Tag Archives: online learning

New Challenges in Education

  By netcrit | October 4, 2011 - 09:05 | Speak
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New Challenges in Education: Online learning, knowledge networks, ‘edgeless’ universities Kennesaw State University, 6 October, 11.30 am KSU Center (Room 300).   I will be visiting Kennesaw State U shortly to present on e-learning, Web 2.0 and changing nature of education on 6 October, courtesy of Dr Keith Herndon, the university’s Institute for Global Initiatives and the Department of Communication, and the Technology Association of Georgia. Abstract Online learning has been part of the provision of university education since the emergence of the internet. However, in recent years, there have been more intensive efforts to marry together traditions of university learning and academic excellence with the flexibility and creative possibilities of online delivery. This paper summarises the benefits that Internet-enabled learning has brought to distance and off-campus university education in the past decade or more, noting that Australia has a rich history of distance education. The paper also explores the way in which the so-called Web 2.0 revolution in online affairs has, to some extent, created a false sense of novelty in online learning. Nevertheless, Web 2.0, with its emphasis on social media and user-generated content, has made a difference and opens up new approaches to learning. The paper concludes … Click to read more →

Beyond the Edgeless University

  By netcrit | April 21, 2011 - 17:41 | Speak
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An extended introduction to the workshop I will be running soon on the Edgeless University, focusing on the question: what exactly should a modern comprehensive university do that will unleash the creativity of students and staff and maximise the potential of distributed, edgeless learning while, at the same time, also making the most of the physical spaces which will remain critical markers of ‘a university’?. In other words, how can we utilise digital technologies and networks to fashion ‘new’ edges — temporary boundaries, if you like — that assist us in making education a collaborative, collective experience? Click to read more →

Portfolios, digital and reflection: interleaving Michael Dyson

  By netcrit | December 2, 2010 - 11:06 | See
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Listening to Michael Dyson, from Monash talking about portfolios in teacher education: great presentation. Dyson says: Education of educators is first of all premised on turning them into people who practice self-development. gives example of very first unit. [So, care of the self is central, and making students include themselves as subjects in the learning process - nice!] Learning is change dramatically – globalisation, computing, and so on. [But, perhaps, there is an important qualification on some of the more optimistic claims for 'new' learning: learning is embedded within society in ways that shape those possibilities in ways that are not entirely concerned with 'better' learning. At the very least, the definition of better is contested: is it cheaper? is it more orderly and commodifiable? is to linked to national norms and needs?] The creating mind is the goal. [Interesting - not creative, but more positive and active - creating. Good difference] Reflection is essential to achieving the kind of succcesses in self-developmental learning; using Dewey (2003), emphasises “active persistent and careful consideration”; reflection is not taking “things for granted…[leading to] ethical judgment and strategic actions” (Groundwater-Smith, 2003).  [ Further work needed, perhaps, to understand reflection for this new generation, … Click to read more →

Examples of authentic learning in Internet Communications II: WEB206

  By netcrit | December 1, 2010 - 11:38 | Think
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See also other posts including the first one, on Web Communications 101, which explains more of the context. Web Publishing 206 (basic unit description) Students doing the BA (Internet Communications) learn, in WEB101, to create a web presence that acts as the primary locus of their online identity, with links to other services and applications. In Web Publishing 206, the focus moves much more directly to writing effectively for the web (where writing can also including other media, but emphasises the written word). The authenticity of the assessments in Web Publishing 206 are principally mobilised by requiring students to write regularly, on their blog, exploring different aspects and techniques of good online writing. The blog is assessed in its own terms, and also as the basis for students’ reflective essays which ensure that students are thinking about (as well as doing) this crucial online communication task. Some examples of students’ blogs are: Eighteen Songs – WEB206 Weekly Blog Percussive Sweet Spot On the Internet, No-one Knows I’m A Blog Damien’s Web Publishing 206 Weblog | The Worlds of MMO’s Notably, most students make virtually no reference to the ‘study’ component of these blogs: these are genuine blogs addressing audiences outside … Click to read more →

Examples of authentic learning in Internet Communications I: WEB101

  By netcrit | December 1, 2010 - 10:53 | Think
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The first of several posts, each relating to a different unit of study at Curtin Introduction Over the past two years, students in Internet Studies, Curtin University studying the BA (Internet Communications) and related courses have been doing a lot of authentic assessment involving online activities. These assignments are  authentic in that they are ‘true’ to the content of their studies (that is, aligned with the outcomes), ‘ real’ within the likely fields of employment for graduates, and ‘natural’  for the the emerging dominance of knowledge networking in society. More on these three variations on authenticity in a moment. Not all assessments fit this pattern (nor should they), but we have seen significant improvements in the motivation of students to complete and exceed the requirements of assignments, as well as a greater degree of creativity and expression suggesting deeper engagement with learning. It has also, we think, improved students’ attention to more scholarly traditional assignments (such as essays) because of the variety we engendered across all assignment tasks. (And, it should be noted: essays are authentic – to the lifeworld of academic which also remains important as well as work and elsewhere). Much of what makes these assessment approaches authentic … Click to read more →

Authentic learning: presentation to NCIQF

  By netcrit | November 30, 2010 - 19:03 | Speak
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On Thursday 2 December, I am presenting at the National Curriculum Innovation and Quality Forum on the subject, “Risks and opportunities in authentic learning via the Internet”. The basic brief for this keynote presentation is to: summarise approaches to authentic learning in the BA (Internet Communications) at Curtin University; identify the key benefits in using a public knowledge networking approach to authentic learning; and highlight risks and strategies for managing those approaches in the pursuit of authentic learning online. While I hope to do that, with a particular emphasis on giving some examples from the great work that students in the BA (Internet Communications) have done, I also have found that in preparing my talk I have had to develop a more coherent argument about the nature of authenticity in learning and the relationship between education and learning. The talk can be found here: http://netcrit.net/content/nciqf2010.pdf Slides are here: http://www.slideshare.net/netcrit/risks-and-opportunities-in-authentic-learning-via-the-internet This paper draws also on some specific work I have done on the authentic assessment in our online conference unit, Internet Communities and Social Networks 204 (slides here) and more generally on social media and authentic assessment (presentation in the UK, May 2010 here) Some of the examples I refer to … Click to read more →

E-learn 2009 Conference: key ideas on elearning

  By netcrit | October 30, 2009 - 05:27 | See
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Some important things I learned from the E-Learn conference recently attended in Vancouver Why and how do people ‘get’ online learning New Media Literacies 2010 is the new 1995 Why and how do people ‘get’ online learning Further evidence of the link between expertise, knowledge, experience in distance education as leading to a different way of thinking about, understanding and approaching online learning; this point is probably self-evident for individuals (though not necessarily so); but is clearly an important aspect in the institutional and cultural basis for the development of elearning. Papers show that many, especually in USA, are still back in 1995 – faculty just starting to think ‘how to use the Internet’, because this is a technology imagined to be about ‘something other’ than classroom. So, at first, distance education background was a strength, when net was strongly oriented towards being a replacement for / enhancement of, traditional DE approaches; DE background also allowed people to imagine and experience teaching and learning without physical co-presence. But, perhaps, now there is an issue – people have now pigeon-holed internet-based learning as something associated with distance education; and people who don’t see themselves as distance educators therefore don’t think about … Click to read more →

ALTC-LINK – Innovative Education Online Workshop 2009

  By netcrit | July 10, 2009 - 14:08 | Speak
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During June/July I have been presenting and facilitating a workshop on innovative online learning as part of my ALTC Teaching Fellowship project. My thanks to all those involved in helping organise and host the events, at Curtin Uni, RMIT, UTS, QUT, and ADFA; especially thanks to Elaine Tay, colleague and LINK Project Officer. The workshops went particularly well, mainly thanks to the thoughtful contributions of all those involved (the workshop was mostly small-group discussion and presentation). Those who participated will soon receive a collated and developed response, spanning all the workshops so far, which will guide and assist in reflecting on what was learned in the workshop. The presentation component of the workshop is now available at http://netcrit.net/writing

Toward a Pervasive Communication Environment Perspective

  By netcrit | March 31, 2009 - 09:26 | Read
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Nice article by Ted Coopman in recent First Monday… Toward a Pervasive Communication Environment Perspective ‘In a world where pervasive communication technologies facilitate an increasing percentage of human interaction, the traditional dichotomy between face–to–face and mediated communication (especially computer–mediated communication) obscures more than it illuminates. This affects both teaching and research. To address this, I propose a holistic approach: Pervasive Communication Environment Perspective (PCE). Represented as a graphic model, PCE illustrates the circular flow of information and communication across media, channels, and individuals. This provides a conceptual tool with practical applications for teaching as well as research.’