Education's purpose? To help get students to the point they can learn on their own

---

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdNAUJWJN08

Teaching should inspire people to learn on their own - challenge them to learn from the achievements of the past, ask questions, challenge, pose alternatives... 

I came across this video link on a Learning [Re]imagined posting. In this 2012 video, Chomsky talks about two different worldviews on the purpose of education, and then touches on the issues of the impact of technology, education as a cost or investment, and assessment vs. autonomy

Personalizing Virtual Learning Space [pVLS]

---

Personalizing Virtual Learning Space [pVLS]: Considerations for Educational Practice from Anita Zijdemans Boudreau

This is a presentation I have created for a webinar presentation on October 24th, for Moodle MOOC2 which will be going on the end of October. Here are links to the Course Overview and actual course envirionment Moodle MOOC 2 on WizIQ. Here to are PPT Presentation NOTES

---

WK5 - Not with a whimper but a bang?

The Community Wall is looking pretty quiet, but I feel compelled to add my last response. Too little too late – apologies for that – but I take solace in that I still made it by the last day of WK5!

WHAT? SOME HIGHLIGHTS
Loved this week’s topic and enjoyed the Morrison and panel webinars! 
This is something I took from Barrel, PBL: A Foundation for 21st Century Skills. His focus and examples are K-12, but the chapter provides a good overview along with the following practical guidelines for Developing Curricula for PBL:

1.  Identify a Topic

2. Map out the concept

3. Consult & integrate standards [if applicable]

4. Generate set of intended unit outcomes or objectives & specify essential questions that demand students engage in 21^st Century skills – questioning, problem solving, critical/creating thinking, hypothesizing and reflecting – i.e. complex thinking

Time to make sense of the chaos

Response to Weeks 3 & 4

I've been busy working on another project but happily all things have been interconnected, and so I have been applying and thinking about a lot of the topics we’ve been looking at. I’ve gone through the Community Wall and added a response here and there.  My head continues to spin with all of the materials and postings in the course. I worry that I wont be able to do it all justice, and that time is running out. In spite all this, it has been great to be part of this MOOC. The different perspectives, insights, and experiences shared make me feel that I’ve been a part of something very special! 

We’re near the end and I still have to create my Week 5 activity and final reflection to go for that badge [it will be my first!] So here is a combined response for Weeks 3 & 4...

WHAT- HIGHLIGHTS 
Wk 3: Create Community: Connect Learners with Each Other 
COI Model - appreciated the review and the discussion helped to embed it more in my mind and also gave me some good examples for each dimension

ECAR 2013 UG Study Report

The ECAR - Educause Center for Analysis and Research 2013 Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology REPORT came out in September. I always appreciate the insights and perspective it provides on technology trends, ownership, and how students evaluate both their and their instructors' use of technology. The numbers are impressive. Of the 1.6 million students solicited across 251 college/university sites, 113,035 responded from over 13 countries.

In discussions I have had with educators and teacher candidates, a recurrent concern has been that their students often have greater experience using technology -  the digital native vs. digital immigrant argument.  My response has been that though this may be the case, students tend not to know how to use the tools for learning, and that our role as educators can be to provide perspective and help develop their digital literacy skills, or 4C's: Critical Thinking & problem solving, Communication, Collaboration,  and Creativity and Innovation [see: Partnerships for 21st Century Skills].

OER on Hybrid Course Design

---

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.

---

Web 2.0 in Educational Practice

---

In the previous presentation, A Systems Framework Examination of the Impact of ICTs on Educational Practice, I suggested a few ideas for how to start thinking about integrating technology for your own professional development and teaching.

I also would like to share an opportunity to enroll in course that has just started - MoodleMOOC 2 on Wiz IQ. I highly recommend that you consider taking it as it promises to have something for new and experienced Moodle users as well as other topics of interest related to technology integration.