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Leaving Penang Behind

Leaving Penang Behind, a photo by mikecogh on Flickr.

Leaving Penang on Air Asia last week. Penang was wonderful - has the opportunity of presenting itself as an example of 'old Asia' that other cities have lost. Parts of it could be World Heritage listed.

Guitar Hands

Guitar Hands, a photo by mikecogh on Flickr.

Testing the long forgotten Flickr to Blogger link. Shot taken a few weeks ago during lovely afternoon of music in the Adelaide Hills.

Placeholder Post - iPads for Learning

Go on over to Podding Downunder's latest episode to hear more

Global Learn Conference (Melbourne, March 2011) - Notes

GLOBAL LEARN ASIA-PACIFIC CONFERENCE (29/3/11- 1/4/11)

Keynote: Rick Bennett (College of Fine Arts, Uni of NSW; Omnium

College of Fine Arts have 30 online courses, incl complete Masters degree
Collaboration not always the solution: “Group work can hinder the creative process.” (Paul Rand)
Cautionary tale: spent a fortune developing software but couldn’t sell it due to the rise of the FOSS (free and open source) movement

Outreach Program:

Kenya
brainstormed with students and via liaison overseas how to design materials for people in developing world to be more aware of diseases like malaria – children’s games, flash cards, stickers, football jumpers

Philippines:
• worked with students and women in Philippines to create an installation of embroidery panels for a wall at Manila Uni
• worked with student s and women who collect paper rubbish in Manila to create a paper flower display; display is now in Sydney Botanical garden.

(photos of these projects)

These projects came to fruition by using collaborative tools between students and people in other courses, and key people in developing countries

Note: all of this was achieved by creating an outside of organisation body (Onmium) and without asking permission of the university.
[Can you work with your class to do projects that benefit the local community?]

ASSESSMENT AND TEACHING OF 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
(Jon Price, Intel Corporation, USA; Patrick Griffin, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Martina Roth, Intel Corporation, Germany)

Shift from manual skills > critical thinking and collaborative practices in workplaces
Project examined the topics with the following broad headings:
WAYS OF THINKING
WAYS OF WORKING
WAYS OF LIVING
TOOLS FOR WORKING (see image)
Specific skills noted (and these sound very much like the Employability Skills); all linked to production, consumption, and distribution of information ie not physical products
Collaboration, problem solving, creative thinking, communication, networking (social) – learning through digital community (there was a reluctance to use the phrase social networking; critical thinking, adaptability, self-management, self-development, ‘systems thinking’

There has been an increase of abstract tasks in workplaces, and corresponding decrease of routine/manual tasks as much of that (eg manufacturing) has gone off shore

Project is working on metrics to measure these 21c skills eg Collaborative problem solving involves social and cognitive skills – and these can be broken down even further

Also working on how games can assist in developing and assessing collaborative skills

MASS POVERTY AND THE ICT REVOLUTION (Marika Vicziamy)

Told 4 interesting stories that had obvious conclusion: technology alone will not alleviate poverty; it is more a consequence of ritual hierarchy – this is what has to be addressed; not just technological access

Interesting case study (story) of how beauticians and Tiffin carriers in India were increasing work and income with the use of mobiles; AND how the lead boy in the famous ‘hole in the wall computer’ story is still living in poverty

YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE NET (Luciano Pangrazio, University of Melbourne)

Habitus: how an individual interlocks with elements of society, OR ‘learning the rules of the game’

Merspi - http://merspi.com.au/ “ a social learning hubfor the VCE community to ask questions, answer them and learn – regardless of VCE subjects or schools” (Victoria)

Neopets http://www.neopets.com/: 180 million users; aimed at kids and encourages them to spend real money

Identifies 3 kinds of young Net user:
1. The overawed consumer
2. Bricoleur (remixer; person who creates from multiple sources)
3. Deconstructionist – this is what we need to assist people to do: deconstruct the medium, know what and how operates on us, and reconstruct it. √√√

LIFE AT THE INTERFACE (Cathy Adams, Uni of Alberta)

Based on phenomenology
[Ref: Natural Born Cyborgs, Andy Clark

Metaxu: in between-ness (ie media); both divides and allows connection)
Diaphanous: see throughed-ness (transparent)

When one writes on a chalkboard the hand disappears

SECONDARY TEACHERS USE OF NEW MEDIA IN AN AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY (Nicola Johnson, Monash Uni)

Very early stages of this research; someone should do equivalent research for VET

VOICETHREAD PRESENTATION (Henrik Pallos, Kanazawa University, Japan; Linh Pallos, Doshisha University, Japan)

The approach taken here – moving people from anonymous feedback to real and f2f could be used to combat the f2f fear of expressing opinions identified by Turkle.

THE SOCIAL NETWORKED TEACHER (Valère Awouters, Ruben Jans, Sebastiaan Jans & Andy Veltjen, Limburg Catholic University College, Belgium)

Stressed the acquisition of 21st c skills via social networking, but argued that books and other tools need to be used
A large part of what will make web 3.0 different will be 3D (with emphasis on co-creation)

Issue: should teachers be friends with students on Facebook? Can you assess a ‘friend’ on FB? IMO – yes. I used to have students write journals in pre-Nehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift days, and they were often v personal. Besides, FB ‘friends’ are not really friends – they are something else.

KEYNOTE: GILLY SALMON - AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL FUTURES INSTITUTE

future's institute is about creating a preferred future based on openness, mobility, digital communities
based on the Tree of Life metaphor <=> Tree of Learning (includes technoshine over it all)

check the OTTER Project

rise of informal learning will threaten existing structures
some European unis have been in the same place doing the same thing for 1000 yrs (Cambridge, Oxford, Bologna)

"The aims of wide access, high quality and low cost are not achievable... with traditional models”

“the educated end up beautifully equipped for a world that does not exist” (Hoffer) http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9843.Eric_Hoffer

"When it comes to change there are those who make it happen, watch what is happening, and wonder what happened"

Gilly's Predictions for the next year or so (or actually her avatar, Genevieve):

• learner voice, partnerships
• 3d + real world
• renaissance for voice – v/boards, podcasts
• OER
• greening of learning


ONLINE COMMUNITY (Sofia Pardo, ideasLAB, Australia; Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Powerful Learning Practice, USA)

used open source software called Pulse to code communications within the Community to track who was talking to whom
examined interaction in what they called 'public' and 'group' spaces

majority of conversations were on
• professional learning, and
• resources
• teaching and learning

'average members' happier and communicated more in private spaces
categories of conversations – sharing opinions, mentoring, guided advice, negotiation of meaning
interesting thing to do but I wonder whether the results are worth the effort???

AUTHENTIC ELEARNING IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT – Jan Herrington et al

9 elements of authentic elearning (also book with Ron Oliver)

includes multiple roles/perspectives, reflection, articulation, coaching/scaffoldng

differences were more the result of the subjects studied rather than the country or culture

Western methods of processing knowledge are more text based than Eastern methods which rely more on knowledge visualisation



USE OF IPADS @DEAKIN: A STUDY OF LECTURER ENGAGEMENT (Dr Ferial Khaddage)

Central q: how did use of ipads enhance t and l?
Ipad apps being developed at a greater rate than iphone

Ed Apps

• Mental Note
• Audio Note: like Livescribe
• Kindle
• Penultimate: notes and email
• Pages: word processing + doc syncing

reaction of teaching staff is mixed

there are privacy and security issues – as it's w/less; cost and bandwidth

THURSDAY, MARCH 31st

KEYNOTE PANEL – WHAT WILL LEARNING LOOK LIKE IN 2020?

learning on the run, increase of individual agency <=> decrease of role of institution; it will be the future that we create

HOW HAS SOCIAL NETWORKING HAD AN IMPACT?

SN is driving creativity; young people have no patience – have to download/have it now; “video is the new text” (Prensky); Bonk: but we are reading more than ever (blogs, Twitter, Google Docs, etc); students have always used paralled systems (Gilly)

SHOULD ORGS BE LOOKING FOR INTERACTIVE TOOLS FOR PERSONALISING LEARNING V LMSs?

• New ways of mentoring/coaching? BUT...there are forces ranged against the new regime!!!! Students will opt for the alternative more flexible models, but this assumes that there will be alternatives!!! So...we need a Global Learn 'rebels conference' (Curt)

• do we 'work as a worm from the inside' to bring on change? Or do it as an 'other' or alternative operation?

• LMSs need to become more like Ning ie social networking tools

• (need to remember that much of the world has slow or unreliable Internet eg Indonesia)

UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE

Impact of increasing use of mobiles??

ipad is cheaper than the iphone!! Ipad is the cheapest tech Apple has produced – they are aware of the coming future cheap versions that will inevitably come from China

mobile (smart) phone is the tool that cuts across generations and cultures (Salmon)

ARE TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION BECOMING INSEPARABLE?

70-80% of what we learn is informal (Jay Cross); therefore only 20% of learning takes place inside institutions

technology raises issues that have been around for 40 years!

KEYNOTE PANEL – WHAT WILL LEARNING LOOK LIKE IN 2020? - Part 2

USQ offer lectures as just one of the delivery options for students
technology is an added layer; it offers another choice – it doesn't replace anything
students are driving the change, so do we give them what they want?

Gilly; when students were asked/surveyed via trad means about what they wanted their needs matched up with what policy was saying; when conducted using technology then answers were quite different!


Addressing E-Assessment Practices (Vanessa Chang – Curtin)

(mostly a lit review)

mod learning setting – stds feel empowered when they can collaborate and do self-directed activities . assessment tasks need to be redesigned accordingly (need to foster reflective learning, experiential and socio-cognitive learning – includes games and story telling

ALICE is still alive!!

Assessment Models

• evidence centred
• domain analysis
• domain modelling
• Conceptual Assessment Framework (ALICE uses this) – inncludes another 6 models
• CSCL: computer supported collaborative learning
• CMC
• wiki based CSCL

Intercultural Learning and SN (really just Facebook) (Jason Lee – Nanyang Uni, Singapore)

Digital Ethnography – examines status updates of 20 Malaysian students studying in the US
sycnh/asynch and private/public access – where does social media sit? (in the middle)
just examining status updates reveals a great deal of one students experience of the US
issue – privacy concerns about researching personal data


IMPROVING ELEARNING CAPABILITY (Clint Smith)

Models of Change Management that don’t work:
1. (e)tug trying to nudge the giant organisation in a new direction
2. Performance Improvement
3. BECTA Matrix (tool to get a snapshot of the use of technology within organisation
4. Strategic Gap Analysis (SWOT) – generate great data but too slow, bureaucratic and expensive
5. Teach the Teachers: “throw some tools at staff and hope that some will stick” ; can be called Immersion Therapy

What does work?

The No-Fuss Model (8-12 weeks to get up and running)
1) Get your bearings – what is elearning? What type of elearning do http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwe need? What are we trying to achieve? What are the specific benefits?
2) Pick winners (a la GippsTAFE) ie courses that are more likely to work
3) Setting Up – what are the delivery options? What tools will we need? How long till we’re ready?

Note: Blanded Learning: putting notes online!
m-learning: as yet no discernible distinct pedagogy
Ref: Towards Maturity “to help you improve the impact of learning technologies at work”

What are the e-Advantages from a corporate point of view?
• Delivery to dispersed locations
• Reduction of costs
• Train more people in a shorter time
• Provides trail of evidence

Note: there is no reference to advantages for the learner!

What are the Knock Out Punches that will ensure success?
• Is there leadership and management support
• Do you have available materials?
• Are you able to get staff sufficiently skilled?

If the answer to any of these is NO then YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY

Factors that ensure that training staff in elearning skills works:
• Management support (scored 67% in survey)
• Motivation (45%)
• Break things down into projects – focus on courses, NOT people processes

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND WEB 2.0 (Daniel Light, Education Development Center, USA)

Based on 39 teachers over 2 years in schools
Teachers were using web 2.0 to
• Create a Learning community
• For meaningful communication betw teachers and students

Successful activities had:
1. Had a class blog (not individual blogs – students lacked motivation to maintain or read; also v concerned about who reads their work –happy for teacher to read individual blog but that’s all)
Daily practice
2. The Community is the audience and the audience matters
Students DID NOT want class work joined on Facebook. Reason: FB is about pretence and image; class work on the other hand was real!
3. Clear behavioural guidelines; f2f etiquette > online space

AUGMENTED REALITY (G. Jan Wilms, Union University, USA)

Check:

• Photosynth - http://photosynth.net/
• Hallmark Greeting Cards - http://www.hallmark.com/online/webcam-greetings.aspx

Educational:
• Larngear - http://www.larngeartech.com/
• Kinect: http://kinecthacks.net/kinect-skeleton-test/

The WOW Factor

I was recently asked for my thoughts on the WOW factor in the field of educational technology and thought I'd record them here....

......my personal relationship with the WOW factor stems from a time several years ago when I came to believe that the WOW factor was very much underrated when attempting to engage people in educational technology. I was always hearing ' you can't let the technology' lead, and yet all my most exciting moments, and those I observed in others, where when that it is exactly what we did - we followed the technology FOR ITS OWN SAKE and discovered wonderful things! New avenues and new approaches to teaching would appear before us. The politically correct mantra of 'the pedagogy must determine what tools you use' does not take into account the magic of technology. Arthur Clarke once said, "Good technology is indistinguishable from magic, " and that's why its pull can be so powerful. Its WOW factor a source of wonder, joy and insight.

So for some years I have been urging people to ditch the politically correct mantra and let the technology, and its WOW factor lead. I have since learnt that my position can be described as technological determinism, and I have been enjoying descriptions of this and other philosophical positions on the role of technology in Personal Connections in the Digital Age by Nancy Baym. I am not sure of his exact position on this, but Philip Towndrow, an educational researcher in Singapore and a recent speaker at the Webheads Sunday sessions proclaimed "technology IS the context" within which educators in the developed world now work.

Now, for a more comprehensive treatment of related ideas go see Vance Steven's blog post from March 10th.

On the Way to Tom Ward

TOM WARD REVIEW

Talk about bringing classical guitar to life. From the opening seconds Tom Ward launches himself on his beautiful battered guitar with energy, flourish, and gusto. A young man with a cheeky smile transforms into a deeply musical soul that skips effortlessly across centuries and cultures to bring us music from Spain, Italy, Russia and Japan, with some original interpretations thrown into an entertaining and eclectic mix. At times this is achingly beautiful music, and Tom plays it with his whole body – his head jerking back to add emphasis, sometimes almost resting on the curve of the guitar in slower parts, his graceful left hand stretching across frets and caressing the neck. And yet, amongst all of this artistry, he conveys a sense of fun and daring. “Pure gold” indeed. And were they holes in his guitar where a scratch plate would normally be??
Final Word: Superb

Mother, Wife and Complicated Life

Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life is a wonderful production playing at the Star Theatre as part of the Adelaide Fringe. My review:

Two highlights of many in this wonderful show stand out – writer/composer Amity Dry shows a wisdom way beyond her years, and how natural it felt as a musical. No awkward moments in this production. The way the four women cast sing, relate and interact with each other in word and song just seems totally appropriate. The songs are great, there are lots of laughs, and the balance between poignant moments of love and despair, joy and frustration strikes just the right tone that mirrors ‘complicated life’. The connection between the cast and live musicians is palpable. There is so much to like about this show. Sentimental yes, but it doesn’t hide the fact that reality often bites. It is a female perspective on love, birth, kids and relationships but men – listen and learn! Highly recommended.

====================================

A song of mine on YouTube that attempts to cover the same territory about the duality of life.

The Audreys at the Adelaide Fringe (13/2/11)

The Audreys – Sometimes the Stars @ Garden of Unearthly Delights - Spiegeltent

Sometimes the Stars is the title of their most recent CD, and features the two original Audreys, Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall. Tristan spent most of the set on guitars playing delicious catchy licks while Taasha embellished the songs with a golden, pure voice. She also occasionally added a continental feel with the melodica (related to the accordion). They’ve won ARIA awards in the blues and roots categories, but for me (and I know what these labels mean can change over time) their lovely songs range freely over folk, pop, country, rock and jazz, with a strong emphasis on melody. About 45 minutes in I started to let the powerful emotional content of these songs wash over me and it felt good. Taasha sings from the soul, the songs are mostly gems, and there is a delightful chemistry between the two. Just wonderful.

What Can Education Learn from 20 20 Cricket?

The Impact of Context

I write here with gay abandon. I do correct spelling and try and make sure it reads clearly but as to the tone and the opinions being expressed I really don’t care. I shoot from the hip.

I just tried to compose a blog post for a new blog we’re starting at work and within seconds found myself struggling with questions like what the correct tone should be, what kind of impression will this create, will I be harming the reputation of my work team or the wider organisation? Is it OK if I express my own opinions, do these opinions represent those of the work team.....and a whole host of other concerns.

I had been quite keen on this idea of starting an elearning blog for our organisation but I’m now not so sure. Having to worry about these kinds of questions is a real downer. It gets in the way of almost every phrase – it this too informal? Is it creating an impression that is too casual? Etc etc. One could get quite neurotic about it. I guess it’s a separate skill – being able to understand the wider context and write in accordance with that brief. But right at this minute it feels quite limiting and I’d rather just write this instead!

(Creative Commons image courtesy of dibytes)

Recent Changes Camp, Canberra

Hosted by the University of Canberra January 28th – 30th

Facilitator: Mark Dilley

Who else was there?

Why I wanted to be there? (video)

Wikis can be seen as a manifestation of the unconference or open space approach – people gather, craft an agenda together, and engage in the process of collective dialogue. Experts may be present, but they do not deliver sessions. Their contributions become part of the collective input in an organic process of knowledge creation.

WIKICULTURE - elements

• 90% of edits done by 10% of the people
• wikis are the province of volunteers – people come and go; no reward or recognition
• assumes good faith: people will add content of value and respect individual edits/editors
• people need permission to act – this creates a participative culture
• wikipedia started in 2001; the first known wiki was created in 1985
• the content people v culture people: the content people don't care about the development of community; if there is meaningful community there'll be better content surely?

Should wikis be neutral? Ie descriptive only?

Wikis are more about process, not product; yet product is what we mostly concentrate on.


I hadn’t realised just how many large scale wikis there are. To name a few:
WIKIA (topic specific), WIKIPEDIA, WIKIBOOK, WIKIEDUCATOR, WIKIVERSITY, WIKIHOW, WIKISOURCE, WIKITRAVEL, APPROPEDIA (sustainability and international development) just to name a few.


KEY FACILITATION STRATEGIES IN WIKIS
Though this session was about facilitating wikis, these strategies are applicable to most online facilitation contexts.

• awareness of emotional content
• read between the lines of online text
• don't just trust your own judgement - check or test your assumptions
• assume good faith
• identify when people get labelled and are therefore excluded from the system (this just escalates conflict)
• acknowledge people who want to belong to the system
• respect everyone
• be comfortable with conflict
• listen to all sides of the question
• own your own reactions
• develop trust

A really enjoyable and enlightening few days. As essentially an end user of large scale wikis, principally Wikipedia, I had not stopped to consider the huge and complex issues that need to be addressed by mostly volunteers working for nothing behind the scenes on wikis because they simply care about them. In this light it is extraordinary that large scale wikis like Wikipedia ever happened, let alone continue to work and grow. I tip my hat to them.

Rethinking Content Development - The Relationship Between Content and Innovation

The Relationship Between Content and Innovation

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eLearning10 (Sydney); Day 1 Wrap

NOTES FROM EPORTFOLIOS AUSTRALIA CONFERENCE Melbourne, 3rd-4th November, 2010

(Image CC licensed by theother66)

Just a month late but here they are. (Spoken summary over at Podding Downunder)

Tom Cochrane

• there are political and socio-political drivers; several revolving around quality
• issues around retention
• recording competencies
• massification??- opposite to individualism, give students a chance to record/document their experience, that they had value, generated a sense of intimacy, relevance, durability – (this makes sense vis a vis the VET sector – not such a sense of massification)

Bret Eynon (LaGuardia Comm College) – High Impact Practices and the Integrative ePortfolio

• cc's in US use epfs less than higher ed, but increasing in all sectors
• the 'field' is growing; there is now a journal

Types

career/credential, learning, assessment- integrative includes all 3 of these aspects

epf can join personal and prof life plus community life
epf also a connecting tool – to other students, and to teaching staff

can be divided into 'working portfolio' where you add reflections and other data, and the public bit that is a final, edited version

(VET: the export from course to epf function is critical so the student does not have to reprocess/rewrite); eg each student involved in Cinderella this morning (E's class) would record something of their experience and use it/retain it for assessment, and beyond

clash with epf best practice with (again and as usual) organisational constraints

'epfs' have always been part of the deal for art and media students

LaGuardia data shows that epf activity has increased engagement and critical thinking, AND IMPROVE PASS RATES

(are the gains sufficient to disregard issues of proprietary tethering, universal tool for all, etc. Should it be mandated and a partic product endorsed???); are there students in Aust VET who don't have sufficient interest in learning? Or is the epf the tool to change that?

“Design backwards” to promote critical reflection
eportfolios are a disruptive technology – it does result in change #eac2010

BEVERLEY OLIVER (Curtin Uni)
Engaging Students for graduate employability

focus is moving towards evidence and outcomes of learning (yuk!)

how did I (we get our jobs??????)
employers don't need to look at epfs to give them value, because this is where you store info that you use in job apps and interviews

what gives you early professional success? (graduate employability)

(CLA = collegiate learning assessment; a new initiative)

Margaret G – Mahara Case Studies

her epf is several sections of her filing cabinet!


1) example 1 – CEMONS SKILLS CENTRE
Hairdressing – used POV; Mahara used with Google apps – Gahoodle!
Finding that spyglasses are too 'mobile' – prefer hand held cameras – thus losing POV perspective
students using epf for reflection
students love using media for evidence **

Streamfolio for storage of vids? http://www.streamfolio.com/

2) ICS Professionals (ICT) – online course run in Moodle

South Western Sydney Institute

using Mahara

learning the skills was a significant issue
also giving feedback in online environment; (presume t's had not done online courses, and were supporting f2f students in an OL environment ) *
again, hairdressing were participants
Gen Y are not necessarily tech savvy (except for Facebook)
all NSW TAFE students have access to Mahara sandpit

Created templates for students to use
epfs involves a PARADIGM SHIFT :)
Com Serv interested but have no time (!)

[If you have a learner who has stuff scattered all over the place do they need to 'join the program' and use the endorsed product?]

Chris Cowper – privacy and epfs

privacy – incompatible with the Net? Outdated? “Scott McNeally (Sun) ” - you have zero privacy anyway – get over it (10 yrs ago)
privacy is about control; you choose your friends (not ur relatives!); when to be alone, when to be intimate, etc

“The Great Risk Shift” - Jacob Hacker http://www.greatriskshift.com/

shift towards the individual
Aust has a plethora of orgs dedicated to privacy and safety of the individual

Privacy Possible?

15 – 18 yr olds just as worried about privacy as older people, but are more likely to disclose personal info than older folks (Zogby Poll) http://www.zogby.com/

intentional leaks by 3rd parties???? a la Wikileaks (Mahara, ELGG – really???)
new concept – Privacy by Design (PBD)
see http://www.trustguide.org/


Victor Callan Keynote

Lumps elearning, e-assessment and epfs in the same title – and asks about challenges??!!
Higher ed a step behind in responding to skills and approaches that industry wants

INNOVATION:

Generation and execution of good ideas - to make a diff, OR produce economic return

• Experimental, disruptive
• Connectedness, collaboration
• We need to be failure tolerant
• Because there WILL be failures!

80% of all innovation that has anything to do with org change fails

How do you make innovation stick?

• Quizzes are most dominant form of e-assessment, YET epfs are what VET practitioners want most!
• Need a plan (strategy), snr leadership support
• Business case
• Etc etc etc – V mentioned several other factors...put them all together abd you have something of an impossible, or at least, Herculean task!

Gordon Joyes (Uni of Nottingham)

JISC epf consultant 2007

JISC epf study director 2007 – 11

If epfs are such a good idea why don’t we see more evidence of them?

· “weak central influence on local pedagody”

· They are disruptive (again)

· Some orgs are using an epf process but not epfs

Barriers to implementation:

A range of processes to be understood

THRESHOLD CONCEPTS like

· Purpose

· Design of learning activities needs to change

· Process

Neither teachers nor students know how to do this!!

Represent troublesome knowledge

· Ownership

· disruptive

Refers to an epf ‘movement’!

Many employers and colleges don’t value epfs

Liz Smith (Engineering – Uni SA)

Assumed that entering students could cope easily with IT requirements:

· 98% have home Net access

· 90% comfortable with PCs

· 93% have Facebook account…BUT…

This did not translate to facility with epfs.

Began with wikis/blogs; graduated to Pebblepad (which had too many features, stds did not adapt well, GUI needs fast connection speed.

Feedback: “too much of a pain . I’d rather use MS Word!”:

Stds did not see the link betw epf, assessment, and life after uni…until

They switched to using a template and they found this much easier

Note: marking epfs takes longer than marking papers!

Test Pic

Test Pic
Originally uploaded by mikecogh

Why I Post to Flickr

“Sharing a photo by making it available online constitutes sharing even if no one ever looks at it.

This “frozen sharing” creates great potential value. Enormous databases of images, text, videos, and so on include many items that have never been looked at or read, but it costs little to keep those things available, and they may be useful to one person, years in the future. That tiny bit of value may seem too small to care about, but with two billion potential providers, and two billion potential users, tiny value times that scale is huge in aggregate. Much creative energy that was previously personal has acquired a shared component, even if only in frozen sharing. “

Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus

Thinking Deeply about the Shallows

Presentation and discusssion based on ideas from Nicholas Carr's The Shallows, and Larry Sanger's Individual Knowledge in the Internet Age. Mobilizethis10 Conference, October 2010.

Thinking Deeply about the Shallows

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Audio from this session available under Friday's program list at http://mobilizethis.wikispaces.com/2010_Program

Batchelor Life :)

Me suffering in the Northern Territory last week.

Notes from VET Teaching Conference

NOTES FROM VET TEACHING CONFERENCE (Brisbane, May, 2010)

Kay Giles – No Two Days are the Same

Diversity leads to a degree ofgeneralisation – harder to be specific about what you do; goals of organizationbecome diffuse

“The illiterate of the 21^st century will be those who can't learn,unlearn, and relearn” (Toffler)

quality is a cultural concept. In the UK =reputation; for French, Italian = luxury; Japanese = setting a standard andachieving it; US = size (joke)

Australia: fit for purpose;relationships/trust

(at this point a reference came through on Twitter on the neutral nature of quality by Christopher Alexander, architect, but I can't find it :)

Notion of agility a better word/concept toreplace ‘flexibility’?

VET has a lot of offerings that are nolonger suiting customer/client need (eg 3 wk blocks)

[usevis as intermission! - should have related point though]

Keynote 2 Day 2: Assessment forLearning - Revitalising the Link Beween Assessment and Learning (Rob Stowell)

build a picture of competency

ask open questions – link to self-assessment

scaffold feedback piecemeal over time

Stages of Presentation

Quality Assessment

Relationship between T and L and assessment

Practical ideas for improving assessment inVET

– he has been looking at qualityassessment

Quality Assessment:

1) benchmarks (standards)

2) validity, reliability,fairness, flexibility

3) assessment decision based onevidence

4) quality assured

5) assessment an integral part ofthe t and l process; not separate

6) quality judgements (not sure what this means)

7) should be informed by practicebased research (ie not uni research!)

LEARNING: Deep v Surface

we need people with grasp of principles thatcan link them together

What kind of assessment leads to deeplearning?

1) builds on what learners know?

2) Approach that helps people'make meaning'

3) active and social

future assessment: will assist learnersdevelop capacity to make judgements/problem solve

Assessmentfor Learning requires that students:

understand the competency to be achieved

where they are in relation to the competency

how they can achieve the desired level

KEYNOTE DAY 2 : BeckySaunders (Murdoch Uni)

Contemporary VET Learning – Strategies for now and thefuture

[check Joyce and Showers Skill Training Model]

“people are where they are for good reasons” (the questions ofvalues!)

Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM)

Talked about what seems to be a wonderful PD model that runsfor over a year (can be up to 4 yrs!); focused on Instructional Intelligence (IT) [check Barrie Bennett –

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto]

IT is about ‘how people learn’’ it has 2 aspects:

1) emotional

2) behavioural

it’s a career long journey!

It takes 3-5 yrs to embed systemic change, and this kind ofchange is messy and organic

Links with Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Methodology

“who among you is willing to bell the cat?” ie challengeexisting structures and authority

TERRY O’HANLON (CEO of Australian Trade College – an independentnon-profit): International VET – Meeting Global Needs

TNE = Transnational engagement

- large increase in offshore VET students since2006

Philippines

Only 20% of HE students get jobs; 3000 people leave thePhilippines every day to work abroad

International VET programs mean people in developingcountries can do ‘Australian quality’ training for a fraction of the price; ieit’s affordable

All content for all their courses is online

AFTERNOON KEYNOTE DAY2 – TIGA BAYLES

“we’re hands –on people” (ie indigenous)