Digital Dialogues

Presentation blog

I've added a sub-blog to this one where I'll add my presentations and papers from conferences and additional references - it's called Presentations (how original!).

There's not masses there right now - just give me a little time to add the previous papers.
First up is the IQPC Instructional Design for Effective Learning presentation and additional references.
Sydney 28 - 30 May.
The workshop details (they will be on a wiki) will follow shortly.

The end of "e"-Learning!!

Vale "e"-Learning!
Long live Learning!

So - it's finally happened!
I've been banging on about this (my students will be heard sighing with relief) for a couple of years now - explaining the issues with prefixes before the -Learning word and the implications and restrictions it causes...
And now.... here's the first strategic deletion of the "e" (that I'm aware of... if anyone else has done it - get  out there and be celebrated!) - welcome to ELIG (although it still starts with an "e"!) the European Learning Industry Group:

"The E-Learning Industry Group is now the European Learning Industry Group, a change that reflects a shift within the organization itself, as well as within the learning industry.

“The term ‘e-learning’ has been overused,” said Joe Hegarty, Intel Innovation Centres director of business operations. “Technology is now clearly embedded in all modern learning solutions.”

He also said technology must be regarded as a partner in the evolution of the learning industry."

But... I've just explored the ELIG website and... there's "e"s all over it.... from "e"-Learning Summits to their tag line: "Promoting e-Learning in Europe" ! 
Oh well - I guess it's too much to drop the "e" entirely.... perhaps?? ;-(

Learning Technologies 2007

Call for Papers:
We invite you to join us at this year's Learning Technologies Conference (LT2007)
14-16 November
on Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast.

  The theme for LT2007 is: TelePresence: Enabling Learning Communities

  The website is now live and Call for Papers is open - abstracts due by 15th June.

We are seeking 30-minute presentations of papers that provide case studies about Learning Communities you have been involved in and the role technology played in forming and supporting these communities.

(Papers will not be refereed.)

Book Survey Results...

The LTUG Book Survey has closed... and here's a brief overivew of what people are reading:

By Marc Prensky:  Don't Bother me Mom - I'm Learning!
Our reviewer said:   

Positive guide for parents concerned about their kids' video and computer game playing. In "Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning!" Prensky maintains that kids "are almost certainly learning more positive, useful things for their future from their video and computer games than they learn in school!"

By John Maxwell: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Our reviewer said:

" I enjoy the simplicity of the book and its helpful hints on what characteristics are exhibited by strong leaders"

By Steve Krug: Don't Make Me Think
Our reviewer said:

Subtitled 'A common sense approach to web usability', Krug's book is aimed at web designers. However, it is also a great resource for those who need to design online learning materials with intuitive navigation structures. This little book is a masterpiece of concise, jargon-free advice.

By Peter Slattery: Youth Works (order directly from his website)
Our reviewer said:

Peter Slattery is a highly regarded therapist and educator who has worked with young people in Australia for almost 30 years. He is recommended reading by HYPAR (Helping Young People at Risk). In this book he explores ways of 'talking with' young people and offers useful strategies andsuggestions for working through issues in creative and meaningful ways. He focuses on therapeutic questioning and conversation and I have been particularly interested in exploring how to apply such strategies to 'online conversations' or blogs (web logs). A very interesting and helpful read!

By Colin Lankshear & Michele Knobel: New Literacies
No review... but looked really interesting when I read the reviews on Amazon!

If you'd like a full list of books - visit the LearnTel surveys blog and request a copy!
Enjoy your reading!

 

Powered by Qumana

Virtual Worlds & 3D learning

Wow - did you miss Sean Fitzgerald's webinar yesterday??
If you did - you really did miss something sensational!
Thanks Sean for putting so much time and effort into the preparation - and also the supporting wiki resource to accompany the webinar!!

I've been trying to resist getting into the Virtual Worlds ... at least until I had finished writing my PhD.. but now.. well - Sean has really convinced me that these environments cannot be ignored!
The learning implications and potential are enormous - but complicated. Perhaps it's too early to really "get"  what's happening - but if the early adopters (researchers & educators) don't get in there, we may well miss (or misunderstand) the opportunities to engage learners (and their avatars).

Sean predicts that within 5 years everyone will have at least 1 avatar - perhaps 2! 1 for business, and 1 for personal experiences. And maybe we should add 1 for learning?!
For those of you that automatically react with scepticism  - think about emails...
In 2000, as a lecturer, very few of my students had personal emails and the University didn't offer student emails. Now - in 2007 - does anyone NOT have an email?? Even my cat has an email!

One of the issues Sean and I discussed after the webinar (shame we couldn't keep the webinar going for this discussion) was the current trend where educational institutions are setting up spaces and islands, populating them with traditional buildings and lecture halls, and seating the learners in rows to watch traditional lectures....!
They just don't get it.... do they!!!!

If you want to loose yourself for a couple of hours (or more) - explore the resources Sean has identified on his wiki.... and then tell me, as educators, that we shouldn't be paying some attention to these environments !!

Powered by Qumana

Paolo Friere - 10th Anniversary

Today, May 2nd, marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Paulo Freire.
Freire’s work continues to inspire educators across the world, and new Institutes, books and courses emerge to review and re-invent his work.

Below are a collection of some of these resources:

On video
Culture, Politics & Pedagogy: A Conversation with Henry Giroux about Freire’s influence on him, and Giroux’s views on George Bush’s notorious ‘No Child Left Behind’ Bill. A 4 minute talk available on YouTube.
 

Paolo Friere & Seymour Papert’s video on the “Future of School”

Text
Pedagogy of the Oppressed – its first three chapters available in English at
 

On the Web
Paolo Freire Institute, Brazil
Paulo Freire Institute – UCLA 
Paulo Freire Institute of South Africa – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Paulo Freire Research Center – University of Tampere, Finland
Paulo Freire Institute -Malta
Paulo Freire Kooperation, Germany

Conference
OISE, University of Toronto
Remembering Freire, Reinventing Freire Conference
2 May 2007

Thanks to Dr Tony Brown at UTS for this collection.