A Rhizomatic ANT In Germany

imageHere I am in Germany for my first holiday in five years, and while there is a nasty train strike going on across the country, I still somehow find myself on one of the trains that is running thinking about our #rhizo15 time together (and alone), especially as the informally formal part of it is nearing its end.

I posted a question in the #rhizo15 Facebook group about any experiences people had or thought about regarding travel and the rhizome, and I got the most interesting responses that helped push my thinking a bit further. In some ways, I have started to rely on this, my informal network, and can even envision maintaining contact with some of my new colleagues from here. Anyway, I digress.

There I was walking through Munich and I found myself in an antique coin dealer’s shop where a World War II era  coin was of interest and shortly thereafter purchased by one of my travel partners. Never much interested in coins, I did not at first pay attention to it until I noticed its date. Odd that the coin at first seemed Continue readingA Rhizomatic ANT In Germany

Is #rhizo15 an Echo Chamber?

Tinvasive_specieshis week’s #Rhizo15 topic is Is community learning an invasive species? My first thoughts are: No, if we turn to one another to increase and support and extend our learning, then that is the value we bring and share.

However, like nearly everything else I have experienced in this mooc, things are not Continue readingIs #rhizo15 an Echo Chamber?

Why Count Learning? All Learning Is Local

VialoguesLeave it to Dave in Week 2 of #rhizo15 to tell / ask us, Learning is not a counting noun… so what should we count? He detailed this in his video, and I took Kevin’s suggestion that we collaboratively Talk Back to Dave.

In replying to Dave’s query, I thought a bit about how we could use Bloom’s higher level evaluation forms, as they could help us measure learning in ways that are still consistent in the openness of moocs, such as “Explain what you mean by claiming unstructured moocs offer deep learning opportunities” or “Justify how all of the time spent in #rhizo15 is of value.” Yes, these could be useful measuring personal learning, though I wonder if Occam’s razor may be useful here?

Consider why to count, which I interpret as Continue readingWhy Count Learning? All Learning Is Local

Today is Earth Day. So What?! Foster an Elephant!

SiangikiToday, April 22, is Earth Day, “a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace.” While there are lots of ways to think of today, which just happens to be a beautiful spring day in New York City where I am, the Earth Day Network offers lots of suggestions for calls to action.

Sure, we can promote laws to help reduce the impact of climate change, plant trees, or volunteer to clean parks. All worthy projects on their own and all of which help us to get out of our offices, homes, and routines to interact with nature in some way.

Or, we can foster an elephant orphan.

This is what I did, fostering Siangiki, a little baby elephant Continue readingToday is Earth Day. So What?! Foster an Elephant!

Learning Objectives vs. Subjectives: Who Are They Really For?

subjective_objectiveIn the spirit of #rhizo15, if there is such as thing as being “in the spirit” of something that is fully open and to-be-determined-along-the-way, I read Laura  Laura Pasquini’s @laurapasquini‘s thought-provoking post What’s A Learning Subjective? This is “in the spirit of #rhizo15” because I do not read many blog posts (a time issue, really it is!). I have chatted with @laurapasquini on Twitter, though have not really read much of her work beyond the 140.

I have been missing a lot!

In her post, I was struck Continue readingLearning Objectives vs. Subjectives: Who Are They Really For?