How Informal Learning Networks Can Transform Education

ASI 2010 - Toronto Ontario - August 2010 - Dr. Alec Couros

#asi2010

me

The Blur

“Web 2.0 tools exist that might allow academics to reflect and reimagine what they do as scholars. Such tools might

positively affect -- even transform - research, teaching, and service responsibilities - only if scholars choose to build

serious academic lives online, presenting semi-public selves and becoming invested in and connected to the work of their peers and students.” (Greenhow, Robella, & Hughes, 2009)

journey(short version)

“given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”

(Linusʼ Law, Raymond 1997)

“Open source software communities are one of the most

successful -- and least understood -- examples of high performance collaboration and

community building on the Internet today.”

(Kim, 2003)

“A key to transformation is for the teaching profession to establish innovation networks that capture the spirit and culture of hackers -

the passion, the can-do, collective sharing.”

(Hargreaves, 2003)

open / connected

• philosophical stance

• power & control

• access

• design attributes

- privacy/publics

- transparency

- accountability

open(ness)(short version)

open source software

open contentopen access publication

open accreditation

open education

open access coursesopen teaching

free software

open educational resources

open(ness)(short version)

connected(ness)(short version)

• pedagogical & pragmatic stance

• knowledge exchange, curating, wayfinding, crowdsourcing, collaboration, problem solving

• personal learning network/environment (PLN/PLE)

shift

“Tell me ... what it is I am educating and what sort of world we live in, and I will tell you what I

am aiming at.”(Garforth, 1962)

Knowledge

• what is k?

• how is k acquired?

• how do we know what we know?

• why do we know what we know?

• what do humans know?

• who controls k?

• how is k controlled?

Questions

Free/Open Content“describes any kind of creative work in a format that explicitly allows copying and

modifying of its information by anyone, not exclusively by a closed organization, firm, or

individual.” (Wikipedia)

Media

connected reality

Stats as of March 17/10 via Mashable

personalization

parents as pirates

the reality?

Networks

“Understanding how networks work is one of the most important

literacies of the 21st century.”(Rheingold, 2010)

• redefine communities, friends, citizenship, identity, presence, privacy, publics, geography.

• enable learning, communication, sharing, collaboration, community.

• networks form around shared interests & objects.

social networks

the utility of networks

(re)shaping collaboration

divide

issues

Inappropriate Content

http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/searchspy

“Some of the comments on Youtube make you weep for the future of humanity, just for the spelling alone, never mind the obscenity and naked hatred.”

(Lev Grossman)@leverus

Verifiability

Identity

“You are not Facebookʼs customer. you are the product

that they sell to real customers - advertisers. Forget this at your

peril.”(Greenberg, 2010, via tweet)

Privacy/Ethics

Kyle Doyle is not going to work today, f*** it, I’m still

trashed. SICKIE WOO

Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the

utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose

and hating the work

literacies

“...the set of abilities and skills where aural, visual, & digital overlap. These include the ability to understand the

power of images & sounds, to recognize & use that power, to manipulate &

transform them pervasively, & to easily adapt to new forms.”

(New Media Consortium, 2005, on ʻnew literaciesʼ)

- new media are texts

- information is abundant

- surge of multimodal/multimedia expression

- authorship increasingly complex

- social contexts collapsing

- potential audience expanding

- social connections important

- technology tends to be deterministic

- digital reputation management vital to citizenry

- wayfinding, sensemaking, curation, participation, production vital to literacy

assumptions(short version)

pay attention to ...

•Properties: persistence, replicability, searchability, scalability, (de)locatability.

•Dynamics: invisible audiences, collapsed contexts, blurring of public & private spaces @zephoria

danah boyd

1. coding competence(the ability to decode texts)

(Adapted from Four Resources Model, Freebody & Luke, 1990)

2. semantic competence(the ability to make meaning)

(Adapted from Four Resources Model, Freebody & Luke, 1990)

3. pragmatic competence(functional literacy)

(Adapted from Four Resources Model, Freebody & Luke, 1990)

Professional Identities

http://mediagirl.org/node/1535

4. critical competence(ability to select, analyze & participate in texts)

(Adapted from Four Resources Model, Freebody & Luke, 1990)

finding inspiration

@kathycassidy

Example #1 - Connecting to Experts

Example #2: Publishing in the Open

ps22chorus.blogspot.com

Example #3: Use of Public Content

@christianlong

Example #4: Educator as ...

Example #5: Portfolios

Example #6: Social Reading

Example #7: Global Mentoring

Example #8: Real-time Feedback

Example #9: PD Anytime/Anywhere

Example #10: Remix/Mashup/Repurpose

• Learning networks redefine how knowledge is created, distributed & managed.

• Informal educator networks are becoming increasingly important and will redefine teaching, learning, and ProD.

• The future of learning is open, connected, & social.

The Big Ideas

web: couros.catwitter: courosagoogle: couros

couros@gmail.com

Donʼt limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in

another time. ~Tagore