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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• University of Southampton MOOCs...coming soon!
• Five Possible Advances for Online Learning Courtesy of MOOCs

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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• Six must read models of blended learning
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Paul Casey on 'The Pedagogy of MOOCs

A highly informed and informative look by Paul Casey at which pedagogy is used in which MOOcs by which institution:

Pedagogy of MOOCs from Paul_Stacey

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• Build a Course: Hybrid Pedagogy
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What is a MOOC? from Dave Cormier plus who are the major players?

I like this video for its straightforward, clear introduction to the purpose of a MOOC. It makes it clear how you determine the structure, the path you follow, the contacts you make, the networks you develop and maintain. It explains that the responsibility for success or failure is yours alone and it does it in a minimalist way.

An Overview of the MOOC Research Initiative from George Siemens

MOOC Research Initiative from gsiemens

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• MOOCs
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Lessons for MOOCS from Traditional Online Learning from George Siemens

P2PU: A University for the Web & Distance learning history.

This great idea comes out of Australia where so much began in distance learning - to quote from the website:

'LEARNING BY EVERYONE. FOR EVERYONE. ABOUT ALMOST ANYTHING. COMPLETELY FREE'

https://p2pu.org/en/

It looks well worth a look and a try.

This prompted me to search out K Keairns report on the History of Distance Education (under its various synonyms). It van be found here and makes fascinating reading as well as being clearly presented in my opinion:
http://mysite.du.edu/~kkeairns/doc/history.html

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Finding the invisible web or deep web...

This post concerns the majority of websites and information; those areas which ordinary search engines just don't find because they are not targetting them. It also includes advice on how to search effectively at an academic level. From school to post-grad level this is vital if you don't want to waste your time!

First, the ultimate guide to the invisible web:
 http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/invisible-web

 Secondly, a search engine overview:
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2066359/Invisible-Web-Database-Search-Engines

Next, learn about how and how not to search for academic purposes:
http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/index.html

Then, ten important invisible web search engines:
 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-search-engines-explore-deep-invisible-web/

An example:
 

These lead on to the narrowing down of searches for academic purposes. An excellent categorisation and analysis can be found here: 'Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources'

http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/research-beyond-google

Highly recommended is the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine BASE:
http://www.base-search.net/

Blip TV demonstrates how to use BASE.
http://blip.tv/camosunlibrary/base-bielefeld-academic-search-engine-advanced-search-3537868

After that, consider using a metasearch engine, for example:
 www.metacrawler.com

Nearly there, take a look at these meta and multi-search engines:
 https://www.diigo.com/list/eclark131/Meta+and+Multi+Search+Engines/2lpg04uj4

Finally don't forget about the 314 search engines in other countries:
http://searchenginecolossus.com/ 

Having found your sources, it is important to cite them properly to avoid charges of academic plagiarism. This tells you how:
 http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/citations.html

Teaching in the 21st century from Sonja Delafosse from youtube

I found that this sums up the position I have arrived at so far; so I present it without further comment: