Month: October 2011

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2011-10-27

  • Seem to be have a more serious problem with my Mac. It was suggested I get an external hard drive to backup Time Machine with all due haste #
  • Catching up on #phdchat by reading in the background. Seems a deep series of threads today. #
  • Off to the chiropractor, my back is killing me today. #
  • @dbaQ8 Yes, Parallels. I have not checked this since I upgraded to Lion (one of this week's tasks). #MAXQDA works nicely. #phdchat in reply to dbaQ8 #
  • @SavvyOD What is that app? #phdchat in reply to SavvyOD #
  • I created a Facebook group on the topic of Threshold Concepts http://t.co/FvyFtKIk for anybody interested #phdchat #change11 #nlc2012 #

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Making Sense of Complexity – Engaging Others in #change11

I just attended an interesting webinar that George Siemens facilitated during an Open Access Week session at Athabasca, Making Sense of Complexity in Open Information Environments. While his work got increasingly theoretical, there is one thing he mentioned that caused me to stop and think about my current involvement in #change11, the MOOC that I have been discussing for a few weeks now.

In this iteration of a massive open online course, there is not an established form of scaffolding for participant focus (there is not a central Moodle platform, or course home where we all come to gather around). Instead, we blog or Tweet or whatever as we work through the course, and we are encouraged (invited? forced?) to devise our own mechanisms for processing and engaging with our content. I have decided to use my blog and Twitter to process this experience and what I learn in it, and while this generally works for me, it also relates to some ideas that Dave Cormier mentioned in his post earlier this week, and which we developed a little more in George’s webinar today. All this freedom comes at a cost — I am continually struggling to address my 3rd course goal, Revise my network to be wider and more inclusive. Without a central focus or location, it can be quite a challenge to develop a sense of community, or networked learning perspective. Yes, I am begining to comment on more blogs of other participants, as well as increase my Tweeting, though I am still struggling to be able to connect with others in more than a passing way.

While I prefer online communication as a mode of social connection, I am increasingly disoriented by the sheer scope of participation in the MOOC, and thus am really struggling to find a small (or any!) social connections of more than a passing or very focused interest. I know, this certainly does not happen naturally in a centralized course location, though it is an Internet-sized challenge to find this in the wider Web. Yes, it is relatively easy to locate Tweets and blogs and such through the use of the #change11 tag, but even with all that information, it is still a challenge to navigate through everything.

As networked learning is something that is increasingly important in my thinking, I am hoping that some of my efforts in this area will begin to develop in some way. I am reminded of what Dave said:

I’ve also had a difficult time trying to track the responses to the given weeks

and this for me resonated.

I really like the openness and ability to process our thinking in our own ways, though echoing Dave’s comment, finding the information can be a challenge, and then engaging around it enough that community begins to develop, even in small ways (once again, as George hinted at in the webinar today). Somehow, I have not located any of this yet, and while I will put more effort into my processes, I am increasingly recognizing that my goal #3 is very important for my sustained involvement.

I wonder if a sense of community or belonging or valuing plays a role in any online endeavor, especially a 35 week one where we develop and monitor and work toward our own goals?

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2011-10-26

  • I blinked today and am behind on Twitter. Alas, have 2 items to share that may be of interest. #
  • @daciatakesnote @peterflomstat @klbz @savasavasera Any other suggestions for the #NYC #phdchat #meetup on 11/10 than Pegu Club? ow.ly/1z5QXI in reply to daciatakesnote #
  • @kiwicito It was most excellent; thanks for the reference once again! in reply to kiwicito #
  • @mapetite @gawbul @gconole Well, to look at me would reveal I am not in danger of starving, though I did have trouble concentrating. Thanks! #
  • @gconole Just had 2 slices of pizza and now followed by a triple skim latte. Ahh… in reply to gconole #
  • I have not yet eaten lunch today and am having trouble focusing. #

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Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2011-10-25

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Check-in on #change11 Goals and Expectations

We are now 7 weeks into the #change11 MOOC, and I thought it may be time to check in on my own goals and expectations for this online course, which is something I have suggested to others (so why not start with myself?). As objectives are not centralized for participants, it is up to each one of us, as adult learners, to formulate our own reasons for attending and what we hope to get out of the experience.

When I initially formulated my own goals for my participation in the MOOC, I stated:

This is one of the refreshing things that this MOOC has done–it has empowered attendees (learners) to articulate and state their own goals for the course. With this stated,these are my #change11 goals and expectations. By the end of the #change11 MOOC,I will be able to:

  1. Assess the impact and influence of this global,unstructured learning on my PhD Research
  2. Practice an openness to diverse perspectives on learning
  3. Revise my network to be wider and more inclusive

So, with this check-in, how have I done, what do I make of it, what are my next steps?

  1. Assess the impact and influence of this global,unstructured learning on my PhD Research
    This MOOC participation has a heavy tech aspect, and in this way I am happily engaging with others about how they integrate (or otherwise!) a technology-enhanced perspective in their learning initiatives. This is helping me see that my research is not isolated, and in fact is more connected to the disparate experiences of others more than I initially realized. My next step is to take this commitment to thinking through issues in the MOOC and now begin working with a renewed effort on my thesis, given a more informed perspective. More about this to come.
  2. Practice an openness to diverse perspectives on learning
    I am trying to be open to diverse learning perspectives, though still struggle here. I think the best next step is to increase in my reading of the posts and thoughts of others here, and engage them in their own blogs and such as shared through the Daily email for the course. No better way than to accept and explore diverse thinking than by going where the thinking is and engaging with it. What is the point of only reading people who already seem to be consistent with my thinking already?
  3. Revise my network to be wider and more inclusive
    This is something that can be directly related with #2 above, by going to see others where they are and engaging with their ideas. What better way to expand a network than to put myself where the connected network lives and thinks? Interestingly, this is something I value without calling it “networking,” as I still see this concept as wanting to get something without the mutual sharing of ideas I find so valuable in knowledge and experience construction. Nothing will happen with my thinking (and potentially the thinking of others) without such interaction. Go where the conversations are.

Practically they did not help. Recently, the doctor prescribed me the medicine Ambien No Prescription.
I still need to think through these a little more, though am now wondering how others are working through this or finding value in the course? Perhaps this can be a personal theme for the week?