OER on Hybrid Course Design

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One goal I had for my sabbatical was to develop some open educational resources. Here is a new OER for Hybrid Course Design for educational practitioners interested in online teaching and learning. It integrates work from a previous resource I had on instructional design, but is specifically targeted for a blended modality. This is a work in progress, but enough has been developed that I feel comfortable sharing.

Feedback or links to supporting resources or practical examples are welcome.

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Multi Access Learning Framework

I was really excited to see this article from Irvine et al. (2013) as it addresses some of the very thoughts that I've been having around how to pull together the best elements from learning theory - can't forget our foundations :0) -  along with what we have been learning about MOOCs and Online Learning into a model that makes sense for those of us in Higher Education. The article references the works of:

• Brown & Campione's Fostering a Community of Learning [FCL] - research-share-perform; 
• Bruner's 4 Aspects of FCL - agency, reflection, collaboration & culture; and 
• Code's Agency Model - personal, proxy, and collective 

to establish a theoretical foundation for their Multi-Access Framework. They define Multi-Access Learning as a means of enabling students, in F2F and/or OL contexts, to personalize their learning experience while participating in a course.  The framework consists of 4 Tiers:

Tier 1 - F2F: traditional classroom teaching & learning
Tier 2 - Synchronous: both F2F & OL through web conferencing.
Tier 3 - Asynchronous: OL access to archives of F2F classes + collaborative activities that support co-construction of meaning
Tier 4 - Open Learning: following the xMOOc & cMOOC approach, non-credit students are able to access the course at no cost & the learning community has potential for global reach.

As I see it Tiers 1-3 describe Blended Learning. But the authors claim that this model is different

This post is written for a business audience, as it is talking about the role of learning in the workplace, but I think it gives some food for thought about the role of the LMS in learning and in education. Jennings captures something in this statement: Learning can only be managed by the individual in whose head the learning is occurring. The visual highlights the increasing role of informal, self directed learning particularly in  the workforce. In education, however, we should be thinking not only about the informal learning that takes place outside the classroom but also in eLearning contexts.
source: http://charles-jennings.blogspot.com/2013/04/managing-learning.html

eLearning in the Age of Choice

Ed Week Webinar 8/28/2012
Presenters: Sue Winkler Davis SD, Utah & Cleon Franklin Memphis City Schools

Two case scenarios are presented as examples of how districts are developing online courses to both meet State requirements for HS students to have an online course experience, as well as meet the needs of students.

Highlights from Davis SD
- Clients include homeschoolers, credit acceleration, credit recovery, blended learning
- Created own content with district teachers vs. using outside providers
- Developed consortium with 6 other districts based on common LMS and joint agreement to share resources
- Year round course offerings

Education in the Age of Mobilism

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10/25/12 Lightening Webinar, ISTE’s SIGML
Education in the Age of Mobilism: Biggest Change to K-12-Ever
Eliot Soloway, U Michigan Cathleen Morris U N. Texas
Webinar: http://iste.adobeconnect.com/p3qqtqqf1rn/

The essence of this webinar is that the shift to mobile is here, but SW + mobile devices need to reflect 21st century learning – i.e. 4 C’s – Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity – and not to reinforce outdated pedagogies.

Some Highlights:
Post PC era = Age of Mobilism
1.5 billion smartphones connected to the internet – mobile fastest uptake ever
Smartphones vs PCs vs Feature Phones: FLURRY survey on Smartphone use:
- 2010 = Browsing @ 94mins/ Apps @ 43min
- 2011 = Browsing @ 72mins/ Apps @ 94mins
Feature or non-smart phones will disappear in 3-5 years [Horace Dedui, analyst]
PC shipments decline 1% in 2012 first time in a decade
School shipments of PCs down 13.9% even as & 1million iPads sold to schools
Negroponte’s $100 tablet is here now [one e.g. Google to drop 7” tablet to $100 when 10” is released]
- Smartphones = device of choice
Project Glass: $1500 wearable computer [glasses] à predict $150 in 2 years = BIG change
Why Software is Eating the World, Mar Andreessen [Mosaic browser creator] e.g. iTunes [SW + mobile device] Netflix

How to Teach Online cMOOC

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OK, so now I'm participating in my first MOOC, or to be more precise, cMOOC. Decided to create a separate blog to document the experience http://azb-howtoteachonline.blogspot.com/

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Posted September 12, 2012
I cant remember how I learned about Stanford’s AI course last fall, but as I was interested in both the content and instructional design of Thrun’s course I signed up. I only got about 4 or 5 lessons into the course but the experience was fascinating. I found myself wanting to get my hands on the technology that so easily allowed one to create a quick end of unit quiz. But as a social phenomenon, what was more interesting was that some 100,000 people from around the world were interested in taking a course for no credit.

OATS

It's Personal: Learning Spaces, Learning Webs

It’s Personal: Learning Spaces, Learning Webs

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler.

Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers | Video on TED.com

As someone who suffered through math as a kid, this talk gave some interesting food for thought. I have always felt that we tend to disassociate meaning and authenticity in the way we teach math in education. I think some educators who are trying to move in this direction through robotics, programming, etc - which by the way tend to be extracurricular activities - would concur with Wolfram's thesis. Here's the TED Talk link:
Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers | Video on TED.com
 or view here:

Change Agent - Will Richardson interview in Education Week

Change Agent

Lots of food for thought in this article that encourages me to think that maybe what we have been doing in our technology course is a step in the right direction. That is, creating a web presence - a personal learning environment - to support, help organize, and encourage your learning and exploration of the possibilities of technology for teaching and ongoing professional development

eSN Special Report: Small-group collaboration

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eSN Special Report: Small-group collaboration

We teach the value of constructivist approaches and collaborative work in educational psychology, but as this article points out the reality of today's world requires that students be able to work with others both face-to-face and in a global digital context. Collaboration is "authentic learning," Hobson said, and it is "transformational in that kids see their work is valued beyond the teacher. We're so very connected now, it's critical that kids have the ability to collaborate even when they're not in the same physical space."

Though the article focuses on using technology tools to support group work, those of us with limited technology in the classroom can still use its ideas - along with some creative thinking - to create a rich learning environment that encorporates a variety of learning styles...

'Plano's curriculum stresses multitasking in classrooms, which means some students might be working in groups, while others are working individually or listening to the teacher. "To get the most personalized learning," Hirsch said, "everyone shouldn't be working on the same thing at the same time." He believes mini-projectors could be a "key component of multitasking in the classroom."'

Can Web 2.0 Save Teacher Professional Development?

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edweek.org Webinar
Presenters:
Barbara Treacy, director, EdTech Leaders Online, Education Development Center
Christopher Sessums,  College of Education at the University of Florida
Moderator: Anthony Rebora, managing editor, teachermagazine.org, Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook Themes: Online PD, teacher social networking, collaborative
Opening questions: what's happening? what are the opportunities & issues?

I. TREACY: Elements of effective PD? Which Tools Support Elements? Some Examples
PD needs to be well designed & delivered and to be better respected in its role for the educator.
Web 2.0 can support effective PD

ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE PD

• be intensive, ongoing, connected to practice
• focus on student learning
• address teaching of spec content
• alignt school prop
• build strong working relationships among teachers.

just so many possibilities....

i had one of those rare mornings where i was able to sit at home in my pyjamas propped up with pillows lap top in my lap [imagine that!] just surfing the net and looking at all kinds of new tools and gadgets. it all started while going through my students' ideas for their projects and imagining some ways that they might actualize them. then i got to adding more to my exploring web 2.0 pages. in the past i've had students do an activity around them but this term as we have the richardson book i have just left the pages as a resource. anyway it's incredible how one link takes you on to another, and another...it just never ceases to amaze me how many possibilities exist out there, many free, for anyone to access and use!

this thing called blogging...

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so i too need to learn how to be a good blogger and post regularly. i am reminded of when i kept a journal as a youth. there was a period between about grade 9 - 12 that i wrote in my journal religiously. i still have them and get a real kick out of reading them. at the time my journal was an important part of my life, it gave me a place to sort out some of the things that were going on - all those ups and downs teens go through, so many questions i had. then my writing dropped off and i picked it up again sporadically in my twenties. as an academic i've found keeping a notebook - more like a semi diary/ideas/catch-all - can be a nice way for bringing together the different elements of my life. i dont seem to write the personal, emotionally-laden stuff any more but more creative ideas or plans for things i'd like to achieve. thing is i find that if i dont drag my book around all over then i end up writing things on bits of paper that get lost...keeping organized is always the challenge isn't it?

Web Conferencing eh?

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well i like to think that i am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to web casting, webinars, web conferencing...call it what you will. my ph.d. involved using a different webcasting technology and i have attended enough webinars to know and understand that glitches happen. even with this previous experience, our first online session was a real eye opener for me. i'm up to the challenge - as are my students i hope - but i tell you teaching in this medium is a very different experience and requires a number of adjustments. basic things like having to take turns to talk to minimize feedback and time lag; remembering to keep an eye on the chat log for those students who arent using the voice feature; making sure that the screen i am showing doesnt block the chat so that everyone - including myself - can keep an eye on what people are saying; and then just making sure that what i am showing is centred on the screen and not getting cut off at the bottom [i didnt catch this until i looked at the archive]

the possibilities...

when i started my career in education, i was far from expert in technology. i knew how to do the email thing, use a browser, word, a bit of powerpoint and excel. i dont even recall my teacher ed program having a tech course -- now it seems to be standard to get at least one. it wasnt until i started my M.A. that i stumbled across the potential of technology to support learning. my first tech course was taught by marlene scardamalia - whom i later discovered is an internationally renouned cognitive scientist/educator. anyway she and her husband carl bereiter [who i also later took a course from] have developed this collaborative learning environment CSILE [computer supported learning environment] which has since morphed into KF [knowledge forum] and the Institute for Knowledge Innovation & Technology [IKIT]. the whole premise of this environment was to support online learning communities by supporting what they call knowledge building - a collaborative approach to sharing the learning experiences that eventually lead to the creatio of new knowledge products.

this is of course very closely related to the ideals of web 2.0 needless to say, here i am some 13 years later, still excited about the possibilities, still exploring...