Adam's post "An end to meaningless jobs" raises some very practical issues around the future job design of educators. Adam cites Rotman (2013), who suggested there may be a future workforce with higher productivity, but lower job prospects. Having taught for 30 years in secondary schools and tertiary institutions, I guess I could say I am in the twilight of my career. And, although I intend to teach for quite a few years to come, I recognise that I won't be as affected by future developments (long-term) in the same way as younger educators. The uncertainty of the future workforce is not restricted to the education field; I know through my own children (all in the 20's), the workforce of the future is not as predictable and concrete as it has been for past generations. However, young teachers like Adam, do face a future that is vastly different to any change faced during my teaching years. By the very fact that Adam is involved in this program, demonstrates that Adam is facing this prospect head on, not only in relation to his own development as a teacher, but in the way Adam feels compelled to "to prepare students for a future economy that no one is able to predict accurately". One point that Adam makes is that fewer educators may be needed to teach larger numbers of students. Perhaps though, what will also change, is the job design of the educator. Already, the trend is to see online educators as facilitators. What else could they do? What other roles could they perform? Will education need more course designers? Online mentors? Forum Coordinators? Activity analysts? What about Brigitte's job as an educational designer? We don't have that specific job role at our institution, but since becoming aware of that role, I definitely see the value of a role such as that. I guess I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can be; there is one thing we can always depend on- and that is - Change! The role of the educator will change with the rise of networked learning, but the nature of the assistance needed to successfully facilitate learning may be more complex. This can be seen as an opportunity, rather than a threat. References An end to meaningless jobs. (2016). Adam does NGL. Retrieved from https://adamngl.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/an-end-to-meaningless-jobs/ Echo chamber for your own predication. (2016). Bee Learning Blog. Retrieved from https://beelearningblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/21/echo-chamber-for- your-own-predilections/
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I am very quickly posting this, so I will discuss the content and ideas later. This is a presentation by Manuel Lima, which I found on a blog I prescribe to- Brain Pickings. It is represents a "lightbulb" moment for me. Enjoy! References Lima, Manuel. (2016). The power of networks: Knowledge in an age of infinite interconnectedness. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_0LVSIwifpI I sometimes wonder about whether I am a technology 'dinosaur', as I prefer personal interaction and direct feedback; but, after opening an email from studydesk, giving my EDU8117 - 1st draft automated analysis for Assignment 1, I feel somewhat justified in my skepticism.
My report revealed: You had a total of 0 posts that meets the Missing standard (0%) - less than 10 posts * Your average post length was 0.0 words per post that meets the missing standard (0%) * 0% of your posts had links to other student blogs that meets the missing standard (0%) * 0.0% of your posts contained links that meets the missing standard (0%) * 0.0% of your links were seen first on your blog missing standard (0%) The design of this course could be improved by incorporating some of the principles of effective online learning. According to Gilly Salmon’s online teaching model, there are five (5) essential stages: Access and Motivation, Online socialisation, Information exchange, Knowledge construction, and Development. Five Stage Model Source: (Salmon, 2003)
I feel that the second stage was not included in the course design, so building a Community of Practice has been problematic. Short, simple, course-required tasks might ensure the participants engage early, and build some connections to enable better participation and sharing of experiences.Then, in the second half of the course, students may feel better equipped to independently enter the global learning network. References Salmon, G. (2003). The Five Stage Model. Retrieved from http://www.gillysalmon.com/five-stage-model.html My approach could be improved by accepting that there will be a period of time at the beginning of any new learning experience, where I won’t feel totally in control or absolutely across all the content. At first, in this course, I felt quite overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the material – and unfortunately the small size of the cohort and general lack of interaction between participants – has not resulted in clarity of some core NGL concepts. I've mostly waded through the material feeling rather isolated and disconnected. Ultimately though, we all are responsible for our own learning; so, this week, I have decided to venture outside the course to seek interaction related to network learning. Perhaps, I should have reached out earlier in the course to make sense of the the material; but, I kept waiting and relying on others for learning opportunities that are provided in the more traditional classroom. This course does not conform to that model, so I need to be more exploratory and wander through the wider network. Update to this post I am now following these experts in the field of network learning: David Cormier : http://davecormier.com/ Stephen Downes: http://www.downes.ca/ Peter Goodyear: https://petergoodyear.net/blog-posts/ George Siemens: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ References Cormier, D. (2016). Dave's Educational Blog: Building a better Rhizome. Retrieved from http://davecormier.com/ Downes, S. (2016). Knowledge, Learning, Community. Retrieved from http://www.downes.ca/ Goodyear, P. (2016). Peter Goodyear. Research on Learning, Technology and Design. Retrieved from https://petergoodyear.net/blog-posts/ Siemens, G. (2016). E-learn space. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ Connections within
I must admit I was struggling a little with keeping up with the course activities and determining what needs to be included in our Blog posts; however, reading through other student's Blog posts, I now feel slightly more sure of the direction. I think I keep mixing up my role as a learner and my role as a student. My understanding is that our comments "as a student", relate to our experiences in the course and our musings about the course content and readings; whereas, our comments about the learning activity we have undertaken (Mine is learning about Blackboard collaborate Ultra), should be written under the category of "as a learner". Or have I got that mixed up? What is everyone else's take on that? Feedly - a useful tool! Feedly has been quite useful for keeping track of participants' contributions; so, I think I will use this to follow blog posts and other activities. I feel like I haven't really made connections with many students in the course. Hopefully, if we have another Zoom session, we will have an opportunity to interact with the other participants in the session. Also, as participants post more blogs, there should be more opportunities to make connections. For me, one of the differences between a standard online course and a course about NGL, is that the connectedness between participants is essential. The participant most like me. I would have to say that I agree with Brigitte - we do appear to be quite similar. Brigitte and I obviously enjoy interaction with other participants, and find satisfaction and energy through this interaction. We also both work professionally in Higher education institutions performing support roles that aim to improve communication. The participant least like me. I'm going to say Melissa, mostly because Melissa is obviously skilled in music. Although I love music, I've never learnt a musical instrument. I have a reasonable singing voice (in the shower), but I am one of those people that is totally jealous of anyone who can play a musical instrument. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts about how to integrate NGL into the curriculum area of music. Describe your prior experiences as a learner in this program. What did you like? What didn’t work? What haven’t you seen that you would like? This is the second course that I have taken in the program; so, my experiences are limited. I do, however, feel as though I am finding my feet more in this course. Last semester, I found myself adjusting to the digital world. I considered myself proficient at teaching online and somewhat over-confident in my ability to operate in the digital environment. In the first course, I realised how little I did know, and how much I had to learn. This realisation was overwhelming at one point, and I became frustrated and obstinate about the learning experiences offered. I now realise this was probably a change-resistant reaction against the newness of the concepts being presented. Fortunately, the second assignment of the course was inspiring. We were required to provide an online learning event, using a web tool. I thought this activity would be the least enjoyable of the courses activities; I’m happy to say it was the highlight of the course. It was challenging, but the inspiration I received from other students’ learning events was very reassuring. I think the fact that the success of each learning event depended on other students’ participation, gave the activity a collegial, collaborative feel. I enjoy collaboration in the right context; so, I participated in many more events than I was required to because I felt personally and professionally motivated to do so. I would like to see and experience more collaboration, if possible – particularly collaboration relating to documents (ie. Google docs). It is an area that I hear about, but I have had little exposure to. Professionally, I would like to be able to work collaboratively on a document or project online. What is NGL? What do you currently know about it? As for the question: what is NGL? My idea of it is vague and disconnected, as I have not really participated in NGLs. My children will often talk about forums they visit if they have some issues with their Mac; and often I have Googled something and ended up with a forum in my Google search, but as for participating in one- I have limited experience. The definition I give here will be simplistic, consistent with my level of experience. Networked global learning for me at the moment means: learning that develops as a response to contributions made by those connected together digitally. How have you previously performed your student role? What practices and tools do you use? How do these fit with the idea of NGL and what you know so far of this course? Previously, I have played my role as a student mainly in the traditional way – on-campus and face-to-face. I thought that this was the only way to really learn. I practised under the misconception that digital learning was for isolated introverts or time-poor workers. To my surprise, I have found that I have adapted to this environment, and now enjoy the flexibility and accessibility of the digital learning environment. The considered way that you can approach the course materials has its advantages. I agree with Bell et al. (2010) that the online environment can be less “frenzied”, and provide more equity in participation. In most of my traditional on-campus courses, there has been a requirement to post in forums; some of these posts have been collaborative, whereby students are required to critique and comments on other students’ posts. I suspect that other forum activities have been included for the sake of providing an online, participatory activity. What do you want out of this course? What aren’t you seeing from the course that you’d like to see? Ultimately, at the end of this course, I would like to consider Networked Global Learning as a integral and practical teaching tool; using it frequently to enhance the students’ learning experience by providing a meaningful way of navigating the information labyrinth. I would also like to use it proficiently myself; not only professionally, but to also enhance personal experience by making it easier to locate information and construct knowledge in a digital world. It is early days yet, but I would love to participate more in actual networks, and with other students in the course. References Bell, A., Zenios, M., & Parchoma, G. (2010). Undergraduate experiences of coping with networked learning: Difficulties now, possibilities for the future. In L. Dirckinck‐Holmfeld, V. Hodgson, C. Jones, M. de Laat, D. McConnell, & T. Ryberg (Eds.), 7th International Conference on Networked Learning 2010 (pp. 904–911). Google. (2016). Google Docs. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/ |