Designing for Open/Networked Learning

Dr. Alec CourosTHETA 2013Hobart, AustraliaApril 9, 2013

Designing for Open/Networked Learning

#theta13

me

ABANDONED

The Blur

Personal Openness

Open Scholarship

Open Teaching

why open?

“Web 2.0 tools exist that might allow academics to reflect and reimagine what they do as scholars. Such tools might

positively affect -- even transform - research, teaching, and service responsibilities - only if scholars choose to

build serious academic lives online, presenting semi-public selves and becoming invested in and connected to the work of their peers and students.” (Greenhow,

Robelia, & Hughes, 2009)

changes

current context - new affordancestools, content, networks, relationships

tools

Early Days of PCs in Schools Today’s Social/Mobile Reality

Mobile

Convergence

atoms <---> bitsscarcity <---> abundanceconsuming <---> creating

standardization <---> personalizationindividuals <---> networks

significant shifts in media

Objectivism

Group growth

+ (Schwier)(Leinonen)

Individual growth

CognitivismConstructivism

Social Learning

shifts in edtech

content

#HarlemShake

George Siemens

• “Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience. Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning.”

•

Informal Learning

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

What’s your background in video

editing?

I just do it for fun. I’m self-taught.

How long did it take to film and edit?

I started in November, but then I had to start from

scratch a couple months afterwards, so I spent

months and months on it.

slide by @gcouros

@drtonywagner

“Today knowledge is free. It’s like air, it’s like water...

There’s no competitive advantage in knowing

more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is

what you can do with what you know.” (2012)

networks

NOT WHAT’S

IMPORTANT

Six Degrees of Separation“the idea that everyone is on average six steps away, by way of introduction, from

another person in the world.”

Strength of Weak Ties“There is strength in weak ties. Our

acquaintances, not our friends, are potentially our greatest source of new ideas and

information.” (paraphrased from Gladwell, 2010)

Where Good Ideas Come From“The trick to having good ideas is not to sit

around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the

table.” (Steven Johnson, 2010)

networks provide ...1. affordances: enable communication, collaboration

& cooperation in ways that were once impossible with people who were once unreachable.

2. inspiration: connect us to new ideas & expand our thinking & potential for innovation.

* ‘us’ meaning those who have access.

relationships

130,729 people like this130,729 people like this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alainbachellier/2572801898/in/photostream/

"To immortalize this moment ... the girl seems to forget the original pleasure."

networked learning

MYOB Learning

21st Century Learning Networks

21st Century Learning Networks

“To answer your question, I did use Youtube to learn how to dance. I

consider it my ‘main’ teacher.”

“10 years ago, street dance was very exclusive, especially rare dances like popping

(the one I teach and do). You either had to learn it from a friend that knew it or get VHS

tapes which were hard to get. Now with Youtube, anyone, anywhere in the world can

learn previously ‘exclusive’ dance styles.”

How are you making your learning visible?

How are you contributing to the learning of others?

cMOOCs

#eci831 (open-boundary)

course trailer

network mentors

@jonmott

student-controlled spaces

power of the hashtag

What We Learned• Open teaching can be low-cost, high impact.

• ‘Courses’ as shared, global, learning events.

• Openness as a way of connecting students to a greater, authentic learning community.

• Pedagogical serendipity in open spaces vs. walled gardens.

• Importance of student-controlled learning spaces.

• Connectivist pedagogy first focus on connecting & interactions; content important, but secondary.

• Development of sustainable, long-term, learning connections.

#etmooc

origins

~2000 participants from ~70 countries

spaces

/hub

/tweets

random artefacts

introductions

digital stories

workflows

summaries

visualizations

vulnerability + support

collaboration

#lipdub

concluding thoughts

“Some of the comments on Youtube make you weep for the future of humanity, just for the spelling alone, never mind the obscenity and naked hatred.”

(Lev Grossman)@leverus

humanize

(Joichi Ito)

Private Public

Closed Open

http://couros.cacouros@gmail.com

@courosa

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born

in another time.” ~Tagore