Month: June 2008

Where Is Learning 2.0?

There are some interesting discussions that are occurring around the edublogosphere right now about corporate learning vs. edupunk. I just commented on items that Gina and Tony discussed, with their thoughts partly in response to Jim’s and recent thinking about edupunk ideology. As an aside, all three of their blogs are well worth reading for different perspectives on Learning 2.0 (and if I may, Jane is also doing some interesting work in this area).

In a nutshell, they are all discussing corporate and academic learning using Web 2.0, which is (oversimplified, I know) fundamentally what Learning 2.0 is all about. While we can debate the hows and whys of this, I am more immediately interested in the wheres right now. Where is all this happening? I struggle to get my graduate and undergraduate students to use Twitter, a wiki, del.icio.us, and a host of other technologies, and while some do adopt them, most are not interested in anything other than what they are already using (which, once again in a Nutshell, means YouTube, and to a lesser extent, Facebook). In my corporate work, the issue is similar–many people struggle even using internal podcasts, much less blogs or anything Ajax-based. It would seem short-sited to only use what students already use (somewhat like teaching them only what they are already comfortable doing, which would even more limit education, but I digress).

Where are these teaming populations busting at the seems to use corporate and educational Web 2.0 elements in learning? I live and work and consult primarily in Manhattan, and this is where most of my learners are as well.

I am wondering if the questions we are considering are perhaps too limited. Perhaps we should be asking “where?” these learners are, as I am wondering if these social and networking and learning and sharing technologies out there are not more proliferate in less demographically busy areas, such as New York? Can it be that Web 2.0 is more popular where people are not so concentrated, due to necessity? Thinking pragmatically, why should I take an eLearning class when we have enough people and expertise for face to face instruction? Why should I post to a discussion board when we can discuss it face to face in class (which is how most NYC academic institutions seem to prefer to operate)? Do I really need to post my pictures when I see all of you and can send you a link? Doesn’t RSS work better when I don’t readily have access to what I need?

Thinking about this in another way, how many people do I follow and speak with on Twitter who live near Manhattan? How about the bloggers I follow (as I heavily use RSS to process the information overload I face), are they also here? With exceptions to be counted on less than one hand, the answer is no.

Yes, I am intentionally taking a contrarian position here, and those who know and work with me know I have a passion for integrating technology so thoroughly into learning that they are no longer seen as parts of a whole, but just “learning.” Instead, I am hoping to move this discussion forward by considering another element I think we need to more actively consider.

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-06-12

  • @skydaddy Sorry I missed you. You still on skype? #
  • @skydaddy The book you recommended looks so familiar. #
  • @skydaddy Yes, sure enough, I already have the book. Do not recall when I bought it, but at least it will now be useful. #
  • @fncll Sounds like an interesting quest. When I took a graduate philosophy course last fall, I was surprised by how anti-tech everybody was. #
  • @fncll Chris, it was even worse than that. I felt invited to climb right back into the silo I have fought my entire life to climb out of! #
  • Have a headache. Busy morning in the office so far. Thankfully things here are smooth today, as my head is pounding. #
  • @mathplourde Your Wikis in Higher Education document is quite useful. I linked to it on my wiki for the exam http://tinyurl.com/5mb4aw #
  • @skydaddy Some great information there; thanks again for the reference. #
  • @skydaddy Alas, no skype during the day (am at work). Perhaps some evening or otherwise I can call on the phone? #
  • I need some fresh air. #
  • I need some fresh air. #
  • @socialthing Cool. Surprised you don’t use SnagIt for captures like this! #
  • @socialthing Interesting. Never seen this program before. It reminds me of Jing Project http://www.jingproject.com #
  • @mathplourde It is a final exam for my Leadership course. I created the mid-term, and want to encourage more participation for the final. #
  • @mathplourde There has been low activity on it, so will discuss in class tonight. #
  • @gusgreeper Why don’t you ask them? #
  • @injenuity How does the Duran Duran song of my youth go? Enjoy the Silence. #
  • @gusgreeper I tend to ask. Do not like to link to people I do not know anything about. I suppose I see it as some level of approval. #
  • @injenuity Shows my frame of mind this week! How savage of me to confuse my favorite band with another from the great music decade. #
  • @skydaddy Thank you for the link. I will watch tonight (blocked at work). #
  • @skydaddy Ouch. If I used Facebook, I could send you some relaxing fish or throw a philosopher at you to help you think about it. #
  • @skydaddy Hope it feels better. Great speaking F2F via teleconference (there has to be a T2T or other acronym for that) today. Very helpful. #
  • @skydaddy No wonder I have not seen your Tweets recently. Another whale story perhaps? #
  • @abalone Thank you for the feedback on my blog post today! #
  • Off to class. Looking forward to my students’ presentations tonight. #

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Mindfulness Meditation & Reflective Practice

The New York Times recently had an article on mindfulness meditation, which is a psychotherapeutic method that focuses on awareness and release of emotions. This is related to “just being,” rather than a focus on “doing” something active, so concepts and memories get “reframed” so that a person can recall difficult situations and experiences and learn to endure them while coming from a place of peace and quiet. 

While this work comes out of the psychotherapy literature with a Buddhist twist, it reminds me in many ways of Reflective Practice. Donald Schon initiated this concept to mean “thoughtfully considering one’s own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline.” I am an adherent of this educational philosophy (as noted in my blog’s by-line), and regularly read the same-named journal and enjoyed the MIT course (available free online).

Aren’t these two similar, and perhaps related? Don’t I need to be quiet in order to reflect on and reframe my experiences into new next steps, ones that are better informed for having processed the initial occurrences themselves? Isn’t that what I do as an educator, to best meet the needs of my students? Isn’t that what is informing the new edupunk movement? Shouldn’t that help with the next presidential election, the rise in prices associated with fossil fuels, and even terrorism?

Once again, as what is becoming a mantra for me:  
There are no unrelated fields of study nor experiential horizons.

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-06-11

  • @Catalina_h You have to register for wikispaces and then request access to edit the wiki http://tinyurl.com/6ce8zq #
  • Wow, what a busy morning. Sending this Tweet from an elevator, this is my first time off my seat since I arrived this morning. #
  • I need to create an Instructional Design Document template. Does anybody have one of these they can share for some ideas? #
  • Long day. Home tonight to catch up on RSS feeds and tweak my lesson for tomorrow’s Leadership class. #
  • Long day. Home tonight to catch up on RSS feeds and tweak my lesson for tomorrow’s Leadership class. #

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