This document discusses trends in technology and society and their implications for academics. It notes the rise of social tools and networks and how they can transform research, teaching and service if academics build serious online presences. While tools exist to reflect and reimagine academic work, scholars must choose to connect and invest in peers and students online. Understanding networks will be an important literacy in the 21st century. The document advocates open access, student-controlled learning spaces, tagging and other info literacies, and focusing pedagogy on connections over content. It quotes positive experiences from integrating social networks and argues education should shift to something we create ourselves.

1. Conversation Points:
Trends in Technology & Society
Dr. Alec Couros
University of Regina

2. me

4. The Blur

6. “Web 2.0 tools exist that might allow academics to reflect and
reimagine what they do as scholars. Such tools might
positively affect -- even transform - research, teaching, and
service responsibilities - only if scholars choose to build
serious academic lives online, presenting semi-public selves
and becoming invested in and connected to the work of their
peers and students.” (Greenhow, Robella, & Hughes, 2009)

7. context

8. enablers

9. Social Tools
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9119028@N05/591163479/

10. @jonmott

11. Free/Open
Content

14. Access

16. Age of
Networks
http://www.flowtown.com/blog/the-2010-social-networking-map

17. http://www.flickr.com/photos/scriptingnews/2699829038/sizes/l/

18. http://www.flickr.com/photos/scriptingnews/2699829038/sizes/l/

19. quick stats (2009)
• 90 trillion emails sent annually from 1.4 billion email
users
• 234 million websites
• 1.73 billion Internet users
• 126 millions blogs
• 350 million Facebook users
• 4 billion images on Flickr
• 1 billion Youtube videos served daily.
Stats as of Jan 22/10 via Royal Pingdom

20. affordances

21. Networked
Learning

25. Personalization

27. Shifting Roles

31. Private Public
Closed Open

32. practice

33. “Understanding how networks
work is one of the most important
literacies of the 21st century.”
(Rheingold, 2010)

34. real time collaboration

37. Guiding Principles
• Open access, low-cost.
• Rethink space/interaction (walled gardens, open
spaces)
• Learning spaces controlled and/or owned by students.
• Tagging, aggregation, & other info literacies.
• Advocacy/integration/use/creation of/for FOSS & open
content wherever possible & when beneficial to
learning.
• Pedagogy focused more on connecting & interactions;
content important, but secondary.
• Development of sustainable, long-term, learning
connections.

40. location of
mentors

43. “The course ... has been the most profound pd
experience Iʼve ever had. It forced me to critique & review
my practice. I never knew how important social networks
were. Now, I couldnʼt be a teacher without being
connected. Itʼs drastically changed my view of education.”

44. moving forward

46. “We need to move beyond the
idea that education is something
that is provided for us, and
toward the idea that an education
is something that we create
ourselves.”
(Downes, 2010)

47. web: couros.ca
twitter: courosa
google: couros
couros@gmail.com