Update from Innovating e-Learning 2008

The closing days of JISC online conference saw some deep discussion. The session we were facilitating asked whether we should free the maniacs (or students!). Prof Mark Stiles was interested in the reasons education tended to be "controlling". He saw a downward spiral where embedding innovation led to regulation, which could act as a barrier to further innovation. Mark felt a philosophy of "minimum control" within institutions was the way forward.

Various examples of control (and concerns over relinquishing it) were cited, with the inference that we need to 'unpick' what is meant by control. Mark offered a spectrum of control to act as a guide:

• Control - to exercise restraint or direction over; to hold in check
• Manage - to take charge or care of; to govern, or control in action or use
• Facilitate - to make easier; help forward (an action, a process, etc.)
• Enable - to give power, means, competence, or ability to; to make possible or easy
• Recognise - to identify from knowledge of appearance or characteristics

He highlighted that "as [organisations] move up from merely 'recognising' something happens to having a fully 'controlled' institutional approach that we stop at the LOWEST level needed". Peter Bullen (Mark's co-presenter) reminded us that while controls are normally introduced for a good reason, they can become embedded and later, as organisations change, the original reason can be forgotten and the control can become unnecessary. A clear example of why process improvement or continual review is essential.

Both presenters had outlined the change processes introduced within their organisations. With particular emphasis at the University of Hertfordshire of involving students in this process. This process is called CABLE (Change Academy for Blended Learning Enhancement) and is described in detail in 'CABLE: an approach to embedding blended learning in the curricula and across the institution'.

Labels: #jiscel08, conference, control, elearning, online conference, transformational change

Although details aren't yet available on the eLearning Alliance site, the next annual conference sounds to be a must attend event! Entitled Jock Tamson's Bairns (a reference to a Scot's saying meaning "underneath we're all the same"). The conference aims to question whether Web 2.0 marks a transformation in approaches to learning. Will this present further challenges in providing access across organisations, considering that learners could come from across four generations?

Headline speakers include Clive Shepherd chair of the eLearning Network and author of The Blended Learning Cookbook and Stephen Downes renowned eLearning expert. This slideshow is one of Stephen's more recent on the development of online community since the mid 90's, and includes lots(!) of examples of Web 2.0 tools in use for education and learning.

Labels: conference, digitalnatives, elearning, futures, scotland, web2.0

It was a week for assessment events - the e-Assessment Association Glasgow seminar, and a joint Assessment meets Enterprise meets Portfolio CETIS meeting. While the eAA is perhaps more focused on schools and colleges, and CETIS relates more strongly to HE, there was still some interesting links between the two events.

Helen Ashton and Cliff Beevers gave a presentation at the eAA that covered some of the history, current status and future of e-Assessment. This wasn't just the technology though, Helen talked us through the pros and cons, referring to the three stages of generational change proposed by Randy Bennett in his forecast on the future of large-scale educational assessment, published in 1998. Even ten years on, we are some way off Bennett's "Generation 'R' Tests (Reinvention)". Yes, assessment is being "administered at a distance" and it does "use complex simulations, including virtual reality". But, can we really say that assessment is "integrated with instruction (teaching)" and "designed according to cognitive principles"?

Helen went on to talk us through how paper-based assessment questions had been converted for delivery online. There were quite a few examples from maths (she is a mathematician afterall!) but it all served to demonstrate that we need to remember to look at comparability, and Helen gave an overview of various comparison studies. Cliff and Helen's presentation is available as a pdf.

The first presentation at the CETIS event concerned forthcoming calls for studies from JISC. One of these was described as a mixed methods study regarding the 'Quality of e-Assessment'. It was suggested that it is intended to address some of the "deep-rooted concerns" regarding quality amongst those sceptical of e-Assessment. It sounds as those members of the eAA are already working in this area.

Labels: assessment, conference, education, elearning, futures, organisation

I've just come across an interesting post from Rowin Young of CETIS about using World of Warcraft (WoW) for online conferencing. It is an interesting idea and follows on from work looking at using virtual worlds in an education context (for example see the video Rowin points out about the use of WoW, or check out a recent article in Escalate news by Sian Bayne and Fiona Littleton about the use of Virtual worlds (specifically Second Life) in Education).

It's great to see these innovative approaches being investigated (a recent Elearning Alliance event to discuss the use of Second Life held at Edinburgh University demonstrated the high level of interest), but beyond the draw of "intrigue" as Hamish Macleod (Ed University) put it, the added value - if any - still needs to be assessed in more depth. Further discussion of the possibilities of Second Life, and some reflections from the team at Edinburgh can also be found in this recent Guardian article, and current uses on the Second Life in Education wiki (which I came across thanks to ScotFEICT).

Labels: elearning, online conference, online gaming, second life, virtual worlds, world of warcraft

Yesterday I attended an interesting presentation by Ewan McIntosh (his edublogs site is worth checking out) run as part of the Urban Learning Space seminar series (a podcast of it will be available soon).

What I found refreshing was his discussion of how emerging technologies (social software in particular) is really just another development in a long line of 'in-things' (from sliced bread in 192x!) whose use seemed daunting, unusual or even inappropriate initially.

What I took from his talk was that maybe educators tend to take the use of emerging technolgies too seriously, treating them as an all-or-nothing. Overplanning the use of technolgy, putting so much emphasis on the need for them to be successful (or the need for it to not fail) means that the flexibility, spontaneity and innovative use of technologies is often stifled in the learning environment. And yet our learners are displaying exactly these traits in their personal use of the technologies - from using their blogs to publish creative writing, to producing videos for youtube sharing their comments on current affairs, and using some impressive technical features to showcase their talents. Maybe it is time we learned from them and see it as a creative medium rather than looking for the way to assess it and 'prove' the value of the excersie... maybe the value is it can engage the interest of learners!

Labels: digitalnatives, education, educators, elearning, freedom, internet, IT, learnerexpectations, online, web2.0

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills have announced £3.9 million in funding to support the Technology Exemplar Network jointly led by Becta and LSC.

This inititative will aim to create a national support network to enable those who have successfully embedded ICT in their teaching and learning to share their experience with other practitioners and thus encourage use of learner-focused technology in education.

Read more at PublicTechnology.net

Labels: education, elearning, IT, networks, online, practitioners

Terry Freedman (and others) have publised an online book about Web 2.0 from an educators point of view, called "Coming of Age: an introduction to the new worldwide web".

It includes intriguing sounding chapter titles such as:

- What Are Rss Feeds And Why Haven’T I Heard About It?(Rss Feeds From An Educator’S Perspective)

- Virtual Support Via The Blogosphere

- Diary Of A Potential Podcasting Junkie

- Video Blogging: Terry Freedman Interviews Paul Knight


The book was completed in April 2006, but Terry is working on an updated version as we speak. To download the 2006 publication you do have to complete a short questionnaire (5 or so questions) by following this link.

Labels: education, educators, elearning, internet, practitioners, web2.0

It's that time of year again, time to look out your brollies and head down to the SECC in Glasgow for the Scottish Learning Festival 2007 (formerly SETT).

Seminars this year are grouped around key themes in Scottish education (with a strong schools based focus, as to be expected by a LTS organised event):

* Towards the Curriculum for Excellence
* Excellence and Ambition
* Support for Teachers and Learners
* Leadership
* Skills for Work and Life
* International Perspectives

The festival will run on the 19th and 20th September, at the SECC in Glasgow. See the Scottish Learning Festival website for more details.

Labels: conference, elearning, LTScotland, schools, scottish

The Scottish Online Journal of e-Learning (SOJEL) is a new peer-reviewed online journal which aims "to reflect and inform research and best practice in e-Learning in Scotland (and further afield)". SOJEL will be published twice a year, and is free to access.

The first issue (Vol 1, no. 1) was published in June 2007, and includes articles on social software, VLEs and e-learning in local government.

Labels: elearning, journal, online, scotland, scottish