In search of learning objectives
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Rebecca
Jun 27, 2011, 8:07:38 AM6/27/11
to eduMOOC
Hi everyone,
I’m still pretty new to MOOCs. I look to the MOOC as a way to
participate in a community of practice and to encourage me to learn
more about the subject of the MOOC.
Being a novice MOOCer, I find that I go back to the weekly resource
page of the MOOC in search of direction. In this age of way too much
information, I see the role of educator changing from a disseminator
of information to one of a curator of information. I look to the
creators of the MOOC as curators who help guide my learning path.
Since the MOOC has many participants, like myself, who have spent most
of their education in a didactic setting (being lectured at), I
struggle with too much freedom in the sea of too much information.
Lost because I don’t even know where to start, or what the purpose is.
I’m looking for a scaffold to help me on my journey.
It occurs to me that the scaffold I am looking for are learning
objectives. Not the old fashioned behaviourist learning objectives (we
all remember SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
Timely), rather I’m looking for learning objectives from a complexity
science perspective – that is, something that helps constrain my
exploration without containing it.
I've posted my thoughts on learning objectives for week 1 on my blog
at: http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2011/06/26/in-search-of-learning-objectives-edumooc/
I'd love to hear your thoughts?
Cheers,
Rebecca
I’m still pretty new to MOOCs. I look to the MOOC as a way to
participate in a community of practice and to encourage me to learn
more about the subject of the MOOC.
Being a novice MOOCer, I find that I go back to the weekly resource
page of the MOOC in search of direction. In this age of way too much
information, I see the role of educator changing from a disseminator
of information to one of a curator of information. I look to the
creators of the MOOC as curators who help guide my learning path.
Since the MOOC has many participants, like myself, who have spent most
of their education in a didactic setting (being lectured at), I
struggle with too much freedom in the sea of too much information.
Lost because I don’t even know where to start, or what the purpose is.
I’m looking for a scaffold to help me on my journey.
It occurs to me that the scaffold I am looking for are learning
objectives. Not the old fashioned behaviourist learning objectives (we
all remember SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
Timely), rather I’m looking for learning objectives from a complexity
science perspective – that is, something that helps constrain my
exploration without containing it.
I've posted my thoughts on learning objectives for week 1 on my blog
at: http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2011/06/26/in-search-of-learning-objectives-edumooc/
I'd love to hear your thoughts?
Cheers,
Rebecca
Ann Mester
Jun 27, 2011, 1:19:29 PM6/27/11
to eduMOOC
Hi Rebecca:
I like your perspective on this (though I don't think we need to throw
out SMART---nor do I think you were asking us to). In addition to
your MOOC objectives being Open, Focussed, and Accessible, I think
that we want them to help students Evaluate and Discriminate among
data sets and sources of information.
Ann
> at:http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2011/06/26/in-search-of-learning-objectives-e...
I like your perspective on this (though I don't think we need to throw
out SMART---nor do I think you were asking us to). In addition to
your MOOC objectives being Open, Focussed, and Accessible, I think
that we want them to help students Evaluate and Discriminate among
data sets and sources of information.
Ann
Steven Crawford
Jun 27, 2011, 2:14:20 PM6/27/11
to eduMOOC
I agree that we should not throw SMART out yet. I like to focus on the
action verb of the learning object. The resource I use it the
RadioJames Objective Builder - http://www.radiojames.com/ObjectivesBuilder/
The site helps guide someone through Bloom's Taxonomy to ensure that
we are using an action verb that is appropriate to the cognitive level
we want to reach. Then we can create an assessment that in turn is
appropriate to the verb.
action verb of the learning object. The resource I use it the
RadioJames Objective Builder - http://www.radiojames.com/ObjectivesBuilder/
The site helps guide someone through Bloom's Taxonomy to ensure that
we are using an action verb that is appropriate to the cognitive level
we want to reach. Then we can create an assessment that in turn is
appropriate to the verb.
Jenny
Jun 27, 2011, 3:00:13 PM6/27/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Rebecca A good question. Perhaps the place to start is by Identifying Evidence That Can Be Used To Determine if learning has taken place.
For instance, with regard to Assessing your progress in the MOOC, will you consider a valid measure of learning participation? If so, that Determine how will you? By estimating the amount of time you spend thinking about the discussion online, or the number of posts you make in a given thread, or the evidence of some new content appearing in one of your daily, non-course related tasks?
Do you think collaborating with others will count as learning? What about Analyzing, synthesizing and elaborating on a given topic X? Or what you will learn about connecting with what you already know the topic X? Will you use your blog to your repository as artifacts of learning?
I am approaching the MOOC as an authentic learning experience. Authentic learning means INTEGRATING knowledge, skills, and attitudes, its complexity and ownership of a problem task that mirrors professional practice (Jonassen). In this case, the authenticity of the task will be subjective, there is no objective or exit interview at the exam end of this course.
What counts as learning in an open online environment? Wenger Suggests a measure levels of participation changed, changed perspective or disposition towards oneself as a learner changed as the evidence of learning. How can this be assessed?
Then there's procedural knowledge. How can it be assessed in a MOOC? In other words, what will you accept as evidence that learning has taken place.
Thanks, I think I'll start by brainstorming criteria for my personal 2011 MOOC learning rubric.
Jenny
clarkshahnelson
Jun 27, 2011, 3:01:33 PM6/27/11
to eduMOOC
Thanks for the Link, Steven! I've added it to my list of objectives
links: (http://tinyurl.com/objectives11)
I really like this objective primer (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/
hrd/templates/objectivetool.html) which focuses on how to make
objectives truly measurable - by adding conditions and standards in
addition to a high quality verb. I find that while many objectives
have a great verb, very few actually have a condition (what is given/
not given, variables) and/or standard (how much, how often, how well,
how many). So while many objectives have a great verbs from Bloom's
(love this 3-D Blooms taxonomy re-mix from Iowa State, btw: (http://
www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html) - they may not be
truly measurable unless they actually specify conditions and
standards. For example, one noted verb is "describe" - but how do I
know that a student can successfully describe something? I need
standards and/or conditions to define something measurable - such as
"describe in 50 words or more, without looking at a printed source" or
"describe ten current laws that affect online education and what
impact they have had in the last 5 years"
I'll also share this presentation which has some info about alignment
of objectives with materials, activities, assessments, rubrics, etc.
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbMG4OJ5yrRnZGR2Y2pqZnhfMzM5cTJnbTZobQ&hl=en_US&authkey=CNSLg_UO
You may also like Penn State's interactive rubric builder!
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/facdev/id/assessment/rubrics/rubric_builder.html
Best,
Clark Shah-Nelson
On Jun 27, 2:14 pm, Steven Crawford <srcra...@asu.edu> wrote:
> I agree that we should not throw SMART out yet. I like to focus on the
> action verb of the learning object. The resource I use it the
> RadioJames Objective Builder -http://www.radiojames.com/ObjectivesBuilder/
links: (http://tinyurl.com/objectives11)
I really like this objective primer (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/
hrd/templates/objectivetool.html) which focuses on how to make
objectives truly measurable - by adding conditions and standards in
addition to a high quality verb. I find that while many objectives
have a great verb, very few actually have a condition (what is given/
not given, variables) and/or standard (how much, how often, how well,
how many). So while many objectives have a great verbs from Bloom's
(love this 3-D Blooms taxonomy re-mix from Iowa State, btw: (http://
www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html) - they may not be
truly measurable unless they actually specify conditions and
standards. For example, one noted verb is "describe" - but how do I
know that a student can successfully describe something? I need
standards and/or conditions to define something measurable - such as
"describe in 50 words or more, without looking at a printed source" or
"describe ten current laws that affect online education and what
impact they have had in the last 5 years"
I'll also share this presentation which has some info about alignment
of objectives with materials, activities, assessments, rubrics, etc.
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbMG4OJ5yrRnZGR2Y2pqZnhfMzM5cTJnbTZobQ&hl=en_US&authkey=CNSLg_UO
You may also like Penn State's interactive rubric builder!
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/facdev/id/assessment/rubrics/rubric_builder.html
Best,
Clark Shah-Nelson
On Jun 27, 2:14 pm, Steven Crawford <srcra...@asu.edu> wrote:
> I agree that we should not throw SMART out yet. I like to focus on the
> action verb of the learning object. The resource I use it the
Shari
Jun 27, 2011, 3:24:36 PM6/27/11
to eduMOOC
Hi Rebecca:
I think a MOOC provides a superhighway style connection to lifelong
learning. In the coming eight weeks, we will benefit from such things
as: guided learning from intellectual friends and co-workers; vast
amounts of peer-reviewed, easily accessible, archived information;
global and regional learning groups; and challenges to thinking. To
your question:
"What features do you think are important in MOOC learning objectives
(assuming you think they are important)?"
Perhaps seeking out and engaging in ideas that are foreign to your
thinking or experience in order to expand or cultivate your lifelong
learning goals might be a good objective.
Thank you for making me think about this....
Shari
> at:http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2011/06/26/in-search-of-learning-objectives-e...
I think a MOOC provides a superhighway style connection to lifelong
learning. In the coming eight weeks, we will benefit from such things
as: guided learning from intellectual friends and co-workers; vast
amounts of peer-reviewed, easily accessible, archived information;
global and regional learning groups; and challenges to thinking. To
your question:
"What features do you think are important in MOOC learning objectives
(assuming you think they are important)?"
Perhaps seeking out and engaging in ideas that are foreign to your
thinking or experience in order to expand or cultivate your lifelong
learning goals might be a good objective.
Thank you for making me think about this....
Shari
Message has been deleted
Anil
Jun 28, 2011, 1:20:52 AM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Dear All,
When we go back through the time line, to the maximum extent our
information and thereafter imagination can take us, we see that,
during those days
knowledge acquisition happened in open environment and flourished
through collaboration. Therefore open learning and its collaborative
development are
natural ways, and hence there is no question about their success or
sustainability. But what happened to us is we are now far away from
that natural ways, and the present generation has to learn to retrieve
such skills. Of course, we additionally require some more measures and
frameworks to measure the learning process as well as to ensure
quality that are being demanded by the present living situations. We
have promising technologies and techniques in hand to pursue this
process. What are those technologies and pedagogic techniques?, how do
they are harmonized to bring man in a collaborative platform for open
learning?...a lot of interesting questions before us...these eight
weeks will definitely become the most precious time in the history of
OER and Open Learning.
Warm regards
Anil
http://www.apletters.blogspot.com
http://www.wikieducator.org/User:Anil_Prasad
When we go back through the time line, to the maximum extent our
information and thereafter imagination can take us, we see that,
during those days
knowledge acquisition happened in open environment and flourished
through collaboration. Therefore open learning and its collaborative
development are
natural ways, and hence there is no question about their success or
sustainability. But what happened to us is we are now far away from
that natural ways, and the present generation has to learn to retrieve
such skills. Of course, we additionally require some more measures and
frameworks to measure the learning process as well as to ensure
quality that are being demanded by the present living situations. We
have promising technologies and techniques in hand to pursue this
process. What are those technologies and pedagogic techniques?, how do
they are harmonized to bring man in a collaborative platform for open
learning?...a lot of interesting questions before us...these eight
weeks will definitely become the most precious time in the history of
OER and Open Learning.
Warm regards
Anil
http://www.apletters.blogspot.com
http://www.wikieducator.org/User:Anil_Prasad
aball
Jun 28, 2011, 9:36:24 AM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Clark-
one more to add to the links on objectives-- the ABCD method
(originally Heinrich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino in 1996, summarized
at http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives)
for audience, behavior, condition & degree. I've introduced colleagues
& K-12 teachers I know to the concept-- simple and straight to the
point. The Penn State site in the link does a nice job explaining &
breaking objectives down into the four components.
To echo the others, we each have our own objectives here. For some of
us it might be getting through the volume of messages 1200 people can
create in online world, for others it's picking up tools & tricks.
On Jun 27, 2:01 pm, clarkshahnelson <clarkshahnel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for the Link, Steven! I've added it to my list of objectives
> links: (http://tinyurl.com/objectives11)
>
> I really like this objective primer (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/
> hrd/templates/objectivetool.html) which focuses on how to make
> objectives truly measurable - by adding conditions and standards in
> addition to a high quality verb. I find that while many objectives
> have a great verb, very few actually have a condition (what is given/
> not given, variables) and/or standard (how much, how often, how well,
> how many). So while many objectives have a great verbs from Bloom's
> (love this 3-D Blooms taxonomy re-mix from Iowa State, btw: (http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html) - they may not be
>
> You may also like Penn State's interactive rubric builder!https://www.e-education.psu.edu/facdev/id/assessment/rubrics/rubric_b...
one more to add to the links on objectives-- the ABCD method
(originally Heinrich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino in 1996, summarized
at http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives)
for audience, behavior, condition & degree. I've introduced colleagues
& K-12 teachers I know to the concept-- simple and straight to the
point. The Penn State site in the link does a nice job explaining &
breaking objectives down into the four components.
To echo the others, we each have our own objectives here. For some of
us it might be getting through the volume of messages 1200 people can
create in online world, for others it's picking up tools & tricks.
On Jun 27, 2:01 pm, clarkshahnelson <clarkshahnel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for the Link, Steven! I've added it to my list of objectives
> links: (http://tinyurl.com/objectives11)
>
> I really like this objective primer (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/
> hrd/templates/objectivetool.html) which focuses on how to make
> objectives truly measurable - by adding conditions and standards in
> addition to a high quality verb. I find that while many objectives
> have a great verb, very few actually have a condition (what is given/
> not given, variables) and/or standard (how much, how often, how well,
> how many). So while many objectives have a great verbs from Bloom's
> truly measurable unless they actually specify conditions and
> standards. For example, one noted verb is "describe" - but how do I
> know that a student can successfully describe something? I need
> standards and/or conditions to define something measurable - such as
> "describe in 50 words or more, without looking at a printed source" or
> "describe ten current laws that affect online education and what
> impact they have had in the last 5 years"
>
> I'll also share this presentation which has some info about alignment
> of objectives with materials, activities, assessments, rubrics, etc.https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbMG4OJ5yrRnZGR2Y2pqZnhfMzM5...
> standards. For example, one noted verb is "describe" - but how do I
> know that a student can successfully describe something? I need
> standards and/or conditions to define something measurable - such as
> "describe in 50 words or more, without looking at a printed source" or
> "describe ten current laws that affect online education and what
> impact they have had in the last 5 years"
>
> I'll also share this presentation which has some info about alignment
>
> You may also like Penn State's interactive rubric builder!https://www.e-education.psu.edu/facdev/id/assessment/rubrics/rubric_b...
Apostolos K.
Jun 28, 2011, 9:54:53 AM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Specific objectives, to be honest, didn't really come to mind because
the weekly course heading (at the google site for the MOOC:
https://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/home ) gave me an idea of the
topics. Of course, I am not approaching this course as a course, but
rather as an experience and an opportunity to meet other SMEs for post-
MOOC learning and collaborating. But this is a course (a massively
open one!) and as a course it ought to have some learning objectives,
otherwise it isn't a course and students (or learners if you prefer)
don't know what they ought to get out of it.
As a side note: I think some lecturing can be effective depending on
how and when it's used :-)
> at:http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2011/06/26/in-search-of-learning-objectives-e...
the weekly course heading (at the google site for the MOOC:
https://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/home ) gave me an idea of the
topics. Of course, I am not approaching this course as a course, but
rather as an experience and an opportunity to meet other SMEs for post-
MOOC learning and collaborating. But this is a course (a massively
open one!) and as a course it ought to have some learning objectives,
otherwise it isn't a course and students (or learners if you prefer)
don't know what they ought to get out of it.
As a side note: I think some lecturing can be effective depending on
how and when it's used :-)
Vanessa Vaile
Jun 28, 2011, 11:21:40 AM6/28/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
I like the idea of brainstorming criteria for personal MOOC learning rubric and then comparing them - mini or limited run crowdsourcing. We could end up with series of shared/ personal rubrics, all subject to change (revision, development, etc) of course. A shape shifting rubric, if you will, since not only will objectives vary individually but by learning situation as well.
Baseline question ~ I recall telling students analyzing characters to start by asking, What do they want? Break that down to 1) what do they think they want? 2) what do they really want?
We won't all want the the same things. What can we agree on?
clarkshahnelson
Jun 28, 2011, 11:36:40 AM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Thanks for the link, Alan, I've added it to my list of great
objectives sites.
Have to say - getting involved in this discussion (or others), viewing
some audio/video resources and presentations, commenting on peoples'
blogs, locating resources and adding them to the group in Diigo -
these have already been valuable experiences. But I don't know
necessarily that I would call the unit I've experienced so far "online
learning today".
I guess a concern I have is that many of the weekly topics in this
Mooc seem to contain mostly the same links to the same blogs,
journals, etc. without getting very specific (looking ahead at weeks
2,3 etc.) - to specific research & articles. Maybe that's the idea,
push you out of the nest - now fly! Grab onto something!
:)
Best,
Clark
On Jun 28, 9:36 am, aball <ajbal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Clark-
>
> one more to add to the links on objectives-- the ABCD method
> (originally Heinrich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino in 1996, summarized
> athttp://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives)
objectives sites.
Have to say - getting involved in this discussion (or others), viewing
some audio/video resources and presentations, commenting on peoples'
blogs, locating resources and adding them to the group in Diigo -
these have already been valuable experiences. But I don't know
necessarily that I would call the unit I've experienced so far "online
learning today".
I guess a concern I have is that many of the weekly topics in this
Mooc seem to contain mostly the same links to the same blogs,
journals, etc. without getting very specific (looking ahead at weeks
2,3 etc.) - to specific research & articles. Maybe that's the idea,
push you out of the nest - now fly! Grab onto something!
:)
Best,
Clark
On Jun 28, 9:36 am, aball <ajbal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Clark-
>
> one more to add to the links on objectives-- the ABCD method
> (originally Heinrich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino in 1996, summarized
Apostolos K.
Jun 28, 2011, 1:08:56 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
One of the problems with coming up with your own Learning Objectives
and rubrics is that, as a participant, you don't necessarily know what
you don't know. Thus the instructor, the SME in other words, needs to
create LOs and rubrics based on the whole picture and to get the
learners to learn what they don't know (even the things that they
don't know that they don't know)
and rubrics is that, as a participant, you don't necessarily know what
you don't know. Thus the instructor, the SME in other words, needs to
create LOs and rubrics based on the whole picture and to get the
learners to learn what they don't know (even the things that they
don't know that they don't know)
Vanessa Vaile
Jun 28, 2011, 2:23:49 PM6/28/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Those sure are some whopping big unwarranted assumptions there.
Speaking for myself, I know better what I don't know than you do. As a
life time, highly self-motivated learner, 60+ years on the job, I've
come across instructors who do and ones who don't. It's not a given
either way, same with learners. In the game of networked learning,
everyone's a player...
Speaking for myself, I know better what I don't know than you do. As a
life time, highly self-motivated learner, 60+ years on the job, I've
come across instructors who do and ones who don't. It's not a given
either way, same with learners. In the game of networked learning,
everyone's a player...
Assuming here, of course, that by SME you mean Subject Matter Expert
and not Society of Manufacturing Engineers or Small Medium Enterprises
(beware the bearer of acronyms)
SME? Not for me http://www.daveswhiteboard.com/archives/219
I was speaking of members of this eduMOOC - all educators first and
foremost - brainstorming together to develop a "working rubric" for
MOOC learning.... as well as our developing our own private rubrics
(which we can hypothesis test by applying to MOOCs we've taken.
Vanessa
Apostolos K.
Jun 28, 2011, 3:26:47 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
I honestly don't see any assumptions in what I wrote - It's just fact
that one doesn't always know what she or he doesn't know.
If SME, as a term, isn't our cup of tea (yes, I meant subject matter
expert - I have no idea why in this context we'd be talking about
Society of Manufacturing Engineers or Small Medium Enterprises - then
perhaps Vygotsky's More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) works. I am not tied
to any particular term, so long as, for the purposes of the
discussion, everyone knows the definitions of the terms.
My general thoughts on a unifying rubric for MOOCs is that it is too
general. One wouldn't have a SMART rubric for "class" (after all the
C in MOOC is for class :-) ) because there are many types of classes
- math, english, physical education, history and so on (and
subdivision within those classes!). Perhaps a meta-rubric could be
useful, in that within the framework of that meta-rubric specific
rubrics could be created for specific MOOCs, rubrics tailored toward
the thematic content of the MOOC, in consultation with an MKO. I am
not saying to exclude students/learners/participants in the course
from goal setting; I am just saying that you can't exclude the SME/MKO/
Expert Practitioner/etc.
By the way I wasn't directing my last comment to you, but it was more
generally directed to the participants of the thread as a way to think
about potential pitfalls with self-setting rubrics.
On Jun 28, 2:23 pm, Vanessa Vaile <vanessa.87...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Those sure are some whopping big unwarranted assumptions there.
> Speaking for myself, I know better what I don't know than you do. As a
> life time, highly self-motivated learner, 60+ years on the job, I've
> come across instructors who do and ones who don't. It's not a given
> either way, same with learners. In the game of networked learning,
> everyone's a player...
>
> Assuming here, of course, that by SME you mean Subject Matter Expert
> and not Society of Manufacturing Engineers or Small Medium Enterprises
> (beware the bearer of acronyms)
>
> SME? Not for mehttp://www.daveswhiteboard.com/archives/219
that one doesn't always know what she or he doesn't know.
If SME, as a term, isn't our cup of tea (yes, I meant subject matter
expert - I have no idea why in this context we'd be talking about
Society of Manufacturing Engineers or Small Medium Enterprises - then
perhaps Vygotsky's More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) works. I am not tied
to any particular term, so long as, for the purposes of the
discussion, everyone knows the definitions of the terms.
My general thoughts on a unifying rubric for MOOCs is that it is too
general. One wouldn't have a SMART rubric for "class" (after all the
C in MOOC is for class :-) ) because there are many types of classes
- math, english, physical education, history and so on (and
subdivision within those classes!). Perhaps a meta-rubric could be
useful, in that within the framework of that meta-rubric specific
rubrics could be created for specific MOOCs, rubrics tailored toward
the thematic content of the MOOC, in consultation with an MKO. I am
not saying to exclude students/learners/participants in the course
from goal setting; I am just saying that you can't exclude the SME/MKO/
Expert Practitioner/etc.
By the way I wasn't directing my last comment to you, but it was more
generally directed to the participants of the thread as a way to think
about potential pitfalls with self-setting rubrics.
On Jun 28, 2:23 pm, Vanessa Vaile <vanessa.87...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Those sure are some whopping big unwarranted assumptions there.
> Speaking for myself, I know better what I don't know than you do. As a
> life time, highly self-motivated learner, 60+ years on the job, I've
> come across instructors who do and ones who don't. It's not a given
> either way, same with learners. In the game of networked learning,
> everyone's a player...
>
> Assuming here, of course, that by SME you mean Subject Matter Expert
> and not Society of Manufacturing Engineers or Small Medium Enterprises
> (beware the bearer of acronyms)
>
>
> I was speaking of members of this eduMOOC - all educators first and
> foremost - brainstorming together to develop a "working rubric" for
> MOOC learning.... as well as our developing our own private rubrics
> (which we can hypothesis test by applying to MOOCs we've taken.
>
> Vanessa
>
> I was speaking of members of this eduMOOC - all educators first and
> foremost - brainstorming together to develop a "working rubric" for
> MOOC learning.... as well as our developing our own private rubrics
> (which we can hypothesis test by applying to MOOCs we've taken.
>
> Vanessa
>
Gia
Jun 28, 2011, 4:01:13 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Please forgive me, everyone, if this is a really ignorant thing to
say, but I thought the whole point of a massive online learning
experience in a loose framework was to allow every participant to
create their own learning objectives and assess their success in a way
that is useful to them? Did I get that wrong?
I don't know yet what I'll learn across these 8 weeks (and beyond?),
but that's ok because I know that being part of such a large diverse
group I will surely be learning something of value. I will find out
what I'm learning en route and on reflection. The challenge is to stay
focused, inquisitive and engaged.
I interpret the weekly topic headings as an invitation to do some
reading and thinking around the topic. I should then be able to
contribute my new found knowledge back to the group in the various
forums and sub-groups in a constructive way. That, to me, is my
personal measure of success for this course.
I don't think I would have signed up for this if the course had a set
of pre-defined outcomes and all the rigidity of a traditional course.
I accept that there is a need to measure success more formally against
set objectives if there are credits to be awarded, but that's not the
case here, and I welcome this freedom because it means that I can set
the bar as high or as low for myself as I want to and make it fit in
and around all my other commitments.
I guess perhaps I think of learning in less formal terms than some
members of this course?
Gia
On Jun 28, 2:54 pm, "Apostolos K." <a.koutropou...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Specific objectives, to be honest, didn't really come to mind because
> the weekly course heading (at the google site for the MOOC:https://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/home) gave me an idea of the
say, but I thought the whole point of a massive online learning
experience in a loose framework was to allow every participant to
create their own learning objectives and assess their success in a way
that is useful to them? Did I get that wrong?
I don't know yet what I'll learn across these 8 weeks (and beyond?),
but that's ok because I know that being part of such a large diverse
group I will surely be learning something of value. I will find out
what I'm learning en route and on reflection. The challenge is to stay
focused, inquisitive and engaged.
I interpret the weekly topic headings as an invitation to do some
reading and thinking around the topic. I should then be able to
contribute my new found knowledge back to the group in the various
forums and sub-groups in a constructive way. That, to me, is my
personal measure of success for this course.
I don't think I would have signed up for this if the course had a set
of pre-defined outcomes and all the rigidity of a traditional course.
I accept that there is a need to measure success more formally against
set objectives if there are credits to be awarded, but that's not the
case here, and I welcome this freedom because it means that I can set
the bar as high or as low for myself as I want to and make it fit in
and around all my other commitments.
I guess perhaps I think of learning in less formal terms than some
members of this course?
Gia
On Jun 28, 2:54 pm, "Apostolos K." <a.koutropou...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Specific objectives, to be honest, didn't really come to mind because
Apostolos K.
Jun 28, 2011, 4:27:56 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
I view MOOCs the same way as you do Gia, lose and with the ability to
flex in order to accommodate the participant's individual needs :-)
There is still debate about whether a MOOC should be like this, or
whether it shouldn't, but that is OK - after all without a little
debate we don't progress our learning; also there is no one-size-fits-
all approach to education, so we can't expect MOOCs to do the same.
Like you, I don't know what specific knowledge I will get out of these
next 8 weeks, however I do know that I will be meeting interesting
people from around the world, with many different perspectives, and I
will learn something from them. Perhaps, at the end of the MOOC, they
will still be contacts to further expand my learning (and hopefully I
can expand theirs).
flex in order to accommodate the participant's individual needs :-)
There is still debate about whether a MOOC should be like this, or
whether it shouldn't, but that is OK - after all without a little
debate we don't progress our learning; also there is no one-size-fits-
all approach to education, so we can't expect MOOCs to do the same.
Like you, I don't know what specific knowledge I will get out of these
next 8 weeks, however I do know that I will be meeting interesting
people from around the world, with many different perspectives, and I
will learn something from them. Perhaps, at the end of the MOOC, they
will still be contacts to further expand my learning (and hopefully I
can expand theirs).
Dr. Nellie Deutsch
Jun 28, 2011, 4:49:23 PM6/28/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Jenny,
Yes, authentic learning is experiential but also as close to the truth as possible. I wonder how authentic we can be in MOOC learning environment. How authentic are we online? Perhaps we are more ourselves online than face-to-face. Can we be closer to strangers than to our close friends? I found the theory of the strength of weak ties by Mark Granovetter not only fascinating reading, but true in many of my online connections. I developed some very close friendships with people online before we actually met face-to-face. The idea is the people who are distant from us can have stronger impacts on our lives than those who are close to us.
Mark, G. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
Yes, authentic learning is experiential but also as close to the truth as possible. I wonder how authentic we can be in MOOC learning environment. How authentic are we online? Perhaps we are more ourselves online than face-to-face. Can we be closer to strangers than to our close friends? I found the theory of the strength of weak ties by Mark Granovetter not only fascinating reading, but true in many of my online connections. I developed some very close friendships with people online before we actually met face-to-face. The idea is the people who are distant from us can have stronger impacts on our lives than those who are close to us.
Mark, G. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
Jose I. Icaza
Jun 28, 2011, 5:32:02 PM6/28/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
mmm that can be solved if everyone's learning objectives, Rebecca style, are shared all together in the same shared document. Then you may get interested in other people's objectives, thus finding out about things you did not know that you didn't know.
Vanessa Vaile
Jun 28, 2011, 6:13:42 PM6/28/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
José, I like that - was thinking along similar lines without quite managing to articulate them. Throw them out on the table and go through them together.
These aren't learning objectives in the rubric building sense, but they reflect my mooc objectives. A discipline or topic specific mooc (like the Civil War example) would be more specific and shape objectives differently, but (I think) would still follow these.
- Make connections (follow / collaborate with them post MOOC
- Discover new resources (links, apps, etc)
- Use them
- Share them (which can include teaching / showing others how to use them, posting to other networks, writing about them)
- Connect and cross connect with related elements (bundle and tag)
- Integrate them into your PLE (or whatever you call yours)
- Think about how you will use them (teaching, PD/continuing ed, community networking, blog or article/presentation fodder). Be able to write a statement about how you would or lay out a plan (rough proposal)
- Assimilate (how Borg!)
As an exercise (or test), you could draft a more specific plan for a hypothetical you would either put together or like to take.
Paul
Jun 28, 2011, 6:39:24 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
I am going to have to re-read this thread as many contributions are
just gold - I am learning a good deal :)
Here is a blog post that will be of interest of assessment (+ learning
objectives) from a Connectivist perspective:
http://jennymackness.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/plenk2010-evaluation-and-assessment/
I do enjoy playing with that ultimate idea that learning how to learn
a topic/subject, by finding/designing the objectives as learners, will
provide us with the scaffolding (which could also be in a team) for
knowledge attribution - where a MOOC is the ultimate "book of sands",
easy lost, we are responsible to guide eachother (as learners) and
create our own objectives and assessment.
I realise I perhaps need to jump on a PhD to refine the above
paragraph, but it is inline to what Vanessa is writing :) The space
of the MOOC returns to us learners the responsibility of learning and
the steps Venessa has sketched is a good way to be responsible and
share our learning, so that reflection can take place (among the many
perspectives shared) and this distance awards us assessment of our
shared learning...
...again very vague, but a diagram may help!
:)
On Jun 29, 12:13 am, Vanessa Vaile <vcr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> José, I like that - was thinking along similar lines without quite managing
> to articulate them. Throw them out on the table and go through them
> together.
>
> These aren't learning objectives in the rubric building sense, but they
> reflect my mooc objectives. A discipline or topic specific mooc (like the
> Civil War example) would be more specific and shape objectives differently,
> but (I think) would still follow these.
>
> - Make connections (follow / collaborate with them post MOOC
> - Discover new resources (links, apps, etc)
> - Use them
> - Share them (which can include teaching / showing others how to use
> - Integrate them into your PLE (or whatever you call yours)
> - Think about how you will use them (teaching, PD/continuing ed,
just gold - I am learning a good deal :)
Here is a blog post that will be of interest of assessment (+ learning
objectives) from a Connectivist perspective:
http://jennymackness.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/plenk2010-evaluation-and-assessment/
I do enjoy playing with that ultimate idea that learning how to learn
a topic/subject, by finding/designing the objectives as learners, will
provide us with the scaffolding (which could also be in a team) for
knowledge attribution - where a MOOC is the ultimate "book of sands",
easy lost, we are responsible to guide eachother (as learners) and
create our own objectives and assessment.
I realise I perhaps need to jump on a PhD to refine the above
paragraph, but it is inline to what Vanessa is writing :) The space
of the MOOC returns to us learners the responsibility of learning and
the steps Venessa has sketched is a good way to be responsible and
share our learning, so that reflection can take place (among the many
perspectives shared) and this distance awards us assessment of our
shared learning...
...again very vague, but a diagram may help!
:)
On Jun 29, 12:13 am, Vanessa Vaile <vcr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> José, I like that - was thinking along similar lines without quite managing
> to articulate them. Throw them out on the table and go through them
> together.
>
> These aren't learning objectives in the rubric building sense, but they
> reflect my mooc objectives. A discipline or topic specific mooc (like the
> Civil War example) would be more specific and shape objectives differently,
> but (I think) would still follow these.
>
> - Discover new resources (links, apps, etc)
> - Use them
> - Share them (which can include teaching / showing others how to use
> them, posting to other networks, writing about them)
> - Connect and cross connect with related elements (bundle and tag)
> - Integrate them into your PLE (or whatever you call yours)
> - Think about how you will use them (teaching, PD/continuing ed,
> community networking, blog or article/presentation fodder). Be able to write
> a statement about how you would or lay out a plan (rough proposal)
> - Assimilate (how Borg!)
> a statement about how you would or lay out a plan (rough proposal)
Rebecca
Jun 28, 2011, 10:29:05 PM6/28/11
to eduMOOC
Hi everyone,
I like to say a big thank-you to everyone who has joined in on this
discussion, both on my blog (rjh.goingeast.ca) and in the google
discussion group. It is this type of discussion that I find very
valuable in my learning. I also love that we can look at MOOCs and
discuss the concept as well as the content.
On a side note (I'll post about this later) - this is the first time
I've used my blog effectively as a learning tool. An extra thank-you
to those who comments, as that definitely provides me with
encouragement to continue :)
From the various comments, I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone in my
search for learning objectives, but there are several others of you
who don't think they are necessary for the MOOC or that they are don't
align with the philosophy of the MOOC. That too is interesting to
here.
I find the idea that the learners should determine their own learning
objectives to be an interesting one. My emphasis was more that the
learners should "choose" their learning objectives, rather than having
to create them. Are we not letting the designers of the MOOC off the
hook too easily by not requesting that they include some form of
learning objective or structure to the content they are providing? I
agree with Clark's comment that the week 1 page is "just a bunch of
links". That is aligns with exactly what I saw. I'm not sure I agree
with Apostolos' "you don't necessarily know what you don't know", but
I do agree that the subject matter experts do have a better sense of
structure, and would be in a better position to provide a level of
guidance, that the novice would not. Now, is that the point of
connectivism? Get a whole bunch of people together, given them a
title, and tell them to make their own learning out of it? If we were
not all educators, would this format work at all? It's just a good
think that we all like to talk and share our thoughts ;).
On the learning objective perspective, I heard some defenders of SMART
- but personally I don't buy it. SMART makes sense when you are
looking at lesson objectives but starts to fall apart when you look at
bigger things like courses, and especially falls apart when you don't
want to pre-determine learning. I think choice needs to be an
important aspect of how the learning objectives are phrased.
I like Ann's add of Evaluate and Discriminate to my list of Open,
Focussed, and Accessible. Although, I wonder if discriminate and
focussed are just two variants of the same thing? And Clark, thanks
for the link to the ABCD method, this is the first time I've heard of
that one.
The idea of personal learning plans was brought up, and I think that
may be the concept I need to latch onto. As part of creating personal
learning plans, I encourage you to continue to share your objectives
throughout the course - perhaps we can start a new thread each week
with the objectives for that week. It will be interesting to see how
the objectives change as the weeks progress.
In addition to the objectives that I originally suggested, I'm adding
a few that have appeared in the comments:
To locate channels of communication (thanks Shannon). I've be lurking
in the various areas trying to figure out where the conversations are
occurring. I'm finding the google group surprisingly quiet given the
large number of people signed up for this course. This leads me to
believe that conversations are happening elsewhere.
To evaluate where I am on the continuum of online learning (thanks
James). Since my focus is more on mobile learning, I'm trying to
figure out how mLearning and eLearning relate and if they will
continue to relate in the future.
Making connections. I wonder, does a connection need to be more than
just a single exchange of emails to be meaningful? Does it need to be
something that lasts beyond the MOOC? Are the short bursts of
interactivity not just as valuable?
Discover new resources. This is going to be a topic for another blog
post. I've see so many new tools pop up on the various discussions and
pages, that I'm curious to see how they work and how well they support
this type of massive course.
I appreciate Benjamin's idea about evaluating his learning after the
course. I think the post-course reflection/evaluation is a whole other
topic - and a blog post for the end of the course :).
Finally, I thought I'd share a link to Bethany's Running Amok in MOOC
post (http://tekedumooc.blogspot.com/2011/06/running-amok-in-
mooc.html). In it she asks "What design strategies could we implement
that would make the MOOC a more favorable learning environment for
everyone?" Good question!
Cheers,
Rebecca
I like to say a big thank-you to everyone who has joined in on this
discussion, both on my blog (rjh.goingeast.ca) and in the google
discussion group. It is this type of discussion that I find very
valuable in my learning. I also love that we can look at MOOCs and
discuss the concept as well as the content.
On a side note (I'll post about this later) - this is the first time
I've used my blog effectively as a learning tool. An extra thank-you
to those who comments, as that definitely provides me with
encouragement to continue :)
From the various comments, I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone in my
search for learning objectives, but there are several others of you
who don't think they are necessary for the MOOC or that they are don't
align with the philosophy of the MOOC. That too is interesting to
here.
I find the idea that the learners should determine their own learning
objectives to be an interesting one. My emphasis was more that the
learners should "choose" their learning objectives, rather than having
to create them. Are we not letting the designers of the MOOC off the
hook too easily by not requesting that they include some form of
learning objective or structure to the content they are providing? I
agree with Clark's comment that the week 1 page is "just a bunch of
links". That is aligns with exactly what I saw. I'm not sure I agree
with Apostolos' "you don't necessarily know what you don't know", but
I do agree that the subject matter experts do have a better sense of
structure, and would be in a better position to provide a level of
guidance, that the novice would not. Now, is that the point of
connectivism? Get a whole bunch of people together, given them a
title, and tell them to make their own learning out of it? If we were
not all educators, would this format work at all? It's just a good
think that we all like to talk and share our thoughts ;).
On the learning objective perspective, I heard some defenders of SMART
- but personally I don't buy it. SMART makes sense when you are
looking at lesson objectives but starts to fall apart when you look at
bigger things like courses, and especially falls apart when you don't
want to pre-determine learning. I think choice needs to be an
important aspect of how the learning objectives are phrased.
I like Ann's add of Evaluate and Discriminate to my list of Open,
Focussed, and Accessible. Although, I wonder if discriminate and
focussed are just two variants of the same thing? And Clark, thanks
for the link to the ABCD method, this is the first time I've heard of
that one.
The idea of personal learning plans was brought up, and I think that
may be the concept I need to latch onto. As part of creating personal
learning plans, I encourage you to continue to share your objectives
throughout the course - perhaps we can start a new thread each week
with the objectives for that week. It will be interesting to see how
the objectives change as the weeks progress.
In addition to the objectives that I originally suggested, I'm adding
a few that have appeared in the comments:
To locate channels of communication (thanks Shannon). I've be lurking
in the various areas trying to figure out where the conversations are
occurring. I'm finding the google group surprisingly quiet given the
large number of people signed up for this course. This leads me to
believe that conversations are happening elsewhere.
To evaluate where I am on the continuum of online learning (thanks
James). Since my focus is more on mobile learning, I'm trying to
figure out how mLearning and eLearning relate and if they will
continue to relate in the future.
Making connections. I wonder, does a connection need to be more than
just a single exchange of emails to be meaningful? Does it need to be
something that lasts beyond the MOOC? Are the short bursts of
interactivity not just as valuable?
Discover new resources. This is going to be a topic for another blog
post. I've see so many new tools pop up on the various discussions and
pages, that I'm curious to see how they work and how well they support
this type of massive course.
I appreciate Benjamin's idea about evaluating his learning after the
course. I think the post-course reflection/evaluation is a whole other
topic - and a blog post for the end of the course :).
Finally, I thought I'd share a link to Bethany's Running Amok in MOOC
post (http://tekedumooc.blogspot.com/2011/06/running-amok-in-
mooc.html). In it she asks "What design strategies could we implement
that would make the MOOC a more favorable learning environment for
everyone?" Good question!
Cheers,
Rebecca
Jenny
Jun 29, 2011, 1:15:21 AM6/29/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Apostolos and Friends,
I agree. Teaching should involve some degree of mentoring, and as a metaphor mentoring connotes expert guidance offered selflessly by a person with larger amounts of tacit knowledge acquired through lived experience. There is an emotional component in teaching too. So often what is taught is not captured by a learning objective written in the SMART format because it is immeasurable. As an instructor, how do I objectively measure a student's changed disposition as a learner, or her theory of knowledge? Asking for proofs in the form of learning outcomes for these higher-order analytical abilities is problematic because proofs need to be proven and specific learning objectives, i.e. Bloom, do not allow for objective measurement in changed outlook very well.
Or is it merely a problem of translation and the complexity of learning can be redefined by some yet-to-come instrument? ....perhaps developed in the virtual learning space of a MOOC? ;-)
Jenny
I agree. Teaching should involve some degree of mentoring, and as a metaphor mentoring connotes expert guidance offered selflessly by a person with larger amounts of tacit knowledge acquired through lived experience. There is an emotional component in teaching too. So often what is taught is not captured by a learning objective written in the SMART format because it is immeasurable. As an instructor, how do I objectively measure a student's changed disposition as a learner, or her theory of knowledge? Asking for proofs in the form of learning outcomes for these higher-order analytical abilities is problematic because proofs need to be proven and specific learning objectives, i.e. Bloom, do not allow for objective measurement in changed outlook very well.
Or is it merely a problem of translation and the complexity of learning can be redefined by some yet-to-come instrument? ....perhaps developed in the virtual learning space of a MOOC? ;-)
Jenny
Jenny
Jun 29, 2011, 1:55:46 AM6/29/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Nellie,
I think there is less risk in taking part of a MOOC, not because of the unlikelihood of ever meeting each other F2F, rather it poses less risk because the motives for coming together are so pure. In this way a MOOC is a safer learning environment than traditional courses to stretch and grow through discourse---which is chance taking. What I regard as ill-formed knowledge can easily be hoisted onto the blank canvass of this text box for everyone to view. Some may decide that it is not so ill-formed, or perhaps even define as well-grounded supported by empirical proof, and can help me redefine it as such. It is how I'll learn.
I like your view of virtual knowledge because it suggests transparency as a first step towards legitimacy. It makes it possible to question the status quo. Thanks.
Jenny
I think there is less risk in taking part of a MOOC, not because of the unlikelihood of ever meeting each other F2F, rather it poses less risk because the motives for coming together are so pure. In this way a MOOC is a safer learning environment than traditional courses to stretch and grow through discourse---which is chance taking. What I regard as ill-formed knowledge can easily be hoisted onto the blank canvass of this text box for everyone to view. Some may decide that it is not so ill-formed, or perhaps even define as well-grounded supported by empirical proof, and can help me redefine it as such. It is how I'll learn.
I like your view of virtual knowledge because it suggests transparency as a first step towards legitimacy. It makes it possible to question the status quo. Thanks.
Jenny
Apostolos K.
Jun 29, 2011, 9:45:16 AM6/29/11
to eduMOOC
That was very nicely put!
There has been at least one study (albeit in in second language
acquisition) where fellow students have been shown to scaffold other
student's learning through cooperative learning practices, because
fellow students serve as more knowledgeable others. They might not be
that much more knowledgeable, but through teamwork the whole group
learns and augments their knowledge and capabilities. I'll have to
fish around for a reference for that article :-)
There has been at least one study (albeit in in second language
acquisition) where fellow students have been shown to scaffold other
student's learning through cooperative learning practices, because
fellow students serve as more knowledgeable others. They might not be
that much more knowledgeable, but through teamwork the whole group
learns and augments their knowledge and capabilities. I'll have to
fish around for a reference for that article :-)
Apostolos K.
Jun 29, 2011, 9:50:25 AM6/29/11
to eduMOOC
There are some great posts in this thread. I wish that google groups
has a "like" button or a "rate this post" button next to posts!
has a "like" button or a "rate this post" button next to posts!
Vanessa Vaile
Jun 29, 2011, 10:27:19 AM6/29/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
I've been thinking the same - perhaps if enough of us send Google that message, they might add, if not like or rate then, star (which is already in mail and reader) to flag messages. I'd ask for the tagging/labeling feature too.
Shannon Riggs
Jun 29, 2011, 10:50:13 AM6/29/11
to eduMOOC
"Like!" Apostolos, I was just wishing for the same thing! :)
Scott HJ
Jul 1, 2011, 1:15:15 AM7/1/11
to eduMOOC
Hi Gia,
This is my third MOOC as a participant and I still don't know what
they are "for." Maybe a place to get people together to learn without
too much structure? Or should I say learn with so much noise that the
structure is difficult to determine?
What does learning look like? How do I make sense of something with
the potential of a learning opportunity but without deliberate
structure, guidance or predetermined outcome? Am I even allowed to
venture into a state of learning without the approval of a certified
body educators? If I do does that qualify me as automatically in
opposition to education or a mere dabbler?
I think a MOOC can be anything it wants to be and the participants
free to appreciate it by whatever method they choose. For some
participants it's important there be known outcomes that emerge from
an identifiable and deliberate structure. Not because they are fixated
on only one approach to learning but because this is the language of
their understanding.
My approach is way less formal (deliberate) and like you, I'm fine
with less structure (or maybe I habitually avoid structure?). That
doesn't mean I'm comfortable or beyond struggling with what it takes
to learn in an environment with so few footholds. Nor do I think I
have the answers.
My guess is everyone here takes education very seriously but we’re not
all the same and with so many approaches present there are bound to be
a few misguided souls who will disagree with us. Don’t let them get to
you.
Scott
> > > Rebecca- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
This is my third MOOC as a participant and I still don't know what
they are "for." Maybe a place to get people together to learn without
too much structure? Or should I say learn with so much noise that the
structure is difficult to determine?
What does learning look like? How do I make sense of something with
the potential of a learning opportunity but without deliberate
structure, guidance or predetermined outcome? Am I even allowed to
venture into a state of learning without the approval of a certified
body educators? If I do does that qualify me as automatically in
opposition to education or a mere dabbler?
I think a MOOC can be anything it wants to be and the participants
free to appreciate it by whatever method they choose. For some
participants it's important there be known outcomes that emerge from
an identifiable and deliberate structure. Not because they are fixated
on only one approach to learning but because this is the language of
their understanding.
My approach is way less formal (deliberate) and like you, I'm fine
with less structure (or maybe I habitually avoid structure?). That
doesn't mean I'm comfortable or beyond struggling with what it takes
to learn in an environment with so few footholds. Nor do I think I
have the answers.
My guess is everyone here takes education very seriously but we’re not
all the same and with so many approaches present there are bound to be
a few misguided souls who will disagree with us. Don’t let them get to
you.
Scott
>
> - Show quoted text -
Gia
Jul 1, 2011, 4:53:26 AM7/1/11
to eduMOOC
Thanks for your reply, Scott.
I was beginning to feel a little disheartened: a lot of eduMOOC
participants appear to be approaching this course from a very
different perspective than you and I am, and I have been feeling like
a bit of an outsider so far this week, to be honest.
This type of learning offers so much more than a replication of what
we have been doing for centuries in offline spaces. It would seem a
dreadful shame to apply the same kind of thinking and the same old
theories to something so wild and free and individual/personalised.
Finding order in chaos and making sense of it all is part of how we
learn, isn't it? I don't know about everyone else, but the knowledge
(and possessions for that matter) that I've had to struggle to obtain
leave me with a far greater sense of accomplishment than those which
have been handed to me "on a plate" so to speak.
MOOC environments/communities/ecologies - whatever we want to classify
them as - are a tremendous challenge even for organised and
disciplined learners. I think we can all agree on that. But it seems
to me that one of the biggest hurdles to coping with this space is the
urge to squeeze this unbound loose learning into old structures. I
wonder how many of the old rules really apply in spaces like this one;
do we really need to cling to the past and replicate what we have
always done? I am not sure on that. I am here to find out and am open
to discovery.
With all that said, of course there will always be subjects and
learning needs that require a more traditional approach. There will
always be learners who need a lot of guidance. There will always be
those who favour structured teaching and a solid outline and a clear
direction. But then again we are not talking about completely getting
rid of schools and colleges here, are we? - Or are we?
Gia
I was beginning to feel a little disheartened: a lot of eduMOOC
participants appear to be approaching this course from a very
different perspective than you and I am, and I have been feeling like
a bit of an outsider so far this week, to be honest.
This type of learning offers so much more than a replication of what
we have been doing for centuries in offline spaces. It would seem a
dreadful shame to apply the same kind of thinking and the same old
theories to something so wild and free and individual/personalised.
Finding order in chaos and making sense of it all is part of how we
learn, isn't it? I don't know about everyone else, but the knowledge
(and possessions for that matter) that I've had to struggle to obtain
leave me with a far greater sense of accomplishment than those which
have been handed to me "on a plate" so to speak.
MOOC environments/communities/ecologies - whatever we want to classify
them as - are a tremendous challenge even for organised and
disciplined learners. I think we can all agree on that. But it seems
to me that one of the biggest hurdles to coping with this space is the
urge to squeeze this unbound loose learning into old structures. I
wonder how many of the old rules really apply in spaces like this one;
do we really need to cling to the past and replicate what we have
always done? I am not sure on that. I am here to find out and am open
to discovery.
With all that said, of course there will always be subjects and
learning needs that require a more traditional approach. There will
always be learners who need a lot of guidance. There will always be
those who favour structured teaching and a solid outline and a clear
direction. But then again we are not talking about completely getting
rid of schools and colleges here, are we? - Or are we?
Gia
Vanessa Vaile
Jul 1, 2011, 11:58:08 AM7/1/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Yes, there are different perspectives represented here. All for the better, I say, as long we all have a voice, are heard -- and listen.
I applaud and agree with your statement,
Roger Frank
Jul 1, 2011, 12:10:17 PM7/1/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
Agree completely. Plenty of room for all. I tend to approach the Mooc more loosely, knowing that it will be impossible to follow all the streams. The untraditional nature of a Mooc is what attracted me to the course.
-Roger
Vanessa Vaile
Jul 1, 2011, 12:10:58 PM7/1/11
to edu...@googlegroups.com
I'm OK with being a dabbler, but am also capable of focusing. There is an element of unconscious selection in play. By now (coming 68, just call me crone), I know that when the big, important learning topic or issue comes along, I can and will focus and persist - for decades if necessary. Until then and in between, I browse and ruminate.
I too "think a MOOC can be anything it wants to be and the participants free to appreciate it by whatever method they choose."
My eduMOOC LO? A work in progress. I'm still "learning" MOOCs the old fashioned way, by doing, reading, watching, asking questions, practicing. So I guess that's LO #1. If I am going to adapt "mooquerie" to projects, best I learn as much as I can and develop the skills I'll need to use and pass on.
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