In this issue of Media Literacy Digest, open education advocate George Siemens, reports on this week most interesting breakthroughs, events, new media technologies and on the social impact these have on society, work and learning.

Photo credit: Anatoly Vartanov

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Decentralized Work: The Final Frontier – Consider work. Many people are now involved in work that does not require physical presence at an office. Yet, how we define and value work still carries the views from 50+ years ago.
• Value of Visual Thinking – Resources such as this – the value of visual thinking – are helpful in increasing my guilt and sense of inadequacy with visuals and increasing my desire to continue improving how I communicate.
• A Few Web 2.0 Resources – Microsoft and web 2.0 resources (via Stephen Downes) I am not sure how Microsoft defines web 2.0 – not much in the list that fits my definition. However, still a number of useful resources.
• The Chemistry of Information Addiction – The chemistry of information addiction indicates why many people find the internet (particularly under the banner of real-time tools) so rewarding: We crave information and we want it now.
• Using Technology To Improve The Cost-Effectiveness of The Academy – Tony Bates explores using technology to improve the cost-effectiveness of the academy (and part 2). Toward the end of the second post, Tony offers a series of 10 implications. I generally agree with these points, but do not think it offers enough about the systemic change required by universities.
• Personal Learning Environments / Networks: Call For Chapters – Our PLE / N conference is well underway. If interested, the recordings are available (under week five).
• Nowism – Google Wave, Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook have given rise to the what is known as the real time web. Trendwatching picks up on this theme and addresses it as Nowism (good list of realtime tools about 1 / 3 of the way in).
• Emerging Technologies, Africa – Introduction to Emerging Technologies, Africa is an open online 12 week course. I am teaching the course with Dave Cormier. IETA is delivered in both English and French.

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Decentralized Work: The Final Frontier

The ideologies that give birth to systems remain long after they cease being valuable.

End result: We have systems and policies that function under ideologies / views that are no longer needed, and in many instances, have an overall negative impact. Consider work.

Many people are now involved in work that does not require physical presence at an office. Yet, how we define and value work still carries the views from 50+ years ago.

Taylorism is still reflected in how we see work and employees.

Inside Higher Ed considers decentralized work:

“Whether you call it teleworking, Web working, telecommuting, distance working or e-working, the concept is the same: Work is not some place you go, it is something you do. It focuses on the information-age idea of decentralizing the office, as opposed to the industrial-age idea of bringing everyone to one single location.“

Value of Visual Thinking

I am inept with visuals.

I made a decision at the start of the year to increase my use of visuals in presentation and blog posts. I have not been tremendously successful, but I will keep trying.

Resources such as this – the value of visual thinking – are helpful in

• increasing my guilt and sense of inadequacy with visuals and
• increasing my desire to continue improving how I communicate.

From the post:

“In the design of business, visual thinking will be key in the design of new processes, systems, and structures.

Expect to see the mapping of

• ecosystems,
• flows,
• org charts,
• social systems and
• data visualization.

All of which can help people understand and get behind change.“

A Few Web 2.0 Resources

A few (unrelated) resources on web 2.0:

Microsoft and web 2.0 resources (via Stephen Downes) I am not sure how Microsoft defines web 2.0 – not much in the list that fits my definition. However, still a number of useful resources.

The distance between Microsoft and Google is quite evident in participative / collaborative tools. Google is the web 2.0 poster child (have a quick look at their labs). I think Google needs a strong competitor. Microsoft has had trouble playing that role so far …

IBM & Web 2.0 – a number of videos, websites, whitepapers, etc. on how IBM uses web 2.0.

Adoption of emerging technologies for collaborating and organizational productivity (interesting to note that learning is not an explicit focus) is growing.

The Chemistry of Information Addiction

Information addiction is appearing more frequently as a term to describe how our brain craves information.

The chemistry of information addiction indicates why many people find the internet (particularly under the banner of real-time tools) so rewarding: We crave information and we want it now.

The author states that we find “not-knowing” to be stressful. I am curious how the stress of not-knowing relates to the stress of information abundance – i.e. “significant attainments lost in the mass of the inconsequential”

Using Technology To Improve The Cost-Effectiveness of The Academy

Tony Bates explores using technology to improve the cost-effectiveness of the academy (and part 2).

After exploring the challenges faced by universities, Tony concludes, logically, that:

I believe we need much more variety in institutional structures and models of educational delivery than we have at the current time.

We need in other words more innovation and experimentation, if the challenge of greater access, greater quality and lower cost is to be met.

Only through experimentation, trial and error and a certain amount of risk-taking are we likely to find new models that “work” in that they achieve the three goals stated: more access, better quality, less cost.

The problem with this observation is that traditional universities are generally too tied to existing models to innovate rapidly. I have met with too many departments that have plans like “next year, we will have two courses online“.

There is a sense that the university’s response is mismatched to reality of the scope of societal change.

Toward the end of the second post, Tony offers a series of 10 implications. I generally agree with these points, but do not think it offers enough about the systemic change required by universities.

If we are going to look 20 years in the future, I am less concerned about details such as instructional tactics than I am about the big issues of policy / funding / research / systemic structure of higher education.

Personal Learning Environments/Networks: Call For Chapters

Our PLE / N conference is well underway. If interested, the recordings are available (under week five).

A call for chapters has been issued as well for an upcoming PLE book.

Nowism

Google Wave, Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook have given rise to the what is known as the real time web. Trendwatching picks up on this theme and addresses it as Nowism (good list of realtime tools about 1 / 3 of the way in). This briefing is worth a skim.

Notable quote:

The bottom line: While the appeal and influence of “now” has been building for years, societal attitudes, sky-high consumer expectations and new technologies are currently converging in such a powerful way that brands truly have no choice but to go “real-time”:

• In their business intelligence processes,
• in their customer conversations,
• in their innovation labs,
• in their distribution, sales, marketing and branding departments…

Emerging Technologies, Africa

I have posted this before, but, since the course started today, I will mention it again: Introduction to Emerging Technologies, Africa is an open online 12 week course. I am teaching the course with Dave Cormier. IETA is delivered in both English and French.

More information:

• Google Groups – for regular emails from course instructors
• Moodle – English
• Moodle – French
• Syllabus – English
• Syllabus – French

Main landing page for the course.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on October 16th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he develops a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Decentralized Work: The Final Frontier – Yuri Arcurs
Value of Visual Thinking – David Armano
A Few Web 2.0 Resources – TebNad
The Chemistry of Information Addiction – Scol22
Using Technology To Improve The Cost-Effectiveness of The Academy – Stephen Coburn
Personal Learning Environments / Networks: Call For Chapters – Luminis
Nowism – Mehmet Dilsiz
Emerging Technologies, Africa – Marc Dietrich
Emerging Technologies, Africa – Adama01

If you are interested in finding out the key media trends, the events and the new communication technologies that are shaping your future, in this issue of Media Literacy Digest, open education advocate George Siemens, takes you to places, people and new resources to help you make greater sense of this fast changing panorama.

Photo credit: Ndul

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Trends… – What worked pre-internet for managing information will not work today. Little surprise then that trend watching / recognition is quickly becoming a field of value for educators, business leaders, and governments.
• History and Evolution of Social Media – We are still early on the social media hype curve. Letting people connect effortlessly produces all kinds of interesting results. But the implications of easy connectivity are not fully understood.
• The Great Keynote Meltdown – It seems that a poor keynote presentation caused the audience to go into mild mob mode through the twitter back channel.
• Personal Learning Environments Conference –
  The Personal Learning Environments and Networks Conference starts next week (Oct 13-16). The event is free to attend. The event has been organized by National Research Council of Canada PLE Project and the Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba.
• Obesity, Politics, STDs Flow In Social Networks – I am interested in how networks influence learning. To date, this has received too little attention from researchers. Yes, I know, disease research generates more funds for universities
• Real Time Web and Google – Clive Thompson’s argument that the real time web is leaving Google behind makes a few interesting points… but it is essentially wrong.
• Saudi Arabia: KAUST – Education is rapidly globalizing. Local views need to give way to international perspectives. For example, consider the new $12 billion Saudi Arabian KAUST
• Local Politicians Use Social Media To Connect With Voters – Something as simple as an online forum or blog – or even online consultation – is not unrealistic. Decision made in isolation and then dropped on others is no way to run an organization or a community.
• Social Network Statistics – We rely on government to provide some level of protection (in Canada we have fairly rigid rules for the type of individual data that can be shared). Even then, sites like Facebook can gain a fairly accurate “picture” of who individuals are simply by mining network associations.
• Finding Data – Let’s say you have this idea for a visualization or application, or you are just curious about some trend. You can not find the data, and without the data, you can not even start.

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Trends…

P. W. Anderson made the statement in the early 70’s that “more is different“. Or, as a slight variation, David Gelernter has stated: “30. If you have three pet dogs, give them names. If you have 10,000 head of cattle, do not bother.”

When considering the pace of information flow today, it makes sense that we need

• new skills,
• new attitudes, and
• new tools to function.

What worked pre-internet for managing information will not work today. Little surprise then that trend watching / recognition is quickly becoming a field of value for

• educators,
• business leaders, and
• governments.

Trendwatching’s monthly briefings are helpful in this regard. It is a well curated list of trends.

If you are interested in something a bit more chaotic, Trendsmap follows emerging Twitter topics.

The curatorial and the visualization of emerging trends approach are first generation attempts at making sense of abundance. We need better tools that are somewhat tied to our context (i.e. search patterns, our interests, needs).

History and Evolution of Social Media

We are still early on the social media hype curve. Letting people connect effortlessly produces all kinds of interesting results. But the implications of easy connectivity are not fully understood.

• Should we have “tech free” zones in schools?
• How does etiquette change when conversation continually flows on microblogging services such as Twitter?
• What is appropriate to post on Facebook?
• What about mobile phone etiquette? Or, perhaps most importantly for educators,
• How should teaching and learning be structured in a networked world?

These questions are already being addressed by educators and researchers (journal special editions and even new journal launches are focusing on the social media aspect of teaching / learning).

A quick look back – to gain a sense of history – is always a good idea.

The history and evolution of social media takes a rapid stroll through various services and potential implications. While the article is not focused on education, it is a good overview of how we got to where we are.

Social networking site: Definition, history, and scholarship tackles a similar theme…

The Great Keynote Meltdown

The Great Keynote Meltdown traces a failed keynote presentation and the response of the audience: “Presentational etiquette is changing along with audience expectations. Twitter is there, and people are going to use it, for good or for bad“.

It seems that a poor keynote presentation caused the audience to go into mild mob mode through the Twitter back channel. This type of critique often happens post-presentation (remember pre-realtime web? “I will not go to that conference again. Poor speakers, badly organized. It was a waste of time“).

The prominence of mobile devices and microblogging services surfaces this type of feedback and amplifies it when conference attendees connect to each other. It is a reality both speakers and organizers need be aware of… and plan for.

What is a conference organizer / keynote presenter to do these days? Create and encourage the use of channels for surfacing criticism and feedback. Hiding failures is not really success.

Personal Learning Environments Conference

The Personal Learning Environments and Networks Conference starts next week (Oct 13-16). The event is free to attend. We will be posting summaries on The Daily, so you might want to sign up for the week to keep track of the conference.

The event has been organized by National Research Council of Canada PLE Project and the Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba.

Obesity, Politics, STDs Flow In Social Networks

Networks are the language of our era – explaining, among other things

• biology,
• information flow,
• disease transfer,
• financial market failure, and
• political structures underlying public voting records.

A recently published text – Connected – addresses how networks influence our lives on a daily basis.

From a promotional article on the book: Obesity, politics, STDs flow in social networks

Examining years of research of their own and from others, the authors conclude that social networks, both offline and online, are crucial in understanding everything from voting patterns to the spread of disease.

People have profound influences on each other’s behavior within three degrees of separation, the authors find. That means that your friends, your friends’ friends, and your friends’ friends’ friends may all affect your eating habits, voting preferences, happiness, and more.

I am interested in how networks influence learning. To date, this has received too little attention from researchers.

Yes, I know, disease research generates more funds for universities. For that matter negatives like disease, obesity, and other challenges confronting humanity provide greater motivation than pursuing positives like learning and development. Maybe that is part of the research problem…

Real Time Web and Google

Clive Thompson’s argument that the real time web is leaving Google behind makes a few interesting points… but it is essentially wrong.

Controversial statements draw more attention (hence, why I am linking to this!), but what Thompson overlooks is that the web is expanding and fragmenting into specialized subsets… not that the core web is changing.

For example, an individual wanting to research Michael Jackson (as stated in Thompson’s article), will not only be concerned with the events over the last few days, but over Jackson’s lifetime.

We use the web for different purposes at different times.

The author also states that Google’s contribution was organizing the web on authority, somehow suggesting that this is not the case with Twitter and Facebook.

Have you ever tried following a trending topic on Twitter? If you are tracking a hot topic, you will have 800 updates each time you refresh. It is a mess. It is like Yahoo in 1997: Topics by categories… but largely useless.

This trend-lover attitude (Ooh, look, it is new, that means it changes everything) is great for drawing attention… but rather useless for anything else.

A contextual, balanced, and nuanced understanding of search patterns and varying circumstance with varying needs is needed. But, it appears nuanced and balanced is now the new extreme.

Saudi Arabia: KAUST

Education can be somewhat insular.

A university campus is a community… a small city. For many students (if my experience can be generalized), understanding the local university environment is a big enough challenge in itself.

It is unrealistic to expect most members of society to be aware of the complexities of higher education in other provinces / states or even other countries.

Education is rapidly globalizing. Local views need to give way to international perspectives.For example, consider the new $12 billion Saudi Arabian KAUST.

Those who proclaim universities have a limited future need to redirect their focus to the enormous funds directed to universities and how national pride (and future identity) are reflected in “world class” universities.

Local Politicians Use Social Media To Connect With Voters

I live south of Winnipeg in a small community.

During my commute this morning, I noticed a section of our street “under construction“. The street was closed off. I have no idea what they are doing. And why.

It occurred to me that I am no longer satisfied in “letting things happen to me“. Perhaps I am influenced too much by participatory technologies, but I like to know what is happening my community.

• Who decided this road should be repaired?
• Why?
• How long will it take?
• What other priorities were shelved as a result?

Not-knowing is not acceptable. Something as simple as an online forum or blog – or even online consultation – is not unrealistic. It takes five minutes to set up a blog. Decision made in isolation and then dropped on others is no way to run an organization or a community.

Local Politicians Use Social Media to Connect with Voters:

“Perhaps most significant to the evolving shift in local political communication is the sense that social media is starting to fill the void left by downsized news staffs or the complete absence of journalists in smaller communities.“

We want information and we want to be involved. That is not asking too much, is it?

Social Network Statistics

The Internet knows us. Really. It does. It knows us at an aggregate level – consider the age / income / children / gender information on social network statistics. But, we are also known individually.

We rely on government to provide some level of protection (in Canada we have fairly rigid rules for the type of individual data that can be shared). Even then, sites like Facebook can gain a fairly accurate “picture” of who individuals are simply by mining network associations.

If I am predominantly friending people with certain religious or political views, I am signaling some level or probability as to my own views. But, it does not stop there.

Facebook has one of my favorite lines about data collection:

“Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as

• newspapers,
• blogs,
• instant messaging services, and
• other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags)

in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.“

Finding Data

As little as 10 years ago, the barrier to finding data was something like a pay wall (or that the data was in a physical form and you had to go to a library to access it).

Today, data abounds. It is readily accessible. Which is great if you are trying to visualize data and / or interactions. 30 Resources to Find the Data You Need:

“Let’s say you have this idea for a visualization or application, or you are just curious about some trend. But you have a problem.

You can not find the data, and without the data, you can not even start. This is a guide and a list of sources for where you can find that data you’re looking for. There is a lot out there.“

Follow through to the comments – several additional resources listed there…

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on October 9th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he develops a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Trends… – Trendsmap
History and Evolution of Social Media – Dmitry Margolin
The Great Keynote Meltdown – Argus456
Personal Learning Environments Conference – Konstantin Chagin
Obesity, Politics, STDs Flow In Social Networks – CNN
Real Time Web and Google – Chris Lamphear
Real Time Web and Google – Wipeout44
Saudi Arabia: KAUST – University of Bradford
Local Politicians Use Social Media To Connect With Voters – Aliaksei Lakamkin
Social Network Statistics – Pablo631
Finding Data – Hypermania

In this issue of Media Literacy Digest, open education advocate George Siemens, explores and reports on new fascinating stories and insights converging around communication technologies and their impact on learning, work and society.

Photo credit: Michele Piacquadio

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Heading To Athabasca University – I have accepted a position with Athabasca University and, as a result, will be leaving my current position at University of Manitoba. It was a tough decision.
• Social Learning Presentations – Jane Hart shares her social media presentations via slideshare playlist. A total of 18 presentations are available, addressing a variety of technologies, concepts, and frameworks for social learning.
• Narrowing Gap – Face-To-Face and Online – With location-aware software and mobile devices… and the immediacy of Twitter / Facebook, the gap between physical and virtual is shrinking.
• Universities and Research – Most research in universities is not commercialized. For that matter, most likely cannot be commercialized due to specialized nature of inquiry.
• Introduction To Emerging Technologies: Open Course – In about two weeks, Dave Cormier and I will begin our open online course on Introduction to Emerging Technologies, Africa. The course will be offered in both English and French.

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Heading To Athabasca University

I have accepted a position with Athabasca University and, as a result, will be leaving my current position at University of Manitoba. It was a tough decision.

I have enjoyed working at U of M – particularly with Peter Tittenberger, Director of Learning Technologies Centre, one of the most creative / innovative leaders I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

When presented with an opportunity to work with Terry Anderson, Jon Dron, Rory McGreal, Griff Richards, and others (I do not think I will be working directly with Debra Hoven, but will enjoy the conversations, I am sure!), the prospect of fertile soil for innovation and discussion is too great to resist!

I will post more about position details and work tasks soon, but at this stage, my work will be positioned with the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute and the broader university community in developing a virtual media lab.

It appears I will be able to continue

• my current focus of online conferences,
• workshops,
• elearnspace newsletter, and
• related activities.

In addition to planning a November 1 start date at Athabasca, I have a somewhat hectic speaking schedule for the rest of fall (Portugal, Vancouver, Norway, Barcelona, Toronto, New Zealand).

I believe we are at an exciting time in higher education, where new technologies, new pedagogies, and even new institutional structures, will converge to produce an unprecedented period of innovation in learning and learning sciences.

Change, at personal, professional, and organizational levels is today’s educational zeitgeist.

Social Learning Presentations

Jane Hart shares her social media presentations via slideshare playlist (you can select various presentations on the right-hand side of the embedded slideshare “player“).

A total of 18 presentations are available, addressing a variety of technologies, concepts, and frameworks for social learning. Some level of narration would be a helpful addition, but overall, a good resource to introduce technologically-mediated social learning.

Narrowing Gap – Face-To-Face and Online

With location-aware software and mobile devices… and the immediacy of Twitter / Facebook, the gap between physical and virtual is shrinking.

As Tony Karrer notes, in addressing online / face-to-face conferences:

“What is interesting here is that it used to be that you could count on your in-person audience to be singletasking (is that a word?) and paying attention. Now, they are going to be multitasking just like your online audience.“

Perhaps I spend too much time online, but I would like to do with the physical world (and conversations) what I do online:

• tag,
• sort,
• annotate,
• organize,
• archive (the internet of things?).

Overlaying a data layer on the physical world – such as walking through a historical district and being able to see buildings on your mobile device as they looked 100 years ago – contributes to physical / virtual blurring.

I will take it a step further: The biggest challenge facing technologists today is to provide a seamless method of integrating our online selves and our physical selves. I would argue the two separate selves should not even exist – they will converge into one entity.

Universities and Research

In an idea reminiscent of Swanson’s concept of undiscovered public knowledge, Techcrunch is suggesting corporations turn to universities for a wealth of innovative ideas.

Most research in universities is not commercialized. For that matter, most likely cannot be commercialized due to specialized nature of inquiry.

However, according to TC, entrepreneurs should explore the “motherlode of innovation hidden in the huge stacks of patents and discoveries backlogged at our universities and research labs“.

Universities are attempting to take control of commercializing their own research.Specialized departments have been set up in larger universities to facilitate this task (and, in many cases, revenues from commercialization activities are growing as a percentage of overall funding).

By design, however, higher education is not equipped to function at the speed (or for that matter, the priorities) of business.

I am concerned that a revenue generation focus will cause universities to lose focus of the broader (philosophic / social / exploratory) they play in societies.

Do all aspects of society – health care, education, even government – need to converge on a corporate/business model? If so, where will we find the important counter balance to ensure one model does not come to dominate completely?

Introduction To Emerging Technologies: Open Course

In about two weeks, Dave Cormier and I will begin our open online course on Introduction to Emerging Technologies, Africa. The course will be offered in both English and French.

If you would like to be kept informed about the course (as a participant or observer), please join the Google Group.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on October 2nd, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he develops a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Heading To Athabasca University – Bellestock
Social Learning Presentations – Yanik Chauvin
Narrowing Gap – Face-To-Face and Online – Sergey Peterman
Universities and Research – Yuri Arcurs
Introduction To Emerging Technologies: Open Course – Anyka

In this weekly Media Literacy Digest, open education and connectivism advocate George Siemens, takes you to news and stories on emergent media, technology and learning that can help you make greater sense of the revolutionary changes taking place all around you.

Photo credit: delion

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Google – Chrome Frame is a service that runs Chrome directly in Internet Explorer. Next, Google announces Sidewiki.
• What I Think Connectivism Is… – Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2009 is in full swing. The Daily is experiencing a bit of a delay as Stephen’s website (and OLDaily) are recovering from a rather significant attack.
• Trends and Issues In Open and Distance Learning In Africa – Dave Cormier and I are offering a bi-lingual (French / English) open online course on emerging technologies for learning starting Oct. 12.
• Networked Learning 2010 Preconference Online Hot Seats – Networked Learning 2010 conference is hosting a series of online “hot seats” over the next few months. These online sessions are free to attend, but registration is required.
• Corporate Learning: Trends and Implications – I am pleased to announce our third annual LearnTrends online(and free) conference on corporate learning, to be held November 17-19, 2009.
• Scaling Mt. Idiocy – As I read another article about another business leader declaring the obsolescence of universities, I started thinking about how absurd this language would sound if we applied it to other large institutions.
• Speed of Memes – Messages spread much quicker than they used to… but satire still reigns supreme as a means of creating artifacts for sharing cultural humour.

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Google

Google has been busy this week: Chrome Frame is a service that runs Chrome directly in Internet Explorer. The announcement provides more detail. It is Google’s way of letting Microsoft know that inefficiencies can be bypassed.

I am a bit negative on Microsoft these days. I am teaching a course using Sharepoint (an Old English term meaning “hell“). It is horrendous.

Please, if you like the people or customers you work with, never, ever, make them use Sharepoint.

Microsoft understands systems / process. But not end users.

Next, Google announces Sidewiki.

Sidewiki lets users post comments on web pages through the Google Toolbar. This is not new – StumbleUpon and Diigo offer similar services. But Google has scope, reach, and the ability to integrate the service quickly into the online habits of users.

But, the more Google innovates (meaning – wants to assist in my online interaction and data creation / consumption) the more concerned I become. Others feel the same way.

And, in case you are wondering how Google got to the point of owning everything online, the summary of their acquisitions is a good starting point.

What I Think Connectivism Is…

Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2009 is in full swing.

The value of a distributed course is found in these points of failure.

If one tool goes down, other options exist. In this instance, I want to draw attention to a somewhat interesting conversation thread on Moodle: What I think connectivism is…

Trends and Issues In Open and Distance Learning In Africa

Dave Cormier and I are offering a bi-lingual (French / English) open online course on emerging technologies for learning starting Oct. 12.

The course is part of a grant from OSIWA and a collaboration between Association of African Universities and University of Manitoba. I will post more information on this in the next week or so. The course is directed to African learners, but others are welcome to participate.

With that course on my mind, I was quite please to see the most recent edition of IRRODL focused on Trends and Issues in Open and Distance Learning in Africa.

Networked Learning 2010 Preconference Online Hot Seats

Networked Learning 2010 conference is hosting a series of online “hot seats” over the next few months. These online sessions are free to attend, but registration is required. Details and schedule can be found here.

I am looking forward to Caroline Haythornthwaite’s discussion next week (Sept 28) – she has done fascinating work around evaluating language use (noun-phrase analysis in online communities as well as media use in strong / weak tie formation).

Stephen Downes and I are scheduled at the end of October. Sessions continue into early 2010.

Corporate Learning: Trends and Implications

I am pleased to announce our third annual LearnTrends online (and free) conference on corporate learning, to be held November 17-19, 2009.

Tony Karrer has more detailed information on his site:

“The theme / focus this year is on Convergence in Workplace Learning.

We will bring together people who look at different aspects of learning and knowledge work to understand better what is going on in those areas and how we should be thinking about this holistically.“

This year, we are going to focus more on highlighting examples of innovative projects, products and companies.

If you would like to submit an entity to be considered for innovation, please see Tony’s post.

Scaling Mt. Idiocy

I am a strong proponent in advocating for universities to change. But, universities are systems. You cannot alter one aspect without creating a ripple effect of unintended consequences.

As I read another article about another business leader declaring the obsolescence of universities (a Latin phrase meaning “to scale Mt. Idiocy“), I started thinking about how absurd this language would sound if we applied it to other large institutions.

Let’s try banks:

• “Banks are obsolete because they were founded in an industrial era mindset” (they were not, but neither was teaching, so misinformation works here too)
• “Banks are too bloated. They cannot survive. They need to completely change in order to meet the needs of today’s world“
• “Now that we have the internet, people will not need banks anymore” (do not worry if it does not make sense… As Meister Mt Scaler Tapscott has proven, accuracy can be subverted by sensationalism).
• “People no longer need money, they will just share everything online“

…and the list could go on.

Try it – pick your own favorite industry. You too can play the game!

Speed of Memes

Messages spread much quicker than they used to… but satire still reigns supreme as a means of creating artifacts for sharing cultural humour.

Yo Kanye, I’mma let you have one of the best memes of all time discusses how changes in cultural memes are influenced by collective “knowing what to do“:

What is most remarkable about this is the speed with which it happened.

We are used to seeing a meme bubble up from the Web’s danker crevices, spreading from site to site over a period of months until it hits a tipping point and becomes unavoidable.

But once Kanye West opened his trap and bequeathed a pop-culture moment upon us, it was as if everyone sprang to meme action stations.

We have had the drills; we know what to do.

This might be pushing the lesson here a bit, but early broadcasters needed to figure out what worked or did not with audiences.

TV is largely stableThe odd moment of a new trend – such as reality TV – quickly sets in play predictable duplication.

Perhaps, what we are seeing with memes and sharing on sites like YouTube is that the mass of amateurs are similarly developing a tool kit of shared artistic (?) responses to novel events.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on September 24th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he develops a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Google – Zonkio
What I Think Connectivism Is… – Yurok Aleksandrovich
Trends and Issues In Open and Distance Learning In Africa – adama01
Networked Learning 2010 Preconference Online Hot Seats – Chris Lamphear
Corporate Learning: Trends and Implications – elearningtech
Scaling Mt. Idiocy – Ralf Kraft
Speed of Memes – yellow2j

In this weekly Media Literacy Digest, open education advocate George Siemens, explores and reports about emergent media, learning, education and on the future impact that new technologies may have on society.

Photo credit: rgbspace

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Untangling The Web – Why do two people share information with each other? What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a learner’s level of understanding a subject?
• Microsoft and Google – For most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or even non-existent. Microsoft dominated the personal computer experience. That has changed.
• Identity, Memory, Death and The Internet – Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) post on how identity and memory are preserved online.
• Taming Digital Distractions – It is always been easy to find distractions (going for coffee with a colleague, chats around the water cooler), but even then, a bit of effort was required. I actually had to leave my office.
• The Future of Work – Britannica is getting sloppy with their blog postings. Most posts – even ones I disagree with – are usually fairly well thought-out. Then, they post this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized.
• Thoughts On New Learning – Is connective learning naturally self-reinforcing? Is the building of community a means to an end (learning), an end in and of itself, or both?
• Immediacy – The implications of immediacy is particularly interesting. What used to be an off the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
• Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – If you judge a juggler by how many times the balls hit the floor and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a time, the juggler will always lose.
• Information Rich… and Attention Poor – What changes in how we access information? How we process it? What types of tools do we need to cope?
• Liberating Data From Google – The DataLiberation initiative by Google is a huge step in the right direction.

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Untangling The Web

Networks serve as a useful model to describe electricity grids, business activity, the internet, spread of diseases, and even obesity.

Caution is warranted, however, in over emphasizing networks.

In themselves, networks reveal a structure and mode of organizing. They can serve as both a foundation on which to build societal structures (such as education) and as a gateway to action.

Network analysis reveals the flow of information in an organization.

As important as the structure itself is the why and how of connection forming.

• Why do two people share information with each other?
• What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a learner’s level of understanding a subject?

Mindhacks links to several reports addressing network structures underlying happiness and health.

Microsoft and Google

For most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or even non-existent.

Microsoft dominated the personal computer experience. That has changed.

Between Apple, Google, and open source software, innovation abounds.

• New devices (iPhone),
• views of software (cloud computing) and
• applications (Google Docs)

have generated a new spirit of progress around information and communication technologies.

Microsoft recognizes the threat and is responding by developing an online version of its Office suite. Techcrunch has a (mostly) positive overview of the service, expected for public release next year.

Identity, Memory, Death and The Internet

Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) post on how identity and memory are preserved online. He compares the passing of a colleague (last year) and his brother (20 years ago) and how they are remembered today.

The identity people create online today is, in a sense, a gift to their children and future generations. I know my grandparents through a few black and white pictures. As Cormier notes, his children / grandchildren will know him through rich media. Memories preserved in full colour.

Too often, when discussing identity, the focus rests on “do not post this online, you will regret it in the future when you are [running for office, interviewing for a new job, etc.]“. The flip side of this argument is aptly expressed in Dave’s post.

Taming Digital Distractions

Forget multitasking.

The real challenge many people face in work productivity is coping with distractions. I find it rather easy to ignore activities I ought to be doing with sites like

• YouTube,
• Twitter,
• Google News,
• Facebook and
• Google Reader

at my finger tips.

It is always been easy to find distractions (going for coffee with a colleague, chats around the water cooler), but even then, a bit of effort was required. I actually had to leave my office.

Now, distractions are much more accessible. But there are ways of coping with, of course, more technology.

The Future of Work

Britannica is getting sloppy with their blog postings. Most posts – even ones I disagree with – are usually fairly well though-tout.

Then, they post this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized. The post is poorly presented and largely speculative. Most obvious is the generational argument.

Work in organizations is changing. That has nothing to do with generational differences. Technological advances in communication and collaboration tools are producing a distributed workforce. What does that have to do with age?

The idea that work is changing is worth exploring. The concept that it is generational is silly.

Thoughts On New Learning

With CCK09 now underway, I am having a bit of trouble keeping up with posts and reflections of learners.

We encourage individuals to set up blogs (or use Moodle, SecondLife, whatever else)… and reading blog posts takes more effort than reading discussion forums.

• Discussion forum posts are generally shorter and the context is often established by the original post.
• Blogs also appear to be a better environment for a deeper level of analysis. I am not sure why – perhaps it is due to the sense of personal space or identity.

Thoughts on new learning:

“… Humans have an innate motivation to participate in shared knowlege and that it is this motivation that makes writing for “real” audiences more rewarding for students than writing for an individual “teacher”… is connective learning naturally self-reinforcing?

Is the building of community a means to an end (learning), an end in and of itself, or both?

Put another way, would you keep writing your blog of you knew nobody was reading it?“

Immediacy

Location and immediacy are two big trends developing in part to mobile devices – constant connectivity enables us to receive information in context – i.e. location… and microblogging produces a constant flow of information. The implications of immediacy is particularly interesting.

What used to be an off the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.

Consider Obama’s experience this week. For celebrities and leaders, the concept of a “safe zone” or an “off period” simply do not exist.

I wonder how many higher education faculty are blissfully unaware that their statements / lecture habits / clothing choice are the topic of lively discussion and commentary on Facebook / Twitter / Friendfeed?

Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point

Multitasking has gotten bad publicity recently.

I personally do not think I multitask – I task switch. Some people can task switch rapidly. Others prefer to focus on one element at a time. However, this article – why studies about multitasking Are missing the point – takes a different stance.

The author states:

“If you judge a juggler by how many times the balls hit the floor and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a time, the juggler will always lose. But the juggler is doing something different“.

This is a valid point, but it also misses the differences in the type of activities we engage in.

When I am involved in “flow” activities, I jump from my RSS reader, to my blog, to delicious, to a Skype chat, to Tweetdeck, to an online news site, etc.

But… when I want to create something (a paper, design a course, create a podcast), I need a different approach. If I continue to utilize a flow approach, I will likely not apply the depth of thinking needed to complete the project well.

Context is king. Approaches to learning and interacting are rooted in differing contexts.

Information Rich… and Attention Poor

Information rich, and attention poor addresses a frustration many of us feel: There is too much! it is all going too fast!

I agree with the author that attention is the attribute in greatest demand today. But that misses an important point: Abundance is not simply more, it is also different. Which means (and the author addresses this slightly at the end of the article) we need to think about what changes in this world of “much more“.

• What changes in how we access information?
• How we process it?
• What types of tools do we need to cope? (i.e. visualization tools and methods).
• Where is our education system falling short?

In my own, obviously non-opinionated view, education as a system has an opportunity to take a different view of how educational experiences are designed and delivered.

Open online courses – such as CCK09 – serve as a transparent experiment.

• How effective is sensemaking in social networks in relation to traditional course cohorts?
• What role should the educator play?
• And what role should students play?

Liberating Data From Google

I am frequently negative on Google (largely because in a few year’s time, Google will likely have a similar lock-in in many of its services / markets to what Microsoft had at its peak). However, the DataLiberation initiative by Google is a huge step in the right direction:

At the heart of this lies our strong commitment to an open web run on open standards.

We think open is better than closed – not because closed is inherently bad, but because when it is easy for users to leave your product, there is a sense of urgency to improve and innovate in order to keep your users.

When your users are locked in, there is a strong temptation to be complacent and focus less on making your product better.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on September 18th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he developes a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Untangling The Web – Mostafa Fawzy
Microsoft and Google – Blogs Zdnet
Identity, Memory, Death and The Internet – Vasyl Yakobchuk
Taming Digital Distractions – Pitchengine
The Future of Work – Linda Bucklin
Thoughts On New Learning – Jacek Chabraszewski
Immediacy – Chris Lamphear
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – Arpad Nagy-Bagoly
Information Rich… and Attention Poor – Yegor Korzh
Liberating Data From Google – Google Public Policy Blogspot

In this weekly Media Literacy Digest, open education advocate George Siemens, reports on emergent media and technology issues and on the future impact that these new technologies may have on the way you work, learn and interact with others.

Photo credit: Cyprien Lomas

Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Reorganizing For The Online Environment – Many institutions are slow to react to technology. Systemic inefficiencies trail new opportunities and technological affordances.
• Google Internet Stats – Once data has been sucked into Google Giant Vacuum Cache, it is ripe for analysis. After a decade of collecting (and digitizing) Google has created an astonishing resource that is ripe for value exploitation.
• Passionate Creatives –
  John Hagel talks about Passionate Creatives. For a growing segment of society, geography no longer restricts opportunity.
• Frequent Releases Change Software Engineering – Design of software and design of learning share similar attributes. I would go so far as to say that instructional design would benefit from considering how software design has changed over the last decade.
• The Cloud and Collaboration – Stephen Downes (in addition to hurling the odd grenade my way) consistently demonstrates the ability to provide innovative and critical commentary on concepts that many people accept on the surface.
• Virtual Learning Reports of The Demise of The VLE / LMS Are Greatly Exaggerated – The challenge with personal learning environments is most notable in how they fail to align with existing learning structures in schools and universities.
• Wiki Growth – How do you evaluate the impact of wikis on learning? Or, how do you research the contributions that wikis make to information creation and sharing?

Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Reorganizing For The Online Environment

Many institutions are slow to react to technology. Systemic inefficiencies trail new opportunities and technological affordances.

For example, somewhere in the past at an unnamed institution, I developed a course for online delivery. We had many international students from Hong Kong and other Asian countries. The registration department at this organization handled enrollment and contacted learners with access information.

When the course started, I noticed limited interaction in the online forums. I emailed the students to encourage them to log in and post introductions. I received several replies: we do not have access information. I then contacted the registration department. “Has contact information been sent?” I asked. “Yes”. “When?”. “We sent it on Friday”. “Oh, that is strange” I say “most students don’t have the information”. “Well, we only mailed the packages on Friday”. “MAILED?!?”. “Yes”.
Oh well. We move slowly in new directions… at least until we feel threatened.

Many educators do not feel a sense of urgency around technology adoption. But many aspects of our organizations need to be adjusted to reflect what is possible with technology. Sometimes the answer is not clear (for example, Wikipedia’s decision around how to record historical events).

At other times, the decision is really quite simple (i.e. email vs. mail). I wonder how much productivity people and organizations lose as result of failure to rethink existing “ways of doing things”…

Google Internet Stats

No company in the world has access to more data and more data processing power than Google.

Once data has been sucked into Google Giant Vacuum Cache, it is ripe for analysis. After a decade of collecting (and digitizing) Google has created an astonishing resource that is ripe for value exploitation.

Many organizations and companies have idly watched Google conquer a domain more completely than Alexandar the Great could have ever dreamed. It only makes sense that Google reveals a little bit of its long term intention: Google internet stats.

This is child’s play at this stage, but more value-driven data analysis will be developed soon. The data is there. Mining is next. When you organize the worlds data, you are eventually able to organize the world according to your interests as well.

Passionate Creatives

John Hagel talks about Passionate Creatives:

Many of us have suppressed our passions in an attempt to fit in and integrate ourselves into a world that expected stability, predictability and safety. But they remain in the margins of our lives or in the daydreams that distract us from our daily tasks. Our challenge is to re-discover and cultivate them, moving them from the margins into the center of our lives.

The article is a bit irritating at times – manifestos have a way of feeling dated once the emotions that drove their writing wears off – but captures a reality that I think many people experience daily.

For a growing segment of society, geography no longer restricts opportunity.

When I was at Red River College, I found great value in blogging as a means to connect with others outside of the college. There were only a few of us “online learning” folks at the campus…and many colleges / universities around the world also had a few. As a result, in pockets of two’s and three’s, a network of passionately creative people emerged around learning and technology.

Frequent Releases Change Software Engineering

Design of software and design of learning share similar attributes.

I would go so far as to say that instructional design would benefit from considering how software design has changed over the last decade.

Consider this article as a quick overview – Frequent releases change software engineering:

The main reason to consider frequent deployments is not the direct impact of getting software out to customers more quickly, but the indirect impact internally.

Frequent releases force changes in how an organization develops software. These changes ultimately reduce risk, speed development, and improve the product.

The Cloud and Collaboration

Stephen Downes (in addition to hurling the odd grenade my way) consistently demonstrates the ability to provide innovative and critical commentary on concepts that many people accept on the surface.

His most recent presentation on The Cloud and Collaboration is a good example.

The talk (short – only 20 minutes) juxtaposes neural architecture and functioning with existing models of collaboration in society. He makes a compelling argument: if we use the “global technological / networked brain” as an example, then we need to base it on an accurate understanding of how the brain actually works.

If it is neural structure we desire, then we need to rethink privileged / star individual mentality in society and in learning. As he puts it, there is no head neuron in the brain. Toward the end of the talk he moves into a discussion of socialism (unrelated, but humorous: Ze Frank on Labor Day and Socialism) and attributes of networks.

Virtual Learning Reports of The Demise of The VLE / LMS Are Greatly Exaggerated

Niall Sclater summarizes with anti / pro-learning management system rhetoric (I am proud to say that I have contributed to the rhetoric: LMS: Wrong place to start elearning and Learning or Management System?).

According to Niall:

Whether VLEs are any good at facilitating effective learning as well depends on the imagination and skills of those creating the content hosted by them and the activities facilitated by them. Meanwhile, denial-of-service attacks permitting, social networking sites and free learning content go from strength to strength for those with the time and inclination to engage with them.

The challenge with personal learning environments is most notable in how they fail to align with existing learning structures in schools and universities (see my earlier commentary on the systematization of education).

LMS’ are used in corporations and schools because they support the existing structure. By supporting the existing structure, they also play a role in preserving it. A co-dependent addiction…

Wiki Growth

We have been running wikis in our department at U of Manitoba for three years. The project is very much grassroots.

We installed Mediawiki and began experimenting. As a result, numerous faculty members have requested additional wiki installs for their classes and research.

The question becomes: how do you evaluate the impact of wikis on learning? Or, how do you research the contributions that wikis make to information creation and sharing? Or, for that matter, what would educators be using if they didn’t have access to a hosted wiki and would it be better / worse?

Delft University, running what looks like a similar wiki project to ours, offers a variety of visualizations of wiki activity:

• Edits,
• co-authorship,
• article / page connectedness (to other pages).

Research of this type is interesting, but fails to get at the bigger questions of impact.

What have wikis added that would not have been possible in their absence? Activity and co-authorship are basic metrics, similar to saying “Jane and Bob talked to each other four times during a group project in class“. That is nice. Now what does it mean? What did that interaction contribute to learning?

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on September 11th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About George Siemens

George Siemens is the Associate Director in the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his vision on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the educational system. George Siemens is also the author of Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and the book “Knowing Knowledge” where he developes a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central metaphor for learning and focuses on knowledge as a way to making connections.

Photo credits:
Reorganizing For The Online Environment – Plevnjak
Google Internet Stats – Google
Passionate Creatives – Michele Piacquadio
The Cloud and Collaboration – Krisdog
Virtual Learning Reports Of The Demise Of The VLE / LMS Are Greatly Exaggerated – Ljupco Smokovski
Wiki Growth – No More Game Blogs
Wiki Growth – Michael Brown