7 connectivity (Johnson et al., 2011). The Value of Social, Shared Professional Learning There is no doubt that effective teacher professional development, that seeks to enhance the way educators support students’ learning, is not a solitary endeavour, but a socialised one that requires on-going commitment to reflection, inquiry, and shared practice, combining informal and formal approaches. Indeed, the impact of teachers’ learning can only rightly be assessed by the way it brings about changes in student achievement (Ketelhut, McCloskey, Dede, Breit, & Whitehouse, 2006). Schlager & Fusco (2003) argue that the professional learning process requires teachers to be part of a “socio-organisational system” (p. 205) in which stakeholders collaborate for the good of the individual.
Future-focused reports predict that personalised, adaptive learning environments, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) will tip into the mainstream in the next two to three years, driven by changing patterns in the way people expect to able to work and learn, and by education paradigms shifting towards more blended approaches (Johnson, L., Adams, & Cummins, 2012). It is evident, then, that the time is ripe for educational institutions to review the existing models for professional learning. Existing models, supported by such research as the Best Evidence Synthesis series in New Zealand (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung, 2007), emphasise the value of long-term, context-bound professional learning, driven by evidence of student achievement. At the same time, there is a growing trend for teachers to be engaging in a range of virtual professional networks, and an expectation that this will support them with their practice (Rutherford, 2010). Internationally, reports are increasingly indicating that technology can support the development of those personal and professional competencies required to be successful, metacognitive, adaptable learners (Ala-Mutka, 2009).
From this to this AND this AND this.....
Although teacher learning, driven by students’ needs, must be embedded in a contextualised problem, it does not need to be part of a formalised, taught activity. Change is inevitable and future-proofing impossible; the ability to respond flexibly to a wide range of trends and student needs means that institutions need to support teachers’ learning on-demand, using collaborative and organisation approaches as much as the more formalised approaches (Ala-Mutka, 2009).
Given that educators’ professional learning might offer a balance of modes and approaches, characterised by deliberate inquiry into authentic problems, self-autonomy and purposeful connections with colleagues, it is timely to consider what types of technological tools might afford this approach. Social network sites may offer one such avenue. If the New Zealand Ministry of Education is investing in such sites as the Virtual Learning Network Groups (VLN Groups) ( www.vln.school.nz ), it is worth exploring how current literature supports this professional learning policy.
There is extensive research into what ‘learning’ looks like - Bransford et al ‘How people learn’ is an invaluable resource here > prior knowledge, application of what we know to new learning, subject knowledge, clear frameworks, understanding the ‘whole’ of inquiry/theory And there is research too into what effective
The context of this site as a MOE owned space that is mandated within contracts has a noticeable effect, both positive and challenging on the way teachers are engaging with the site, and how they feel about it in relation to themselves as community members. Stats Estab. 2010, using Elgg open source platform x members MoE contracts inc:
Overview of methodology Limitations Selection of participants Limitations: early-adopters in contracts beginning to include sns in their contract, and those contracts have had an e-learning and leadership focus. Not sector representative.
It is important, however, to realise that just because studies assert the underpinning nature of various learning theories, this does not necessarily mean that the social network sites will effect professional learning. Might social network sites lack of critical voices that create an echo chamber effect? Could the conversation be too superficial to lead to effective professonal learning? Access to information does not automatically create knowledge or understanding. It can be observed in some social network sites that “the forms of communication available are for the most part one-dimensional, based in collective circulation of artifacts and individual meaning-making, rather than the co-construction of meaning” (Lewis, Pea, & Rose, 2010, p. 6). While this observation need not condemn social network sites outright, this sense of multiple people talking to themselves with only fleeting engagement with others’ online identities creates a problematic situation: how to maximize the opportunities offered by such spaces? To ‘like’ an item, share a resource, or ‘friend’ a colleague do not, of themselves, make for the kinds of deep, knowledge creation that is informed by learning theories.
ACTIVITY: Two types emerged, dependent on whether they were involved in a contract or not - Contract: deliberate, bringing people in, posting, starting groups, passing items on back to school; common amongst those who were had both strong and weak ties - Voluntary: dive and grab, driven by interest, emails. Some evidence of strategic search to support in-school inquiry but browsing and cherry picking was far more common; common amongst weakly tied members
SUBJECT: The study offers an interesting insight into how early adopter and fast follower teachers are using online networks as part of their professional learning. - 60% primary, 23% facilitators, 29% intermediate, 15% secondary - in-school leaders who need information to shore up their decision-making - contractual schools (ICTPD) and course (NAPP) - connected individuals looking to stay on top of trends, particularly related to e-learning ‘early adopters’ and ‘fast followers’ - extrinsic and intrinsic motivations
OBJECT: - grab ideas on peadgogy esp e-learning to help themselves or people they work with make decisions > have questions answered - Stay on top of trends and whole school issues < de-silo - Strategies over curriculum subjects - Broad brush rather than personal reflection
TOOL Many different tools but only 3-4 are used regularly Quite a clear division between the ‘early adopters’ and ‘fast followers’: - EA: aware of groups, system-wide space > content drivers but also requirements to manipulate the space on behalf of teachers in their school - FF: email > discussions and out again; Content is driving engagement The most interesting aspect was the way participants felt about the ‘social’ tools > on a conscious level, hardly used, especially by the fast followers. The tools afford them: fast, quick, immediate but also evolving, user-generated, user-control
RULES, DoLabour & Community: CULTURE: positive and helpful BUT fear of posting online still present. Respectful. Presence of facilitators who set ‘the norms’ supports a professional safe space. - CONTENT: both like-minded and alternative views were strong themes, access to expertise. Clearly not an echo-chamber, although the focus might be narrow,y on e-learning at the moment. -NZ: valued the local focus but also critiqued it as lacking global people. Valued the Māori and Pasifika content. - CONNECTIONS: were both valued and not, with the majority building on F2F contacts Lots of members drew comparisons with Twitter. Networks not seen as important as contact with individuals or knowing that there were people there to answer question. The structure theoretically affords co-creation but when content is developed, it’s like everyone putting a stone on a pile. Clay Shirky talks about collaboration and then co-ordination > not yet at the co-ordination stage. Some evidence of the network being used at the in-school/cluster level to co-ordinate activities but this is driven by contracts...
Some tentative discussion, at four layers, from the individual teacher to the policy-making layer For the teachers: - evidence that such networks can support inquiry but more strategic appreciation for how this might be done effectively would be useful - appreciating the concept of de-siloing and sharing - digital literacy > operating online, managing profiles, navigating networks, managing the information flow is a legitimate skill
For schools and school leaders: - reviewing the design of whole school professional learning to allow for user-generated control, which could include self-drive learning - blended learning to afford connections across staff and clusters. - their own digital literacy - appreciating the value of connecting beyond themselves as as way to inform their leadership decision-making in a way that is sustainable.
For policy-makers and network designers: - moving from a techno-centric view (the network is a good way to learn) to an appreciation for how it will be integrated into the wider life of professional learning - long-term, planning for a sustainable, coherent, systemic approach to blended learning that gives security to members - appreciating an agile approach > being prepared to allow a network to bend and flex according to its members.
- tracking information longitudinally - developing methodologies for a networked environment - understand why non-adopters aren’t adopting - Māori and Pasifika cultural lenses