RE: :: TALO :: The relevance of moblogging
Paterson, Anne
________________________________
From: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Leigh Blackall
Sent: Sun 12/18/2005 12:33 PM
To: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com
Subject: :: TALO :: The relevance of moblogging
<http://static.flickr.com/37/74579532_524291557a_m.jpg> A while ago, people in the TALO eGroup <http://groups.google.com/group/teachAndLearnOnline/browse_thread/thread/aae5fd1629d35bad/10f65d224bdb3256?q=moblog&rnum=2#10f65d224bdb3256> were discussing how moblogging seems to carry little evidence to being a powerful teaching and learning tool, simply because at the moment it is mostly being used as a social tool...
It just occurred to me, while I was trying out moblogging to Flick <http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/74579532/> r that perhaps proponents of the 'moblogging doesn't have much to offer in education' thinking are mistaken when trying to find examples of 'moblogs for specific educational contexts and outcomes'. If only because it is a clear example of trying to make the new paradigm fit the old...
You know all those ideas of life long learning, learning in life, life is learning, holistic learning and otherwise age old fights to get education to recognise that learning happens everywhere - well moblogging is part of that everywhere. So if you truly can't see the educational contexts and outcomes in moblogging, then you're understanding of and educational context is too narrow and old school.
Even if all a student uses moblogging for is little more than documenting social aspects of their lives, such as a photo of self sitting in class, photo of friends at the canteen, photo of teacher picking nose, then they are all examples of that person building an identity and personal affiliation around their learning context. If a teacher can inspire moblogging's use in assignment work and research - then great!
But sticking with the personal social use for a moment, if educational organisations, individuals, teachers aren't willing to accept the whole student (and their everyday moblogging) into their teaching contexts, then they are restricting how much 'real life' a student can bring into the classroom, therefore taking away motivation, relevance, and the importance of social settings in the school, not to mention opportunities to understand more about the people they spend so much time with.
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Posted by Leigh Blackall to Teach and Learn Online <http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/2005/12/relevance-of-moblogging.html> at 12/18/2005 12:18:00 PM
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Kylie Rowsell
Having worked with heaps of kids on this moblogging thing, I have a fair bit of faith in it.
However, we all know that we should select our tools. We select the ones that work, that are easy to use and that we like.
<side rant>
I get very frustrated at didactic folks saying "You've GOT to use THIS thing I found".
Its not respecting the person at the other end - how can I recommend a tool without knowing the nature of your work?
</side rant>
As such, only some will like moblogging. Only some kids will like it.
In my experience, the results of moblogging are much 'softer' that 'normal' units of competency.
The information, computer, internet and social literacies are really engaged. Folks forget they can't write too good, or that they don't like computers.
The barriers (like a good facilitator) disappear.
But each group is different. Different tools work on different groups.
One group recently completed end of year surveys, which are handed out by the Adult Basic Ed teacher.
Of the whole year, of all the topics covered and assignments etc, the thing they liked best was the 3 hour moblogging session.
Over a whole year. 3 hours.
The blogs were awesome - I feel a longer term moblogging 'subject' (4 lessons over 4 weeks) would do freaking wonders for this particiular group.
I can see a gazillion other applications.
I don't think we have any really good, educational examples of 'hard' outcomes in a moblog from the engageme project.
I think some of the moblogs created during this project are not moblogs to show as examples of educational moblogging.
I wish I had a teaching position so I could get some going.
We as facilitators have learnt an enormous amount about how to make moblogging 'work' in our context.
If only I knew then what I know now!
It is our responsibilit NOT to overwhelm our peers with our latest 'thing'.
Rather to recommend something (only one at first!) that might open the IT doors for them.
Asking someone new to understand moblogs in one minute is going to make their brains melt, in many cases (as they are overworked and under pressure, like many of us).
Thanks,
Kylie
ph: 4978 4016
________________________________
From: Leigh Blackall [mailto:leighb...@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 18 December 2005 12:50 PM
To: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com
Subject: :: TALO :: Re: The relevance of moblogging
In preparation for more criticism of moblogging in this way, if you haven't allready - why don't you start saving these examples to a del.icio.us tag like "edumoblogging"
On 12/18/05, Paterson, Anne < anne.p...@tafensw.edu.au <mailto:anne.p...@tafensw.edu.au> > wrote:
Absolutely Leigh, moblogging gives the learners an opportunity to be seen and heard - there are many examples of educational applications of moblogging in engaging young people in literacy learning. As teachers we have the opportunity to use technology that is familiar to young people in ways that are relevant to them. There are also some great examples of using blogging, and therefore potentially moblogging for adults learning ESL.
________________________________
From: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Leigh Blackall
Sent: Sun 12/18/2005 12:33 PM
To: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com
Subject: :: TALO :: The relevance of moblogging
< http://static.flickr.com/37/74579532_524291557a_m.jpg <http://static.flickr.com/37/74579532_524291557a_m.jpg> > A while ago, people in the TALO eGroup < http://groups.google.com/group/teachAndLearnOnline/browse_thread/thread/aae5fd1629d35bad/10f65d224bdb3256?q=moblog&rnum=2#10f65d224bdb3256 <http://groups.google.com/group/teachAndLearnOnline/browse_thread/thread/aae5fd1629d35bad/10f65d224bdb3256?q=moblog&rnum=2#10f65d224bdb3256> > were discussing how moblogging seems to carry little evidence to being a powerful teaching and learning tool, simply because at the moment it is mostly being used as a social tool...
It just occurred to me, while I was trying out moblogging to Flick <http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/74579532/ <http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/74579532/> > r that perhaps proponents of the 'moblogging doesn't have much to offer in education' thinking are mistaken when trying to find examples of 'moblogs for specific educational contexts and outcomes'. If only because it is a clear example of trying to make the new paradigm fit the old...
You know all those ideas of life long learning, learning in life, life is learning, holistic learning and otherwise age old fights to get education to recognise that learning happens everywhere - well moblogging is part of that everywhere. So if you truly can't see the educational contexts and outcomes in moblogging, then you're understanding of and educational context is too narrow and old school.
Even if all a student uses moblogging for is little more than documenting social aspects of their lives, such as a photo of self sitting in class, photo of friends at the canteen, photo of teacher picking nose, then they are all examples of that person building an identity and personal affiliation around their learning context. If a teacher can inspire moblogging's use in assignment work and research - then great!
But sticking with the personal social use for a moment, if educational organisations, individuals, teachers aren't willing to accept the whole student (and their everyday moblogging) into their teaching contexts, then they are restricting how much 'real life' a student can bring into the classroom, therefore taking away motivation, relevance, and the importance of social settings in the school, not to mention opportunities to understand more about the people they spend so much time with.
Creative Commons Licence <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/au/>
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons (Attribution) license < http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/au/> .
--
Posted by Leigh Blackall to Teach and Learn Online < http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/2005/12/relevance-of-moblogging.html <http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/2005/12/relevance-of-moblogging.html> > at 12/18/2005 12:18:00 PM
Paterson, Anne
recording processes for assessment evidence is a strong use of moblogging. But its great you want more.....do your learners have to do group work/work in teams - can they record the critical moments of group work - eg when they worked out how to solve a problem, or when people didnt agree with each other, they can add a brief note to remind them what it was about at the time and then go back and reflect, maybe even as a group on what was happening communication wise. You may get some surprisingly useful coments from the global online community.
Can you set them a unit of competence to achieve at home and then compare their approaches as documented on their moblogs?
I think staring at the sun/clouds/whiteboards actually works for coming up with the gazillion ideas that are possible,
but it is only the teacher who is an expert in a particular discipline who can decide how, what and where the technology is useful and appropriate - so what I am saying is - its up to teachers to create.
I dont think the crux of the issue is about coming up with endless examples about how to use imoblogging or combinations of moblogging and other technology in teaching and learning but it is about achieving a mindset in teachers that looks for the creative and educationally sound applications themselves. We have a new paradigm of education and I think that includes a new paradigm for the way teachers explore and learn - it cant all be step by step or manuals, things are moving too fast.
I agree with Kylie who wrote
"It is our responsibilit NOT to overwhelm our peers with our latest 'thing'.
Rather to recommend something (only one at first!) that might open the IT doors for them. "
and mobology/Alex Hayes who commented
'The relevance of moblogging is not about demonstrating step by step
documentation of a predefined proces for the purposes of generating
evidence for assessment - although it could. Most often moblogging
demonstrates students interacting with environments in ways which could
best be described as connected learning ........learning to bridge
learning by linking one attribute to another, about sociallising and
communicating in a global conversation.
Networking elements of mobility with e-learning has realised for
students the virtual learning environment.
Moblogging is simply another small facette of the bigger picture - tags
included."
Anne
________________________________
From: teachAndL...@googlegroups.com on behalf of botts
Sent: Mon 12/19/2005 6:45 PM
To: Teach and Learn Online
Subject: :: TALO :: Re: The relevance of moblogging
i spent today doing things "old school". i spent the morning
scribbling anarchic thoughts on the whiteboard in my lab at work,
brainstorming the whole web 2.0 thing. i then spent the early part of
the afternoon camped on my chair, staring at the whiteboard, trying to
determine what it all means for me and how best i might use these
amazing apps in my day to day teaching.
i teach a bit of youthwork every now and then, and i can see soooooooo
much good that can come from the web 2.0 stuff in that arena, but i
still struggle with how to implement these tools in the harder, less
social realm of IT studies.
for sure there are immediate uses for the likes of delicious (if it
ever gets up and running again) and digg and boing boing etc, i can
even get down and dirty with podcasting and flickr and ourmedia. but if
moblogging is so much about story telling and developing the learning
environment etc etc then there doesn't seem much room for these "soft"
areas in the already tight schedule we have to put across "the facts".
i'm intending to trial the idea of
"demonstrating step by step
documentation of a predefined proces for the purposes of generating
evidence for assessment"
as alex states, in particular for remote students and those involved in
work experience...
but in all honesty, i want more. i want my students to explore their
journey and to moblog the path they take, documenting the highs and
lows of who they are and how they fit into the world. but damn if it
isn't a tough thing to fathom.
i think i hear the whiteboard calling me...
Kylie Rowsell
'boss' on a web development gig.
http://moblog.co.uk/view.php?id=107690
I dunno, the use of moblogging as assessment evidence (aaah, the
eloquent Anne, thanks....) is pretty endless.
There are some less 'soft' ideas"
- plant ID for remote (as in 'not on campus') students/flexible
delivery: photo of plant with students attempt at identifying it
- cookery/bakery
- OHS (I would imagine this is an IT subject as it is a subject in all
NSW courses)
(hmmm, verifying work, the old problem...but it is the same online or
face to face...)
Also, I think even using this technology for one 'exercise' is worth
doing.
I know we speak of a desire to have students fully 'engage' with
mobloging and its community/identity stuff, so one 'exercise' is not our
aim.
However, not all people like all tools. Preferences emerge.
Students who like moblogging, will take it up.
Those that think flickr is cool, will take it up (those visual learners,
I'll wager).
In IT, (indeed any topics) it is good to expose them to some web 2.0
stuff.
We've spoken before about 'the yoof' not being that IT savvy, rther they
are good at MSN and mp3s, as that is what is hip.
But there overall savvy-ness is pretty low, in my experience.
If we want to help them be information banshees and warriors its good to
show them how to research and find information, and keep 'tabs' (tags,
folksonomy) on the good stuff.
Web 2.0 stuff is key competancies a-go-go!!!
Thanks,
Kylie
ph: 4978 4016
mobology
than ever !
del.icio.us has now completely gone down with the index page going
nowhere for the last hour or so. What the heck happened to del.icio.us?
Kylie Rowsell
the Yaho networks at all yet, and that this stuff would be much better
handled once they are in the Yahoo fold....
Thanks,
Kylie
ph: 4978 4016
-----Original Message-----
From: mobology [mailto:alexand...@optusnet.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 20 December 2005 9:38 AM
To: Teach and Learn Online
Subject: :: TALO :: Re: The relevance of moblogging
Leigh Blackall
December 18, 2005
continued hiccups
Due to the power outage earlier in the week, we are dealing with a number of continued hiccups. We've taken everything offline to properly rebuild and restore everything. I apologize and hope to have this resolved as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued patience.Update: Indexes are almost done rebuilding. When that is done, we can then copy the data to the various database servers and start the service back up. Almost done -- hang in there.
Update: Still waiting for the last remaining index to build. No data has been lost -- we just need to fix the tables so the databases can find things quickly. This appears to be largely due to a RAID failure after our power outage earlier in the week - one of the indexes became corrupted and crashed the master database; for some reason the slaves replicated bad data from the master and then ended up crashing infinitely.
Update: We're done rebuilding databases and I am now pushing copies to the slave servers. When that is done I can bring the site up.
Update: We are back up! Now working on tag intersections, the search engine, and the inbox. Yahoo! has started helping out, so I hope to provide a higher level of service as soon as possible.