The V-PORTAL…“Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning”
...A month ago, I mentioned that I would have (what I think is...) a major announcement soon. Well, I finally found the time to post this. Are you primed for it? I hope so! Here it is...
During the past year, in collaboration with the Instructional Consulting office and the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department in the School of Education at Indiana University, I have designed and produced a series of 27 brief (7-10 minute) videos related to teaching online. This video (or video podcast) series, “Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning” (V-PORTAL), covers topics for both novice and more expert online instructors and educators. Those watching them can learn how to engage learners with Web 2.0 technologies, build instructor presence, prepare highly interactive and relevant online activities, access free and open course resources, plan for the future of e-learning, and much more. See below for links as well as show descriptions.
Links to the “V-PORTAL”:
1. Watch the Videos & Find Resources (Firefox preferred): IU School of Ed Instructional Consulting Office): http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/media/de_series.html
In addition to links to these 27 videos, the above link includes additional Web resources, color PDFs of Dr. Bonk PowerPoint slides, and a feedback form for each of the 27 shows. This is the main V-PORTAL site.
2. For faster access, watch in Bonk’s YouTube Channel (use any browser): http://www.youtube.com/user/TravelinEdMan
This second Website above was created for those wanting to quickly access the videos in YouTube and perhaps jump around between them. Try it out! Hundreds of people already have.
List of 27 videos:
1. Planning an Online Course
2. Managing an Online Course: General
3. Managing an Online Course: Discussion Forums
4. Providing Feedback
5. Reducing Plagiarism
6. Building Community
7. Building Instructor and Social Presence
8. Online Relationships: Student-Student, Student-Instructor, Student-Practitioner, Student-Self
9. Fostering Online Collaboration/Teaming
10. Finding Quality Supplemental Materials
11. Blended Learning: General
12. Blended Learning: Implementation
13. Blended Learning: The Future
14. Online Writing and Reflection Activities
15. Online Visual Learning
16. Using Existing Online Video Resources
17. Webinars and Webcasts
18. Podcasting Uses and Applications
19. Wiki Uses and Applications
20. Blog Uses and Applications
21. Collaborative Tool Uses and Applications
22. Hands-On/Experiential Learning
23. Coordinating Online Project, Problem, and Product-Based Learning
24. Global Connections and Collaborations
25. Assessing Student Online Learning
26. Ending, Archiving, Updating, and Reusing an Online Course
27. Trends on the Horizon
Production Note: These 27 video primers were designed and produced during the fall of 2009 and on into much of 2010. They were finalized and announced in October 2010.
3. Alternative Access Site:
My friends at Kind Khalid University (KKU) in Abha, Saudi Arabia are translating to Arabic. They already have a site in English. See link below.
King Khalid University (KKU), Abha, Saudi Arabia; E-Learning at KKU: http://elc.kku.edu.sa/en; see videos: http://elc.kku.edu.sa/en/27-videos-for-teaching-online
I hope that there will be more such alternative access sites (e.g., in Chinese, Malay, Korean, Spanish, German, Canadian, etc.) in the coming years. Sending a big smile to those I know in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
Who might use? How might you use these videos?
There are many intended audiences for these videos as well as many possible uses. Whether you are interested in emerging technologies or innovative pedagogies, I hope that you find something of value in this video primer series. What's more, you can watch them on the Web for free from anywhere in the world. You can view them while sitting at home in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers while sipping some hot chocolate, eating lunch at your office desk, or relaxing at a mountain or lakeside retreat. Each lesson is delivered to you in 10 minutes or less.
Those seeking additional information or some personalization regarding the content of these videos can always send me a request--as the host and developer of all 27 shows--to give you and your staff a personal overview of any of these topics. Such a session might be live or online. In addition, I am always happy to send any articles I have written (see my open access publications) or recommend others you might read. You might find many free articles and other resources in my 43 page R685 course syllabus “World is Open with Web Technology” (i.e., a course on the Web 2.0) this fall; everything is a hot link. One might also explore the "Free Stuff" at my World is Open book Website.
Back to the videos…For those simply glancing at a few of these videos and then discussing some of the content within your respective institution or organization, I believe that your instructors, instructional designers, and administrators will be better prepared for the highly interesting and complex world of online teaching and learning. Enjoy these free video primers in the V-PORTAL. I know of no other set of such videos at this moment in time….though I could be wrong.
You might give certificates out to teachers or trainers who watch and reflect on how they might use ideas found in each one of them. Some other potential uses of these video primers are listed below.
Ten Ways to Use:
1. Instructor Training: present videos to online instructors for reflection.
2. Workshops: the 27 video primers might be embedded in brief or extended workshop.
3. Certification: design activities related to the videos as part of a larger training program.
4. Student Courses: videos could be used as supplements to course readings related to new or emerging technologies, online teaching and learning, and blended learning.
5. Personal Exploration: dig into an area of interest.
6. Discussion: present a video for 10 minutes followed by 5-10 minutes or more of discussion or reflection activities.
7. Debates: these resources might jump-start debates on new courses, programs, or initiatives.
8. Strategic Planning: these videos might be used to highlight new directions or potential areas related to online learning that a department, program, school, university, corporation, or organization might head.
9. Retreats: the contents of the V-PORTAL might find its way into faculty or administrator retreats.
10. Accomplishments/Strengths and Challenges/Weaknesses: organizations and institutions might compare the ideas in these videos to accomplishments or areas of strength as well as pending challenges or weaknesses that are in need of further development.
These possible uses are listed at my talk description site: http://www.trainingshare.com/keynotes.php#tasel.
Those wanting more ideas on how to use shared online video for instruction might read this paper that I wrote two years ago. This article details the theory from educational psychology behind the use of video anchors in instruction while also laying out 20 ways that they might be used from instructor-centered and learner-centered pedagogical approaches.
Bonk, C. J. (2008, March). YouTube anchors and enders: The use of shared online video content as a macrocontext for learning. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2008 Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Or this one from last year:
Bonk, C. J. (2009, October 5). Using Shared Online Video to Anchor Instruction: YouTube and Beyond, Faculty Focus, Magna Publications, Madison, WI.
If you are really enamored with shared online video like the V-PORTAL, I also have created a portal of more than 50 shared online video portals and resources. As you can see, I am quite excited by the use of online video in instruction.
Final side notes:
I hope that people find these video primers valuable. Each one begins with a commentary from me and then I fade into the right hand corner of the screen in a picture-in-picture presentation mode. I had a high definition camera in the room which utilized a Tandberg lecture capturing video system. Using file compression, the Tandberg system produced three different quality files--low, medium, and high resolution.
Each video pod was shot without direct editing, other than my assistant, Jake Enfield (a doctoral student in my program), adding the starting and ending screens and chopping off the extraneous beginnings and endings. For some videos, support people in the instructional consulting office at IU had to make adjustments to better sync my audio/voice with the videos. They also reviewed numerous takes of many of the video pods to help me select the right one. In effect, there were many people hours spent here for which I am highly appreciative. Still considering all the content, it was a fairly low budget, but highly effective. A great team! As noted below, there was some frustration at times, but we survived.
There is much content in the 27 shows. It took a long time to create them (1 year). It was like writing a book. So, yes, I am very glad to be done. Many days of filming…some with rolling brownouts and room temperatures of over 100 and others when I had the flu and a personal temperature of well over 100. Still other days I was losing my voice. But all-in-all, I think you will like the final product. As you will notice, I wear 27 different shirts and ties in these 27 different shoes; most of them are Jerry Garcia ties.
Ok, now, it's time to be primed...explore them, enjoy them, and perhaps expand on them.
Recap and Reminder: The V-PORTAL: Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning (Reminder of the 2 main sites): 1. more comprehensive site from IU Instructional Consulting Office with additional Web resources; or 2. the faster playing YouTube site that I created.
Important Acknowledgment: I want to acknowledge and publicly express thanks to the School of Education at Indiana University in Bloomington which funded this highly valuable and momentous production effort. In particular, the IU School of Education Instructional Consulting office and the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department played key roles in their planning, generation, and dissemination.
Permissions Note: You have permission to make a Web link to these videos, share information about these contents with others, or translate the contents to another language, as long as the contents (i.e., the movies) included here are used for non-profit educational purposes. As a courtesy to the Indiana University School of Education and myself (Dr. Curt Bonk, the host of the 27 video primers), please send me an e-mail at (cjbonk at indiana dot edu) or to the Instructional Consulting office in the IU School of Education at "ic@indiana.edu" to let us know how you are using these learning resources (i.e., the intended purpose). You might also state who is using them. Thank you.
Friday 26 November 2010
Thursday 18 November 2010
November Rain?...This year, it is more of a flood of ed tech-related articles...some say 19; I say 20...you count.
Twenty Educational Technology-related Articles…from November 2010.
Introductory Statement for November Rain Blog Post: It's raining ed tech articles. Yes, once again, it is hard to keep up with all the news related to emerging technologies. Frustration kicks in. But will you kick back? I hope so. Now, for those 20 articles...
1. Want to know the state of online learning in K-12 education in the USA? Here is a brief summary of the highlights from this report.
Growth of online instruction continues, though unevenly, Staff Report, eSchool News, November 16, 2010.
2. Want more info? Here is the full K-12 online learning report filled with useful data and interesting charts. Long report at 150 pages but many useful visuals.
Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice, Written by John Watson, Amy Murin, Lauren Vashaw, Butch Gemin, and Chris Rapp and colleagues at Evergreen Education Group, November 2010.
3. Want to know the state of online learning in higher education in the USA? Here is a brief summary of the findings.
Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever, Travis Kaya, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 16, 2010.
4. What more info from that report? Ok, here is the full report. It is not too long—30 pages. Good stuff in here. Many useful charts. I have been sharing them with my students and colleagues the past couple of days.
Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010, I. Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman, The Sloan Consortium, November 2010.
5. Are you interested in how the for-profit companies like Kaplan, ITT, and the University of Phoenix are responding to politicians and educators about things like student funding, quality, job placements and graduation rates, etc.? Well, not all that is in the next article. Sorry about that...but it is a start.
Kaplan's CEO Faces Tough Questions From Public-University Leaders, Paul Fain, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 16, 2010.
6. Here’s a recent article about an online learning research study at the University of Florida from the New York Times that I disagree with (and that had been reported earlier in eSchool News and the Chronicle of Higher Education) and wrote to the authors about. I think there was a one point difference between students who came to live lectures and those who only watched the videos. There were differences in the Hispanic population, however. But keep in mind that many of whom lacked quality access. It is difficult for me to get too excited about such individual studies like this when there are huge meta-analyses (albeit with problems) that show the opposite.
Live vs. Distance Learning: Measuring the Differences, Trip Gabriel, New York Times, November 5, 2010.
7. Interested in creativity coming from Korea like the new Galaxy Tab from Samsung? Or just interested in Korea like me? Read on.
Samsung cranks up creativity as it focuses on mobile Net, Roger Yu, USA Today, November 16, 2010.
8. Interested in the life of someone who writes papers for students so that they do not have to? Totally fascinating article. I loved reading this one and so too did my son Alex…a real eye opener! Much honesty in it--how professional writers help students cheat. The most popular article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week. The author made $66,000 of income so far this year writing student term papers and master’s theses. True. And he is coming out of the closet with this article…well not quite…his true identity is not revealed.
The Shadow Scholar: The man who writes your students' papers tells his story, Ed Dante, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 12, 2010.
9. And interesting and spot on article is “Voodoo Education.” I think this article is nearly as important as the previous one--Trent Batson (whose work I have been reading for more than 2 decades—a technology and writing guru) discusses how teaching in higher education must begin to change and how the Web 2.0 can help. I appreciate that he refers to writing research from the 1980s (which is the stuff I was writing and reading about for my dissertation).
Voodoo Education: Why Are We Still in Its Spell, by Trent Batson, Campus Technology, November 17, 2010.
10. Not interested in Voodoo Education? Perhaps you are interested in Twitter use by age, gender, education, etc.? If so, this one’s for you.
Who are All of These Tweeple? By Brian Solis, November 10, 2010.
11. Or perhaps you are interested in how baby boomers are using social networking and other emerging technologies. CBS News and the USA Today have had a special this week on some of that.
Boomers Joining Social Media at Record Rate, Joshua Norman, CBS News, November 15, 2010.
12. Interested in the different ways the USA Today presents data on Baby Boomers—interactives, videos, pictures, articles, etc. See link below. Online news is no longer just text! Check this out.
Many articles and embedded videos in this special issue: Senior boom amid economic bust, Rick Hampson, USA TODAY, November 15, 2010.
13. How about the explosion of digital textbooks….is it a passing fad? Read this one.
As Textbooks Go DigitalCampus Bookstores May Go Bookless, Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 14, 2010.
14. Interested in color e-book readers that function a tad more like an iPhone than the Kindle? How about the new Nook from Barnes and Noble? Try this article from the USA Today earlier today…(which is yesterday by the time I actually post this).
New Nook Color is a page-turner with novel features, Edward C. Baig, USA Today, November 18, 2010.
15. Was FarmVille a pasing fad? Apparently, not. See this one also from the USA Today today. CityVille and FrontierVille are among us it seems…
Zynga sees new 'CityVille' building on 'FarmVille' success, Jon Swartz, USA Today, November 18, 2010.
16. Apparently, Facebook is adding features that add to functionality. The Empire called Facebook is now doing battle with the big boys…Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, etc.
Facebook Messages puts texts, chats, e-mails in one in-box, Edward C. Baig and Jon Swartz, USA Today, November 16, 2010.
Those wanting to hear from Zuckerberg himself might listen to this "Web 2.0 Summit 2010: Mark Zuckerberg, "A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg"" that was posted to YouTube. Posted on November 17th (2 days ago), this video already has 133,000 viewers. It is 106 minutes long but it apparently has a redundant 10 minute part. A different version of this session is 56 minutes long and was just posted. The recent Web 2.0 Summit looks cool but I cannot afford ($4,000+ registration is a tad beyond my budget for conferences, but perhaps I should do it one time and see what it is like).
Participants in this video include:
1. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook),
2. Tim O'Reilly; his bio (O'Reilly Media, Inc.),
3. John Battelle (Federated Media Publishing),
"A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg"
17. So the secrets of Rosetta Stone are revealed. I had predicted its demise without Web premise (due to competition from resources like ChinesePod, LiveMocha, and Babbel). Just having airport kiosk and CD presence is no longer enough. But a bright CEO is leading to many useful changes and much growth at Rosetta Stone.
Rosetta Stone CEO wants to teach the world to talk, Charisse Jones, USA Today, November 8, 2010.
18. Then there are new applications for the iPad and iPhone for those who love music. First it was the flute and trombone, and now it is the fiddle.
Smule adds Magic Fiddle to its Ocarina and Magic Piano apps, Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, November 10, 2010.
19. Ok, who is interested in Gesture-based learning? And what gesture are you making at me?
Gesture-Based Learning, Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - November 17, 2010.
#647 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology. 55,195 Readers, The MASIE Center. Host: Video for Learning LAB & Seminar – January
20. For those who think that November is nuts with educational technology news, remember September and October were just as crazy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, in fact, ended October with a special report on the state of online learning. Many articles were in it including one filled with numbers.
Online Learning, Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct 31, 2010. (Online Learning: By the Numbers).
Recap: Well, that is 20 articles for you to peruse from November (ok, 19, with the 20th one from October 31st). Still, as you can see, it is a month with much happening. Much promise. Much excitement. And despite a criticism or controversy here or there, there can be no mistake that there is no turning back. No, none at all. Happy browsing and reading.
November Rain Blog Post Postscript....
Anita Vyas, a doc student from the Instructional Technology program at the University of Houston (one of my favorite stops), commented that I really only had 19 articles from November and one from the end of October. She is right. She recommended I add the following one to my list. This article discusses a new platform to make e-books more social--sharing snippets, ratings, comments, etc., with friends, perhaps in Facebook or Twitter.
21. Social Books Hopes to Make E-Reading Communa, Jenna Wortham, New York Times, November 11, 2010.
There is a company called "Rethink Books" that appears to be laying the groundwork for this area. Their "About" says: "We love books. And people. So we decided to bring the two together in new and engaging ways. We are passionate about the opportunity for new media technologies to provide a more dynamic reading experience. Books are as much about community as they are about content. So we develop software for consumers and tools for authors and publishers to build that community. By increasing the interaction between readers, authors, publishers, agents, and friends, more books get read and shared and we all win." This reminds me of LibraryThing for some reason.
Again, thanks to Anita for that "November Rain" Blog Post addition. Now let me add another short learning technology-related article, thereby getting me to 22 (or 21, depending on how you count, or if you are counting at all):
22. Interesting news…See below from the Wired Chronicle of HE today. Looks like USC is on the uptick--it plans to create an Open Lab on Future of Digital Media. How cool is that? Way cool I think! Henry Jenkins moved from MIT to USC last year and is bringing in some funding/monies (most likely for things like emerging media studies, social networking/digital media research, teen identity issues, interdisciplinary studies, participatory learning (Web 2.0), privacy issues, applications of existing media over technology development, etc.). Research that people like Mimi Ito and dana boyd do.
Southern Cal to Open Lab on Future of Digital Media, Wired Chronicle of Higher Education, Josh Keller, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 18, 2010.
Those wondering how I keep up with the educational technology, learning technology, new media, and online learning news, should read my blog post from last month. "Going Techno-Bonkers: 18+ (6-6-6) Ways Slightly Crazy People Keep Up With Online Learning and Technology Trends."
Any more rain coming? I hope not.
Introductory Statement for November Rain Blog Post: It's raining ed tech articles. Yes, once again, it is hard to keep up with all the news related to emerging technologies. Frustration kicks in. But will you kick back? I hope so. Now, for those 20 articles...
1. Want to know the state of online learning in K-12 education in the USA? Here is a brief summary of the highlights from this report.
Growth of online instruction continues, though unevenly, Staff Report, eSchool News, November 16, 2010.
2. Want more info? Here is the full K-12 online learning report filled with useful data and interesting charts. Long report at 150 pages but many useful visuals.
Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice, Written by John Watson, Amy Murin, Lauren Vashaw, Butch Gemin, and Chris Rapp and colleagues at Evergreen Education Group, November 2010.
3. Want to know the state of online learning in higher education in the USA? Here is a brief summary of the findings.
Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever, Travis Kaya, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 16, 2010.
4. What more info from that report? Ok, here is the full report. It is not too long—30 pages. Good stuff in here. Many useful charts. I have been sharing them with my students and colleagues the past couple of days.
Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010, I. Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman, The Sloan Consortium, November 2010.
5. Are you interested in how the for-profit companies like Kaplan, ITT, and the University of Phoenix are responding to politicians and educators about things like student funding, quality, job placements and graduation rates, etc.? Well, not all that is in the next article. Sorry about that...but it is a start.
Kaplan's CEO Faces Tough Questions From Public-University Leaders, Paul Fain, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 16, 2010.
6. Here’s a recent article about an online learning research study at the University of Florida from the New York Times that I disagree with (and that had been reported earlier in eSchool News and the Chronicle of Higher Education) and wrote to the authors about. I think there was a one point difference between students who came to live lectures and those who only watched the videos. There were differences in the Hispanic population, however. But keep in mind that many of whom lacked quality access. It is difficult for me to get too excited about such individual studies like this when there are huge meta-analyses (albeit with problems) that show the opposite.
Live vs. Distance Learning: Measuring the Differences, Trip Gabriel, New York Times, November 5, 2010.
7. Interested in creativity coming from Korea like the new Galaxy Tab from Samsung? Or just interested in Korea like me? Read on.
Samsung cranks up creativity as it focuses on mobile Net, Roger Yu, USA Today, November 16, 2010.
8. Interested in the life of someone who writes papers for students so that they do not have to? Totally fascinating article. I loved reading this one and so too did my son Alex…a real eye opener! Much honesty in it--how professional writers help students cheat. The most popular article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week. The author made $66,000 of income so far this year writing student term papers and master’s theses. True. And he is coming out of the closet with this article…well not quite…his true identity is not revealed.
The Shadow Scholar: The man who writes your students' papers tells his story, Ed Dante, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 12, 2010.
9. And interesting and spot on article is “Voodoo Education.” I think this article is nearly as important as the previous one--Trent Batson (whose work I have been reading for more than 2 decades—a technology and writing guru) discusses how teaching in higher education must begin to change and how the Web 2.0 can help. I appreciate that he refers to writing research from the 1980s (which is the stuff I was writing and reading about for my dissertation).
Voodoo Education: Why Are We Still in Its Spell, by Trent Batson, Campus Technology, November 17, 2010.
10. Not interested in Voodoo Education? Perhaps you are interested in Twitter use by age, gender, education, etc.? If so, this one’s for you.
Who are All of These Tweeple? By Brian Solis, November 10, 2010.
11. Or perhaps you are interested in how baby boomers are using social networking and other emerging technologies. CBS News and the USA Today have had a special this week on some of that.
Boomers Joining Social Media at Record Rate, Joshua Norman, CBS News, November 15, 2010.
12. Interested in the different ways the USA Today presents data on Baby Boomers—interactives, videos, pictures, articles, etc. See link below. Online news is no longer just text! Check this out.
Many articles and embedded videos in this special issue: Senior boom amid economic bust, Rick Hampson, USA TODAY, November 15, 2010.
13. How about the explosion of digital textbooks….is it a passing fad? Read this one.
As Textbooks Go DigitalCampus Bookstores May Go Bookless, Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 14, 2010.
14. Interested in color e-book readers that function a tad more like an iPhone than the Kindle? How about the new Nook from Barnes and Noble? Try this article from the USA Today earlier today…(which is yesterday by the time I actually post this).
New Nook Color is a page-turner with novel features, Edward C. Baig, USA Today, November 18, 2010.
15. Was FarmVille a pasing fad? Apparently, not. See this one also from the USA Today today. CityVille and FrontierVille are among us it seems…
Zynga sees new 'CityVille' building on 'FarmVille' success, Jon Swartz, USA Today, November 18, 2010.
16. Apparently, Facebook is adding features that add to functionality. The Empire called Facebook is now doing battle with the big boys…Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, etc.
Facebook Messages puts texts, chats, e-mails in one in-box, Edward C. Baig and Jon Swartz, USA Today, November 16, 2010.
Those wanting to hear from Zuckerberg himself might listen to this "Web 2.0 Summit 2010: Mark Zuckerberg, "A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg"" that was posted to YouTube. Posted on November 17th (2 days ago), this video already has 133,000 viewers. It is 106 minutes long but it apparently has a redundant 10 minute part. A different version of this session is 56 minutes long and was just posted. The recent Web 2.0 Summit looks cool but I cannot afford ($4,000+ registration is a tad beyond my budget for conferences, but perhaps I should do it one time and see what it is like).
Participants in this video include:
1. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook),
2. Tim O'Reilly; his bio (O'Reilly Media, Inc.),
3. John Battelle (Federated Media Publishing),
"A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg"
17. So the secrets of Rosetta Stone are revealed. I had predicted its demise without Web premise (due to competition from resources like ChinesePod, LiveMocha, and Babbel). Just having airport kiosk and CD presence is no longer enough. But a bright CEO is leading to many useful changes and much growth at Rosetta Stone.
Rosetta Stone CEO wants to teach the world to talk, Charisse Jones, USA Today, November 8, 2010.
18. Then there are new applications for the iPad and iPhone for those who love music. First it was the flute and trombone, and now it is the fiddle.
Smule adds Magic Fiddle to its Ocarina and Magic Piano apps, Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, November 10, 2010.
19. Ok, who is interested in Gesture-based learning? And what gesture are you making at me?
Gesture-Based Learning, Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - November 17, 2010.
#647 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology. 55,195 Readers, The MASIE Center. Host: Video for Learning LAB & Seminar – January
20. For those who think that November is nuts with educational technology news, remember September and October were just as crazy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, in fact, ended October with a special report on the state of online learning. Many articles were in it including one filled with numbers.
Online Learning, Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct 31, 2010. (Online Learning: By the Numbers).
Recap: Well, that is 20 articles for you to peruse from November (ok, 19, with the 20th one from October 31st). Still, as you can see, it is a month with much happening. Much promise. Much excitement. And despite a criticism or controversy here or there, there can be no mistake that there is no turning back. No, none at all. Happy browsing and reading.
November Rain Blog Post Postscript....
Anita Vyas, a doc student from the Instructional Technology program at the University of Houston (one of my favorite stops), commented that I really only had 19 articles from November and one from the end of October. She is right. She recommended I add the following one to my list. This article discusses a new platform to make e-books more social--sharing snippets, ratings, comments, etc., with friends, perhaps in Facebook or Twitter.
21. Social Books Hopes to Make E-Reading Communa, Jenna Wortham, New York Times, November 11, 2010.
There is a company called "Rethink Books" that appears to be laying the groundwork for this area. Their "About" says: "We love books. And people. So we decided to bring the two together in new and engaging ways. We are passionate about the opportunity for new media technologies to provide a more dynamic reading experience. Books are as much about community as they are about content. So we develop software for consumers and tools for authors and publishers to build that community. By increasing the interaction between readers, authors, publishers, agents, and friends, more books get read and shared and we all win." This reminds me of LibraryThing for some reason.
Again, thanks to Anita for that "November Rain" Blog Post addition. Now let me add another short learning technology-related article, thereby getting me to 22 (or 21, depending on how you count, or if you are counting at all):
22. Interesting news…See below from the Wired Chronicle of HE today. Looks like USC is on the uptick--it plans to create an Open Lab on Future of Digital Media. How cool is that? Way cool I think! Henry Jenkins moved from MIT to USC last year and is bringing in some funding/monies (most likely for things like emerging media studies, social networking/digital media research, teen identity issues, interdisciplinary studies, participatory learning (Web 2.0), privacy issues, applications of existing media over technology development, etc.). Research that people like Mimi Ito and dana boyd do.
Southern Cal to Open Lab on Future of Digital Media, Wired Chronicle of Higher Education, Josh Keller, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 18, 2010.
Those wondering how I keep up with the educational technology, learning technology, new media, and online learning news, should read my blog post from last month. "Going Techno-Bonkers: 18+ (6-6-6) Ways Slightly Crazy People Keep Up With Online Learning and Technology Trends."
Any more rain coming? I hope not.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
The Question of Convergence vs. Personalization and Other Recent Talks, Events, and Activities
Context: I get many emails each day asking my opinion on technology and learning trends. Such requests have come more often since my World is Open book came out last year.
This morning, Dr. Julie Giuliani, Dean of External Affairs, Technology Strategy and Innovation Open Campus, Florida State College at Jacksonville, asked me the following questions this morning:
Question: "I’ve been gathering trend prediction information from the Gartner Group. One of the predictable trends that you mentioned in your book was the idea of convergence of technology. According to the latest research, personalized technology is a more predominant theme. Any comments????"
(Note: I normally do not post my responses, but since I have not blogged in a month, it is time. I do plan for a much more major blog announcement in the next day or 2 so stay tuned.)
My response: Convergence makes sense since it allows us to more seamlessly enter and move back and forth between the world of education--professional life...and the world of entertainment/family/culture--personal life. And those 2 worlds, in effect, become one world called living.
Also less to tote around with convergence. Greater accessibility to learning content that one can manipulate.
The emphasis on personalized learning makes this both more important and more apparent. Are we there yet? No....not even close to personalized learning environments. Are we going to get there in 2 years? No. 5 years? Closer. 10 years? Closer still. I think we are at least 10 years from the idealized worlds of PLEs that we hear about with access to life portfolios and ones likes and dislikes and learning preferences and so on. perhaps 15 or 20. Why do I say this? PLEs was a theme in the UK 4 years ago when I was there. Have we made much progress since then? I think not.
So convergence (technology side) will happen quicker than personalization (pedagogy/learning side). Are you surprised by that? I am not. The money side is on technology today. Eventually, companies will see 7 or 8 billion people who need a personalized learning platform and then they will design one. I think governments and non profits might have a huge say in this as well. And then some teenage kid will design something that we all have been asking for.
Ok, enough predictions for now. Just thought I would share it. On to other things.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New Conference Keynotes: Saw Thomas Friedman speak at Indiana University (IU) Auditorium on Thursday night November 4th. He was great. Both my son, Alex Bonk, and I enjoyed it a lot. Friedman got me thinking about new keynotes I might create as did Paul Kim from Stanford last month in Orlando at the E-learn conference. I got back from Kentucky Convergence 2010 keynote just in time for Friedman's talk. I was hoping to chat with him after but he was fully booked it seems.
Below are my three of most recent keynotes. The first one I gave back in September for students in the educational technology at Hanyang Cyber University in Seoul, Korea (high res, medium res, low res; and the color PDF of my slides. The second one I have last week in Kentucky Conference 2010 conference (click here for a color PDF of my keynote and my 2-part masterclass workshop on blended learning and shared online video immediately after). The third one I will give tonight to people at the Northern Territories E-Learning Event in Darwin, Australia (Click here for a color PDF of my slides for tonight). I will be coming in 3 hours from now via Elluminate from my home office. Cool.
1. "E-Learning Past, Present, and Future: The Players, the Projects, and the Untold Possibilities"
Abstract: E-learning has exploded in every aspect our lives during the past decade. This explosion, however, comes on the heels of decades of experimentations with learning technologies to deliver education to the masses. Radio, television, correspondence, audiotapes, computer-assisted instruction, and many other delivery formats have had their day. Many of those promoting such technologies had visions of teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. And many of their visions are now coming true. This talk will reveal some of the past of e-learning while positioning us in the present with dozens of interesting and exciting examples of what is possible today. Naturally, it will end with a discussion of the future and what technologies to be on the lookout for. Across the past, present, and future of e-learning, Dr. Bonk will capture your imaginations with stories of people who were the builders of this new age of learning. We may be members of the "Learning Century" now, but it took the monumental efforts of hundreds of key players in thousands of interesting projects to open the learning world that when convergence strikes will bring us millions of exciting learning possibilities across the globe. This talk will highlight dozens of the key players, including some household names and others you will now appreciate. What’s more, anyone in the audience has the chance to join their ranks and change the world.
2. “I am Not Content: The Future of Education Must Come Today”
Abstract. Look left, look right, look back, and then look dead-on straight ahead…what do you see? Of course, the air is filled with e-learning opportunities as well as talk of educational transformation. So much news. So much progress. Each second of the day, dozens of learners discover shiny learning nuggets previous unknown. Each week, thousands of schools, universities, corporations, and government offices announce strategic plans for e-learning. Every month, hundreds of new online courses, programs, and certificates are offered. Year after year, research reports and meta-analyses indicate that there are undeniable positive benefits of online teaching and learning. The world of technology-enhanced learning, is looking up, up, up. But wait a minute. It is no time to be content. It is not time to relax and just let the “inevitable” future unfold in front of our eyes. No! We must all jump in and help build the changes we want to see. Besides, there are hundreds of millions of people who cannot wait. They need access to a more free and open education today--one with high quality content, interactive and engaging tasks, and motivating technology use. This is a land of where nature (i.e., technology) meets nurture (i.e., pedagogy). It is time you joined in to build the future. Those attending this talk should be cautioned to check their hearts and credits cards at the door since this will be an emotionally-packed talk intended to make you act.
3. "Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Training: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme Learning"
Abstract. Some insist. Some resist. Others persist. Such is state of online learning today. But what is highly resistible for some is often passionately irresistible for others. Many are content to tinker with blended forms of learning. They dip their toes into the technology change movement by embedding shared online videos, simulations, timelines, collaborative groups, and open access articles in their courses. Others enter deeper waters and push toward the edges of what is possible. Their classes are teeter-tottering on the brink of transformation. Such instructors hand over the keys to their learners and let them drive for a bit. These risk taking instructors might enjoy reading a learner-designed wikibook, listening to a student generated podcast show, or watching the results of an international video competition. And then there are those who find themselves at the extreme edges of this learning planet. They might tap into virtual explorers, artists, archeologists, and adventurers to excite their learners. It is in such courses that scientific discoveries appear live. Mobile, virtual, and telepresence technologies become the new norm. It is time to stretch toward the edges of learning from those of us tinkering on the shores to those whose learning approaches are tottering in new directions and even landing in totally extreme or alien lands. This talk will showcase examples from all three worlds—the world of the tinkerer, the totterer, and the totally extreme. Which world will you find yourself?
All my talk descriptions are posted online.
Recent Radio Interview: In addition to the new keynotes, I was recently on the radio. On November 1st, I was interviewed for the show, New Horizons with Bob Kustra, President, Boise State University. I had a blast. So much fun to be on Bob's show. He had recently mentioned my World is Open book in his state of the University address. So this was sorta like a follow-up. And, accordingly, the topic was “The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education,” Boise State Public Radio (KBSX 91.5).
The show aired on November 5 and 7, 2010. I think it sounded pretty darn good. Bob is a great interviewer and the show is thoughtfully arranged by his producer, Janelle Brown. That is a wondrous combination. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun as I tend to do on radio. Perhaps have a listen. It is a 30 minute show. I think it is 13-14 megs so it will not take too long to download.
Available: http://boisestatepublicradio.org/newhorizons/NH10.11.05.mp3
Hope you enjoy the radio show. And I hope the talk goes well tonight to Australia. More soon.
This morning, Dr. Julie Giuliani, Dean of External Affairs, Technology Strategy and Innovation Open Campus, Florida State College at Jacksonville, asked me the following questions this morning:
Question: "I’ve been gathering trend prediction information from the Gartner Group. One of the predictable trends that you mentioned in your book was the idea of convergence of technology. According to the latest research, personalized technology is a more predominant theme. Any comments????"
(Note: I normally do not post my responses, but since I have not blogged in a month, it is time. I do plan for a much more major blog announcement in the next day or 2 so stay tuned.)
My response: Convergence makes sense since it allows us to more seamlessly enter and move back and forth between the world of education--professional life...and the world of entertainment/family/culture--personal life. And those 2 worlds, in effect, become one world called living.
Also less to tote around with convergence. Greater accessibility to learning content that one can manipulate.
The emphasis on personalized learning makes this both more important and more apparent. Are we there yet? No....not even close to personalized learning environments. Are we going to get there in 2 years? No. 5 years? Closer. 10 years? Closer still. I think we are at least 10 years from the idealized worlds of PLEs that we hear about with access to life portfolios and ones likes and dislikes and learning preferences and so on. perhaps 15 or 20. Why do I say this? PLEs was a theme in the UK 4 years ago when I was there. Have we made much progress since then? I think not.
So convergence (technology side) will happen quicker than personalization (pedagogy/learning side). Are you surprised by that? I am not. The money side is on technology today. Eventually, companies will see 7 or 8 billion people who need a personalized learning platform and then they will design one. I think governments and non profits might have a huge say in this as well. And then some teenage kid will design something that we all have been asking for.
Ok, enough predictions for now. Just thought I would share it. On to other things.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New Conference Keynotes: Saw Thomas Friedman speak at Indiana University (IU) Auditorium on Thursday night November 4th. He was great. Both my son, Alex Bonk, and I enjoyed it a lot. Friedman got me thinking about new keynotes I might create as did Paul Kim from Stanford last month in Orlando at the E-learn conference. I got back from Kentucky Convergence 2010 keynote just in time for Friedman's talk. I was hoping to chat with him after but he was fully booked it seems.
Below are my three of most recent keynotes. The first one I gave back in September for students in the educational technology at Hanyang Cyber University in Seoul, Korea (high res, medium res, low res; and the color PDF of my slides. The second one I have last week in Kentucky Conference 2010 conference (click here for a color PDF of my keynote and my 2-part masterclass workshop on blended learning and shared online video immediately after). The third one I will give tonight to people at the Northern Territories E-Learning Event in Darwin, Australia (Click here for a color PDF of my slides for tonight). I will be coming in 3 hours from now via Elluminate from my home office. Cool.
1. "E-Learning Past, Present, and Future: The Players, the Projects, and the Untold Possibilities"
Abstract: E-learning has exploded in every aspect our lives during the past decade. This explosion, however, comes on the heels of decades of experimentations with learning technologies to deliver education to the masses. Radio, television, correspondence, audiotapes, computer-assisted instruction, and many other delivery formats have had their day. Many of those promoting such technologies had visions of teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. And many of their visions are now coming true. This talk will reveal some of the past of e-learning while positioning us in the present with dozens of interesting and exciting examples of what is possible today. Naturally, it will end with a discussion of the future and what technologies to be on the lookout for. Across the past, present, and future of e-learning, Dr. Bonk will capture your imaginations with stories of people who were the builders of this new age of learning. We may be members of the "Learning Century" now, but it took the monumental efforts of hundreds of key players in thousands of interesting projects to open the learning world that when convergence strikes will bring us millions of exciting learning possibilities across the globe. This talk will highlight dozens of the key players, including some household names and others you will now appreciate. What’s more, anyone in the audience has the chance to join their ranks and change the world.
2. “I am Not Content: The Future of Education Must Come Today”
Abstract. Look left, look right, look back, and then look dead-on straight ahead…what do you see? Of course, the air is filled with e-learning opportunities as well as talk of educational transformation. So much news. So much progress. Each second of the day, dozens of learners discover shiny learning nuggets previous unknown. Each week, thousands of schools, universities, corporations, and government offices announce strategic plans for e-learning. Every month, hundreds of new online courses, programs, and certificates are offered. Year after year, research reports and meta-analyses indicate that there are undeniable positive benefits of online teaching and learning. The world of technology-enhanced learning, is looking up, up, up. But wait a minute. It is no time to be content. It is not time to relax and just let the “inevitable” future unfold in front of our eyes. No! We must all jump in and help build the changes we want to see. Besides, there are hundreds of millions of people who cannot wait. They need access to a more free and open education today--one with high quality content, interactive and engaging tasks, and motivating technology use. This is a land of where nature (i.e., technology) meets nurture (i.e., pedagogy). It is time you joined in to build the future. Those attending this talk should be cautioned to check their hearts and credits cards at the door since this will be an emotionally-packed talk intended to make you act.
3. "Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Training: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme Learning"
Abstract. Some insist. Some resist. Others persist. Such is state of online learning today. But what is highly resistible for some is often passionately irresistible for others. Many are content to tinker with blended forms of learning. They dip their toes into the technology change movement by embedding shared online videos, simulations, timelines, collaborative groups, and open access articles in their courses. Others enter deeper waters and push toward the edges of what is possible. Their classes are teeter-tottering on the brink of transformation. Such instructors hand over the keys to their learners and let them drive for a bit. These risk taking instructors might enjoy reading a learner-designed wikibook, listening to a student generated podcast show, or watching the results of an international video competition. And then there are those who find themselves at the extreme edges of this learning planet. They might tap into virtual explorers, artists, archeologists, and adventurers to excite their learners. It is in such courses that scientific discoveries appear live. Mobile, virtual, and telepresence technologies become the new norm. It is time to stretch toward the edges of learning from those of us tinkering on the shores to those whose learning approaches are tottering in new directions and even landing in totally extreme or alien lands. This talk will showcase examples from all three worlds—the world of the tinkerer, the totterer, and the totally extreme. Which world will you find yourself?
All my talk descriptions are posted online.
Recent Radio Interview: In addition to the new keynotes, I was recently on the radio. On November 1st, I was interviewed for the show, New Horizons with Bob Kustra, President, Boise State University. I had a blast. So much fun to be on Bob's show. He had recently mentioned my World is Open book in his state of the University address. So this was sorta like a follow-up. And, accordingly, the topic was “The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education,” Boise State Public Radio (KBSX 91.5).
The show aired on November 5 and 7, 2010. I think it sounded pretty darn good. Bob is a great interviewer and the show is thoughtfully arranged by his producer, Janelle Brown. That is a wondrous combination. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun as I tend to do on radio. Perhaps have a listen. It is a 30 minute show. I think it is 13-14 megs so it will not take too long to download.
Available: http://boisestatepublicradio.org/newhorizons/NH10.11.05.mp3
Hope you enjoy the radio show. And I hope the talk goes well tonight to Australia. More soon.
Saturday 9 October 2010
Going Techno-Bonkers: 18+ (6-6-6) Ways Slightly Crazy People Keep Up With Online Learning and Technology Trends
Going Techno-Bonkers. What’s going on? I am going “coo coo clock” trying to keep up with the daily press related to learning technologies. September was just a blur with specials on educational technology and e-learning in Education Week (on e-learning in K-12 schools), eCampus News (on digital books), the Chronicle of Higher Education (special reports on e-learning in Asia), and the New York Times. And then there were various STEM grants and projects announced from the federal government and others (see video in eSchool News and summary of STEM initiative). I am literally going more Bonkers than my name in seemingly futile attempts to record it all. Apparently, everyone around me is feeling it too.
On the one hand, it is comforting not being the only one. On the other hand, it is a sign that there is much happening today in Web-based learning that few people are aware of, let alone taking advantage of. We are fast becoming a race of people that is highly ignorant of the educational possibilities on or around the Web that can transform each and every one of us. I believe that Web-based learning technology can nudge, push, pull out, elevate, or rouse to life new learning skills and competencies and ultimately human development or growth levels which can position one for enhanced educational and workplace situations. I also believe that we have yet to discover the outer edges of human potential. The coming decades will include many inroads by human development researchers. But not unless we can make sense of all that is happening and make plans for the possible.
Sure I have some lofty goals and ideals. Most around me are content with technology subsistence goals. They just want to know what is currently happening…what is emerging….and what is new. During the past two weeks, I have become alarmed by the number of people asking me how I keep on top of all the technology trends. Am I the only one? Certainly not—George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Elliot Masie, Jay Cross (and his Internet Time Blog), Will Richardson, and countless others do an excellent job of gathering and distilling all the educational technology news you ever wanted to read about. Are they freaks of nature or should we expect all humans do likewise. I mean, if educational opportunities exist today that did not a decade ago, certainly we should want to find ways to track them and take advantage of them. Perhaps I am wrong. But perhaps too many people are mired in a reality of yesteryear.
The Question. I was speaking at Houston Community College on Friday October 1st for an E-Learning Colloquium Conference. Well, this was the exact topic that I asked about by several people after my morning and afternoon sessions ended. “Dr. Bonk, how do you keep up with it all?” asked one gentleman. And then another younger guy 2 rows from the front had the same general question. And yet another. And another. “Houston, we have a problem,” I thought to myself. But this is not simply a male question or a community college one or restricted to the friendly people of Houston, Texas.
Truth be told, females and those outside community college settings also want to know what is happening. Everyone has questions as they are being asked to do something different from before (e.g., teach blended or fully online courses). My highly inquisitive and always learning friend, Dr. Youmei Liu from the University of Houston, was an invited guest in the audience at the Houston Community College event and asked me a similar question after the day ended as we were exiting the building. I turned to her and smiled and said to her, "Youmei, you might want to read my TravelinEdMan blog in a week or so." And I have another sharp-minded colleague at the University of Houston who asked me this very question the week before my visit after I sent her some information on new STEM grant initiatives. When responding to her email, I had the initial inkling for a blog post like this one. So I must thank my highly valued friends at the University of Houston as well as the many fabulous people I met at Houston Community College who indirectly (i.e., without their knowledge) pushed me to make this blog post. A huge thank you to each one of you...smile if you were one of those people.
Seems everyone wants to keep up but has difficulty doing so. Time is a factor as is general knowledge of what online newsletters, newspapers, magazines, reports, blog posts, and journals to subscribe to. I guess that is why people read edited books and blog posts like this one, attend conferences, Webinars, summits, and institutes, and listen to podcasts or books in their cars--such events and resources enable one to catch up quickly.
Of course, this question I was asked of how I keep up is not restricted to the people of Houston or even of Texas at large (large as it is). I think many people want better ways to track and make sense of technology changes. In fact, the following morning at 8 am I was presenting via Webcam from the ZaZa hotel in Houston to people from Rondout Valley Central School District in Accord, New York and SUNY Ulster Community College people (they have a partnership). They also expressed concerns about keeping up. Four days later (i.e., this week Wedneesday), administrators attending the Compass Knowledge Summit on E-Learning Innovation asked me the same question after each of talk I gave, including my "Flat World Swung Open" keynote (based on my World is Open book) and various breakout talks. The day before (Tuesday October 5th), I had similar questions from doctoral students and faculty at Florida State University during a brief 4-5 hour visit to Tallahassee. Of course, I will likely get this question during the coming week when I visit St. John’s, Newfoundland for the Edge conference 2010 (e-Learning: The Horizon and Beyond) and the following week when back in Orlando for the E-Learn 2010 conference.
As I said, some people are swimming in shallow waters when it comes to online learning and others are going in much deeper. Just where are you? I realize that times are tough, not just economically but educationally...I mean, how does one attempt to keep up with each wave of announcements and reports designated as important to read? At the same time, this begs the question...Do we expect an educated citizenry to keep up with the plethora of educational opportunities in front of them? I do! Definitely, we must. So what do I do to keep up? In the paragraphs below I share some of my routine (if you can call it that) and after that I provide a series of links to K-12, higher education, and corporate resources.
My routine. Back up a second...During the early part of this decade, I used to wait for a weekly email from Judy Brown at the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Colab which was in partnership with the Department of Defense. At the time, my good friend, Dr. Robert (Bob) Wisher, headed up all the ADL initiatives in DC. Judy was housed in Madison, Wisconsin which is where I went to graduate school. I used to hate getting these emails and love them since I knew it would take an hour or 2 to digest the content links coming from each one. At the same time, they were rich with fascinating stories and important updates. Unfortunately, Judy retired. So now I must find my sources through other means. See below for some of it anyway.
Each morning I skim through the Wired Chronicle of Higher Education (5-10 minutes—it is a daily email with links), Inside Higher Education (1-2 minutes—another email with links), and the USA Today (10-15 minutes). Each afternoon, eSchool News comes out via email link and sometimes eCampus News (also email links). The others are intermittent. No set times. I often learn something from Elliott Masie and his Learning Trends e-newsletter which comes out 1-2 times a week. I sometimes skim through Wired Magazine, Fast Company, the New York Times, the Washington Post, etc. People like John Naisbitt (of Megatrends, Mind Set!, and Re-inventing the Corporation fame) scan through many more sources than I do. People like Naisbitt and Alvin Toffler are amazing in the amount of information that they can synthesize and the relevance of their results.
Eighteen Places to Look (yes 18, and I like it!). Listed below are 18 possible sources, about 15 of which I subscribe to. They include articles, magazines, and newsletters, K-12, higher education, and corporate training arenas. So as not to ignore anyone, I have listed 6 for K-12, 6 for higher education, and 6 for corporate training. Ok, that is “6-6-6”—hopefully this is a good Omen; well in a few hours, it will be 10-10-10. Perhaps I need to list 4 more of each below before the clock strikes midnight.
K-12 Resources (some news from these also relates to higher education):
1. eSchool News; Free subscription.
2. Edutopia; free weekly newsletter.
3. Education Week (Note: I do not use this one often; except for the annual online learning report); Free stuff.
4. GetIdeas.org login from Cisco; Get Ideas education; to register for a free account.
5. THE Journal; Subscribe to print format; subscribe to digital format.
6. EducationalNews.org (both K-12 and higher education news; claims to be #1).
Note: I have been interviewed several times by Michael Shaughnessy, for articles posted to this site. For example, this one on educational technology leadership, July 6, 2009. And also this article on e-learning in Asia (with my colleagues, Tom Reynolds and Mimi Lee), January 27, 2010, EducationNews. These are more higher education related articles than K-12.
Higher Education Resources (some news from these also relates to K-12 education):
7. Campus Technology; Subscribe to magazine for free; Other newsletter subscriptions.
8. Chronicle of Higher Education (Note: some articles are free and some are for subscribers only); Chronicle of Higher Education Wired Campus; Subscribe to Wired Campus (I think this is free to subscribe to but not sure since I am a paying member of the Chronicle of HE). Note that sometimes the afternoon email from the Chronicle is as interesting as the morning version.
9. eCampus News; Free subscription.
10. Faculty Focus from my friends at Magna Publications; Several free reports; Faculty Focus free e-newletter; Magna, which is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin (home of my alma mater--UW-Madison), also has tons of conference, Webinars, and other types of online professional development experiences (I know since I have done a few for them in the past...great people, great learning).
Note: For K-12 people, Magna Publications also has Inside the School and many free K-12 related reports.
11. Inside Higher Education (online and free); Daily email updates are free.
12. University Business Magazine; to subscribe. Note that you can subscribe to the digital or print edition or both. This is one that I only occastional read online but I subscribed to while writing this blog post.
Corporate Training Resources (much from these sources also relates to higher education):
13. eLearning Guild; Subscribe (Note: membership options from free to $$$; They offer various publications including free e-newsletter is called the eLearning Insider. They also offer some free Webinars, reports, and a job board.
14. Chief Learning Officer magazine; free subscription.
15. Learning TRENDS online newsletter from Elliott Masie and the Masie Center: Free to subscribe (Note: it is highly popular; in fact, there are more than 55,000 readers at the present time. Personally, I learn a few highly valuable things from it each month or so.). The Masie center also has many free research reports (such as this one from CLO in 2010), videos, podcasts (including a recent one with Daniel Pink, author of "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"), and an annual conference called "Learning" which is held in Orlando in October. Learning 2010 is coming up.
16. Training Magazine (homepage and newsletters are free but not the magazine); Training Magazine Events; and free e-newsletters (includes Training Tech Talk, formerly Online Learning News & Reviews:
17. The International Society of Performance Improvement; and Performance Xpress Newsletter (which is free).
18. HR Magazine from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) which is not free; various free e-newsletters.
Final Thoughts. There are also organizational and non-profit publications, conferences, and e-newsletters in this space like those found at ASTD, AACE, Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Publications and Conferences (I love their annual survey reports), EDUCAUSE (e.g., their annual Horizons Report predicting future technology directions in education; e.g., Horizons 2010), Flat World Knowledge, Classroom 2.0 from Steve Hargadon (many interesting Webinars and guest interviews posted here), Mission to Learn, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and Academic Impressions (subscribe to free newsletter). And there are open access journals and magazines that I often peruse like eLearn Magazine, EDUCAUSE Quarterly and EDUCAUSE Review, the Journal of Interactive Online Learning, the International Review of Research on Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), and International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning. Those wanting more journal types of articles on educational technology and media should look at my mega-list of journals and magazines in this field at my TrainingShare.com site. Swimming yet?
Not had enough? Perhaps you are moving north to Canada...now what do you read? How about University Affairs from Canada (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/); they interviewed me earlier in the year about e-books. Not overwhelmed yet? Ok, there is also MindShare Learning Report from Canada which is more K-12. I did a Skype interview with Mitch Townsend from MindShare this morning, in fact, for their November 2010 e-publication. Of course, if you are in the UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Brazil, Korea, China, etc., you would have other sources. I will stay with North America sources for the purposes of this one blog post. Too much to document already.
So are you going Bonkers too? Why not? Too much. Too much. Too much! Perhaps the above list will help. I hope so. Perhaps some will focus on K-12 sources and others corporate or higher education ones. Of course, there are also non-profit, government, and military resources.
Want to keep up with learning technology changes? I have tried to get much of this into my fall 2010 doctoral seminar syllabus on the open learning world and the Web 2.0. You might explore this syllabus...but caution, it is 43 pages long. Everything is a hot link to open access articles and online resources (i.e., it is like one-stop shopping for those interested in the online world). Note that I am teaching this course live this fall but plan to teach it online in the spring of 2011. Suggestions always welcome.
As is clear, there is much choice for you now. As the Grail Knight said in the 1989 movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, “choose wisely.” If you do, WE-ALL-LEARN. The world is now open to you!
On the one hand, it is comforting not being the only one. On the other hand, it is a sign that there is much happening today in Web-based learning that few people are aware of, let alone taking advantage of. We are fast becoming a race of people that is highly ignorant of the educational possibilities on or around the Web that can transform each and every one of us. I believe that Web-based learning technology can nudge, push, pull out, elevate, or rouse to life new learning skills and competencies and ultimately human development or growth levels which can position one for enhanced educational and workplace situations. I also believe that we have yet to discover the outer edges of human potential. The coming decades will include many inroads by human development researchers. But not unless we can make sense of all that is happening and make plans for the possible.
Sure I have some lofty goals and ideals. Most around me are content with technology subsistence goals. They just want to know what is currently happening…what is emerging….and what is new. During the past two weeks, I have become alarmed by the number of people asking me how I keep on top of all the technology trends. Am I the only one? Certainly not—George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Elliot Masie, Jay Cross (and his Internet Time Blog), Will Richardson, and countless others do an excellent job of gathering and distilling all the educational technology news you ever wanted to read about. Are they freaks of nature or should we expect all humans do likewise. I mean, if educational opportunities exist today that did not a decade ago, certainly we should want to find ways to track them and take advantage of them. Perhaps I am wrong. But perhaps too many people are mired in a reality of yesteryear.
The Question. I was speaking at Houston Community College on Friday October 1st for an E-Learning Colloquium Conference. Well, this was the exact topic that I asked about by several people after my morning and afternoon sessions ended. “Dr. Bonk, how do you keep up with it all?” asked one gentleman. And then another younger guy 2 rows from the front had the same general question. And yet another. And another. “Houston, we have a problem,” I thought to myself. But this is not simply a male question or a community college one or restricted to the friendly people of Houston, Texas.
Truth be told, females and those outside community college settings also want to know what is happening. Everyone has questions as they are being asked to do something different from before (e.g., teach blended or fully online courses). My highly inquisitive and always learning friend, Dr. Youmei Liu from the University of Houston, was an invited guest in the audience at the Houston Community College event and asked me a similar question after the day ended as we were exiting the building. I turned to her and smiled and said to her, "Youmei, you might want to read my TravelinEdMan blog in a week or so." And I have another sharp-minded colleague at the University of Houston who asked me this very question the week before my visit after I sent her some information on new STEM grant initiatives. When responding to her email, I had the initial inkling for a blog post like this one. So I must thank my highly valued friends at the University of Houston as well as the many fabulous people I met at Houston Community College who indirectly (i.e., without their knowledge) pushed me to make this blog post. A huge thank you to each one of you...smile if you were one of those people.
Seems everyone wants to keep up but has difficulty doing so. Time is a factor as is general knowledge of what online newsletters, newspapers, magazines, reports, blog posts, and journals to subscribe to. I guess that is why people read edited books and blog posts like this one, attend conferences, Webinars, summits, and institutes, and listen to podcasts or books in their cars--such events and resources enable one to catch up quickly.
Of course, this question I was asked of how I keep up is not restricted to the people of Houston or even of Texas at large (large as it is). I think many people want better ways to track and make sense of technology changes. In fact, the following morning at 8 am I was presenting via Webcam from the ZaZa hotel in Houston to people from Rondout Valley Central School District in Accord, New York and SUNY Ulster Community College people (they have a partnership). They also expressed concerns about keeping up. Four days later (i.e., this week Wedneesday), administrators attending the Compass Knowledge Summit on E-Learning Innovation asked me the same question after each of talk I gave, including my "Flat World Swung Open" keynote (based on my World is Open book) and various breakout talks. The day before (Tuesday October 5th), I had similar questions from doctoral students and faculty at Florida State University during a brief 4-5 hour visit to Tallahassee. Of course, I will likely get this question during the coming week when I visit St. John’s, Newfoundland for the Edge conference 2010 (e-Learning: The Horizon and Beyond) and the following week when back in Orlando for the E-Learn 2010 conference.
As I said, some people are swimming in shallow waters when it comes to online learning and others are going in much deeper. Just where are you? I realize that times are tough, not just economically but educationally...I mean, how does one attempt to keep up with each wave of announcements and reports designated as important to read? At the same time, this begs the question...Do we expect an educated citizenry to keep up with the plethora of educational opportunities in front of them? I do! Definitely, we must. So what do I do to keep up? In the paragraphs below I share some of my routine (if you can call it that) and after that I provide a series of links to K-12, higher education, and corporate resources.
My routine. Back up a second...During the early part of this decade, I used to wait for a weekly email from Judy Brown at the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Colab which was in partnership with the Department of Defense. At the time, my good friend, Dr. Robert (Bob) Wisher, headed up all the ADL initiatives in DC. Judy was housed in Madison, Wisconsin which is where I went to graduate school. I used to hate getting these emails and love them since I knew it would take an hour or 2 to digest the content links coming from each one. At the same time, they were rich with fascinating stories and important updates. Unfortunately, Judy retired. So now I must find my sources through other means. See below for some of it anyway.
Each morning I skim through the Wired Chronicle of Higher Education (5-10 minutes—it is a daily email with links), Inside Higher Education (1-2 minutes—another email with links), and the USA Today (10-15 minutes). Each afternoon, eSchool News comes out via email link and sometimes eCampus News (also email links). The others are intermittent. No set times. I often learn something from Elliott Masie and his Learning Trends e-newsletter which comes out 1-2 times a week. I sometimes skim through Wired Magazine, Fast Company, the New York Times, the Washington Post, etc. People like John Naisbitt (of Megatrends, Mind Set!, and Re-inventing the Corporation fame) scan through many more sources than I do. People like Naisbitt and Alvin Toffler are amazing in the amount of information that they can synthesize and the relevance of their results.
Eighteen Places to Look (yes 18, and I like it!). Listed below are 18 possible sources, about 15 of which I subscribe to. They include articles, magazines, and newsletters, K-12, higher education, and corporate training arenas. So as not to ignore anyone, I have listed 6 for K-12, 6 for higher education, and 6 for corporate training. Ok, that is “6-6-6”—hopefully this is a good Omen; well in a few hours, it will be 10-10-10. Perhaps I need to list 4 more of each below before the clock strikes midnight.
K-12 Resources (some news from these also relates to higher education):
1. eSchool News; Free subscription.
2. Edutopia; free weekly newsletter.
3. Education Week (Note: I do not use this one often; except for the annual online learning report); Free stuff.
4. GetIdeas.org login from Cisco; Get Ideas education; to register for a free account.
5. THE Journal; Subscribe to print format; subscribe to digital format.
6. EducationalNews.org (both K-12 and higher education news; claims to be #1).
Note: I have been interviewed several times by Michael Shaughnessy, for articles posted to this site. For example, this one on educational technology leadership, July 6, 2009. And also this article on e-learning in Asia (with my colleagues, Tom Reynolds and Mimi Lee), January 27, 2010, EducationNews. These are more higher education related articles than K-12.
Higher Education Resources (some news from these also relates to K-12 education):
7. Campus Technology; Subscribe to magazine for free; Other newsletter subscriptions.
8. Chronicle of Higher Education (Note: some articles are free and some are for subscribers only); Chronicle of Higher Education Wired Campus; Subscribe to Wired Campus (I think this is free to subscribe to but not sure since I am a paying member of the Chronicle of HE). Note that sometimes the afternoon email from the Chronicle is as interesting as the morning version.
9. eCampus News; Free subscription.
10. Faculty Focus from my friends at Magna Publications; Several free reports; Faculty Focus free e-newletter; Magna, which is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin (home of my alma mater--UW-Madison), also has tons of conference, Webinars, and other types of online professional development experiences (I know since I have done a few for them in the past...great people, great learning).
Note: For K-12 people, Magna Publications also has Inside the School and many free K-12 related reports.
11. Inside Higher Education (online and free); Daily email updates are free.
12. University Business Magazine; to subscribe. Note that you can subscribe to the digital or print edition or both. This is one that I only occastional read online but I subscribed to while writing this blog post.
Corporate Training Resources (much from these sources also relates to higher education):
13. eLearning Guild; Subscribe (Note: membership options from free to $$$; They offer various publications including free e-newsletter is called the eLearning Insider. They also offer some free Webinars, reports, and a job board.
14. Chief Learning Officer magazine; free subscription.
15. Learning TRENDS online newsletter from Elliott Masie and the Masie Center: Free to subscribe (Note: it is highly popular; in fact, there are more than 55,000 readers at the present time. Personally, I learn a few highly valuable things from it each month or so.). The Masie center also has many free research reports (such as this one from CLO in 2010), videos, podcasts (including a recent one with Daniel Pink, author of "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"), and an annual conference called "Learning" which is held in Orlando in October. Learning 2010 is coming up.
16. Training Magazine (homepage and newsletters are free but not the magazine); Training Magazine Events; and free e-newsletters (includes Training Tech Talk, formerly Online Learning News & Reviews:
17. The International Society of Performance Improvement; and Performance Xpress Newsletter (which is free).
18. HR Magazine from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) which is not free; various free e-newsletters.
Final Thoughts. There are also organizational and non-profit publications, conferences, and e-newsletters in this space like those found at ASTD, AACE, Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Publications and Conferences (I love their annual survey reports), EDUCAUSE (e.g., their annual Horizons Report predicting future technology directions in education; e.g., Horizons 2010), Flat World Knowledge, Classroom 2.0 from Steve Hargadon (many interesting Webinars and guest interviews posted here), Mission to Learn, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and Academic Impressions (subscribe to free newsletter). And there are open access journals and magazines that I often peruse like eLearn Magazine, EDUCAUSE Quarterly and EDUCAUSE Review, the Journal of Interactive Online Learning, the International Review of Research on Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), and International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning. Those wanting more journal types of articles on educational technology and media should look at my mega-list of journals and magazines in this field at my TrainingShare.com site. Swimming yet?
Not had enough? Perhaps you are moving north to Canada...now what do you read? How about University Affairs from Canada (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/); they interviewed me earlier in the year about e-books. Not overwhelmed yet? Ok, there is also MindShare Learning Report from Canada which is more K-12. I did a Skype interview with Mitch Townsend from MindShare this morning, in fact, for their November 2010 e-publication. Of course, if you are in the UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Brazil, Korea, China, etc., you would have other sources. I will stay with North America sources for the purposes of this one blog post. Too much to document already.
So are you going Bonkers too? Why not? Too much. Too much. Too much! Perhaps the above list will help. I hope so. Perhaps some will focus on K-12 sources and others corporate or higher education ones. Of course, there are also non-profit, government, and military resources.
Want to keep up with learning technology changes? I have tried to get much of this into my fall 2010 doctoral seminar syllabus on the open learning world and the Web 2.0. You might explore this syllabus...but caution, it is 43 pages long. Everything is a hot link to open access articles and online resources (i.e., it is like one-stop shopping for those interested in the online world). Note that I am teaching this course live this fall but plan to teach it online in the spring of 2011. Suggestions always welcome.
As is clear, there is much choice for you now. As the Grail Knight said in the 1989 movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, “choose wisely.” If you do, WE-ALL-LEARN. The world is now open to you!
Wednesday 22 September 2010
Tracking the Technology Trail of Jeffrey Young: Chronicling Korean Educational Technology Today and Tomorrow
Educational Technology News from Korea and Jeffrey Young of the Chronicle of Higher Education:
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have been tracking the progress of Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer with the Chronicle of Higher Education as he makes his way across Asia this month. He started with Singapore at the start of the month and then China the following week and last week he was in Korea. He is now in India. I helped connect Jeffrey to some of my friends in each country so I have had a special interest in this trip. You can follow his trip and read his blog posts here:
http://chronicle.com/blog/College2inAsia/37/
The Korea portion is of particular interest to me since I have visited Korea several times including a two-week trip last year (12-13 talks in 5 cities I think). I also have a son from Korea and dozens and dozens of former students, colleagues, and friends there. Another factor in my curiosity is my recent research on blogging in Korea higher education with Professor Inae Kang from Kyung-hee University in Seoul as well as blended learning in corporate settings with several former students.
We all know that Korea is sorta of bellweather country in terms of technology in education. Let’s see what Jeffrey has found out in his trip to Korea. While there, my long-time friend, Dr. Okhwa Lee from Chungbuk National University took him to the E-Learning Week conference in Seoul. My friend Dr. Yeonwook Im from Hanyang Cyber University also helped out.
From his experience, Jeff has written 1 main article and 4 somewhat shorter blog posts (or mini-articles). Each has a little different slice of Korean culture and uses of technology in it. I expect to see the first one in the physical copy of the Chronicle of Higher Education that comes out next week. I review the five below. Note that this is not the order in which Jeffrey wrote them.
1. The first one below discusses the emergence of cyber universities in Korea. Jeffrey interviews people from Hanyang Cyber U which hopes to be the top e-learning university in the world someday. They are expanding from a Korean student base in an attempt to attract students from around the world. Interesting comments and perspectives online learning in Korea are shared. This is the longest and perhaps most informative of the five articles. My friend, Dr. Yeonwook Im, is interviewed in it. Hooray for Yeonwook!
Article #1. S. Korean Colleges Aim to Prosper in Worldwide Online Education (Sept 21, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
2. The second article discusses Korean researchers like Mun Sang Kim, director of the Center for Intelligent Robotics at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, who are developing robots to help teach English there. These robots are expensive at first but will come down in price. Apparently, some robots will function as English training supplements, whereas in other cases they will be the primary teacher. I know many people teaching English in Korea who could lose their jobs if they are successful. But this will take time. Watch the video on this one if nothing else. The article also mentions that with the shortage of English teachers today, they will have teachers in Philippines providing support on demand like a call center.
Article #2. Another Benefit of Robot Teachers: No 'Moral Problems' (Sept 15, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
3. The third article is a real interest area of mine. It concerns the digital book project in Korea which has been discussed widely. Originally, the Korean government wanted free digital textbooks in K-12 education by 2012. They started experimenting in like 100 schools in 2009. The digital books come embedded with hyperlinks, study aids, simulations, animations, practice or review questions, activities and exercises, online dictionaries and other resources materials, etc. Well, as this article points out, there are stability, cost, logistical, and performance issues that remain key problems. At the same time, there are many positive outcomes already being experiences. I believe that with this one project, Korea will become a world leader in global and online education. The entire world, in fact, will be rotating from physical textbooks to digital ones during the coming decades. This is one project and place which is going to help inform the world of where to go and what to do. Read this article. And then read other ones on this topic. Week 3 of my fall World is Open (i.e., Web 2.0) syllabus has dozens of such articles.
Article #3. What South Korean Schoolchildren Can Teach Colleges About E-Textbooks (Sept 21, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
4. In the fourth article, Jeffrey Young discusses interesting whiteboard, projection, cleaning, and other technology from the Korean E-Learning Conference at Coex in Seoul last week (http://www.elearningasia.net/_eng/_main/main.php). While this is interesting, I was hoping to hear more from the scholars and researchers presenting at the conference since I could not attend. I also wanted to see some pictures of my friends and colleagues. Still, it was valuable to see a few of the emerging technologies showcased there.
Article #4. At South Korean E-Learning Conference, Interactivity Is Big (Very Big) (Sept 17, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
5. The fifth and perhaps final one discusses the issue of cyber-addictions and how the Korean government is coping. Of course, many people are interested in this topic given the ubiquitous nature of Web technology in Korea. In fact, I heard the word “ubiquitous” at every stop I made in Korea back in May 2009—K-12, higher ed, corporate, and government settings. I also discuss this issue in the World is More Open e-book I am working on. Still, I think I would have targeted some other related topic like why everyone refers to Seoul as the “ubiquitous” city or how the pervasiveness of technology helps or hinders learning.
Article #5. South Korean Government May Ask Colleges to Help Fight Cyberaddiction (Sept 16, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
Jeffrey is in India now. So I am not sure if he will write another piece on Korea or not. I will let you know if I see one.
In other news: World is Open in Paperback and Indiana Public Radio:
World Is Open book being now translated to Chinese and Arabic. And, I just found out it will come out in paperback in June 2011. This is very cool news since I was told a couple of years ago by my publisher that coming out in paperback does not happen that often. First, the book must sell some copies. I guess I bought enough of my own books to justify it. Smile. On a high now! It already is available in hardcover as well as for the Kindle, as a PDF, on the iPhone and other mobile formats, e-book, and many other book formats (scroll down).
For the Chinese version, the publisher is East China Normal University. The translator is Dr. Jiao Jianli, Professor of Educational Technology, Director of Future Education Research Centre, Deputy Dean of School of Information Technology in Education; South China Normal University. He has created a book blog and Twitter-like feed on it. I wish him well in the translation process. We have been corresponding nearly every day lately, mostly so I can explain my sometimes limited attempts at humor and word play.
Finally, yesterday I was asked to be on Indiana Public radio (WFIU) at noon EST this Friday, September 24th with the Chancellor of the new Western Governors University Indiana (Allison Barber), the Chancellor of IU East (Dr. Nasser Paydar, and Danny Callison who is the IU Dean of IU Continuing Studies. This will be a call in on online learning. It should be quite fun and informative. I saw Dr. Paydar last month when presenting at IU East. It is our fastest growing campus, due mainly to online learning. He presented some fascinating data at lunch after my morning keynote. A very energetic and engaging man.
Listen in and perhaps ask us some questions.
Hope you found the update informative. I actually have about 40 new articles in the last week alone. In addition to the technology in Asia series from Jeffrey Young, there are special issues from Education Week on e-learning, The New York Times (read some of these!), Campus Technology articles on e-books, etc.. So much to share. I am just sharing the 5 articles on Korea for now.
Good luck to Jeffrey Young as he ends his trip in Delhi and Banglore during the coming week. And congrads to the Chronicle for sending him on such a venture.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have been tracking the progress of Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer with the Chronicle of Higher Education as he makes his way across Asia this month. He started with Singapore at the start of the month and then China the following week and last week he was in Korea. He is now in India. I helped connect Jeffrey to some of my friends in each country so I have had a special interest in this trip. You can follow his trip and read his blog posts here:
http://chronicle.com/blog/College2inAsia/37/
The Korea portion is of particular interest to me since I have visited Korea several times including a two-week trip last year (12-13 talks in 5 cities I think). I also have a son from Korea and dozens and dozens of former students, colleagues, and friends there. Another factor in my curiosity is my recent research on blogging in Korea higher education with Professor Inae Kang from Kyung-hee University in Seoul as well as blended learning in corporate settings with several former students.
We all know that Korea is sorta of bellweather country in terms of technology in education. Let’s see what Jeffrey has found out in his trip to Korea. While there, my long-time friend, Dr. Okhwa Lee from Chungbuk National University took him to the E-Learning Week conference in Seoul. My friend Dr. Yeonwook Im from Hanyang Cyber University also helped out.
From his experience, Jeff has written 1 main article and 4 somewhat shorter blog posts (or mini-articles). Each has a little different slice of Korean culture and uses of technology in it. I expect to see the first one in the physical copy of the Chronicle of Higher Education that comes out next week. I review the five below. Note that this is not the order in which Jeffrey wrote them.
1. The first one below discusses the emergence of cyber universities in Korea. Jeffrey interviews people from Hanyang Cyber U which hopes to be the top e-learning university in the world someday. They are expanding from a Korean student base in an attempt to attract students from around the world. Interesting comments and perspectives online learning in Korea are shared. This is the longest and perhaps most informative of the five articles. My friend, Dr. Yeonwook Im, is interviewed in it. Hooray for Yeonwook!
Article #1. S. Korean Colleges Aim to Prosper in Worldwide Online Education (Sept 21, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
2. The second article discusses Korean researchers like Mun Sang Kim, director of the Center for Intelligent Robotics at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, who are developing robots to help teach English there. These robots are expensive at first but will come down in price. Apparently, some robots will function as English training supplements, whereas in other cases they will be the primary teacher. I know many people teaching English in Korea who could lose their jobs if they are successful. But this will take time. Watch the video on this one if nothing else. The article also mentions that with the shortage of English teachers today, they will have teachers in Philippines providing support on demand like a call center.
Article #2. Another Benefit of Robot Teachers: No 'Moral Problems' (Sept 15, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
3. The third article is a real interest area of mine. It concerns the digital book project in Korea which has been discussed widely. Originally, the Korean government wanted free digital textbooks in K-12 education by 2012. They started experimenting in like 100 schools in 2009. The digital books come embedded with hyperlinks, study aids, simulations, animations, practice or review questions, activities and exercises, online dictionaries and other resources materials, etc. Well, as this article points out, there are stability, cost, logistical, and performance issues that remain key problems. At the same time, there are many positive outcomes already being experiences. I believe that with this one project, Korea will become a world leader in global and online education. The entire world, in fact, will be rotating from physical textbooks to digital ones during the coming decades. This is one project and place which is going to help inform the world of where to go and what to do. Read this article. And then read other ones on this topic. Week 3 of my fall World is Open (i.e., Web 2.0) syllabus has dozens of such articles.
Article #3. What South Korean Schoolchildren Can Teach Colleges About E-Textbooks (Sept 21, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
4. In the fourth article, Jeffrey Young discusses interesting whiteboard, projection, cleaning, and other technology from the Korean E-Learning Conference at Coex in Seoul last week (http://www.elearningasia.net/_eng/_main/main.php). While this is interesting, I was hoping to hear more from the scholars and researchers presenting at the conference since I could not attend. I also wanted to see some pictures of my friends and colleagues. Still, it was valuable to see a few of the emerging technologies showcased there.
Article #4. At South Korean E-Learning Conference, Interactivity Is Big (Very Big) (Sept 17, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
5. The fifth and perhaps final one discusses the issue of cyber-addictions and how the Korean government is coping. Of course, many people are interested in this topic given the ubiquitous nature of Web technology in Korea. In fact, I heard the word “ubiquitous” at every stop I made in Korea back in May 2009—K-12, higher ed, corporate, and government settings. I also discuss this issue in the World is More Open e-book I am working on. Still, I think I would have targeted some other related topic like why everyone refers to Seoul as the “ubiquitous” city or how the pervasiveness of technology helps or hinders learning.
Article #5. South Korean Government May Ask Colleges to Help Fight Cyberaddiction (Sept 16, 2010), Jeffrey Young, Senior Technology Writer, Chronicle of Higher Education.
Jeffrey is in India now. So I am not sure if he will write another piece on Korea or not. I will let you know if I see one.
In other news: World is Open in Paperback and Indiana Public Radio:
World Is Open book being now translated to Chinese and Arabic. And, I just found out it will come out in paperback in June 2011. This is very cool news since I was told a couple of years ago by my publisher that coming out in paperback does not happen that often. First, the book must sell some copies. I guess I bought enough of my own books to justify it. Smile. On a high now! It already is available in hardcover as well as for the Kindle, as a PDF, on the iPhone and other mobile formats, e-book, and many other book formats (scroll down).
For the Chinese version, the publisher is East China Normal University. The translator is Dr. Jiao Jianli, Professor of Educational Technology, Director of Future Education Research Centre, Deputy Dean of School of Information Technology in Education; South China Normal University. He has created a book blog and Twitter-like feed on it. I wish him well in the translation process. We have been corresponding nearly every day lately, mostly so I can explain my sometimes limited attempts at humor and word play.
Finally, yesterday I was asked to be on Indiana Public radio (WFIU) at noon EST this Friday, September 24th with the Chancellor of the new Western Governors University Indiana (Allison Barber), the Chancellor of IU East (Dr. Nasser Paydar, and Danny Callison who is the IU Dean of IU Continuing Studies. This will be a call in on online learning. It should be quite fun and informative. I saw Dr. Paydar last month when presenting at IU East. It is our fastest growing campus, due mainly to online learning. He presented some fascinating data at lunch after my morning keynote. A very energetic and engaging man.
Listen in and perhaps ask us some questions.
Hope you found the update informative. I actually have about 40 new articles in the last week alone. In addition to the technology in Asia series from Jeffrey Young, there are special issues from Education Week on e-learning, The New York Times (read some of these!), Campus Technology articles on e-books, etc.. So much to share. I am just sharing the 5 articles on Korea for now.
Good luck to Jeffrey Young as he ends his trip in Delhi and Banglore during the coming week. And congrads to the Chronicle for sending him on such a venture.
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Reporters, Reporters, Reporters: Wikipedia for Credit, Western Governors U in Indiana, Redesigning College for Collab, and The World is Open in Boise
Yes school has been starting up during the past few weeks. But for me, there has been lots going on with reporters lately. This stuff goes in streaks, of course. Sometimes a couple of reporters will call me the same day and then other times there may be months or more without.
For instance, during late July and much of August, I have been talking to Jeffrey Young from the Chronicle of Higher Education about places and people in Asia he might this month when he is there. Jeffrey is visiting Singapore, China, Korea, and India. Like my recent book, A Special Passage through Asia E-Learning (also found here), Jeff is making such a journey in a physical sense. It seems like a fun (and important) trip. He has already been posting some of his experiences in Singapore.
As a second example, this past Thursday I received an email from Steve Kolowich, a writer for Inside Higher Education. He was under a tight deadline for a story about a new initiative of the Wikimedia Foundation. It involves asking professors to agree to integrate the creation and editing of Wikipedia entries into the assigned tasks of their course syllabi. They started with the recruitment of roughly nine professors from fairly high profile institutions such as Harvard, Georgetown, GWU, Indiana, Syracuse. They hope to expand this in the spring semester. For mroe details, one can go to this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_United_States_Public_Policy
Steven Kolowich, Wikipedia for Credit, Inside Higher Education, September 7, 2010. Available: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/09/07/wikipedia
Here is the resulting quote from me in the article:
“This is exciting to be sure!” wrote Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana and author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education, in an e-mail to Inside Higher Ed. “That is a key part the mission of all of us in a higher education setting — to generate as well as disseminate knowledge in different disciplines,” Bonk wrote. “Given that Wikipedia is now central to the knowledge dissemination process as well as the linkages between content and fields, such partnerships make sense.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, this has me excited about the student empowerment possibilities; especially given my research on wikibooks. My response to Steven was much much longer, however. For those who are curious, my full response is below.
Steven asked me 2 questions for his article:
Steven's First Question.
1. What do you make of this?
My Response:
There are several reasons for this:
1. Authenticity: It is an authentic class task. There is extensive discussion in higher education today for more authentic and engaging tasks. Millions of people use Wikipedia. Students know this. Professors know this. The professor does not have to design an assignment that has the “potential” to be used. Authentic and relevant tasks are motivating to students.
2. Value: As part of the authenticity of the task, there is value. In conducting Wikipedia page editing, they KNOW it will find use. Any work expanded will have huge payoffs. No doubt there. We all want others to find our work of value or use. Such a task—even a minor edit on a Wikipedia page—can give value and meaning to one’s life. And it is something a student or instructor can discuss with friends and family members (unlike most academic work). When that occurs, so, too, does enhanced self-efficacy, respect, and an appreciation for the work of others.
3. Collaboration: In the midst of all this, students are learning content that is current and doing so with others who have similar professional interests. This task is not just authentic and of high value, it often involves a team of people; most of whom one will never meet. The fact that they are collaborating on an online resource like a Wikipedia page is enough justification for professors to adopt this task in their classes. Students have to discuss and negotiate content, make decisions, share opinions and resources that they find to back up any changes in the content, contact other experts, engage in project management, etc.
4. Learning: In the midst of such tasks, they learn the material at a deeper and richer level. And they can reuse what they have created in other courses or projects. They can begin to realize the value of shared online content, knowledge management, collaborative problem solving, etc.
5. Creation, Refinement, and Changeability of Knowledge: Students who edit a Wikipedia page or wikibook will appreciate not just the refinement of knowledge, but also the fact that as research in an area expands and knowledge bases grow, what was held as truth one year or decade might not be in the next. In many ways, knowledge is socially constructed. Those who help in the quality assurance of Wikipedia pages will play a role in that social construction process as well as come to appreciate it. They will realize that there are always choices made in knowledge representation, organization, and dissemination.
Dr. Mimi Miyoung Lee at the University of Houston and I had students in our learning theory classes a few years ago critique chapters of a wikibook on learning theories created at the University of Georgia, then they edited one on learning theories that was initially created at Indiana Wesleyan University, and then they created their own wikibook on "The Practice of Learning Theories." Dr. Nari Kim, now assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, did her dissertation on part of this project. What was important is that instead of reading and lecturing as a way to obtain knowledge, they were editors, reviewers, and creators of it. It was a unique process. As we note in a recent book chapter, this was not particularly easy to coordinate across institutions; see Bonk, C. J., Lee, M. M., Kim, N., & Lin, M.-F. (2009, December). The tensions of transformation in three cross-institutional wikibook projects. The Internet and Higher Education, 12(3-4), 126-135. In a recent book chapter, we offer much instructional advice to those attempting such tasks: Bonk, C. J., Lee, M. M., Kim, N., & Lin, M.-F. (2010). Wikibook transformations and disruptions: Looking back twenty years to today. In H. H. Yang & S. C-Y. Yuen (Eds.), Collective intelligence and e-learning 2.0: Implications of Web-Based Communities and Networking (pp. 127-146). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.)
6. Content Creators: Such a project lies at the heart of the land of the Web 2.0. Students are no longer passive consumers of information, but, instead assume roles of content creators, editors, and remixers of it. Students participate in learning or contribute to a growing knowledge base. Such an approach springs to life a thirst of learning and motivates students to understand a discipline at a deeper level than previously possible. Clay Shirky from NYU discusses this in his new book Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. We are living in a unique times—this project from the Wikimedia Foundation is just one way in which it we know we entered a new age of learning; I call it “the learning century.”
7. Training of Future Instructors: This is a project that exemplifies problem-based learning. As such, students in public policy (or other) courses who engage in it, appreciate the empowering aspects of such a task. There should be extensive transfer to their own classrooms after they graduate. In effect, we need more such projects and partnerships with places like the Wikimedia Foundation. Hopefully, this is just a start.
8. International Service: Students as well as faculty members are providing an international service. Given that, this has the potential to explode. It might soon become as common to be a Wikipedia ambassador as one who presents at national and international conferences or reviews papers, agrees to be an external reviewer of dissertations, and writes recommendation letters. In fact, one might be justified in claiming that service on a few Wikipedia pages is more important than giving 2-3 papers at well known international conferences. Think about it!
9. Mentoring: A form of mentorship or cognitive apprenticeship is a stated goal of this project . My colleagues, Grace Lin from the University of Hawaii, Mimi Lee from the University of Houston, and Suthiporn Sajjapanrov, one of my doctoral students here at IU, and I have been researching the support structures in the sister project to Wikipedia; namely, Wikibooks (See: Sajjapanroj, S., Bonk, C. J., Lee, M, & Lin M.-F. (2008, Spring). A window on Wikibookians: Surveying their statuses, successes, satisfactions, and sociocultural experiences. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 7(1), 36-58. Available in HTML and (as a PDF). Despite numerous book project successes, there are many challenges and frustrations experienced at the Wikibooks website. Few book projects actually find completion. There is limited mentoring and support and few tools to help in the planning and completion of a wikibook. Of course, writing a wikibook is much more difficult than generating a page for Wikipedia. Expert mentoring and other forms of support that are promoted by this new initiative were highlighted. That is distinctive and definitely needed.
10. Expert Review: Millions of Wikipedia pages have been crafted in English alone but many call into question the review process of a Wikipedia page or any content generated on a wiki. This new initiative is a process for beginning peer review. It could start in public policy today and extend to tens of other disciplines by the spring of 2011 and more than 100 within a year or two. Imagine if there were thousands of professors teaching master’s and doctoral courses who attempted such a task. This is a key benefit for the Wikimedia Foundation but also for all users of its content.
11. Communities of Practice: When involved in creating or refining a corpus like Wikipedia, we enter into an established community. There already are people have “watch pages” over the content. This project will bring in more such experts to the review process. Students and new Wikipedians will be apprenticed into this community.
12. Time has Come: Given the millions of people who use Wikipedia, it makes sense to partner with those in higher education. That is a key part the mission of all of us in a higher education setting—to generate as well as disseminate knowledge in different disciplines. Given that Wikipedia is now central to the knowledge dissemination process as well as the linkages between content and fields, such partnerships are make sense. How many thousands or millions of K-12 teachers, college instructors, and corporate, government, and military trainers will find Wikipedia content more credible in a few years if this movement finds traction and grows.
Steven's Second Question.
Is it something that you think could actually gain traction, or do you think professors will decide that authoring and editing Wikipedia pages is not worth their or their students' time?
My Response:
Definitely! I mean, here is one of the most used information resources in the history of humankind. Why not elevate it? Why not play a role in it? Why not become authors and editors of knowledge, instead of just passive consumers of it? Some graduate level classes are already creating textbooks for those in the developing world as part of the Global Text Project which originated at the University of Georgia (http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/). If book creation is catching on, certainly Wikipedia editing will too—it is much easier to perform a Wikipedia editing project in a 15 week course than write a complete book or book chapter.
Keep in mind that if this is already happening in public policy, it will soon extend beyond it. Such activities will also make sense in schools of education. And without a doubt, medical and business schools will also find such projects attractive. Students can review and extend their learning, engage in new forms of collaboration, appreciate the digital world as a source for information resources, learn mentoring and tutoring skills, have a voice in the knowledge promoted within one’s field of study, etc. Wow, this is exciting to be sure!
...Ok, what do you all think of my response to Steven Kolowich from Inside Higher Education? Do you agree or disagree? Take a look at his full article (Wikipedia for Credit) which has mostly highly positive quotes from those he contacted. Then read the comments--they tend to not be so positive. So what do you think now?
===========================
In addition to the above, during the past weeks, I have been quoted in several otherr places (as I said, it goes in steaks):
First of all, I was interviewed by Jamal Eric Watson from Diverse Issues in Higher Education in the following article, “Indiana Launches Western Governors Program.” In Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, August 9, 2010. Available: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14023/indiana-launches-western-governors-university-program.html. Jamal wanted my take on this news as the state of Indiana adds a public university to its list of choices. Seems that many people are wondering what this means to the adults of Indiana who have perhaps completed some college courses but not a degree. I think it means a whole lot. Read the story. Jamal actually interviewed me back in July when I was in Sydney, Australia.
A few days before that, I was quoted by Bridget McCrea from Campus Technology Magazine for an article on how colleges and universities are building campus structures from a more student-centered and technology-rich perspective. This interview took place a few months ago (you never know when these things might appear). You are read the story here: “Remaking the College Campus.” In Campus Technology. August 5, 2010. Available: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2010/08/05/Remaking-the-College-Campus.aspx?Page=1 (3 pages) or get the full (more printable) version
This is just one such article on how administrators in K-12 and higher education settings are now having to rethink the design of their buildings as learning becomes more active, continuous, nontraditional, online, and student-centered. Many other such pieces have been appearing lately. In fact, back in June Campus Technology had another highly interesting article that was more comprehensive. Some of the things I discussed with Bridget McCrea a few months earlier may have found their way in there.
Matt Villano (2010, June). “7 Tips for Building Collaborative Learning Spaces.” Campus Technology.
And another such article came out just last week. In it, my good friend, Les Watson from the UK, was interviewed. Les has led many interesting projects, including one on the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland (see below for a link to a YouTube video on this very stunning learning environment; YouTube video #6 below). I got a tour from Les when the Saltire Centre was just being completed. What a place! Different types of learning taking place on every floor. If you need inspirational learning environments, Les is your man! Les is a God in this space. Perhaps someday he will push out a book that summarizing what is happening in this field.
By Bridget McCrea, September 1, 2010, Campus Technology, Remaking the College Library.
There are also some universities that offer YouTube videos of their cool new campus spaces:
1. Virtual Tour of New Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Library.
2. JISC - Designing Spaces: A campus for the 21st century: City Campus University of Wolverhampton.
3. tlc@bedford library - Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
4. The remodeled Ohio State Thompson Library (where I presented in early July). According to May 30, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education, this was a $109 million dollar project that help renovate some 300,000 square feet of space in a library that was over 100 years old.
5. Yonsei University: The New Library (I visited this place in May of 2009. What a fabulous library. Yonsei is known as one of the most prestigious universities in Asia and perhaps the best in Korea. I saw different types of learning each place I walked, from social gaming to learn English to students hitting touch screens for events on campus to collaborative team labs to individual work stations to watch lectures or do work. An amazing place! This second YouTube video on the new library at Yonsei that I just found with less viewers is perhaps even more impressive. Watch this one and you will agree that the Koreans lead the learning technology world. It is a place unlike no other in the world.
6. JISC - Designing Spaces: A social and collaborative learning space: The Saltire Centre Glasgow Caledonian University. Now this one is another definite see. Such a unique place, the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Ok, that is enough YouTube videos for you to get a sense of the massive scale of these changes. Those wanting more information on building redesigns should read this report from the UK (in which Les had a hand or 2 in it), "Learning Landscape Report on Building redesign." Report. Or try out these tools.
In addition, those into K-12 spaces might check out the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning which my good friend Gary David told me about 2-3 days ago. I just visited Gary in Sydney back in July...wish I had gone there to visit it now. Cool place.
Pushing on to still more news...The president of Boise State University, Robert Kustra, offered some very kind words about my book (The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education) in his state of the University Address a few weeks ago. It is a very energetic, thoughtful, and timely speech. So much is happening at one institution. Boise State seems to be preparing for the future of academia, not just heading up the football rankings as they have done this past week. If I was a new faculty member or recent Ph.D. graduate, BSU would be circled on my map as a possible place to go. I wrote to President Kustra and he asked me to be on his radio show in early November. Cool. There is a chance that I will head to Boise sometime later this year for a talk or 2.
He is his entire talk in the form of a blog post, “Read President Kustra’s Remarks from State of the University Address,”
President Robert Kustra, Boise State University, August 18, 2010
http://news.boisestate.edu/update/2010/08/18/read-text-of-state-of-the-university-address/
His speech is also available as a PDF document and you can download some of his slides:
1. A PDF of Address
2. President Kustra's Slides from his talk.
And Just Yesterday:
Yesterday (September 7, 2010) was also adventurous since I had to fly to Houston and back (same day) and speak at the University of Houston to accountants, finance, and IT people from the Chinese National Petroleum Company (the largest company in the world apparently) about e-learning stuffs (see slides). Had a blast. This was the 2nd time I have done that for them in the past couple of years. All 30 or so execs were under 40…they get over age 40 and it is difficult (if not impossible) to be promoted in China. Strange for those of us in North America to consider. But fun time anyway especially since I am a former accountant. (Sidenote: My World is Open book is currently being translated into Chinese by people at South China Normal University while East China Normal University will publish it.)
Tomorrow I speak via videoconferencing to people from the IU medical school (mostly in Indianapolis) about blended learning. Color PDFs of my slides for this talk are already posted as are the ones I did yesterday. Just visit my archives of my talks in TrainingShare.com.
I also plan to watch the Vikings play New Orleans with my Brett Farve #4 Vikings jersey on. My friends and family up in Wisconsin may not like that too much. Smile.
For instance, during late July and much of August, I have been talking to Jeffrey Young from the Chronicle of Higher Education about places and people in Asia he might this month when he is there. Jeffrey is visiting Singapore, China, Korea, and India. Like my recent book, A Special Passage through Asia E-Learning (also found here), Jeff is making such a journey in a physical sense. It seems like a fun (and important) trip. He has already been posting some of his experiences in Singapore.
As a second example, this past Thursday I received an email from Steve Kolowich, a writer for Inside Higher Education. He was under a tight deadline for a story about a new initiative of the Wikimedia Foundation. It involves asking professors to agree to integrate the creation and editing of Wikipedia entries into the assigned tasks of their course syllabi. They started with the recruitment of roughly nine professors from fairly high profile institutions such as Harvard, Georgetown, GWU, Indiana, Syracuse. They hope to expand this in the spring semester. For mroe details, one can go to this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_United_States_Public_Policy
Steven Kolowich, Wikipedia for Credit, Inside Higher Education, September 7, 2010. Available: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/09/07/wikipedia
Here is the resulting quote from me in the article:
“This is exciting to be sure!” wrote Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana and author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education, in an e-mail to Inside Higher Ed. “That is a key part the mission of all of us in a higher education setting — to generate as well as disseminate knowledge in different disciplines,” Bonk wrote. “Given that Wikipedia is now central to the knowledge dissemination process as well as the linkages between content and fields, such partnerships make sense.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, this has me excited about the student empowerment possibilities; especially given my research on wikibooks. My response to Steven was much much longer, however. For those who are curious, my full response is below.
Steven asked me 2 questions for his article:
Steven's First Question.
1. What do you make of this?
My Response:
There are several reasons for this:
1. Authenticity: It is an authentic class task. There is extensive discussion in higher education today for more authentic and engaging tasks. Millions of people use Wikipedia. Students know this. Professors know this. The professor does not have to design an assignment that has the “potential” to be used. Authentic and relevant tasks are motivating to students.
2. Value: As part of the authenticity of the task, there is value. In conducting Wikipedia page editing, they KNOW it will find use. Any work expanded will have huge payoffs. No doubt there. We all want others to find our work of value or use. Such a task—even a minor edit on a Wikipedia page—can give value and meaning to one’s life. And it is something a student or instructor can discuss with friends and family members (unlike most academic work). When that occurs, so, too, does enhanced self-efficacy, respect, and an appreciation for the work of others.
3. Collaboration: In the midst of all this, students are learning content that is current and doing so with others who have similar professional interests. This task is not just authentic and of high value, it often involves a team of people; most of whom one will never meet. The fact that they are collaborating on an online resource like a Wikipedia page is enough justification for professors to adopt this task in their classes. Students have to discuss and negotiate content, make decisions, share opinions and resources that they find to back up any changes in the content, contact other experts, engage in project management, etc.
4. Learning: In the midst of such tasks, they learn the material at a deeper and richer level. And they can reuse what they have created in other courses or projects. They can begin to realize the value of shared online content, knowledge management, collaborative problem solving, etc.
5. Creation, Refinement, and Changeability of Knowledge: Students who edit a Wikipedia page or wikibook will appreciate not just the refinement of knowledge, but also the fact that as research in an area expands and knowledge bases grow, what was held as truth one year or decade might not be in the next. In many ways, knowledge is socially constructed. Those who help in the quality assurance of Wikipedia pages will play a role in that social construction process as well as come to appreciate it. They will realize that there are always choices made in knowledge representation, organization, and dissemination.
Dr. Mimi Miyoung Lee at the University of Houston and I had students in our learning theory classes a few years ago critique chapters of a wikibook on learning theories created at the University of Georgia, then they edited one on learning theories that was initially created at Indiana Wesleyan University, and then they created their own wikibook on "The Practice of Learning Theories." Dr. Nari Kim, now assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, did her dissertation on part of this project. What was important is that instead of reading and lecturing as a way to obtain knowledge, they were editors, reviewers, and creators of it. It was a unique process. As we note in a recent book chapter, this was not particularly easy to coordinate across institutions; see Bonk, C. J., Lee, M. M., Kim, N., & Lin, M.-F. (2009, December). The tensions of transformation in three cross-institutional wikibook projects. The Internet and Higher Education, 12(3-4), 126-135. In a recent book chapter, we offer much instructional advice to those attempting such tasks: Bonk, C. J., Lee, M. M., Kim, N., & Lin, M.-F. (2010). Wikibook transformations and disruptions: Looking back twenty years to today. In H. H. Yang & S. C-Y. Yuen (Eds.), Collective intelligence and e-learning 2.0: Implications of Web-Based Communities and Networking (pp. 127-146). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.)
6. Content Creators: Such a project lies at the heart of the land of the Web 2.0. Students are no longer passive consumers of information, but, instead assume roles of content creators, editors, and remixers of it. Students participate in learning or contribute to a growing knowledge base. Such an approach springs to life a thirst of learning and motivates students to understand a discipline at a deeper level than previously possible. Clay Shirky from NYU discusses this in his new book Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. We are living in a unique times—this project from the Wikimedia Foundation is just one way in which it we know we entered a new age of learning; I call it “the learning century.”
7. Training of Future Instructors: This is a project that exemplifies problem-based learning. As such, students in public policy (or other) courses who engage in it, appreciate the empowering aspects of such a task. There should be extensive transfer to their own classrooms after they graduate. In effect, we need more such projects and partnerships with places like the Wikimedia Foundation. Hopefully, this is just a start.
8. International Service: Students as well as faculty members are providing an international service. Given that, this has the potential to explode. It might soon become as common to be a Wikipedia ambassador as one who presents at national and international conferences or reviews papers, agrees to be an external reviewer of dissertations, and writes recommendation letters. In fact, one might be justified in claiming that service on a few Wikipedia pages is more important than giving 2-3 papers at well known international conferences. Think about it!
9. Mentoring: A form of mentorship or cognitive apprenticeship is a stated goal of this project . My colleagues, Grace Lin from the University of Hawaii, Mimi Lee from the University of Houston, and Suthiporn Sajjapanrov, one of my doctoral students here at IU, and I have been researching the support structures in the sister project to Wikipedia; namely, Wikibooks (See: Sajjapanroj, S., Bonk, C. J., Lee, M, & Lin M.-F. (2008, Spring). A window on Wikibookians: Surveying their statuses, successes, satisfactions, and sociocultural experiences. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 7(1), 36-58. Available in HTML and (as a PDF). Despite numerous book project successes, there are many challenges and frustrations experienced at the Wikibooks website. Few book projects actually find completion. There is limited mentoring and support and few tools to help in the planning and completion of a wikibook. Of course, writing a wikibook is much more difficult than generating a page for Wikipedia. Expert mentoring and other forms of support that are promoted by this new initiative were highlighted. That is distinctive and definitely needed.
10. Expert Review: Millions of Wikipedia pages have been crafted in English alone but many call into question the review process of a Wikipedia page or any content generated on a wiki. This new initiative is a process for beginning peer review. It could start in public policy today and extend to tens of other disciplines by the spring of 2011 and more than 100 within a year or two. Imagine if there were thousands of professors teaching master’s and doctoral courses who attempted such a task. This is a key benefit for the Wikimedia Foundation but also for all users of its content.
11. Communities of Practice: When involved in creating or refining a corpus like Wikipedia, we enter into an established community. There already are people have “watch pages” over the content. This project will bring in more such experts to the review process. Students and new Wikipedians will be apprenticed into this community.
12. Time has Come: Given the millions of people who use Wikipedia, it makes sense to partner with those in higher education. That is a key part the mission of all of us in a higher education setting—to generate as well as disseminate knowledge in different disciplines. Given that Wikipedia is now central to the knowledge dissemination process as well as the linkages between content and fields, such partnerships are make sense. How many thousands or millions of K-12 teachers, college instructors, and corporate, government, and military trainers will find Wikipedia content more credible in a few years if this movement finds traction and grows.
Steven's Second Question.
Is it something that you think could actually gain traction, or do you think professors will decide that authoring and editing Wikipedia pages is not worth their or their students' time?
My Response:
Definitely! I mean, here is one of the most used information resources in the history of humankind. Why not elevate it? Why not play a role in it? Why not become authors and editors of knowledge, instead of just passive consumers of it? Some graduate level classes are already creating textbooks for those in the developing world as part of the Global Text Project which originated at the University of Georgia (http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/). If book creation is catching on, certainly Wikipedia editing will too—it is much easier to perform a Wikipedia editing project in a 15 week course than write a complete book or book chapter.
Keep in mind that if this is already happening in public policy, it will soon extend beyond it. Such activities will also make sense in schools of education. And without a doubt, medical and business schools will also find such projects attractive. Students can review and extend their learning, engage in new forms of collaboration, appreciate the digital world as a source for information resources, learn mentoring and tutoring skills, have a voice in the knowledge promoted within one’s field of study, etc. Wow, this is exciting to be sure!
...Ok, what do you all think of my response to Steven Kolowich from Inside Higher Education? Do you agree or disagree? Take a look at his full article (Wikipedia for Credit) which has mostly highly positive quotes from those he contacted. Then read the comments--they tend to not be so positive. So what do you think now?
===========================
In addition to the above, during the past weeks, I have been quoted in several otherr places (as I said, it goes in steaks):
First of all, I was interviewed by Jamal Eric Watson from Diverse Issues in Higher Education in the following article, “Indiana Launches Western Governors Program.” In Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, August 9, 2010. Available: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14023/indiana-launches-western-governors-university-program.html. Jamal wanted my take on this news as the state of Indiana adds a public university to its list of choices. Seems that many people are wondering what this means to the adults of Indiana who have perhaps completed some college courses but not a degree. I think it means a whole lot. Read the story. Jamal actually interviewed me back in July when I was in Sydney, Australia.
A few days before that, I was quoted by Bridget McCrea from Campus Technology Magazine for an article on how colleges and universities are building campus structures from a more student-centered and technology-rich perspective. This interview took place a few months ago (you never know when these things might appear). You are read the story here: “Remaking the College Campus.” In Campus Technology. August 5, 2010. Available: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2010/08/05/Remaking-the-College-Campus.aspx?Page=1 (3 pages) or get the full (more printable) version
This is just one such article on how administrators in K-12 and higher education settings are now having to rethink the design of their buildings as learning becomes more active, continuous, nontraditional, online, and student-centered. Many other such pieces have been appearing lately. In fact, back in June Campus Technology had another highly interesting article that was more comprehensive. Some of the things I discussed with Bridget McCrea a few months earlier may have found their way in there.
Matt Villano (2010, June). “7 Tips for Building Collaborative Learning Spaces.” Campus Technology.
And another such article came out just last week. In it, my good friend, Les Watson from the UK, was interviewed. Les has led many interesting projects, including one on the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland (see below for a link to a YouTube video on this very stunning learning environment; YouTube video #6 below). I got a tour from Les when the Saltire Centre was just being completed. What a place! Different types of learning taking place on every floor. If you need inspirational learning environments, Les is your man! Les is a God in this space. Perhaps someday he will push out a book that summarizing what is happening in this field.
By Bridget McCrea, September 1, 2010, Campus Technology, Remaking the College Library.
There are also some universities that offer YouTube videos of their cool new campus spaces:
1. Virtual Tour of New Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Library.
2. JISC - Designing Spaces: A campus for the 21st century: City Campus University of Wolverhampton.
3. tlc@bedford library - Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
4. The remodeled Ohio State Thompson Library (where I presented in early July). According to May 30, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education, this was a $109 million dollar project that help renovate some 300,000 square feet of space in a library that was over 100 years old.
5. Yonsei University: The New Library (I visited this place in May of 2009. What a fabulous library. Yonsei is known as one of the most prestigious universities in Asia and perhaps the best in Korea. I saw different types of learning each place I walked, from social gaming to learn English to students hitting touch screens for events on campus to collaborative team labs to individual work stations to watch lectures or do work. An amazing place! This second YouTube video on the new library at Yonsei that I just found with less viewers is perhaps even more impressive. Watch this one and you will agree that the Koreans lead the learning technology world. It is a place unlike no other in the world.
6. JISC - Designing Spaces: A social and collaborative learning space: The Saltire Centre Glasgow Caledonian University. Now this one is another definite see. Such a unique place, the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Ok, that is enough YouTube videos for you to get a sense of the massive scale of these changes. Those wanting more information on building redesigns should read this report from the UK (in which Les had a hand or 2 in it), "Learning Landscape Report on Building redesign." Report. Or try out these tools.
In addition, those into K-12 spaces might check out the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning which my good friend Gary David told me about 2-3 days ago. I just visited Gary in Sydney back in July...wish I had gone there to visit it now. Cool place.
Pushing on to still more news...The president of Boise State University, Robert Kustra, offered some very kind words about my book (The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education) in his state of the University Address a few weeks ago. It is a very energetic, thoughtful, and timely speech. So much is happening at one institution. Boise State seems to be preparing for the future of academia, not just heading up the football rankings as they have done this past week. If I was a new faculty member or recent Ph.D. graduate, BSU would be circled on my map as a possible place to go. I wrote to President Kustra and he asked me to be on his radio show in early November. Cool. There is a chance that I will head to Boise sometime later this year for a talk or 2.
He is his entire talk in the form of a blog post, “Read President Kustra’s Remarks from State of the University Address,”
President Robert Kustra, Boise State University, August 18, 2010
http://news.boisestate.edu/update/2010/08/18/read-text-of-state-of-the-university-address/
His speech is also available as a PDF document and you can download some of his slides:
1. A PDF of Address
2. President Kustra's Slides from his talk.
And Just Yesterday:
Yesterday (September 7, 2010) was also adventurous since I had to fly to Houston and back (same day) and speak at the University of Houston to accountants, finance, and IT people from the Chinese National Petroleum Company (the largest company in the world apparently) about e-learning stuffs (see slides). Had a blast. This was the 2nd time I have done that for them in the past couple of years. All 30 or so execs were under 40…they get over age 40 and it is difficult (if not impossible) to be promoted in China. Strange for those of us in North America to consider. But fun time anyway especially since I am a former accountant. (Sidenote: My World is Open book is currently being translated into Chinese by people at South China Normal University while East China Normal University will publish it.)
Tomorrow I speak via videoconferencing to people from the IU medical school (mostly in Indianapolis) about blended learning. Color PDFs of my slides for this talk are already posted as are the ones I did yesterday. Just visit my archives of my talks in TrainingShare.com.
I also plan to watch the Vikings play New Orleans with my Brett Farve #4 Vikings jersey on. My friends and family up in Wisconsin may not like that too much. Smile.
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