OLWeekly ~ Nov 21, 2014
CREATEC
OLWeekly
by Stephen Downes
Nov 21, 2014
Winners and Losers in the Future of Canada’s Universities
Ross Paul,
Academica, 2014/11/20
Ross Paul warns that Canadian universities will have to adapt or perish in this article for Academica Group. He is a former university president who served at Athabasca universty for a time while I was there. He writes, " while some institutions are well positioned to maintain such standards, others will be able to do so only with significant and substantial changes to their missions, mandates and modes of operation."
xAPI Statement Generator based on the ADL xAPIWrapper
Ellen,
The Design Space, 2014/11/20
This is a tool designed to help developers code for xAPI "ased on the ADL xAPI Wrapper. This will first show you the statement you are sending, then sends the statement to the LRS. When it gets a response, it shows the ADL xAPI Wrapper. javascript call used to send the statement. Ultimately it will generate statements for all the different Object types."
Pattern recognition: neither deduction nor induction
John Wilkins,
Evolving Thoughts, 2014/11/19
I've spoken many times about the idea that to know is to recognize and yet I've rarely (if ever) followed it up with a reference. Part of the reason is that I'm lazy, and part of the reason is that I've slowly developed this idea over time. Still. It's not like I'm alone here. So we have this article by John Wilkins making the distinction between pattern recognition and traditional epistemology (which views knowledge as a type of deductive or inductive inference). I don't see pattern recognition as a means of classification so much; rather, I see recognition as a process that stimulates memories directly, without the need for the mechanism (and language) of classification. A lot has been written on pattern recognition and I think we should take it seriously as a way of representing knowledge tasks as types of direct perception rather than as inferential or encoding processes.
Why podcasts are suddenly “back”
Marco Arment,
Marco.org, 2014/11/19
Today's big story is the podcast renaissance (making me feel like a genius for devoting a recent keynote to Ed Radio (though I'd feel like more of a genius if it was working properly, and not cutting off audio files before they've finished playing)). But of course, it's not really a renaissance; podcasting has been growing steadily over the years. Indeed, as I've tried to explain to people, this is a golden age of audio. I've never seen so many or such diverse new musical acts. As Tom Hjelm from New York Public Radio exoplains, “Our backbones, our radio stations, are still going strong, but we’re seeing this tremendous growth in the on-demand part of the business.” Me, I'm a habitual listener of Old Time Radio. But modern radio drama has made a comeback with something like five million people downloading Serial. Links via the American Press Institute.
Digital Learning Research Network (dLRN)
George Siemens,
elearnspace, 2014/11/19
George Siemens writes about receiving Gates Foundation funding for the Digital Learning Research Network at the University of Texas in Arlington. The Gates Foundation is a bit like the Pulitizer Prize - the recipients claim world status, but only entries from the United States are eligible for awards. You have to think trhis will skew the results of any research. That's why Siemens wants to "internationalize the research network to include global partners to advance exploration of research topics and pursue research funding internationally" and writes that "an important aspect of this is involving international universities" but cautions "we don’t have funds to support these systems." Or more topical interest is his shift of interest toward what he calls "personal knowledge graphs (PKG) and profiles." He writes, "I’ve been whining about this for a while." Meanwhile, we in Canada have been developing this for a while, even without Gates money.
L&D's Role in the VUCA World: Part 1
Sahana Chattopadhyay,
ID,
Other Reflections, 2014/11/19
VUCA stands for 'volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity'. It describes the world we face: "The external conditions and environment are not going to stabilize enough for us to take a step back and come up with a solid plan and blue print of organizational learning. We'll have to become deft at designing as we go while keeping an eye on the big picture." So how do learning and design cope? "Focus on re-generating skills like learning agility, resilience, and creativity."
The Long Life of a Data Trail
Bill Fitzgerald,
Funny Monkey, 2014/11/19
This article outlines five ways data is collected and used by schools (and their providers). Why does this matter? The New York Times makes it clear: "They have created lists of victims of sexual assault, and lists of people with sexually transmitted diseases. Lists of people who have Alzheimer’s, dementia and AIDS. Lists of the impotent and the depressed. There are lists of “impulse buyers.” Lists of suckers: gullible consumers who have shown that they are susceptible to “vulnerability-based marketing.” And lists of those deemed commercially undesirable because they live in or near trailer parks or nursing homes. Not to mention lists of people who have been accused of wrongdoing, even if they were not charged or convicted." See also What Kids are Reading from Learnanalytics and Carnegie Mellon's list of apps graded for privacy.
OERRH OER Evidence Report 2013-2014
de los Arcos,
B.,
Farrow, R.,
Perryman,
L.-A., Pitt,
R. & Weller,
M.,
OER Research Hub, 2014/11/19
The OER Research Hub has published what it calls the 'OER Evidence Repoirt' for 2013-14 (36 page PDF). The report summarizes targeted research "combining surveys, interviews, focus groups and data analytics." While we see some expected results, like discussions on the use of open educational resources (OERs) ("OER repositories remain relatively unused and unknown compared with the main three educational resource sites of YouTube, Khan Academy and TED") other hypotheses tested seem like a bit of a stretch ("The two main hypotheses under investigation were (A) that OER improves student performance; and (B) that openly licenced material is used differently to other online material"). The best evidence is saved for last: "There is strong evidence for savings with Open Textbooks that are used to replace compulsory set texts."
For a more narrowly focused report on OERs viewed specifically from a U.S. context, see the Babson Report. (52 page PDF) See Michael Feldstein on this item: "the best way to view this report is not to look for earth-shaking findings or to be disappointed if there are no surprises, but rather to see data-backed answers on the teaching resource adoption process." That said, I still think the most significant decisions about adoption and use of OERs are not made by faculty, but by students. Of course you'll never discover this when you survey faculty only, as this report does.
The Future of AI: a Ubiquitous, Invisible, Smart Utility
Irving Wladawsky-Berger,
Weblog, 2014/11/19
I've talked about learning this way. But there's no reason why it can't apply to artificial intelligence (AI) as well: "The AI he (Kevin Kelly) foresees is more like a kind of cheap, reliable, industrial-grade digital smartness running behind everything, and almost invisible except when it blinks off. This common utility will serve you as much IQ as you want but no more than you need. Like all utilities, AI will be supremely boring, even as it transforms the Internet, the global economy, and civilization.'"
The Teenager's Sense of Social Self
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore,
Edge, 2014/11/18
Hardly the final word on the subject, but nonetheless interesting reading. Things like this put things in context:
There's nothing like teenage diaries for putting momentous, historical occasions into perspective. This is my entry for the 20th July, 1969.
'I went to arts center in yellow cords and blouse. Ian was there but he didn't speak to me. Got rhyme put in my handbag by someone who's apparently got a crush on me. It's Nicholas I think. Ugh.
Man landed on moon.'
Peers and social life have a disproportionate influence on adolescents. Why is that? If I had to judge by my own reflections on personal opinion, I would say it is because we learn by imitating. We watch, then we practice. And at that age we are actively
seeking out things to imitate. But I'm sure that's not the whole story. (By the way, I was 10 at the time of the Moon landing and I was much more interested in it that this writer).
Critical Digital Pedagogy: a Definition
Jesse Stommel,
Hybrid Pedagogy, 2014/11/18
In this article Jess Stommel offers a crisp overview of digital pedagogy (with references to Friere and Giroux) and suggests that critical pedagogy:
- centers its practice on community and collaboration;
- must remain open to diverse, international voices, and thus requires invention to reimagine the ways that communication and collaboration happen across cultural and political boundaries;
- will not, cannot, be defined by a single voice but must gather together a cacophony of voices;
- must have use and application outside traditional institutions of education.
To my mind critical pedagogy is the dedication of network methods (aggregate, remix, repurpose, feed forward) and network values (autonomy, diversity, openness, interactivity) toward the personal recognition and employment of the critical literacies (patterns, meaning, use, context, inference and change) in one's own environment.
Beyond the MOOC Model: Changing Educational Paradigms
James G. Mazoue,
EDUCAUSE Review, 2014/11/18
Though I disagree with a number of the details, this is on the whole a good article that effectively argues that the changes brought about by MOOCs are just beginning, and not in decline at all. James G. Mazoue identifies four major drivers of change that have become evident in the wake of MOOCs:
- MOOC-based degrees - "a quality online degree offered at scale for a nominal or greatly reduced cost is a more attractive alternative for many students"
- Competency-Based Education - "effectively enables individualized learning but shifts the overall power differential in education from institutions to students"
- Formalization - "adopting effective learning strategies and instructional methods should not be a happenstance occurrence, but rather reflectively adopted and systematically implemented"
- Regulatory reform - ""Higher education," Andrew Kelly and Frederick Hess point out, "functions more like a cartel than a dynamic marketplace."
Now just throwing all of this into the private sector is not an appropriate recipe for reform; we will just end up with the sort of shambles that characterizes financial services or the insurance industry. But neither can we merely continue with the existing system which is at once too expensive and too ineffective. Effective educational policy has tgo see the system of learning as a type of infrastructure, worthy of and needing public-level support to ensure equity of access and a focus on quality of service.
Colleges Saw a Flood of Students at Recession’s Peak—and Discouraging Results
Katherine Mangan,
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2014/11/18
In 2008 the recession hit and colleges and universities saw a flood of new students looking to improve their knowledge and skills between jobs while the economy recovered. Six years and tens of thousands of dollars later, how did they fare? Not so well. In a nutshell, the system failed them. "Only 55 percent of the students who entered college in the fall of 2008, at the peak of the Great Recession, had earned college degrees or certificates by May 2014, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center." In view of those numbers, open online learning looks like an attractive alternative indeed. See also Inside Higher Ed on the same story.
Is Democracy in Deep Trouble?
Don Tapscott,
LinkedIn, 2014/11/18
I generally disagree with Don Tapscott but In want to chime in with him on this one. He argues that our political institutions are failing and the future of democracy itself is in question. Voters are increasingly unable to sway the political agenda, and our political leaders are behaving increasingly badly. "The ongoing abuse of trust by office holders is the product of widespread rot," he writes. "The result is a full-blown crisis in legitimacy." Consequently, he writes, we need to replace the existing system with "participatory" built around five principles:
- Integrity - "elected officials need to embrace integrity – which is honesty and consideration."
- Accountability - "we need to divorce politicians from relying on big money"
- Interdependence - "the public, private sector and civil society all have a role to play in sustaining a healthy society."
- Engagement - "mechanisms for government to benefit from the wisdom and insight that a nation can collectively offer."
- Transparency - "almost everything should be done in the full light of day"
These are nice-sounding principles but I fear they are unworkable. Two of them - integrity and transparency - depend on the character of our elected officials, which we already agree is lacking. What stands for 'engagement' today is mostly a series of public relations exercises. 'Interdependence' usually means granting special access to business and industry to the decision-making process, access they have purchased and will not let go.
We need to recognize that governance is complex and cannot be managed. We will not obtain good government by telling people how they ought to behave because, even if the recommendations are very good, a certain number of people will not follow them, and will ruin it for everyone else. We must structure democracy in such a way as to prevent these people from becoming so powerful in the first place. There have to be limits to wealth, limits to power, and limits to influence. There's no easy way to do this. But without them, democracy will fail at a time in history when we need it most.
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) math for innovative SMEs
Serkan Bolat,
Serkan Bolat, 2014/11/18
This overview of the concept of the 'technology readiness level' (TRL) is useful in the areas of innovation and technology development (we use it in-house at NRC). The idea is to distinguish between innovations that are still at the conceptual stage and those that are ready for production. Our MOOC technology reach 5 or 6, and did not receive project support to go further. Our personal learning environment software has reach level 4 in earlier prototypes and now we're trying to get it to 5 or 6, after which if it's successful we have the plan and commitment to go further. TRL is useful because it demonstrates the hurdles to innovation - it's not typically getting to step 1, as most people (I think) suppose, it's getting past the higher levels and into deployment.
Notes from Utrecht Workshop on Ethics and Privacy Issues in the Application of Learning Analytics
Niall Sclater,
Sclater Digital, 2014/11/18
Summary of a presentation from Hendrik Drachsler - "his call for ethical and privacy issues in the application of learning analytics had produced over 100 issues... put into four categories: privacy, ethics, data and transparency" - and Jan-Jan Lowijs - "described the nine general themes in the Directive which we found a useful way to propose answers to some of the 100 issues that had been submitted." Issues of privacy and security are becoming more prevalent in data analytics, and I'm not sure a policy-based approach will be sufficient to address them. See also: learning analytics using business intelligence systems. And see also: NY Times, Privacy Concerns for ClassDojo and Other Tracking Apps for Schoolchildren
Embedding Learning in Work: The Benefits and Challenges
Charles Jennings,
Workplace Performance, 2014/11/18
One of the major aspects of the personal learning environment system we are designing revolves around the idea of embedding learning in work. Why? As Charles Jennings writes, "A common finding that has emerged from study after study over the past few years is that learning which is embedded in work seems to be more effective than learning away from work." After summarizing a number of research studies making this point, he turns to some of the challenges. One is that such learning can't be designed - it is "self-managed, and the measurement is in terms of outputs." Another is "the lack of understanding and failure to use performance support approaches" in typical workplace learning systems. Finally, "embedding learning in work almost always requires the active support of executives, business managers and team leaders."
My reclaimed content workflow
D'Arcy Norman,
D'Arcy Norman Dot Net, 2014/11/17
Useful graphic from D'Arcy Norman illustrating his "reclaimed content workflow." As I am almost certainly facing a website migration this winter, the first in nine years, I am reconsidering these very issues. He writes, "I consider 2 parts absolutely essential: the WordPress-powered blog/site running at darcynorman.net, and my Aperture library living on my home laptop." I'm much the same way, except I manage both photos and content with home-rolled code. Maybe I shouldn't. But it's a hard habit (or passion) to break.
National OER Framework
Paul Stacey,
Musings on the Ed Tech Frontier, 2014/11/17
It's really interesting to read this longish post from Paul Stacey describing work he has done with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization to promote the use and development of OER at a Pan-Arab level to institutions, teachers and students, and then his visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was hosted by Abdullah Almegren who leads the National Center for e-Learning & Distance Learning at the Ministry of Higher Education. He has a photo in the exact location I was photographed wearing the same Arab dress. I'm thinking maybe we should exchange notes. He has "been helping the US State Department with their Open Book project" while I've been engaged in MOOCs. There's a lot of overlap. And I agree with him when he writes "OER affords a cross-cultural education experience and can act as a form of diplomacy, understanding, and peace-keeping."
Public school educated and proud of it
Kelli McGraw,
sharing findings,
inviting conversations, 2014/11/17
Every once in a while (far more frequently than I would like) someone touts the quality of students and professors at the elite universities like Yale and Harvard and MIT and the like. The same argument is less overtly made but nonetheless also applies to elite private schools. I've never believed these arguments, if for no other reason than that I've had plenty of opportunities to interact with these students and professors and, frankly, they're no great shakes. And far too often they seem to be just like you and I, but with their ethical filters turned off. My education comes from the public school system, and my university degrees were from that intellectual powerhouse, the University of Calgary. I received a first rate education and I'll stack up the result with anyone from one of the elites. In this post Kelli McGraw expresses similar sentiments about her education and work in the Australian public system.
Oculus Rift: Freezers, smilers, grippers, swayers, screamers and freak-outs – resistance is futile
Donald Clark,
Donald Clark Plan B, 2014/11/17
I wonder how big systems like Oculus Rift will become. OR (I'll call it for short) is a virtual reality system that fits like a mask over the face. And as Donald Clark says, "Once you flood their field of view with a screen that has a high refresh rate with rock solid tracking so that your head movements mimic what would happen in that world, along with great audio – you’re there. That new world is your reality." I really should get me one of those. This article classifies OR reactions and provides a video of one person "freaking out" in the environment.
POERUP – Policies for OER Uptake
Various authors,
POERUP, 2014/11/17
According to the website, "The official funding period of POERUP has ended on 30 June 2014, now all the project's key outputs and public deliverables are finalised and available to the public." It states, "POERUP wanted the policies to be evidence-based policies – based on looking beyond one’s own country, region or continent, and beyond the educational sector that a ministry typically looks after."
Here's How To Figure Out Everything Google Knows About You
Julie Bort,
Business Insider, 2014/11/17
This is a useful article not only because it tells you what Google knows about you (which is always interesting reading) but because it gives a hint at Google's methods and how effective they are. In my case, the methods produce spotty results, which oddly makes me happy. This is the most useful: "First, click on the link below or type it into your browser: https://www.google.com/settings/ Then click on Account history." Then scroll to the bottom to see 'Ad Settings'.
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