Reflection: Manuel Lima: The Power of Networks

I find this to be one of the most lively, condensed and persuasive rationally presented videos I have ever seen. The cartoon character makes it into a work of art too. This fulfills my expectations of what teaching should be. Ten minutes imaginative and visually attractive input followed by hours of reflection. This is one of those events that will remain with me.

Personal Learning Environment tools: preparation for Southampton MOOC Personal Learning Network

As there aren't any MOOC guidelines in my hands from Southampton yet, for the learning experience I researched what I think I will need as a minimum to prepare to be successful in the way I want.

I set up a blog (this one) as a place to reflect on my experience so that I am in a position to share it with others in a spirit of compare / contrast / grow. I gathered feeds about MOOC experiences from the instigators and participants; of course Downes and Siemens loomed large amongst them. I am instinctively  drawn towards the necessity of connectivism as a digital age dynamic theory. In my information gathering I need ways to organize and refine what I got, so I found myself trying out a variety of sources. The best amongst them were netvibes, rss feeds, bloglines, evernote and pinterest (for thematic graphic storage). Sources of inspiration were mainly You Tube and slideshare. I figured that my most detailed sharing would likely be done through something like dropbox after I learn who my like-minded fellow students are. I have used delicious as a bookmarker for years so old habits die hard. I'm not really proficient with google+ yet and I haven't really forgiven them yet for the death of various cherished tools. For getting the answers to my basic questions I have chosen a bundle of sources which I have used in the past - although on this occasion Techopedia has helped the most so far. That's my plan - let's wait and see how well it works. I guess the official estimate of 3 hours per week for 6 weeks will prove to be a massive understatement!

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Time to extend our concept of 'blended learning'

The time has come to reconsider what we mean by blended learning. I suggest that it can exist on two levels.

Firstly an acceptable definition from Wikipedia:

' Blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace.^[1] While still attending a “brick-and-mortar” school structure, face-to-face classroom methods are combined with computer-mediated activities.^[2] Proponents of blending learning cite the opportunity for data collection and customization of instruction and assessment as two major benefits of this approach.^[3] Schools with blended learning models may also choose to reallocate resources to boost student achievement outcomes.^[4]'

1. ^ "Blended Learning (Staker / Horn - May 2012)" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-10-24.
2. Jump up ^ Strauss, Valerie (22 September 2012). Three fears about blended learning, The Washington Post
3. Jump up ^ Harel Caperton, Idit. (2012) Learning to Make Games for Impact. The Journal of Media Literacy, 59(1), 28-38.
4. Jump up ^ Jacob, Anna M. (2011). Benefits and Barriers to the Hybridization of Schools. Journal of Education Policy, Planning and Administration, 1(1): 61-82.

Then a proposed extension from me.
 If a MOOC, for example, is accompanied by:

• peer-to-peer teaching with questions answered by a professor - for example by email
• dropboxes or wikis for idea collection and development
• skyping or video conferencing to set up pair or group learning
• with knowledeable peers or experienced tutors involved

isn't that blended learning too - or is it the case that we really believe a monopoly of knowledge resides in formalised institutions of learning?

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