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Connectivism principles and course design. December 31, 2010 by jennymackness There seem to be an increasing number of attempts to design courses based on connectivism principles. In my last post I wrote To think of a MOOC as being wrong is to think of it as a course. For me a MOOC is the antithesis of a course. The principles on which it is based – autonomy, diversity, connectedness and openness cannot be reconciled with a course.

I stand by this statement, but the fact is that I am often (as an education consultant) contracted to write online ‘courses’ within traditional settings, i.e. Openness We have to decide what we mean by this. I do not think that the course I have written will be opened to the whole world. If by ‘open’ we mean, transparency in what we are doing and open sharing of resources – yes we can encourage that in the course design – but we cannot enforce it without cutting across the principle of autonomy. Diversity We definitely need this for a rich learning environment. Connectedness/Interaction Autonomy However…. Записная книжка Владимира Алексеева : The End Of The Course #PLENK2010.

VNA open data file for CCK09 forum 2 released. What's wrong with (M)OOCs? Welcome to MOOC.CA ~ MOOC. What's wrong with MOOCS (eluminate discussion) Start Session Optionally, you can pre-configure your computer and test your audio using one of our Configuration Rooms prior to your session. Please visit our "First time Users" section in the Support Portal to view configuration rooms for Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing. Note: When joining a Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing session for the first time you will see a Security Dialog. Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing is asking for you to run this application without a verification of its digital signature.

Due to the dynamic abilities of our software we are unable to sign certain application files. Check "Always trust content from this publisher" and click "Run". Lisa’s (Online) Teaching Blog » Blog Archive » Got MOOC? I have now been an enrolled student in two classes being referred to as MOOCs (Massively Open Online Classes). I attended a discussion today that was offered by George Siemens in his blog post “What’s wrong with (M)OOCs? “. I commented there on some challenges to MOOCs in traditional disciplines, but I am also formulating some ideas regarding the possible different types and formats of MOOCs as I adapt my own thinking in a way that will help me design a History MOOC. The advantages of MOOCs are many.

They open up both content and instruction, and allow people from all over to participate in a class. The Open-Open MOOC At one end is what I’ll call the open-open MOOC, where the scaffolding for the course is minimal. An example of an Open-Open MOOC would be the recent PLENK course, taught by George Siemens, Stephen Downes, and Dave Cormier. The Open-Closed MOOC An example of this format might be EC&I 831, taught by Alec Couros.

The Closed-Closed MOOC. What’s wrong with (M)OOCs? When Stephen Downes and I ran Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2008, the term MOOCs (massive open online course) was coined – by Dave Cormier and Bryan Alexander – to describe open online courses with fairly high registration numbers. Open online conference that we were offering at University of Manitoba, and courses offered by David Wiley and Alec Couros, served as a fairly natural foundation for the development of MOOCs. Since then, a growing number of educators have offered similar types of courses: EC & I831, CCK09, Critical Thinking, EdFutures, PLENK, NANEC, and others that I’m sure I’m missing (please add them to the comments and I’ll update).

Soon to be offered MOOCs include: CCK11 (Stephen Downes/George Siemens, Learning Analytics (George Siemens/Jon Dron/Dave Cormier), Digital Storytelling (Jim Groom), Open Education (Rory McGreal/George Siemens), and Personal Learning Environments (Wendy Drexler/Chris Sessums). There are likely others. Do we have a revolution yet?? 1. 2. Jgchesney. Blogs Wikis Docs Chart. Time Zones. MOOCs and the stock university course #plenk2010 | Morgan's Log. A first consideration of adapting MOOC techniques to the stock university situation. Have a look at these notes on Stephen Downes’s presentation. The more I’m immersed in the PLENK course and material, the more possibilities I see for driving MOOC teaching techniques and approaches into the stock university courses I teach. For instance, we have new a sophomore level Argument and Exposition course (A&E.

Gotta like the double joke in that course title) for learning research practices. Students will be on their own when it comes to the kinds of activities they take on, the kind of artifacts they create. What’s in it for us? Not less instructional time, but both students and I get to spend our instructional time differently than we have for the past bunch of years.Less classroom time and more learning time for students.Less lecture prep time because less lecture and more practice time for all.Students might start to learn what it means – tacitly – to take control of their own learning.

My Personal Learning Network is the most awesomest thing ever!! We wrapped up our open course on Personal Learning Environments and Networks a few weeks ago. I want to address a few aspects of the discussion about personal learning networks (PLN). Often, on Twitter, blogs, and Facebook, I’ll read some variant of “my PLN is the most wonderful thing evar!!!” “It meets all my knowledge and emotional needs” “It’s better than getting a university degree” “It makes my toast in the morning” “It cleans the oven and the toilet”..and so on.

From reading these posts, a reader uninitiated in the land of PLNs would quickly conclude that the key failing in politics, currently in North and South Korea, is the failure of leaders to build their own PLN. Let’s tackle this in a bit more detail. Connecting with others is a satisfying experience. Where things get a bit more confusing with PLNs is when we fail to advance beyond those warm fuzzy feelings about being connected to others with more substantive knowledge and action. BLC10 - Keynote - Resnick. Jenny Connected: PLEs and Learner Autonomy. Is lurking ever indefensible? December 11, 2010 by jennymackness I have been thinking about this question since my last post. I notice that discussion on George’s blog has ceased and he has moved on, but the PLENK2010 NRC research team are continuing to pursue the question through two online surveys – one for active participants and one for self-confessed lurkers.

The problem is that I don’t see this as an ‘either/or’ issue. More I see ‘active’ and ‘lurking’ as being on either end of a continuum, along which we will move in either direction, depending on the circumstances. Another difficulty I have with the surveys is that the researchers have already defined what they mean by ‘lurker’ and ‘active participant’, whereas I feel that the discussions that have been taking place have shown that there doesn’t seem to be a consensus about what these terms mean. For example they state that …. ‘passive attention, silent participation, and/or self-directed learning.’ Cultivating communities of practice ... Today's marketplace is fueled by knowledge. Yet organizing systematically to leverage knowledge remains a challenge. Leading companies have discovered that technology is not enough, and that cultivating communities of practice is the keystone of an effective knowledge strategy. Communities of practice come together around common interests and expertise- whether they consist of first-line managers or customer service representatives, neurosurgeons or software programmers, city managers or home-improvement amateurs.

They create, share, and apply knowledge within and across the boundaries of teams, business units, and even entire companies-providing a concrete path toward creating a true knowledge organization. InCultivating Communities of Practice, Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Museums and the Web 2010: Papers: Liu, A., et al., Dulwich OnView: A Museum Blog Run by the Community for the Community. 1. Introduction Dulwich OnView (DOV) is a unique example of a museum blog run by volunteers from its Friends and the local community, with posts about both. This combination increases exposure and interest in the museum (Dulwich Picture Gallery in southeast London, UK), attracting new audiences. It uses very little staff time and comes at no financial cost. The authors believe that DOV is unique and different from a regular museum blog in the following ways: It is independent from the museum.

This paper presents the following aspects of DOV: An introduction and overview of DOV and its unique aspects. 2. The village of Dulwich in south London has had a powerful sense of community since the days of Edward Alleyn (1566 - 1626, an Elizabethan actor and founder of Dulwich College. As the Web has expanded and interactive facilities have improved, social interaction on-line has increased rapidly over the last decade. Statistical information Summary 3. MOOCS.