Month: February 2008

Categories
Learning Opportunities

Distance Learning and Social Software

EDUCAUSE is sponsoring an upcoming (March 3rd) ELI web seminar with Terry Anderson, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Distance Education at Athabasca University.


Many Students Loosely Joined: Social Software to Support Distance Education Learners will likely be of interest to any of you who are thinking about the potential for social/collaborative tools to improve both distance and blended learning environments.

I’ve attended several of these ELI online seminars and count them among the best online learning experiences I’ve had. Hope some of you will have a chance to check it out.

Cindy

Categories
Teaching Presence

Connection, Collaboration and Transformation




Trust is the Key to Web 2.0

Originally uploaded by kid.mercury

I’ve just returned from the ELI Annual Meeting in San Antonio. The topic was Connecting and Reflecting: Preparing Learners for Web 2.0 ( a much maligned term referring to principles and practices of collaborative, participatory, democratic participation on the web). Technology plays a role, no doubt – but it’s all about the learning and the transformations that are beginning to emerge.

There are so many thoughts and resources I could share. Here are a few take-aways and some accompanying resources that I will be revisiting for some time. Hopefully, you’ll find some of these as thought provoking as I have:

  • Encouraging learners to fully participate in designing their own learning leads to more “ownership”, more authentic learning outcomes and greater partnership between learner and teacher. Resource: podcasted conversation with conversation with Barbara Sawhill, Director of the Cooper International Learning Center at Oberlin College, and Jude Higdon, Instructional Technology Support Team Coordinator at the University of Minnesota (about half an hour in length).
  • There is much fear associated with the use of collaborative tools and technologies associated with web 2.0 in academia- it’s important to keep the dialogue open and moving forward. Resource: A Digi-Drama about Fear 2.0. I wasn’t lucky enough to get in on this session but have since reviewed the videoclips and they are well worth the half hour spent!
  • Access to excellent, good and mediocre quality learning resources on the web has exploded. We have a role in helping learners learn how to navigate this, learn how to make meaning and make learning processes more transparent. Resource: An assortment of the video archives of featured sessions hosted by the ELI. Average length: about an hour.

    And , if you are interested in poking around at some of the resources that Educause has to offer, you may want to start here.

    • All for now.

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