Category Archives: Social Media

The New Education Ecology

Excellent keynote by Lee Rainie from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. During the presentation, Lee focused on three different recent internet revolutions that have influenced education.

Broadband is more ubiquitous. This cause more and more individuals to be content creators as evidenced by wikipedia. There are many more amateur networks that help to push education ahead. You don’t have to be considered a professional to add to the discussion. My thoughts on this are for amateur influences. I believe in the notion of collective intelligence and the policing of information by the masses to make sure that it is correct.
Social networking has improved peer-to-peer interactions leading to more learning by doing. In my daily existence, I can see this a very powerful. For instance, I often will use facebook to determine what news to read. One problem with this is having a varied enough group of “friends” that I get the full perspective on any given subject.
Mobile is on the rise making mLearning the wave of the future. My biggest question is what students will access via mobile and what devices will be the most used. To me, one disadvantage of mobile will be screen space. There are certain items that just require space to get the full educational experience. On the otherhand, being able to check grades or do things like discussion forums would be nice to have via mobile.

Here are some other nuggets that I got from the session:

Two-thirds of Americans are now connected to the Internet.
The following stats regarding those who use the Internet:

Mapping services (23%)
Bloggers (14%)
Twitter (13%)
Social Media Location Awareness (9%)

Continuous Partial Attention – Linda Stone

17th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning

Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology

Having attended this conference, I thought it would be easiest to use this as a way to navigate to the sessions. I also decided to attend in the moment rather than spend my time trying to multitask. Doing this took me into Wednesday of the next week to finish. I’m so excited to not only to have had the opportunity to attend this event, but also to do a presentation. When visiting the session, keynote, and plenary pages, there will be a title with a link to abstract, presenter info, and resources.

11/08/11
Travel Day

11/09/11
BS – Before Sessions…
Session: The Impact of Mobile Access on Motivation: Distance Education Student Perceptions
Session: Managing and Delivering Online Student Team Based Projects
Session: Building Learning Games Using Rapid Interactivity
Keynote Address: The New Education Ecology
Dinner

11/10/11
Plenary Address: The Obviousness of Open Policy
Session: Using the Virtual World of Second Life to Achieve Educational Objectives
Session: Interact! Creating Addictive Learning Environments Through Evidence-Based Research & Technology
Session: Best Practices to Promote Learning Through Web Conferencing Resources, Tools, and Teaching Methods
Session: Hands-On Lab Projects in an Online IT Course: Virtualization or Simulation?
Session: Moving Forward with Backward Design (I co-presented)
Epcot Dessert and Evening Activities

11/11/11
Plenary Address: My Explorations of Social Media and Social Media Literacies in Teaching and Learning
Session: Developing an Accessible Online Course: A Process Overview
Session: Active Learning in Virtual Worlds
Session: The Reality of Virtual Worlds: Theory & Research Become Practical Application
Travel Home

Reflection 10/24/11-10/28/11

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Accomplishments:

� Continued with IST 111S revision

o Checked in with Emilee about the progress of the videos that we shot. She’s working on them and will post to youtube when they are completed

o Sent an email to Deirdre to check on progress

� Checked in with Lisa B about 220 revision. Meeting planned for Monday 10/31/11 with John Fulmer via Elluminate Live from 11-?

� Added videos for solutions to Problems of the Week to IST 230

� Continued IST 331 revision

o Reexamined the revision plan and dropped over to talk to Martin about progress and future direction

� Continued with IST 402 revision

o Rosalie is done with the newest edition to the course (new course project). She is now working on updating the previous content, updating the assessments, and other items

o Updated David Saab on course progress via email since he will be the one teaching the course

o Plan to meet with David when the course is completed (around Thanksgiving) to discuss the course and how the development process works

� Attended the Educational Gaming Brownbag: Using Game-Like Elements to Increase Motivation and Participation in Business Courses on Wednesday Oct 19. Here is a blog post about the experience: https://sites.psu.edu/rep129blog/2011/10/19/gaming-brown-bag-gamification/

� Attended the meeting to discuss benefit changes for 2012. Summarized in the following link: http://ohr.psu.edu/benefits/benefits-enrollment

Ongoing Projects:

� Working on Spring 2012 courses: IST 111S, IST 230, IST 295A, IST 331, IST 402, IST 495

� Working on Summer 2012 courses: IST 210, IST 220, IST 240, IST 250, IST 260W, IST 295B, IST 301, IST 302, IST 420, IST 421, IST 440W

� Check for flash and video that doesn’t show up from the WC version.

� Adding peer evals in drupal to courses.

� Working on checking courses (content isn’t always there) from WCLD to be placed in Drupal through OIDI task list

� Updating syllabi & content in drupal

� Worked on preparations for SLOAN-C conference presentation, especially elements for the presentation

� Reading the book Understanding by Design: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Design-Expanded-Grant-Wiggins/dp/0131950843/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

Immediate Decisions / Issues:

� Would like to have a better working knowledge of…

o Kaltura

o Jaycut

Some things that I learn this week:

� When trying to save an mp4, I had to use Chrome to save them to my computer. In firefox, I was prompted to buy quicktime pro.

� When using Penn State wikis, to make the wiki viewable to anyone, go to Browse->Space Admin->Permissions. At the bottom where it says Anonymous Access, select Edit Permissions and Select All.

Back Burner:

� Gaming, Simulations, and Virtual World Research Committee

Days off / Conferences:

� Conference Nov. 8-11 – SLOAN-C Conference: http://sloanconsortium.org/aln

� March 24 TLT Symposium – thinking of using this opportunity to practice session for Madison Conference

� Dental Appt scheduled for 2/24/12 (Plan to take half day in the am)

There was talk on Yammer about flipping the classroom. Here is a video that was shared about using VoiceThread: http://vimeopro.com/voicethread/webinars/video/30876127. Based upon my experience as a teacher and some of the reading and reflection that I’ve been doing concerning Understanding by Design. I’m apprehensive to go with anything that is coming from the perspective of more activity means better teaching. It is important to be thoughtful in our process of creating educational experiences before just implementing anything that we think of. I thought the following quote from Chris Millet resonates with me:

“I do think that we need to think about what happens in the classroom as well as how the outside-the-classroom materials are designed and delivered. For instance, we shouldn’t be putting full lectures online for students to watch before class, but rather concise, well-chunked material that encourages students to formulate questions, which are elaborated on in class. I don’t think the idea can work without both sides of the flip being well-designed and integrated.”

Had 2 fast runs in a row Thursday and Friday. Both runs were better than I anticipated they’d be (8:45 min/mile and 9:18 min/mile) for the 2 mile and 4 mile, respectively. I need to remember to stretch more.

The kids are growing everyday. I can see that Simeon is learning more about writing in school. He’s also becoming much more physically aggressive when he plays sports based upon interaction with his classmates at school on the playground.

Noah is still struggling with potty training at night. We’re guessing that he needs to develop more. Noah really like interaction and play, like any kid. He’s very social and is learning to use these skills in interacting with his friends at pre-school.

Micah is growing in stature and his actions everyday. Yesterday, when I picked him up, he kissed me about 4 times. He’s also using his sign language skills to say more, ball, and all done. He’s eating more and enjoying life in general, smiling and content most of the time.

TLT Symposium 03.26.11 – Keynote Clay Shirky

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Cognitive Surplus, Collaboration, and Social Learning

Excellent Keynote! Here’s a video of his presentation
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyaTuG7oVcI]

Clay’s point: Being embedded in any community is greater than just an egocentric act.
My reflection: There are so many who are plugged into the community, but might it not be for egocentric reasons?

Clay’s quote: “Mixing of the serious and frivolous is something that we need to get used to.”
My reflection: This really hit home for me. Before come to World Campus Learning Design, I wasn’t much into the social media scene. When I got here, I got a facebook account and a twitter account. Facebook is definitely more manageable for me. I stopped even looking at my twitter feed because it was so difficult for me to stay on top of it. I started to feel like I need to adjust my filter. How much am I throwing away just because of a few irritating posts.

Clay’s quote: “Publish then filter.”
My reflection: This short statement says so much with so little. Putting out a small statement allows for the community to add to make a complete statement. I struggle with this, and it holds me back from capturing ideas.

Clay’s quote: “It’s not about adding a few tools to the ecosystem; it’s about changing the ecosystem.”
My reflection: This is something that is so difficult to do. The past and legacy often inhibits us from starting fresh. The items of legacy need to be rethought. But removing the past can make for so much more work. Not sure how to learn from the past without taking along the pieces that hold us down.

Website for Working Collaboratively with Video – pixorial.com

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Reading through course surveys, I had come across a student’s suggestion to use http://www.pixorial.com/. In the course in question, students need to create a collaborative video, but they encounter many obstacles as fully online students. Besides the communication barriers, they also need to share video which tends to have large file size in a medium that does not accept this type of sharing (ANGEL). They also need to edit the video. At this point, the project becomes more of a shared individual process. Different members of the team specialize in capturing video, editing video, uploading video. I was hoping that pixorial would allow students to create a shared account that would allow them all to upload videos to a shared project and edit collaboratively. What I found is that this is not what happens. The user uploads and creates a project that can be uploaded to video, but it is still an individual process. Here is an example that I did in using pixorial.com:

I would appreciate any suggestions or insights that anyone may have on using video projects in courses or using sites like pixorial.com. If anyone knows of a way to make video projects in an online environment more collaborative in nature, I’d love to know about it.

Reflection on Manifesto: I Am Not a Brand

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Thanks to @ cmykdorothy for her share of the following article: Manifesto: I Am Not a Brand. There are several quotes that resonated with me.

Article Exerpt: “My neighbor [fellow speaker at a conference] had a lot to say. She had a MESSAGE. She talked longer than anyone, and over everyone and through everyone. Her message, as far as I could determine, was that the internet is all about getting out there and SELLING yourself.

‘I’m a brand,’ she said, every minute or so. ‘I’m always thinking of ways to promote my brand.’ It was all brand, brand, brand, brand, brand.

The other thing she said that made my head swivel around uncomfortably was, ‘Get your message and repeat it OVER AND OVER. Just keep saying your message OVER AND OVER in the same way. Just tweet it and put it out on Facebook OVER AND OVER.'”

My Reflection: This is a strategy, but I would argue an unwise one. The first thing that comes to mind is The Boy Who Cried Wolf. When do you dull the follower. I’d rather surprise a reader than drone on and on with the same message.

Article Exerpt: “Just to be clear on this thing I am not, maybe I should define my understanding of personal branding. A personal brand is a little package you make of yourself so you can put yourself on the shelf in the marketplace and people will know what to expect or look for when they come to buy you. For example, Coke is a brand. When you see Coke, you expect a dark brown effervescent sweet drink that is always going to taste like . . . Coke. McDonalds is going to sell you inexpensive, fast food. The Ritz or the Four Seasons is going to sell you a luxury experience. BP will now be known as the brand that destroys the costal ecosystem of the southeastern United States.”

My Reflection: To me as a reader, I enjoy when the writer makes me think. I don’t like following one train of thought. I’d rather be challenged with disparate lines of reasoning so I can find my place.

Article Excerpt: “So there we were, grappling for the microphone, polar opposites in every way. And then I noticed that when people on the other side of the table were talking, the woman pulled out her phone and started reading messages. She didn’t listen to what the others were saying.”

My Reflection: This is my biggest obstacle regarding social media. There are so many voices, and so many are just shouting at the top of their lungs to listen to me. Who’s listening? It’s nearly impossible to listen to all of the voices. It’s not because you don’t want to listen, it’s because you get overwhelmed. If I do read and try to engage, I become consumed, paralyzed, and have trouble doing anything else.

Article Excerpt: “Some people don’t get it. They don’t get that the Internet is a conversation. They think the message only goes one way — out. Things must be shouted. Things must be thrust in your face. Things must be sold.”

My Reflection: Conversations require 2 or more individuals who are talking and listening. Sometimes, I get the feeling that if I don’t respond quickly enough the conversation will go on without you.

Article Excerpt: “The other side, the side I am on, is the one that sees an organic Internet full of people.”

My Reflection: The more voices, the greater the engagement, the richer the experience, the greater the opportunity for collaboration and creativity.

Article Excerpt: “I write because I actually like doing it…”

My Reflection: I write because I need to. If I don’t I’ll lose my way. But I can tell when someone really likes writing and enjoys it. It’s refreshing to read from those people and inspires me.

Article Excerpt: “

MY POINT IS . . . it’s early days yet on the Internet, and lines are being drawn. We can, if we group together, fight off the weenuses and hosebags who want to turn the Internet into a giant commercial. Hence, the manifesto. It goes something like this:

The Internet is made of people. People matter. This includes you. Stop trying to sell everything about yourself to everyone. Don’t just hammer away and repeat and talk at people — talk TO people. It’s organic. Make stuff for the Internet that matters to you, even if it seems stupid. Do it because it’s good and feels important. Put up more cat pictures. Make more songs. Show your doodles. Give things away and take things that are free. Look at what other people are doing, not to compete, imitate, or compare . . . but because you enjoy looking at the things other people make. Don’t shove yourself into that tiny, airless box called a brand — tiny, airless boxes are for trinkets and dead people.”

My Reflection: This stands for itself. Love it!

FTW – For the Wrecord

My Thoughts