Friday Reflection!

Somebody left their Freezer door open!

Well we have had an icy blast from the north or was it Siberia?  the snow came down on Monday which was not too bad. I have been travelling to Ely about 30 miles away everyday (and will do today as well) since Tuesday.  Luckily knowing the area I have avoided the 2 to 3 hours queues on the A14 and A11 roads when accidents have happened.  More snow predicted for later today but hopefully I will be on my way home before that starts.  

The temperatures have been on average about -5 C.  Might not seem a big deal to other countries but it is in the UK.  The get of jail free card played by the local authorities is that we rarely have these conditions.  If rarely (but frequently have them in winter) have them then the contingencies should be in place rapidly.  This is potentially where Teleworking should kick in, relieving the roads, the emergency services and the cost of heating buildings above frost protection.  It is not usually the first day when it snows that there are staffing problems since most will attempt the first day.  The subsequent days when people develop colds or are more stressed owing to the journey to work is an added problem.  All those commuters sitting on iced up and delayed trains are not being productive!  

Anyway the Friday Reflection.  It was good to get into the classroom this week and see how ideas of online learning could be matched as an aid to traditional class room learning.  The blended learning scenario.  We always assume a lot of prior knowledge when we walk into a classroom whether we are a regular teacher of that class or a substitute or supply teacher.  There is more worth in several "I get it" exclamations than an hour of  child minding and hoping that what you have imparted has the building blocks to support it in the first place.  In science (my subject) one dispelling of a misconception which can last a lifetime (ie the mass/weight conundrum for many pupil) and can often being the difference between the light coming on for the rest of the curriculum, not just science.  That little bit of success and understanding can be the brick that causes the dam preventing  further learning AND understanding.

Assumption is a problem with MOOCs when they are too big.  Overcoming the group inertia against against admitting you do not understand.  The hierarchy that is being set precludes as in traditional settings questioning of the instructor whether they are Professors of Oxford, Cambridge or the local Community College and school.  Challenges such as this are best addressed in a peer to peer online learning community or tutorial setting.  Moves away from tutorials by British Universities has been a feature with some arts courses having only 6 hours taught time a week.  You have to question are people being given a fair deal when this happens?   

Will update the Haverhill Online Learning Community Computer week later in the day.  To quote  the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, if don't stop now I am going to be "late for a very" important date in Ely! 

Friday Reflection!

Week 2 of 2013 and Still going!

We are approaching the end of the second week of 2013.  This week I have started to take a little bit of a perspective of the size of the task I have taken on and the work needed so far for Haverhill Online Learning Community (HOLC).  I have used my new Google profile picture (pictured left) to illustrate the effect the effort has had on some days.  The cat appreciates a comfortable sleeping place and the fact that I am not in front of a screen!  A bit of quality purring going on!  That said there is starting to be a bit of satisfaction in the fact content is starting to be added to the website.  Recognition of the idea by others (thanks +Gail Poulin and +Rob Perhamus for your Google Plus comments) and it's potential value for a Learning Community.

HOLC itself is a relatively small community at present.  We are in the establishment phase at the moment.  The lag phase (to borrow a term for biology and bacteriology) so to speak of establishing a new community. this is the stage of adaptation to the needs of the community by interaction.  Once a critical mass of participants the log or exponential growth phase should be steady.  Reaching a stationery phase of growth is the difficult stage to recognise.  Four scenarios may exist once a stationary phase is reached.  Firstly the community remains the same and is limited by the "space" of the interactions and activities   Secondly a  death phase of the community starts to take over as interest and engagement is lost.  Thirdly a community interaction puts the community back into the lag phase or growth phase.  The fourth scenario is the formation of a new colony or community separate or in addition to the original community.  There are precedents in Ancient Greek society for this which resulted in the formation of new colonies such Marseille (Massalia), Syracuse (in Sicily) and Emporium (Spain).  These examples still survive today but do not necessarily (or have to speak) Greek because they now have their own identity.    

Measuring the success of the community and being able to recognise the different phases is a  skill of the moderator or facilitator of the community.  The last thing that needs to be done  when a community appears to be going into the death phase is to throw the baby out with the bath water!  Do we judge objectively success of a community by numbers of members?  Do we judge it by the number of active members?  There are a lot of Google+ Communities with 2000+ (in some some cases 30000+) that have been set up.  I have joined some of these larger communities and it is quite apparent rapidly that there are only a relatively few core active members.  There are a lot of "lurkers".  But as we have discussed in the #oflc set up +Jeannie Crowley these may become active when there is something they feel they have an opinion on.  A index of Active or lurker/size of community (AL/C) within  a time frame could be a measure of the success of the communities aims and the ownership of that community by it's members.

Is the success criteria  of AL/C  a measure of the quality of engagement?  I suppose it all depends on which stage of the lifecycle of the community you are in.  Subjectively as a facilitator you may have the success criteria that establishment shows that you have a successful community.  Objectively the participants may say the quality of the interactions and the scope of the material might be their success criteria and why they joined.  Pictures of cats might not be everybody's cup of tea, for which other communities might be a more appropriate forum (honest only use the four legged assistant for illustration purposes).

Meeting diverse success criteria are some of the  challenges that the online community community and facilitators must face in the evolution of the online learning community.  MOOCs which are the longest established are undergoing a possible  entry into a stationery phase.  I say stationery phase as it has been identified by some that their  free model of engagement might not be sustainable  against the other demands that their constituent universities might have to satisfy.  

The success of an  educational model is a trade of the finite price of what the market is prepared to pay for and a floor price at which providers are unable to go below.  This is possibly where the Open Learning Community has it's place.  The initiator of awe and wonder in Life Long Learning.  Where certification is required the MOOCS take over.  A community that keeps a core perspective of why it was set up will probably be adaptable to it's members needs.  Also there has to be a realistic view that a community  can be considered to be a living organism as well.  The health of an Online Learning Community is not  necessarily judged as to does it meet the success criteria of the initiators.  The quality of the social interactions might overwhelm the learning aspects.  For instance the idea of visiting a garden together in a group to learn the  names of flowers might have been the original intention for forming a Garden Group.  The social aspect of having a day out might be goal of the people participating.

A fairly wordy discussion of the life cycle of an Online Learning Community.  The phase that Haverhilll Online Learning Community and ukonlinelearningcommunities.org are in definitely the lag phase.  The task for this week is to try to publicise the community to grow size of the community.  I have a number of meetings coming up including attendance of the Best of Haverhill event organised by +Elaine Carr which providea a great opportunity for local networking of the "traditional" face to face variety.  Will have to remember to take some business cards along!     

The Friday Reflection!

The March of the Wind Mills!
Gunfleet Sands off Clacton on a warm January Day!

First Week of Online Community Projects for 2013!

By +Philip Spalding 

Have spent the last week running the Haverhill Online Learning Community's Maths for Parents Week.   The materials have been shared through Facebook groups such as the local residents associations, the Selling and Free Page, Haverhill Business Group.  A search for Google + users has also taken place and all have been invited to join and contribute. 

After all this effort was only when I emailed one of the Advanced Skills Maths Teachers in Ipswich to aquaint him with the site that I discovered a flaw in the cunning plan.  Fully supportive as he was, he had one question "How do I join?".    Feeling a little puzzled  I wondered what  Don Quoxite moment I had been guilty of, had I been tilting at windmills in my desire to build the community (slight reference to the Wind Turbines in the photograph).  

Taking a little step back, I went to the home page of the page of the website!  What was I missing?  Looking at the so called obvious links of Contact Us, Visit the Google + Community, Facebook and Google Group pages I scratched by head for a few seconds.  They were obviously not doing their job!  Looking again at the question "How do I join?" a slight ray of  light seemed to be there.  Now on the front page of the website (https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/home) are the words JOIN BY Clicking Here with an embedded web link.  The sidebar also has new a web link to the Google + Community preceded by the word "join", which will take people to the community page where they can join! 

A few SlideSpeech demos, or a You Tube Video may also be needed since the sidebar has started to become a little full!  So hopefully four little words are the solution. Time will tell!  

Will need to get out there and also talk to community groups as well.  The community may have access to the internet but there is not necessarily an awareness of it's full potential.  Facebook for instance may not be the best medium to promote a community based group such as the Haverhill Online Learning Community!  Social media has it's limitations for conversion of contacts to participants!  Recently noticed that a lot of the people offering locally their services as Twitter media consultants have now changed their business activity descriptions to Marketing again!  Difficult to make a living when everybody can do itself, or as usual with local markets word of mouth does your twitter function as it has always done so!

Still it is the end of the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  The Haverhill Online Learning Community is out there!  The field has been built, (Kevin Costner reference) will they come?  Not going to stop making links and contacts, a community of 30 or so active members by mid-February is the first goal!  If you would like to participate, JOIN BY Clicking Here.  Upcoming events are listed in our Calendar (https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/calendar).  Look forward to speaking to you in the community page!     

The Friday Reflection

At the turning of the Year

Winter solstice today.  The turning point of the year when the days get longer and the new age mystics visit Stonehenge (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20797129).  The promise of more daylight in the Northern Hemisphere is always an invigorating time.

I taught my last school day for the year on Wednesday and resume again on the 7th January 2013. So  17 days to catch up with all the professional development courses (edX and ALISON), development of Haverhill Online Learning Community  and  UK Online Learning Communities and become proficient with the  tools for my new role as an Online Tutor for a company in Gloucestershire   A busy festive time coming up. A lot of good activity to look forward to in 2013!

A short reflection this week as will be probably blogging and Google plussing a lot over the next 17 days.  The tasks for last week are ongoing with community expansion and development the goal. Finding an efficient way to manage all the threads is the trick that will need to be pulled off!   

Friday Reflection

In ancient shadows

Well last week in November been and gone!  Have spent an interesting week working in Ely and refining the Haverhill Online Learning Community(HOLC).  The poor camera phone photograph shows the view from the window towards the cathedral (better images can be seen on this Google Search).  Ely Cathedral  is a successor to the original buildings recorded in 673 AD.  These were founded by St Etheldreda  who was a daughter of King Anna of East Anglia.  Thus the site of  worship and learning pre-dates the founding of the English State.

Ancient learning is further emphasised in the city (city in the old sense that it has a cathedral) with the King's School Ely  founded in 970 AD turning such old boys out as Edward the Confessor, the patron Saint of England before the popular symbol of St George took over fully in the 1300s.

Ely has had it's rebels in the past.  Hereward the Wake who opposed the Normans taking over and whom some think was the basis for  Robin Hood legend, used the  fen (wet) lands around the Isle of Ely to avoid capture .  The other rebel of note who left an indelible mark on British History was Oliver Cromwell.  Oliver Cromwell lived in the city for 10 years prior to turning the English Parliament on it's head and creating a republic that lasted for about 13 years.  Ely has had a lot of influence on shaping what we now call the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland over the last 1300 years!

Side step into history over  and back to task!  The Reflection for the week!  Have continued to use what I have learnt from the OFLC (Online Faculty Learning Community) of Bank Street College New York to develop our own local Online Learning Community.  We have incorporated a SlideSpeech generated presentation as a link on the homepage of HOLC.  There have been many emails off to various different people and have received some very positive replies.  We have contacted the makers of StudyRoom  (as used by edX and Coursera) and have been granted a private room in principle  for HOLC for which we are very grateful.  Hopefully this should be set up and being used by the New Year!

Coding has started to be be looked at again but not to the stage where I can upload anything yet to the OFLC.  Getting excited though at the possibilities as I delve further into the coding.  Want to get a Raspberry Pi  and programme in Python on this platform, may even be able to run Chrome OS on it as well will have to look into this?  Really cheap basic access for less than £40 (with appropriate accessories).

So next week continue programming with course. Gather collaborators for HOLC locally and further a field. Have an idea of trying to get U3A  members in Haverhill involved in Local History projects, the Church Crawlers and Historians, Digital Camera Group, Garden Group and Art Group.  Already put the information out to local members so will see what happens.  Contact the myriad of local groups and charities (even our county council libraries are being run by a charitable trust on behalf of the council) and present the case for peer to peer learning!

Couple of more weeks of potentially travelling to Ely until the end of the school session.  I have a good journey along picturesque country roads.  The only major "traffic jam" is waiting for the race horses to cross the Fordham Road from  Exning (village where St Etheldreda was born, link back to first part of the reflection, knew I'd be able to get it in somewhere) as they go out to exercise on the gallops!  Very pleasant to watch as they come of the mist!

  

Thoughts on Virginia Tech Model: Part 2

Fig 1. Graphical representation of Virginia Tech model reworked from original by pcjspalding@gmail.com.

Mapping Learning Activities

The reworking of the Virginia Tech Model  above, which I blogged  about previously  , is a starting for classifying Learning Activities by cognitive conflict. 

 Cognitive conflict is a term  defining relative demands made on learners to change or reinterpret their pre-held  concepts.  It is a type of conflict centred on completion of task.  In order to change their understanding of concepts and principles students/participants have to be involved in the learning journey.    

The above is an interpretation the Virginia Tech model and is not intended to be definitive.  The Models themselves are can be subsets of another.  For instance for  a pupil with specific learning challenges such as associated with Dyslexia the primary model may be (2) Personalised System of Instruction.  The secondary model used may (10) problem based learning.  The point I am trying to make is that they are not mutually exclusive but can be “bundled” together.

Another representation of this might be as below.

Fig 2.  Representation of the Virginia Tech Model in terms of student ownership/engagement  against cognitive conflict.     1. The Audio/Video Tutorial Approach, 2. Personalised system of instruction, 3. Goal Based Scenarios, 4. Case Based Teaching, 5. Guided design, 6. Anchored Instruction,7. Cognitive Apprenticeship,8. Cooperative Learning,9. Constructionist Project based Models,10. Problem based Learning,11. Learning Environments

The above is not, as said, a definitive model just a relative qualitative weighting of the activities compared to each other.

So how might I use this in the context of the project shared on the OFLC drive.

1. To group Apps, tools with their most appropriate model
2. Within the context of an Individual Learning Plan (IEP, have had to fill out many forms over the years that did not really address the aims  with Learning outcomes in a clear format) to illustrate where learners may be at in terms of independence of learning and ability to cope with cognitive conflict. Quantifying the learning task against the Learning outcome by using a leveled approach (a link here to Levels applied in UK Curriculum ICT    Could also be linked to Piaget’s or Vygotsky’s terms.
3. To use as an aid to course to design for learning outcomes and representation of number of pupils who are achieving a level or completing a task. Individual tracking also springs to mind.
4. Mapping the relationship between different activities in a “bundled” model of a particular learning activity/ course..

Below in Figure 3, I have sought to apply this to a Dyslexia scenario.


Fig 3.  Application of scatter chart to specific learning difficulty Dyslexia: tools considered YouTube and Kindle-book .    1. The Audio/Video/Visual Tutorial Approach, 2. Personalised system of instruction, 3. Goal Based Scenarios, 4. Case Based Teaching, 5. Guided design, 6. Anchored Instruction,7. Cognitive Apprenticeship,8. Cooperative Learning,9. Constructionist Project based Models,10. Problem based Learning,11. Learning Environments

The Virginia Tech model definition (1) (which I have slightly modified to be Audio/Video/ Visual Approach) may appear in several positions on the scatter gram Fig. 3 ( there is a more correct name but can’t recall it just at the moment).  This could be used as a graphic for the initial evaluation of where the pupil may be at and how provision for access to learning may be achieved.  The solution graphic might look something like this.


Fig 4.  Application of scatter chart to specific learning difficulty Dyslexia: tools considered YouTube and Kindle-book .    1. The Audio/Video/Visual Tutorial Approach, 2. Personalised system of instruction, 3. Goal Based Scenarios, 4. Case Based Teaching, 5. Guided design, 6. Anchored Instruction,7. Cognitive Apprenticeship,8. Cooperative Learning,9. Constructionist Project based Models,10. Problem based Learning,11. Learning Environments

In Fig 4 I have sought to demonstrate how mapping of activities to solutions might take place. A text based mode learning activity might not be the most appropriate for dyslexia at first glance.  Using the tool OpenDyslexic  (http://dyslexicfonts.com/) could be a solution,  closing the gap between learning task and accessibility.  

Mapping a learning journey may be achieved using the same framework.  This could either teacher, peer or self-assessed all that is needed is editing access to the graphic.  In Fig. 5 a theoretical journey has been shown for increasing knowledge and understanding of the Louvre Gallery in France and the Mona Lisa (general easily recognised subject).









Fig 5.  Application of scatter chart to map the learning journey for specific learning difficulty Dyslexia: tools considered YouTube and Kindle-book .   Arrows indicate potential route of the learning journey (open to change)   1. The Audio/Video/Visual Tutorial Approach, 2. Personalised system of instruction, 3. Goal Based Scenarios, 4. Case Based Teaching, 5. Guided design, 6. Anchored Instruction,7. Cognitive Apprenticeship,8. Cooperative Learning,9. Constructionist Project based Models,10. Problem based Learning,11. Learning Environments





Final bit for the thought on the model is the monitoring stage.  The timing might be over a whole  unit/course or during a year.

Fig 6.  Application of scatter chart to map the learning journey and monitoring for specific learning difficulty Dyslexia: tools considered YouTube and Kindle-book .   Arrows indicate potential route of the learning journey (open to change), red circles indicate the start and finish time for example in an academic year and not necessarily duration.    1. The Audio/Video/Visual Tutorial Approach, 2. Personalised system of instruction, 3. Goal Based Scenarios, 4. Case Based Teaching, 5. Guided design, 6. Anchored Instruction,7. Cognitive Apprenticeship,8. Cooperative Learning,9. Constructionist Project based Models,10. Problem based Learning,11. Learning Environments



The cognitive conflict the pupil undergoes during learning is a difficult quantity to measure.  Approaches of defining progression through cognitive conflict using Piagetian levels has been attempted with the use of Cognitive Accelerated Science Education (CASE).    This is not necessarily the same as the use of case based teaching alluded to in Learning Activity 4 of  the Virginia Tech Model. 

The next step will be to look at how the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky might fit into this Reworked Virginia Tech Model.

OFLC - Online Faculty Learning Communities

Whaaaaaat? Friday Already???

Friday Reflection

A busy week not just with OFLC but other online learning experiences via edX and ALISON.  The last Friday reflection  seems a long time ago now.  So in 500 words or less how have my  personal targets been met for OFLC set by me last week.  

Two main goals for this week were to set up a Medium Term Plan and Long Term Plan.  The Medium Term Plan was posted into the OFLC Google Group Drive (like this feature will have to investigate GoogleGroups further for some of my own projects).  We are at the stage of proposing projects and coalescing into working collaborations.  The initiation phase has been a feature of this week with facilitation of group make up being the next step.  Sharing has been  happening with OFLC which is great and promotes confidence in exchanging ideas.

The Long Term Plan is at the stage of being for personal consumption. As it becomes more fleshed out in the next week or so with aspirational targets for the next year I will then share. For me Long Term Plan is anything from 3 months to a Year in the future.  I use the term aspirational since all plans are subject to change and review as experiences dictate.  The trick with Long Term and Medium Term Plans is to realise that they are just that, plans.  Investment  in  collaboration/ownership  and setting realistic review schedules is the basis for successful projects that have lasting longevity.  The "there are no problems only solutions" mantra is often used as a summation of this approach.  It does rely on leadership within a group being a shifting fulcrum as opposed to management of the group.

So goals for Online Learning for the next week.   Have made a few detours this week into considering the wider role of Online Courses and OFLC in society and especially the Third Age of Man.   Having both parents involved in the University of the Third Age  (U3A).  I am aware through talking to parents of the vast repository of knowledge that still resides with active older people.  My father has an interest in Pewter, history and digital photography and regularly gives talks to the local group.  One of the tools that I have come across with involvement in the OFLC (OLC) is SlideSpeach.  This tool transforms a presentation (PowerPoint, Open Office, GoogleDocs) and slide notes into an audio and visual experience without having to use complex video authoring packages.  A worthy tool for preserving talks made within the context of  the U3A.  So a project for this week is to teach/lead father into recording his thoughts on diverse subjects with SlideSpeach.  Could be a trying experience for Tech Support (me) since although he is a retired electrical engineer he is more analogue and 3000v than digital.  Operator error is not a term he readily admits to where computers are concerned!  

Development of the Virginia Tech Model is ongoing.  I am in the process of investigating working with an Online Tutoring company as a contractor/supply teacher on specific delivery of teaching to individual students.  I believe the development of this model provides me with understanding of what is a relatively new field that could be constricted if traditional models of instruction are adopted.   

So a few things to be going on with for the next week! 

Education in the Third Age

Silicon Age and the Third Age

The riddle of the sphinx is a famous Greek tale.  The Sphinx on the road outside Thebes in Greece, asked the question "Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?".  Any traveller who could not answer the riddle was devoured. That is until Oedipus solved the riddle and freed Thebes from the sphinx.  The answer to the riddle was man.  The morning, afternoon and evening represented the three ages of man.

Online education has so far been usually mentioned in the context of the first two ages of man.  Personally I think this is because the people practising the use and invention of online learning experiences are within the first two ages of man.  In the UK the Third Age is often characterised by people struggling to find activities to fill their time when they first retire or choose to give up work.  Society and Industry can often loose valuable contributors and knowledge as they progress through their Third Age. How can that be addressed to include the people with the most "leisure time" on their hands, the people within their Third Age?

In the UK and Australia there is a charitable educational organisation run for the benefit of it's members.  This is the University of the Third Age  (U3A).  This runs traditional learning activities based around lectures and interest groups prepared and delivered by members.  A new project for them is to design and deliver Online Learning Courses.   The driving force behind this is the realisation that not all members of the U3A are able to attend meetings owing to other commitments or mobility issues preventing from leaving the house.  The isolation issue can lead to older people becoming invisible to society. Another driver seems to be that expertise and experience in geographical group can be transferred to another.  

Online Courses could also be a good opportunity for businesses to help their employees adjust to retirement and allow some of their accrued knowledge and understanding to be retained within the company.  A for instance is that in the UK we have come full circle in promoting apprenticeships in the workplace in the transition between the first and second age.  The people now coming up to their Third Age retirement who did serve 7 year apprenticeships and worked for that organisation in middle management and production roles usually have specialist knowledge that is lost.  Part of the training and support for new entrants in the company could be aided by this repository of expertise.   

The Silicon Age does not necessarily need to bypass the Third Age.  Retirement does not mean people become invisible or childminders.  People in this context are more important resources for passing on knowledge and undersanding. This is an opportunity to use Online Faculty Learning Communities or possibly more appropriately named Online Facilitated  Learning Communities to maintain contact between the different ages of man!