Derek's Blog

I was reading this on the train on the way home tonight and felt I have to share it - from the Leonardo daVinci project in Europe, the results of their Thematic Monitoring of eLearning Projects (downloadable as a PDF file)

Although the report is based around the activities of some 150 relevant projects in the vocational education sector, the findings should be of relevance and interest to anyone involved in eLearning.

The study highlights that eLearning-related approaches have so far been too technology and/or media oriented; the recommendations point out that a strong focus on learning, on the learner and on teachers/trainers is necessary.

I've included some highlighted quotes from the paper in the extended entry below.

Quotes from the paper include:

• There would appear to have been a change in thinking on eLearning in the past three to four years, with a new focus on the discussions on eLearning. Rather than the emphasis on technoogy, the new focus on thinking on eLearning is increasingly on the learner him/herself and on methodologies and didactics.


• eLearning moves the learning experience from the traditional classroom into the learner's world, providing access to learning anytime and anywhere without geographical or time barriers, and the internet provides access to learning materials and interaction with experts and fellow tutors. (from http://www.ucalgary.ca/cted/elearn)


• the success of eLearning depends to a great extent on the attitude of the learner towards the learning situation. All other considerations are secondary; learning processes in which the learner does not constitute the primary focus are doomed to failure from the beginning.


• The traditional academic mission of transmitting a closed body of knowledge from the standpoint of a undisputed expert is inadequate for ICT supported, open and flexible learning spaces.


• In many countries teacher training, however, seems to be highly traditional with limited attention to ICT based methods.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Seymour Papert (of "mindstorms" and "Logo" fame) has produced a great summary of his thinking regarding project-based learning at http://glef.org/php/interview.php?id=Art_901 Papert has some particular words to say regarding the inclusion of mathematics and ICT into project-based learning.

For me, project-based learning as described in Papert's article is the epitome of how learning in the "real world" occurs. It is authentic, ownership of the process and outcomes is high, time on task is generally high, motivation also high etc etc.

The final part of Papert's article interests me particularly - it relates to vision, and how we must act to reconcile our dreams about the future with the realities of today's classrooms - something we should be thinking about in relation to the current discussions in NZ about the schooling strategy.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A number of discussions going on around theplace at the moment about this topic - (see Derek Chirnside's Blog). Seems there's a lot of momentum being created in this direction.

I came across this link this morning which takes you to a list of more than a dozen articles related to the development of a semantic web - http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/2004/1/

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Having invested a large amount of my time last year (and some this year) in putting together an eLearning Framework discussion document for the Ministry of Education, I was interested to come across this paper today, (E-Learning Strategies - Embrace or Eschew?) which asks a fundamental question - do we need one?
The author asks, quite rightly, With all the discussions happening in Britain (and just beginning in Canada) about e-learning strategies, it seems relevant to step back for a second and ask whether we need one at all, to ask whether "e-learning [is] really so special and different from what we know about pedagogy and student learning that, instead of viewing it as an integral part of a learning and teaching strategy, it requires a special strategy all of its own?"
There is a balanced list here of the pros and cons of having a separate eLearning Strategy - worth a read.
From my own perspective, I avoided using the word 'strategy' in the work I did, preferring instead to use the more embrasive notion of a "Framework", the idea being that, at present we need a Framework that enables us to understand the relationship between the various (and often competing) dimensions of eLearning.
I'd have to say that philisophically I'd agree with the idea that there is a built-in redundancy in an eLearning Strategy, but until all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, a framework will serve us well (for all the "pro" reasons listed in this article).

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I came across the following link today in Stephen Downe's mailing list - Building the school of the future
It is a streaming media presentation (not viewable in Firefox) from Microsoft outlining its vision of the school of the future. Not a lot of new material here, but a nicely packaged presentation that provides some insight into the approach that Microsoft are taking with their project.
The point about asking how ICT is improving learning being the wrong question resonated with me. (vague tones of the no significant difference syndrome) This is something that I've spoken about before - we have to "dream bigger" than that

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another day with Don Hanna today - plenty of work with the appreciative inquiry approach to change management. (Interesting quite - it's not change that needs to be managed, but the people affected by it!)
Appreciative inquiry does stand up as a reserach methodology of sorts, but is primarily a methodology to be used in the process of managing change. The primary focus is on "appreciating" what is working and building on that, as opposed to the traditional mehtods which begin with by "problematizing" everything and working from this perspective. This often results in deficit model thinking.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Have just spent a fascinating day with Don Hanna from the University of Wisconsin, Extension, who is in Wellington for the week. (More details of who Don is and the work he does can be found in the extended entry link).
We had a great discussion around the theme of appreciative inquiry - something Don introduced me to a couple of years ago when he was here as a keynote speaker at the DEANZ conference.
appreciative inquiry is an approach to organisational change based on the premise that ??organisations change in the direction in which they inquire.?? I've been attempting to adopt this approach in the work Iv'e been doing over the past two years, and can really vouch for its effectiveness. Amazing how differently people react in a change environment where there is a positive focus, rather than the traditional approach which tends to problematize everything.

Introducing Don Hanna

Don Hanna is professor of Educational Communications, University of Wisconsin-Extension, with a concurrent appointment as Professor of Continuing and Vocational Education at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been an administrator and teacher at four land-grant universities, and has participated in and helped to lead major institutional change efforts at three of these universities. Each of these change efforts involved the development of academic programs offered at a distance using educational technologies. Don served as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Extension from 1993-1997 and previously was Associate Vice-Provost for Extended University Services at Washington State University, where he served from 1983-1993. He also was Assistant Professor and head of the Division of Extramural Courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1979-1983. Don has received a number of awards for creative programming and leadership, including a Kellogg National Fellowship to pursue the study of telecommunications policy and applications of telecommunications that benefit developing countries and a fellowship with Northwestern University's Annenberg Communications Policy Program in Washington, D.C. He received his A.B. degree in anthropology and history from the University of Kansas, and his Ph.D. in Adult and Continuing Education from Michigan State University in 1978.

Don has authored several books, details of which can be found here.

I can personally recommend the "147 Tips" book as an excellent handbook for those starting out in online teaching - it contains an excellent mix of tips, good advice and techniques, all linked to a pedagogical model that is outlined in the introduction.

At an entirely different level, I can also recommend the "Leadership for 21st Century Learning" - winner of the Weidermier Prize in 2002 - a superb collection of the accumulated wisdom of many of the great leaders and thinkers in distance education today.

Another of Don's special interest areas is appreciative inquiry - an approach to organisational change based on the premise that ??organisations change in the direction in which they inquire.?? So an organisation which inquires into problems will keep finding problems but an organisation which attempts to appreciate what is best in itself will discover more and more that it good. It can then to use these discoveries to build a new future where the best becomes more common. For more on this try a Google Search on Appreciative Inquiry.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

With all of the interest in blogs being shown recently I thought the following link might be of interest.
http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm
The guy who has put this together has put in many hours of hard work creating a table comparing the various pieces of Blog Software that are available. In addition, he explains quite a list of the features that the various pieces of blog software may or may not inlcude.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

What a break - nine wonderful days in Fiji to attend my sister in law's wedding. 40-odd guessts, fabulous weather, and not an email link in sight! I'm back feeling totally relaxed and with a mountain of work to catch up on - but I have a feeling it will have been worth it.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Following on from yesterday's blog - the link below will open a page that provides some explanation about the animation and its relevance to eLearning.

animation explanation

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my role as eLearning manager at the Correspondence School I developed a simply model to illustrate the relationships between the various eLearning tools and strategies, both synchronous and asynchronous, that can be used. This model has been included in the Ministry of Education's ICT Strategy for schools called "Digital Horizons". The link below will open an animation that we created to help explain the model....
Open Animation

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 3:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In preparation for his presentation at TechLearn 2003, Mark Oehlert asked a number of reserachers to answer a set of questions on the future of e-learning models and the language we use to describe them. This wide-ranging discussion is captured in the transcript: A conversation on the future of eLearning

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 3:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Learning objects are getting a lot of press at the moment. The creation, storage, discoverability and reuse of them are all issues that are the focus of much debate. Here are a few recent articles that I've come across with lots of links within them for those curious about these issues.

1. Moving from theory to practice in teh design of web-based learning using a learning object approach
   This paper is mostly useful as an overview of the major concepts of learning objects as they may be applied in a practical setting.
2. Design Issues Involved in Using Learning Objects for Teaching a Programming Language within a Collaborative eLearning Environment
   "This paper presents three case studies that seek to maximize the use of freely available and reusable learning objects in their course design," write the authors.
3. Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 3:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an article that I think is worth a read - not essentially because what is says is revolutionary, but beacuseof the construction of the thinking and the ways the writer is trying to establish links with ;known' philisophical or theoretical positions etc. All in all a useful starter on the debate around the notion of m-learning, and the perceived pedagogical benefits rather than simply the "wow" factor.

Towards a Philosophy of m-learning
http://21st.century.phil-inst.hu/eng/m-learning/nyiri_m-learn_philos.htm

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My interest in educational gaming was aroused first when I attended a conference in Finland, and heard Randy Hinrichs from Microsoft's education division speak about the ways in which the gaming phenomenon needs to be harnessed for educational purposes.
one of the lists I belong to is called "Serious Gaming" and in recent postings the following links have been shared which take you to all sorts of research and discussion about educaitonal gaming.

Game Research - Attempts to bring together knowledge on computer games
from the areas of art, business, and science. Traditionally such
cross-communication has been sparse to the detriment of all involved.
http://www.game-research.com

The Center for Computer Games Research - we conduct computer game
research in game aesthetics, game design, game spaces, game worlds,
gaming cultures, and learning in games.
http://game.itu.dk

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Download file
In today's Dominion Post newspaper (IT Weekly section) - an article about the Learning Relationship Management System (LRMS) software being developed at the Correspondence School

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today is Monday 3 May - I'm in CHCH to focus on the T4T4T project. Key things for me to do for this week include:
- create blog access within the site
- work with Glen to create report component
- work with mentors to emphasise focus on changing professional practice
- look at "stickies' within the site
- clear up the CCE research ethics question
- populate the T4T4T public site

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)