quality everywhere in elearning or why velcro matters

EFQUEL Lisboa 2008Nancy White/Full Circle Associates

Quality everywhere:

Hooking learning quality to communities, informal learning and Web 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gitboy/373784185/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gitboy/373784185 /

1. Some context

2. Some strategies

3. Many questions

http://www.plexusinstitute.org/complexity/index.cfm?id=3

What needs to grow beyond the boundaries of formal learning?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsevilla/189528500/in/set-1368427/

Beyond our curriculum and courses…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/206426067/

Beyond our “classrooms”


Beyond our institutions…


What is emerging?

The buzzpart 1 social learning in a networked world

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/653541864/in/set-72057594139269787/

Photo via Flickr CC www.flickr.com/photos/azlijamil01/231592469/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/azlijamil01/231592469/

Learning Communities

Knowledge Networks

Communities of Practice

Online Communities

From David Wilcox

Many: Networks

We: Communities

Me: the IndividualPersonal identity,

interest & trajectory

Bounded membership; group identity, shared interest

Boundaryless; fuzzy,

intersecting interests

Informal learning

“What happens the rest of the time.”

– Marcia Connor

http://agelesslearner.com/intros/informal.html

Jay CrossInformal Learning Evangelist

http://informl.com/the-informal-learning-page/

Connectivism – George Siemens

Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Rhizomatic Learning Dave Cormier

http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=550

A rhizomatic plant has no center and no defined boundary; rather, it is made up of a number of semi-independent nodes, each of which is capable of growing and spreading on its own, bounded only by the limits of its habitat (Cormier 2008). ….

In the rhizomatic view, knowledge can only be negotiated, and the

contextual,contextual, collaborativecollaborative learning experience shared by constructivist and connectivist pedagogies is a social as well as a personal knowledge-creation process with mutable goals and constantly negotiated premises.

The rhizome metaphor, which represents a critical leap in coping with the loss of a canon against which to compare, judge, and value knowledge, may be particularly apt as a model for disciplines on the

bleeding edge where the canon is fluid

and knowledge is a moving target.

Thank you, Dave!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphrodite/66231929/

The buzz part 2 “Web 2.0”

“…it was designed to allow people to work together by combining their knowledge in a web of hypertext documents.” (From Tim Berners-Lee’s Bio)

The simplest thing that could possibly work…

Ward Cunningham, inventor of the wiki

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/483849193/in/set-72057594139269787/

Stephen Downes, August 13th One Laptop Per Child, Reviewed by 12-Year-Old Pretty good review. The author, a 12-year old with previous computer experience, puts the computers through its paces before writing. While satisfied with the programs and the usability, he complains that the computer is too slow and the battery doesn't last long enough. Don't skip the comments, as the (adult) readers alternate between being impressed by the review and not believing that a 12-year old wrote it. It's worth remarking (again) that children today spend their days reading and writing on the internet. So a literate review from a 12-year old should not be a surprise. SG, Freedom to Tinker August 13, 2007 [Link] [Tags: Usability, Experi ence] [Comment]

http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=41279


http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1187

http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?topic=170





Tech + Social:Tech + Social:Technology has

fundamentally changed how we can be together

TOGETHERNESS SEPARATENESS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angerboy/201582453/

Community timeCommunity space

Shifting engagement….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldcafe/227358678/

INTERACTING PUBLISHING

Vocabularies, tools, concepts, methods, stories, papers, pictures, reports…

Conversing, experimenting, practicing, learning, planning…

INDIVIDUAL GROUP

Designed for groups, experienced as individuals

Does not imply homogeneity

Multimembership

Attention

http://www.flickr.com/photos/philwalter/348238734/

Strategies Strategies and Tipsand Tips

How do we enable people to…

• discover & appropriate useful technology

• be in and use communities & networks (people)

• express their identity

• find and create content

• usefully participate ? ? ?

Build in HOOKS!

(think velcro!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjaniceryuvallos/1600857189/

Technology HooksTechnology Hooks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani3l3/364684710/

“Technology stewards are people with enough experience of the workings of a community to understand its technology needs, and enough experience with technology to take leadership in addressing those needs…

Stewardship typically includes selecting and configuring technology, as well as supporting its use in the practice of the community.”

Wenger, White and Smith, 2007

Togetherness Separateness

Interacting Publishing

Individual Group

addressing inherentcommunity tensions Tools

Groupasynchronous

IndividualInteracting

Publishing

synchronousGroup

asynchronous

discussion boards

teleconference

chat

instant messaging

member directory

wikiblog

telephony/VoIP

individualprofile page

e-mail

e-mail lists

scratch pad

RSS

“new” indicators

subscription

podcast

contentrepository

presenceindicator

buddy list

security

Q&A systems

RSS aggregator

newsletter

calendar

videoconference

application sharing

whiteboard

site index

participation statistics

search

subgroups

personalization

communitypublic page

versioncontrol

documentmanagement

UseNet

contentrating

scheduling

polling

commenting

networking tools

tagging

bookmarking

sharedfiltering

geomapping

www.TechnologyForCommunities.com

Etienne WengerNancy WhiteJohn Smith

Community activities

oriented to …

… meetings

… context… community cultivation

… access to expertise

… projects… open-ended conversation

… content publishing

… individual participation

… relationships

© 2006 Wenger, White, and Smith

… meetings






… relationships



oriented to …

Course

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog Learner’s

Blog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

Learner’sBlog

CentralBlog

ExternalReader

ExternalReader

RSS FEED

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

Reader

ExternalReader

Roster

Syllabus

Schedule

Course

… meetings






… relationships



oriented to …

Support Community

Forums

Directories

BlogBlog

BlogBlogBlog

BlogBlog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

BlogBlog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Social networking tools

SupportCommunity

… meetings






… relationships



oriented to …

Edubloggers’ network

Edubloggers

Community my arise between the blogs around shared interest

Edublogger #2

Edublogger #3

Edublogger #1

People Hooks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/micheleryan/418311581/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qwirksilver/133694322/

Create paths and patterns of connection DURING a Course

• Guests

• Field trips

• Identification of related groups and networks

TWITTER

Identity hooks???

Side Note: Me Online Today

•Profiles•Portfolios with meaning outside of a course •Reputation

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankfarm/281433729/

Content Hooks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/253218488/

SEARCH

Content creation…

Tagging

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/2312541719/

Participation hooks

(I was tempted to say practice…)

Role model and apply tools & processes

Adoption takes time:

Wiki Wednesday & FAQ Project

try, reflect, iterate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/418922552/in/set-72157600218310366/

PLAY!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjaniceryuvallos/1600857189/

The velcro of bridging to informal learning…

•TechnologyTechnology•People People •ContentContent•IdentityIdentity •PracticePractice

Challenges• Time• Swiftly changing technology• Language and Culture• Learning preferences• Swiftly changing culture and

context

Understanding our roles• policy makers

• researchers

• elearning quality related organizations

• decision makers

• eLearning practitioners

•LEARNERS!

Evolving a “Quality Literacy”

• What does the quality co-construction of learning mean?

• …solo learning?

• What are the tensions between quantity and quality?

• What constitutes quality communities and networks?

• Is it worth it?

Tackling the barriers?

• Tickling the edge of organizational change

• Can we take a whole systems approach?

• Leadership walking the talk

Epilogue

Resourceshttp://onlinefacilitation.wikispaces.com/Quality+in+Informal+and+Community+Learning

Or http://tinyurl.com/4sff2k

ContactNancy Whitenancyw at fullcirc dot com

http://www.fullcirc.comhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/poagao/527259905/