Our Occupy Learning assessment for 100 Thomas Building can be accessed through the following link:
https://sites.google.com/site/occupylearning/100thomas
Assignment
Community Collage (Team Tiger)
View the following PDF for descriptions of sources that have been remixed/appropriated for this collage: CollageElements.pdf
Team Dragon – Communities: A Force to be Reckoned With
The following video, set in film trailer format, employs Wenger’s thoughts (the text portions) with imagery and music to communicate several core notions about communities of practice. The images that follow each text frame provide various examples from contemporary society. The video is intended for viewers familiar with Wenger.
Class for January 31, 2012
Welcome back (to Scott and Cole). Hopefully you had a productive week last week in your teams. Videos and blog posts were up and commented on, so now on to the tasks for the day. We need to look over the rubrics you developed for the course assignments, as well as the initial models for Occupy Learning. These will be critical as we move forward in the class. We also have a lot to discuss with Pea, Rogers, Mcluhan and Fiore, and Gee all being read since the last time we talked. We have completed blogs on community, identity and design, and this week you have to think about synthesis. It is a big week and we are excited to be back.
- A rubric for the team writings and comments: Each team will have time to present and discuss their rubrics. We will then ask you to cart one agreed upon final rubric that will be used.
- Each team will have time to present their videos. We will take time to react to them in general.
- Watch Town Hall on Instructional Space Intro
- Occupy Learning assignments
Five Worst Classrooms on Campus (Onward State)
Five Best Classrooms on Campus (Onward State)
Out of Class
- Readings are Wenger (pages 3-41) and danah boyd. Both readings are found on the Yammer site.
- Team post with a focus on synthesis. This means how you see the three themes of community, identity and design being connected.- Each team should have one.
- First Occupy assignment – Each team should have one.
In class the next week (week 5):
- Discuss Wenger and boyd and share your synthesis of the three themes.
Team Tiger on Design • 01.27.12 • Pea and Rogers
In the spirit of design, we chose an interesting and colorful template to display our reflections.
With the advent of portable devices with GPS, a compass, and a network, we can now design a layer on top of the real world that can contain all kinds of new information, ideas, and experiences. This is called augmented reality. Click on this podcast link to hear more about RJDJ. This design may fulfill the desires of some, according to Pea, but Rogers may have some concerns about the diffusion rate of this new space and new reality.
Team Tiger Video Project
Class for January 24, 2012
Both Cole and Scott will not be able to be in class today, so we are asking you to work within your teams to construct a couple of artifacts. In addition to the weekly readings and team post, we want you to start working on the rubrics that we will begin to use to asses the weekly team-based posts and the associated comments. We are also interested in you creating a model post that we will use as a framework for the coming Occupy Learning artifacts. During what would be class time, each team will produce:
- A rubric for the team writings and comments
- A model Occupy Learning outcome using the KC classroom as the model. Plan to interview both of us, others in and around our classroom space, and perhaps each other. A goal is to make each of these multimedia in form, so be prepared to take pictures, shoot video, record audio, etc to illustrate what the room is really like. Think critically about what both the positive and negative aspects of the space are. Talk about potential areas for improvements. Think about the learning space itself. (keeping in mind that future will not be the rooms we will be working in). Also, make sure your team asks about what kinds of instruction the classroom supports.
Out of Class
- Readings are Pea and Rogers. Both readings are found on the Yammer site.
- Team post with a focus on design. – Each team should have one.
- Rubric for team based posts – Each team should have one.
- Sample Occupy web frameworks. – Each team should have one. This should illustrate a vision for how these artifacts should be shared.
In class the next week (week 4):
- Present videos
- Present the rubrics
- Present the framework
- Discuss Pea & Rogers (Diffusion)
Identifying Identity (Group 2)
This week’s readings (“An Introduction to Discourse Analysis Theory and method” by Gee (1999), and The Medium is the Massage by McLuhan & Fiore (1967)) provided interesting fodder for an analysis of identity. In particular, Team Tiger (aka Group 2) focused on the following themes as they related to the concept of identity: d/Discourse Analysis, Recognition, Individualism/Authorship, and Context.
Language and communication impact identity. Gee shows (through Discourse Analysis) the ability to deconstruct a speaker’s personality and values. In essence, we “enact” language for purposes of representing a particular identity, while at the same time, language constructs an identity for us. It provides the ability to share our inner thoughts and ideas, but also shapes how we can communicate these effectively.
Many members in our group found the ideas in Gee’s “Real Indian” section particularly compelling. Roi has personally experienced the contextually-defined aspect of Japanese-American identity while navigating different spaces. Laura spent last summer living on an Ojibwe reservation and found it disconcerting that Gee did not mention (what she had experienced as being) the biggest deciding factor of “Real Indian” recognition–poverty. MJ posited that student groups also hold strong opinions and ideals that directly influence their identities. Recognizing, identifying, and understanding the implications of those interactions is something that is often not a focus for teachers, but should be.
While the two may seem dichotomous, it may be possible for collaboration to feed and nurture individualism. Individual identity [at least in the United States] is still the dominant definition of ‘identity’ and collective identity seems to take a back seat. However, the two can develop alongside each other. Just because more than one person contributes to a piece of work, individual input can still be important and recognized.
McLuhan & Fiore illustrates how context and content are inherently intertwined in The Medium is the Massage. Our senses cannot be turned off. They play a huge role in how we situate ourselves within our communities the roles that we play. With new technological advances (and their impact on how we receive communication), comes the “reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life” (McLuhan & Fiore, 1966, pg. 3).
Identity influences (and is influenced by) multiple and interrelated factors. Gee and McLuhan & Fiore tease a few of these out–d/Discourse Analysis, Recognition, Individualism/Authorship, and Context. Understanding the links and their relationships help educators appreciate both students and the learning process.
Image is Girl Before a Mirror, Pablo Picasso, Boisgeloup, March 1932. Oil on canvas, 64 x 51 1/4″ (162.3 x 130.2 cm). Gift of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim. � 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Exploring Disruptive Technology
We are asking you to do a little exploration into emerging technologies as teams. One of the better resources on the web for educators to tap into is Educause. They produce an excellent series called, “7 Things You Should Know About …” It is essentially a series of short white papers that answer seven simple questions about a given technology. On lots of levels it the first place we stop when researching a new technology in a teaching or learning context. Find the seven things series by visiting the Educause site (http://www.educause.edu/7Things).
With that in mind, we’d like you to look at a few of the ones they have there that perk your interests as a team. Once you’ve organized your thoughts a bit about it we’d like you to create and share a short YouTube video that lets us know the following:
- What technologies did you review?
- Why?
- Are there novel ways you could see those technologies being put to use in education?
- Are there technologies you couldn’t find at the Educause site that you’d like to learn more about?
If you don’t have a YouTube account, just create one and record your video. If you don’t have a webcam, all the machines in our classroom have one … otherwise, most of the campus labs have webcams available. Once your video is recorded on YouTube, you’ll use the Embed Code to create a new entry at the course site with your video in it. To embed a video follow these directions:
- Log into http://blogs.psu.edu and create a New Entry at the course blog.
- Switch from “Rich Text” to “Convert Line Breaks” in the Format drop down menu
- Write and format the text for the body of your entry. (Note: The easiest approach is to describe the video first, then insert it.)
- Look for the Embed code on the YouTube page and cut and paste it into the text body of the new entry. (The embed code begins as “<object width =…")
- Save and publish the entry. The video stream will be displayed in your blog.
Your entry format field should look like this before adding your embed code:
Laura March
My name is Laura March and I’m a townie–I was born and raised in State College, PA. After graduating from Penn State with an undergraduate degree in art, I spent a few years working in New York City as a web designer and producer.
My three biggest passions are people, art, and technology. In particular, I’m interested in how they benefit one other. I’m also attracted to technology’s capability to create accessible learning environments for people with diverse abilities. Cupcakes (and eating in general) are also high on my list.
Hmm…something interesting about me…Well, I interned for MTV one summer during college and spent much of my time as a messenger and memorized most of the Manhattan subway lines. Send me a tweet (@theartofmarch) if you ever get lost in the city or need to know where the closest train station is and I can help you out! The rest of my summer was spent blurring-out inappropriate things for cable television on Flavor of Love.
As an ex-web designer, I feel pretty comfortable using digital/online technology. However, I think I’m most interested in its use as a tool for conversations, learning, and creative exploration. The fact that a particular technology exists is not as interesting to me as how (and by whom) it is used. As such, I hope that technology influences more than just educational content. I believe that teaching and learning can (and should) evolve into a learner-centered endeavor. Through new media, we can create environments that are more conducive to an individual learner’s strengths.
I also think that much of what we currently believe is important to know (and how we go about teaching it) may longer be relevant. Rote memorization of facts ought to be replaced by critical thinking skills. A fifth grader could easily search the Internet to find the capital of Alaska, but how do we teach that student the difference between information gleaned from a .gov URL and a Yahoo! Answers response thread?
This class looks awesome. I have a bit of a rebellious streak and can’t wait to discover more ways that technology encourages critical thinking, innovations, and revolutions.