Derek's Blog

A couple of announcements over the past few days that will keep the open source community happy...

The first refers to a release from BECTA regarding the use of Open Source Software (OSS). Apparently the actual report is being ??sat on?? until after the election in the UK, however, there??s plenty of talk about it within the open source community.
"The landmark report will show that OSS can be implemented successfully in schools and present documented examples of cost savings from its use."
Information relating to this can be found on Graham Attwell??s blog and on the eGov Monitor website.

The other news is that IBM is joining the educational open-source Sakai Project . The Sakai Project is an open-source project that is building and releasing online course management, collaboration and research team support software. The project currently involves more than 70 schools around the world.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A recent news release from netimperitive titled Youth abandoning old media quotes a recent US report that finds that... "less that a fifth of 18-34 year olds rank newspapers as their primary source of news, while 44% check out internet portals such as Google and Yahoo for updated information." This contrasts a little with the findings of the Kaiser Foundation survey published as
Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds which found... "children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time using ??new media?? like computers, the Internet and video games, without cutting back on the time they spend with ??old?? media like TV, print and music. Instead, because of the amount of time they spend using more than one medium at a time (for example, going online while watching TV), they??re managing to pack increasing amounts of media content into the same amount of time each day."

Seems like yet another indication of the sort of thing that Michael Barbour has been discussing in his Virtual High School Meanderings blog, with a recent post titled Do today's students think differently? Barbour quotes Ian Jukes and Chris Dede among others who assert that young people's use of new technologies is actually changing the way they actually think - and thus create new knowledge.

In his blog, Barbour considers these ideas, then asks, if this is true... "Have we designed our virtual high school environments in such as way that it caters to these children who are wired differently than we are? Or have we simply created environments that we would do well in?"

A good question - and one that begs an answer from both face to face and virtual educators.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's a really cool site that I've just discovered. Called the Guide to Distance Learning , the site has been created by the Regis University School of Professional Studies, and is built entirely in Flash with full audio.

I took some time to work through a numbe of the sections of the tutorial and found it both informative and engaging. A really good example of how things can be designd for the web and for distance learning.

If I have a problem at all, it's the fact that because it's built in Flash, there's no way to cut and paste any of the information that you come across as you are working through the tutorial - consequently, you'd be pretty dependent on having a pad and a pencil at the ready to make sure you could record the many important pieces of information that are shared.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In the midst of all the work I'm doing in the NZ context at the moment the issue of skills for 21st Century learners keeps raising its head - what are they, how should we teach them, how do we assess them..??? etc.

The announcement in eSchool News today of the development of a first-of-its-kind Center for 21st Century Skills aroused my interest.

The Center will be run from the governor's office by the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE). Educators and business leaders across the state will work in tandem to redesign existing curricula, improve teacher professional development efforts, and implement assessments designed to track statewide student progress. The Center will collaborate with K-12 school systems, community colleges, and teacher education institutions to develop and pilot its programs, but specific details were not available at press time.

Joining forces with the nonprofit Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that brings leaders from education and the business community together, Easley said that he hopes the effort will lead to the development and adoption of a new model for teaching and learning in schools from coast to coast.

I took a look at some of the material that has been produced by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills group , and found a series of ICT Literacy Maps they have developed - so far for English, Maths, Geography and Science. There's been a lot of research and thought go into the development of these "maps" - and they are certainly a far cry from the previous forms of "check lists" that I've seen come from similar initiatives.

The challenge, of course, comes with designing learning experiences that provide the opportunity for students to learn, practise and demonstrate these skills, and in designing assessment tasks and approaches that will allow for these skills to be assessed appropriately. I did have a quick go at formulating an assessment rubric based around some of the English sample student outcomes, and found it surprisingly easy to do. I'll certainly be coming back to this site from time to time!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a number of forums recently I've talked about the potential value of online gaming to the educational community, and hwo we need to be exploring ways in which we might "harness" the value of these environments for learnig.

Recently released is this research report titled Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming: A Research Framework for Military Training and Education by Curtis J. Bonk from Indiana University and Vanessa P. Dennen from Florida State University. The report reviews relative online gaming research literature and proposes 15 primary experiments pertaining to massive multiplayer online gaming (MMOG), first popularized in the entertainment world and now finding growing interest in education and training environments.

Although the report tends to focus on the Military applications, there is plenty to inform how MMOGs may be used in the wider educational context, including chapters that define wht MMOGs are, the difference between games and simulations, how technoloigy is enabling the development of more sophisticated gaming participation, and the social elements of MMOGs.

The 15 primary experiements proposed in the report cover such things as:
- game authenticity and constructivism,
- collaboration and virtual teaming in MMOGs,
- learning from mistakes and learning histories,
- learning style and game selection,
- problem solving processes nd types of knowledge
- social skills and friendship development

The report is available for public download and unlimited distribution.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just back from Montrreal after a long plane ride....!

At the AERA conference there was considerable reference to educational theory in the various paper presentations and discussions. This can all be a bit overwhelming for a newbie to the field, so i was interested to come across a site from the University of Twente

Titled Communication Theories , the site is a treasure trove of succinct descriptions of a range of communications theories intended for students of the university to refer to in the preparation of their assignmnets. The theories are usefully listed in a variety of ways which makes finding the theory you're after really easy.

I liked the way the theories were categorised into micro, meso and macro level theories - providing a better picture of the usefulness of these theoretical understandings in an applied context. I also like the way in which the programmes offered by this department of the University have made explicit the way in which these theories have been used the various courses.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a site I came across this week that provides an interesting read. Called the eLearning Domain , it has been developed by Prof. John Arul Phillips of the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya.

According to the home page, the site seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of E-Learning, seven facets of the concept are examined:
- its concept,
- the technologies needed for delivery of content,
- the design and development of content,
- the psychological theories underlying eLearning,
- the human factors that need to be considered to ensure success,
- the business model and marketing strategies for introducing eLearning.
- and the management of eLearning to sustain its growth.

The site contains a myriad of links and references to everything eLearning, from the pedagogy to learning object theory and design. I found myself surfing this site for some time - although I feel there is a strong "technology" focus that dominates throughout, emphasised by the number of eLearning definitions that are included, each of which reinforces the notion of eLearning being the delivery of content via electronic media. Despite this, it's worth a look.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the AERA conference yesterday I attended a session titled "Pioneering Online Collaborative Learning for High School Students Using a Blended Approach", given by Sharon Peters - a local secondary teacher. The presentation was part of her Master's thesis in which she had conducted sime action research into her work with a class of students who used a web-based learning environment to supplement their class work. Because of the similarity with some of the things I am involved with in NZ I ended up chatting with Sharon and her supervising professor - and today took a trip out to visit her at the Lower Canada College here in Montreal. (see photo below - couldn't resist the shot of the bus, note no spring growth on the trees yet either!)

Lower Canada College is a private, co-ed school here in Montreal. Sharon showed me around their campus, including the computer labs where I saw evidence of robotic work and digital film making. Sharon also talked about work she is doing online with a school in Israel - and we discussed ideas for linking NZ school via video conferencing and/or SmartBoard technology (both of which they have in the school!

Here is Sharon with me - note my friend Albert to the side!
While at her school, I also showed Sharon and her colleagues some of the work we've been doing in NZ with the development of the EPS self-evaluation tool, the Virtual Learning Network, and the ICTPD clusters work. Seems like there could be plenty of opportunity for ongoing connections between schools in NZ and Lower Canada College in the future!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First day of the AERA conference here in Montreal is over. The weather here is still extremely cold, with no sign of spring anywhere yet - in fact, large piles of snow still sit in some shady spots around the city!

I attended an interesting session this afternoon, titled "Evaluating a Web-based Learning Environment for Professional Development." I went expecting to hear about some research into this area, but was pleasantly surprised to hear about a project that has been under way for nine years called OERL, the Online Evaluation Resource Library.

This library was developed for professionals seeking to design, conduct, document, or review project evaluations, and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

OERL's mission is to support the continuous improvement of project evaluations. To this end, OERL provides:
* A large collection of sound plans, reports, and instruments from past and current project evaluations in several content areas
* Guidelines for how to improve evaluation practice using the Web site resources

The site is very user-friendly, and has an interactive tutorial that you can work through to gain an understanding of what you can do with the tools available on the site. Looks like a really valuable source of information for anyone undertaking an evaluation of a web-based learning environment.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have just had a really interesting morning at the British Columbia Open School on Vancouver Island. Tim Winkelmans, the director, gave Vince and I a very comprehensive overview of what is happening with distance education for the compulsory sector within British Columbia. Worth a look is hte BC Open School website at http://www.openschool.bc.ca , where you can see links to the three main areas of the organisation's work:
- Content development
- Hosting WebCT as a provincial service
- Learning Object repository (still to be established)

The photo above show me with Tim Winkelmans, the director of the BC Open School. Tim has worked in distance education since the early 1990's and provided a great perspective on both the pedagogical and political changes in open and distance learning at the school and tertiary level in British Columbia in that time.
We also looked at and discussed the work of the BC MoE which can be found at http://www.bced.bc.ca/dist_learning , especially the links to "Distributed Learning" and "BCEd Online".

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One more...

This article titled Next-Generation Educational Software: Why We Need It and a Research Agenda for Getting It
from the EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 40, no. 2 (March/April 2005): 26??43.

The article explores the rationale for using ICTs in education, starting off with examining some of the technology trends then moving into an exploration of the role of ICT in education. Much of the thinking that informs the article is drawn from the work of the Learning Federation in Australia, that NZ is a partner in also.

The latter part of the article contains a number of examples of educational software to illustrate the points being made.

An interesting read that I wished I had available yesterday when talking to the students here in Oregon.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seems like a catch-up day for my blog!

When I came across the Fill Circle site as recommended by George Seimens, I was fascinated to read the article providing How some folks have tried to describe community

In this article Nancy provides summaries of and links to a wide range of current views from noted authors and thinkers in this area. For anyone who is beginning to think about communities and communities of practice, this article is a valuable read.

Interesting to note George Seimens' note on how technology is shaping how we regard community:

"I agree with the general tone presented. It's difficult, however, to precisely detail the concept of "community". The tools we use shape ideas and contexts in which we use them. For example - due to technology, collaboration used to mean something quite different from what it does today. Different inputs (decentralized, distributed across cultures) and different processes (asynchronous for reflective thought,synchronous for real-time connections of geographically dispersed team members) have reframed what it means to collaborate."

He points to another interesting article titled Little Boxes, Glocalization, and Networked Individualism by Barry Wellman (PDF) that explores the redefintion of community as a result of technology.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Vince and I completed another busy day yesterday here at the Southern Oregon University - presenting an afternoon seminar to around 120 student teachers who are about to graduate.

We provided an overview of the various projects that we are involved in in NZ - and focused on sharing stories of what NZ teachers are doing and their action research findings from this work.

We particularly empahsised the involvement of learners in the learning process, providing examples of highly participatory learning experiences in contrast to approaches that are 'teacher led'.

In doing so we demonstrated a range of the collaborative and community building tools that we are currently making a lot of use of in NZ schools, and which, from our experience, school students in NZ are quite familiar with. These include things such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, vlogging, texting, and RSS aggregator tools.

It surprised us a little to find that, of the 120 students in the group, while most were aware of texting, there were at most around six who recognised or had an awareness of any of the other technologies.

When we began talking about massively multiple player games (MMPGs) as the sort of thing that many of the learners that these new teachers will soon encounter are using and learning from in their lives right now, only two of the group had actually played such games and knew what they were.

Like so many of the teacher education programmes that we are aware of in NZ, there is a focus on the development of skills and understanding how to use many of these technologies, but little is done to explore how they might be integrated effectively into classroom programmes, or the pedagogical application of these. We shared the research and development work we've been doing with the "Educational Positioning System" to illustrate how teachers may reflect on and self evaluate their efforts in this area. The EPS has been well received here - particularly the "island" metaphor that is used as an interprative device.

For us it was an interesting experience, and further reinforced the gap that is widening between the digital natives and digital immigrants - and the challenge that exists for us in education as to how we adequately prepare our new teachers, and upskill existing teachers, to cater for the types of students that are already in our schools.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From my friend Kerrie who keeps me abreast of developments in the world of Web-based video technologies:
"Popcast implements "Open Access Internet TV", that is, broadcast quality video delivered to anyone's broadband Internet PC. Popcast's easy-to-use tools enable any filmmaker, video freelancer or DV hobbyist to deploy a "channel", a sequence of video segments and shows per the channel producer's specifications and updates. Any Popcast channel can be received by boundless Internet channel viewers by means of a one-click channel subscription, activating Popcast's underlying video delivery network derived from BitTorrent swarming technology.

Popcast's goal is to drastically reduce costs and expand potential audiences for producers of the TV experience. We believe in narrowcast, that is, hundreds of thousands of channels each uniquely servicing hundreds or thousands of viewers, a TV experience parallel to the Web
experience.

Whether you're an independent filmmaker, video producer or a DV hobbyist, Popcast provides the easiest tools to create and broadcast your own Internet TV station."

Kerrie adds - "Perhaps create an educational channel, what about a click online style show thats short, sharp and juicy!!"

I signed up today for the beta test - will be interesting to see what eventuates here!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a harrowing trip involving five legs by plane Vince and I arrived in Ashland, Southern Oregon on Sunday evening (US time). We spent yesterday (Monday) working with the Education faculty at the University of Southern Oregon (SOU), sharing with them a number of the projects that we are involved with and exploring ideas for some collaborative research. A team from SOU are coming to NZ later this year, so we hope to be able to use that opportunity to follow up on this.

While in Ashland we are being hosted by Geoff and Donna Mills. Geoff is the Dean of Education at SOU, and a good friend. Geoff is an authority in Action Research, and contributed last year to our T4T4T project.

The photograph below shows Vince enjoying a relaxing spa on the deck of Geoff and Donna's home after a hard day's work at the university!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)