Pedagogy first - my introduction

I stumbled upon this course when reading one of Stephen Downes' OLDaily newsletters (always a wealth of information about educational technology and many other topics).

I am keen to be involved in another MOOC and share ideas in an international forum. With the focus on pedagogy, I am hoping that the course content will relate to my interests in adult learning online. I wonder if many of the participants will come from the perspective of teachers in a classroom environment K-12 or adult ed, even so, I am confident that I will still be able to actively participate and contribute.

I am working in the Insurance Industry, predominantly training new staff however I am keen to become involved in more skill development of existing staff and leaders. I will be able to contribute a corporate perspective from a highly regulated industry (that sounds exciting, doesn't it?)

Image: Learn by Mark Brannan
(cc some rights reserved)

Opportunities to learn and develop yourself can arise in many different forms

Some months ago a good friend asked if I would like to help her out at a Trade Fair in Melbourne, I was keen to familiarise myself with her new product range and an opportunity to spend a couple of nights in Melbourne with good friends, I said "Sure, that sounds like fun.".

When it came time to go, I struggled in more ways than one, I had to drop everything at work, and we are so busy, I had to leave the family (who were very understanding) and it took half a day to get there and half a day to get back, but sometimes the things that are the most challenging are the most worthwhile.

My trip down to Melbourne was exciting, with my backpack filled, I caught a bus to the train which took me to the airport to catch a plane, then I caught a cab to arrive at my destination. It took nearly every mode of transport to get me to the Exhibition Centre in Carlton, Melbourne. I felt like I was 25 years old again trekking around the country, however on the trip home it was clear that I am not 25 years old any more.

So, what did I learn and how did I develop?

I learned that people are the same no matter what industry you are in. People want to be engaged and interact.
I wanted to challenge myself with something new to remember that feeling of uncertainty in my skills, as you are when you are introduced to a new industry. I spend so much of my time as a trainer, reassuring learners and telling new job-starters that it will take a while to learn everything and feel confident. You see the uncertainty in their eyes and your words of reassurance seem to wash over them with no effect, well that uncertainty was in my eyes on Thursday morning as I prepared to throw myself in the deep end and answer questions and take orders on a product range that I was not fully familiar with. But, as I suspected, the challenge of something new was invigorating and  there is nothing better than 2 days at a trade show to familiarise yourself with a product range. I am very grateful to my friend who trusted me in her new business and I will go back to work and be able to confidently say, "I know how you feel and it will get easier".


Life Instyle is an amazing trade show and it was fabulous to be around beautiful products of such high quality and brilliant design, from bags and jewellery and clothes to toys and ceramics. It was just a shame I couldn't spend a small fortune.
See the fabulous products that I got to know over the last few days at Ornamenta and Heaven in Earth. 

Lunch n Learn Webinar - Instructio​nal Design for Live, Online Learning



Corporate personhood by Truthout.org



Yesterday I attended a one hour mini-workshop - a Lunch and Learn webinar, conducted via Citrix online by GoToTraining. I am not sure how I got my name on the list of subscribers but I have been receiving invites to these sessions for a few months and have been keen to try them out. I did have to register but I only registered moments before the session as I knew I would be available then.

Speakers during the session were Roger Courville, author of The Virtual Presenter's Handbook and Karen Moloney (moderator) from LearnX Foundation. The session was obviously targetting a 'corporate' audience. The look and feel was more 'corporate' than any of the other OER sessions that I attend.

I really enjoyed Roger's style, he was clear and moved through the concepts at pace but allowed several opportunities for participants to interact. He used several techniques to encourage participation. The first was very clever, he assumed that participants were taking notes and directed them on how to set out a diagram to follow the diagram that was being completed by him throughout the session. Being a visual learner this enticed me to neaten up my notes and I quickly transferred from pen to pencil and grabbed a ruler, interesting human behaviour. I am going to try this one in the training room, because everytime I suggest participants take notes I get a blank stare as if to say "but You are the one doing the work, I'll just get a copy of that later". Roger also enticed participants to answer questions using their mic's, he used a copy of his book as the incentive.

Throughout the session Karen acted as the moderator and fed questions that were coming in via the chatroll. It was not clear how many participants were in the session and I could not see the questions coming through, but I could see messages sent 'To All' from Karen, so I can only assume that participants were directing their questions directly to the facilitators, rather than 'To All' in the group.

The topic of the webinar was considerations when designing online learning, in particular taking existing modules into an online environment.

In the email brief they explaint that ...The challenge is to move beyond 'talking over PowerPoint' to designing an interactive learning experience that engages and educates learners. Courville offers some very practical steps to adapt exercises for a virtual classroom.

GoToTraining offer the use of their webinar (GoToWebinar) service (at a cost), they also have GoToMeeting and GoToTraining but offer a free 30 day trial on these services. I found the Citrix online platform very user friendly, it did not cut out during the session and the images and audio were very clear. The follow up emails sent to me offer a recorded copy of the session, which will come in handy as there were several interruptions during the session - baby waking and husband coming home.

Overall I really enjoyed the session and will be keen to involve myself in more of these sessions and perhaps delve into Roger's written work when I come to sit down and transfer material into an online format.

Joining mobiMOOC to share m-learning hints and techniques

Silver spring by Katmere

So here I go again, into another MOOC.

PLENK raised my awareness about my learning journey, CCK11 sent my head into a spin, but I think mobiMOOC will be a platform for sharing ideas about m-learning.

Why am I keen to be involved?
I am most recently the proud owner of an iphone 4. I was uncertain (for months) about making the 'financial' commitment but when my 'old' (very old) phone failed me several times over, I had no choice but to move into the future, and I have been surprised by the convenience that the iphone offers. Linking to my google calendar (one calendar in my hand!!!), reading and deleting emails while waiting for my son to come out of his Taekwondo grading.


Now I find out that I can take photos and have the immediately upload to flickr, I need to get me some more of these m-learning hints....and I have found where I can source this wealth of knowledge...Mobimooc.

In researching which phone to purchase (ie. asking everybody I know, who has a mobile phone, what they like about their phone) I was surprised to find that there is an 'in-balance' of information, if this is the right way to express it.

Let me explain...

I particularly targetted the Gen Y'ers, thinking they would know so much more than me about all things 'online', but some did not know what an RSS feed or an Android was, I was bamboozling them with my technical knowledge. It reinforced yet again (how many times do I need to learn this lesson) everybody else does not neccessarily know more than me but everybody knows many things that I do not know. That is why learning online is about sharing information and that is what I hope get and give in this course.

I am an avid podcast listener, previously I was maxed out on my 1Gb Ipod (which I still cannot part with) but now I am armed with a 32Gb Iphone - the possibilities are endless.


Angry bird coaching by Nick Chill

 I am developing my skills as an online facilitator but in my own online learning journey I am keen to develop techniques to work smarter as an online learner so that I can pass these on.

Enough enemies in my learning network?

Sworn Enemies Nesting Dolls

Abdullah's question, from Fridays elluminate session, "what if the network you created provides you with irrelevant or incorrect information/knowledge?" led to an extended discussion, in the elluminate chat roll, about enemies within a (your) learning network.
I have copied the chat roll into a google doc  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nol_UPo5U81rE67_nZfYR6S80or0pCETai-9XihydDY/edit?hl=en&authkey=CO-OnrMK
 NB:I have deleted many comments that did not relate to this particular discussion.

there were several great points, for example....
Lisa directed the conversation to the need for 'diversity within a network' to avoid the 'echo chamber' effect
...
Mira pointed out the recognition of authority on a topic relates to traditional learning as much as it does in a  networked learning environment.
...
Simon pointed out that the individual learner is the 'agent' but the knowledge does not wholly reside within the individual in networked learning (I would be interested to explore this further)
Larry's response to Simon's comment was that there is both individual and network knowledge.
...
Many people then commented on the need to connect with or block 'enemies' (those we disagree with) in our networks. (another interesting point that I trust will be raised again).

I have reviewed the progress of the discussion to get it straight in my head and it has got me thinking....
Is my learning network diverse enough to allow me to gain a variety of perspectives on particular topics?
I believe that I follow (twitter, RSS feeds) many people who have inquiring minds and encourage dialogue of disagreement. But this leads me to wonder if I seek out disagreement or questioning enough in my inquiries, perhaps it is this 'difference' that will support my learning in understanding what something is by gaining a clearer picture of what 'it is not'. Am I getting all too philosophical now?

From this I have been thinking about the corporate culture that I am about to re-enter. I sometimes feel that corporate culture breeds agreement and often does not support or encourage open dialogue. The idea of 'open forums' can put a culture of agreement at risk (or it can reinforce the agreement, but it is a risk) and this is why I question if I will ever see a truly 'open' platform for communication and dialogue like  'twitter' (and now I am questioning if twitter is a truly open platform) adopted within a corporate culture.

Does anyone know of any examples of businesses that have successfully introduced internal 'social media' platforms? (or even an internal network or LMS that has discussion forums, individual blogs)

On re-reading this blog post I think I am turning into a .....critical thinker, and it's only Week 2. Hurrray!!
Happy Australia Day to all!

Image: Sworn Enemies Nesting Dolls
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57086069@N00/2782516892 

Out of week 1 into week 2

I surprised myself by attending Friday's CCK11 live Elluminate session (Sat morn 4am), I am finding that I am getting a lot from joining live. I might even type a comment in the chat roll one day.
There was some great discussion and a couple of points that I want to pick up in this blog (blue text) over the next few entries/posts.

Nina asked Can we apply connectivism in non-technology environments?
This again made me consider my perspective of connectivist learning as the method by which I developed my parenting know how.
Being a first time mum I was 'overwhelmed' at my inadequacies in one moment and then overcome by instinct in the next. There were so many aspects of looking after a tiny baby that I knew I was completely underqualified for....how many parents have been surprised that the hospital allows them to take this tiny human being home to care for it independently - medical care, feeding, sleeping, holding.. all of these skills do not come 'naturally' they are learned.

There are many skills or knowledge that must be known by a parent but soon after the knowledge or learning is forgotten because the sleep issue is overcome then you have to move onto the cause of the wind (or colic).
When it comes to the second time around (next baby) you are a little more relaxed (at least I know I was) but there are many learnings that you have forgotten, now you have more of an idea about who to contact to get an answer, support or advice. You have built a network of experts - probably contained in your head, but you know where to go or who to ask. This practise has been going on for years (and years) with parents drawing on their network of experts to assist and support their efforts in raising babies into toddlers into children.

I believe this is what George Siemens refers to, in his blip tv presentation 'CCK11: Quick overview', as 'connected specialisation' where "A single individual, because of the complexity of the tasks, isnt able to accomplish them on her own, so instead we have to rely on being connected to people who have the ability to amplify our knowledge or at least to make us intelligent in a different way than we are as individuals."

Another example I have been considering, having read many books on wealth building over the years, is the way entrepeneurs build their fortunes when they are not experts in their chosen area/field. Many use the technique of surrounding themselves with the best people in their specialist fields eg. accountants, technicians, advisors/agents. I propose that these are two valid examples of connected specialisation.

With that said I am thinking that the concept of 'connected specialisation' is, in fact, an ancient method of learning however all of the examples provided by George relate to technology in some respect (vehicle maufacturing, flying a plane) so I am thinking back to Nina's original question if connectivism can apply to non-technology environments. I wonder if I am on the right track?.

In my next post I will consider Abdullah's question "what if the network you created provides you with incorrect information", which led to an interesting discussion in the elluminate chat roll about 'enemies in a network'.

Finding Waldo, I think he is on the back of a Turtle - The truth is out there

I attended the first CCK11 session this morn (4am Sydney time) and was encouraged to hear that confusion is all part of the process (that's the way I am interpretting it anyway), so I have started off on the right foot.

Another point I took from the session...
My "distinct perspective" will develop according to the sources (blog posts and references) I select (to read) and the topics that I choose to "curate"

I learned about turtles

So I have a clear perspective on what I want to achieve during this course, I plan to enjoy myself and the learning that comes out of the next 12 weeks, in my attempts to find Waldo.

I am going back to bed now...it is 5:17am