The Virtual Revolution - Homo Interneticus

Clarence Yates shared this prodigious post with another community we are both members of, and has kindly agreed to share it with the Ethos community. He has watched all of the 5 documentaries that he links to, and pulls out the key points from them all.

Who is this "Homo Interneticus"? This being exists due to “The Virtual Revolution.”
In a recent documentary titled The Virtual Revolution presented by a Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how the World Wide Web is transforming every aspect of our lives. It also looks at the popularity of social networks and asks how they are changing our relationships. When I look at what we are doing in VPLD and the on line learning that we are all involved in then this documentary and the points it raises have relevance to us and especially the students we teach both now and in the future.

Image via Wikipedia

Virtual Revolution Video 1 of 5 Length 10:58,
Virtual Revolution Video 2 of 5 Length 9:37,
Virtual Revolution Video 3 of 5 Length 10:55,
Virtual Revolution Video 4 of 5 Length 10:67,
Virtual Revolution Video 5 of 5 Length 9:46

Summary: You may add adjust or correct the following

• Johannes Gutenburg Printing Press 1450 churning out books
• 500 years later on a leap- Information still distributed and shared however the big difference is that anyone can create information.
• 20years World Wide Web that created extraordinary access to information, yet to understand the impact it will have on our psychology. The effect and consequences on our relationships and on our brain
• Web effect on human beings then look at South Korea
  
  Image via Wikipedia

• South Korea the most wired nation and in this world most digitally enhanced country, 62% 3 to 5 year olds use net at 8hours per week that is twice that to the British. Internet addiction. Cases reported of 18 hours on line each day
• Offers a glimpse on our future
• Distorting students sense of reality
• Unease at students growing up in life on line
• Generation Web-Centered around computers
• Quotes from a family Using Chat-Face Book
• Communicate and look into other peoples lives
• Before web life was boring. What do you think they did before this-Read books
• To take away this will be like removing an arm
Image via Wikipedia
• 10,000 hours on line before reach adulthood
• Bebo, My Space and Face Book the largest
• If Face Book was a country it will be the 3^rd largest
• Key criticism of FB makes friendship meaningless and how true is this
• Have to understand why FB became so popular
• FB trying to achieve a Network Effect. Theodore Vail The Network Effect
• Comparison to the telephone-one by itself useless, however, add another then another and so on leads to more people to connect with then more people want to join.
• Self sustaining and self fulfilling
• Scale leads to scale
• Value of FB friends
• Is social networking changing how we have friends or not to be able to change our concept of friends
• Primate study on social bonding 50 to 60
• Dunbar bonds made can have Upper limit known as the Dunbar's Number 150. Seen all over human communities
• Has FB changed this limit of friendship
• However Nature is playing out as the average number is well below 150 and usually 5 to 6 in direct contact with each other
• So Face Book not changing our relationships Dunbar's Number and Face Book
• So something deeper is going on with relationships
• Relationships in the loop
• WW2 Anti aircraft study on overcoming the problem of missing their targets-Solution to this was the Loop
• FB innovated use of the Loop
  
• FB pioneered status update in real time
• A technical solution to social problems
• While web made information available people not aware it is there so Mark Zukerburg completed the Loop using News Feed
• Anything posted onto your site went automatically to others and vice versa. Culture of real time updating and being in the loop and not the number of friends
• Big shift in relationships
• Inspired imitation such as Twitter
• Initially feedback to this was mostly negative
• FB stuck to the loop
• Real time updating in the loop rather then number of friends
• Time on my own increasingly rare with online content both created and consumed
• Living in the loop slowly drowning
• Deeper change in how to use our brain in a different way
• Technology and the mind to work together
• Sherry Turkle
• relationship to technology Web feedback
• Web is like an exciting, innovative metropolis for our young people
• Extra ordinary vision in 1945 with an article published by Vannever Bush As We May Think where he identified Information Over Load
• He did not think our minds to be linear rather associative
• Linking information introduction of the web
• Hyper linking does it make us lazy
• Web Keeps our brain hopping and jumping
• Stops concentration
• Growing up expecting to be able to find information at a moments notice and what does it do to internalize information
• Question Are these just grumblings of an older generation?
• We used to be trained in Linear Thinking-Reading and Writing
• Even at University level get the reaction how much reading do we have to do and how long do we need to read this book?

• Skipping over the virtual sites, not staying at one site for long
• Linear Like hedgehogs like 1 idea, repeat and go back to the same source. Enjoy the peer evaluation environment
• Associative like foxes embrace all kinds of ideas pick things up bounce here and there
• Are young people becoming more fox like? The 12-18 year age group especially as they only know life with the web
• Evidence web changing our thinking
• Professor David Nicholas 40% people never visit the same web page again
• Hyper linked web of information converting us from thinking literally to associatively
• Confirm that Gen. Web are more fox like, remodeled by the web information over load associative thinking
  
• Society always looks back at the preceding age not the one we are li ving in.
• In the 1960s predicted real time chat Marshall McLuhan
• Measure new media by old media
• Compare to passively consumer type i.e. movies and sitcoms a waste of time as compared to say You Tube. Creative, Sharing rather then just a visual production Brings more people in
• Viral culture people much more engaged
• Direct impact on the world
• You Tube My Space Twitter FB
• Impact in Politics Gen Web engaged done it and done it differently
• Feedback Loops
• Associative Thinking
• For better or worse using web
• Being used by young people today
• Power of the web to connect and collaborate
• Positive impact is that collaboration is the key driver of human progress
• Back to South Korea
• Regularly tops World League Education Tables
• especially in Mathematics and Science
• Not only due to the Education system but connected to the web
• At an early age interact and work together
• Claim that the Gen Web will be more intelligent when compared to the older generation
• Recognize the importance of communication and helping each other solve problems.
• Collective intelligence

Related articles

• Have you got too many Facebook friends? (eventsnorthern.wordpress.com)
• Even With Social Networking, Do Our Brains Limit Our Number Of Friends? (psychologytoday.com)
• Validation of Dunbar's number in Twitter conversations (paul.kedrosky.com)

Formative 'measurement': The eLearning Capability Framework

Image by hazelowendmc via Flickr

Ross Alexander, who has had a wide range of roles in education over the years including teacher and deputy principal, has wide experience of ICT enhanced learning and teaching. On 12th July 2011 Ross facilitated a session online around the eLearning Capability Framework (ELPF) that he and the team of which he is a member, have been working.

Ross began the session by  giving an overview of the purpose of the ELPF, in particular to help gather evidence of practice in schools, as well as a road map that can provide reference points, and help identify PLD needs for a school. There was emphasis made that this is not a tool for evaluating a school's performance. He then moved on to discuss the fact that the ELPF is in particular for leaders, who may or may not, be the principal of a school.

The next stage was for Ross to move into a description of the ELPF, which has:

• Levels which indicate eLearning maturity (phases);
• Dimensions and strands with clear outcomes or goals; and
• Descriptor statements.

The framework seeks to recognise the multi-faceted nature of eLearning maturity, and there are several dimensions to the ELPF: Leadership and strategic direction; Professional learning; Infrastructure and resourcing; Learning and Teaching; and Beyond the classroom. The descriptor statements indicate where a school or an individual might set on a continuum of eLearning maturity the four phases of which are currently entitled emerging, engaging, enabling, and empowering. The diagram below (sourced from Ross's presentation) illustrates the movement across phases as a school gains in eLearning maturity - in other words there is a distinct shift from a focus on the technology itself, to a curriculum focus. One of the overall goals of the project is to develop a resource of examples of effective practice and evidence  that underpins  each of the phases in the framework, making this a practical, user-friendly resource - especially if funding comes forward to ensure that this is online and interactive.

It was really interesting to hear about the process (long and rigorous) that is underlying the ELPF. The review of existing frameworks has avoided the obvious reinvention of the wheel, and a wide range have been utlised to inform the design process, including the UNESCO - ICT Competency Standards for Teachers; and e-Potential (Victoria, Australia). Alongside the process of drawing on existing frameworks, a panel of experts and focus groups have been consulted, and will continue to have input into the ELPF going forward.


The timeframe for the ELPF going 'live' (after the completion of the consultation and feedback stage) and available for all schools is June 2012, although whether this will be online, as indicated above, remains to be seen. My feeling is it would seem a tad ironic to have an eLearning planning framework in a .pdf format that has to be printed off!!!

The session included some lively discussion around some of the underlying principles of the ELPF, as well as some of the wording and what that might refer to in practical terms. It was superb to have an opportunity to share ideas, observations, and concerns with a great community of educators, and also to hear some of the inspirational experiences they have encountered in learning experiences.

I would highly recommend accessing the recording if you are interested in any aspect of the ELPF by clicking this link: eLearning Capability Framework

Related articles

• Strategic management for eLearning (ictenhancedlearningandteaching.wordpress.com)
• An e-learning philosophy. Nigel Bailey. (Guest Blogger for July 2011) (ictelt.blogspot.com)
• Learning to Teach Online and Becoming an eTeacher (downes.ca)

Truly integrated learning???

Image via WikipediaWe have all heard the discussions around integrated, cross-curricular approaches and project based learning. So what does truly integrated learning look like? This video caught my attention because the school really does seem to have integrated the learning of quadratic functions in a cross-curricular approach. The big questions for me are, how can this approach be extended across an entire school? And how are we going to attempt to assess it? (Current standardised testing would seem to fall far from the mark).

Image via Wikipedia

The description of the video reads: "Integrating cross-curricular teaching of quadratic functions. At Henry Cort Community College it is not just the maths department that teaches quadratic functions. Indeed, teachers from the PE, design technology, science and IT departments all work together with their maths counterparts to teach the subject in a way that interests the students. Henry Cort, in Fareham, is a specialist sports college, so it seems natural to video basketball throws and use movement analysis software to plot the parabolic trajectories. In design technology the students build adjustable table tennis ball launchers and analyse the track of the balls. In the maths lesson, the students use dynamic geometry software to plot quadratic functions that match the flight of the ball, providing a feel for how the various coefficients affect the shape of the graph. Later the pupils go on to look at the science behind projectile movement". 

To watch the video please click HERE.

Related articles

• Curriculum Design Metablog (stclaird.wordpress.com)

Formative Roadmap: The eLearning Capability Framework

Image by hazelowendmc via Flickr

Ross Alexander, who has had a wide range of roles in education over the years including teacher and deputy principal, has wide experience of ICT enhanced learning and teaching. On 12th July 2011 Ross facilitated a session online around the eLearning Capability Framework (ELPF) that he and the team of which he is a member, have been working.



Ross began the session by giving an overview of the purpose of the ELPF, in particular to help gather evidence of practice in schools, as well as a road map that can provide reference points, and help identify PLD needs for a school. There was emphasis made that this is not a tool for evaluating a school's performance. He then moved on to discuss the fact that the ELPF is in particular for leaders, who may or may not, be the principal of a school.



The next stage was for Ross to move into a description of the ELPF, which has:

• Levels which indicate eLearning maturity (phases);
• Dimensions and strands with clear outcomes or goals; and
• Descriptor statements.

Image via Wikipedia

The framework seeks to recognise the multi-faceted nature of eLearning maturity, and there are several dimensions to the ELPF: Leadership and strategic direction; Professional learning; Infrastructure and resourcing; Learning and Teaching; and Beyond the classroom. The descriptor statements indicate where a school or an individual might set on a continuum of eLearning maturity the four phases of which are currently entitled emerging, engaging, enabling, and empowering. The diagram below (sourced from Ross's presentation) illustrates the movement across phases as a school gains in eLearning maturity - in other words there is a distinct shift from a focus on the technology itself, to a curriculum focus. One of the overall goals of the project is to develop a resource of examples of effective practice and evidence that underpins each of the phases in the framework, making this a practical, user-friendly resource - especially if funding comes forward to ensure that this is online and interactive.

It was really interesting to hear about the process (long and rigorous) that is underlying the ELPF. The review of existing frameworks has avoided the obvious reinvention of the wheel, and a wide range have been utlised to inform the design process, including the UNESCO - ICT Competency Standards for Teachers; and e-Potential (Victoria, Australia). Alongside the process of drawing on existing frameworks, a panel of experts and focus groups have been consulted, and will continue to have input into the ELPF going forward.

Image by simpologist via Flickr

The timeframe for the ELPF going 'live' (after the completion of the consultation and feedback stage) and available for all schools is June 2012, although whether this will be online, as indicated above, remains to be seen. My feeling is it would seem a tad ironic to have an eLearning planning framework in a .pdf format that has to be printed off!!!



The session included some lively discussion around some of the underlying principles of the ELPF, as well as some of the wording and what that might refer to in practical terms. It was superb to have an opportunity to share ideas, observations, and concerns with a great community of educators, and also to hear some of the inspirational experiences they have encountered in learning experiences.



I would highly recommend accessing the recording if you are interested in any aspect of the ELPF by clicking this link: eLearning Capability Framework.

Formative Roadmap: The eLearning Capability Framework - Ross Alexander

Related articles

• Strategic management for eLearning (ictenhancedlearningandteaching.wordpress.com)
• An e-learning philosophy. Nigel Bailey. (Guest Blogger for July 2011) (ictelt.blogspot.com)
• Learning to Teach Online and Becoming an eTeacher (downes.ca)

Looking for ideas for working with gifted and talented learners?

Image via WikipediaGifted and talented learners are sometimes seen as the students who already have a head start. However, the challenge is to work with a range of students who are on a continuum - to have sufficient differentiation to maintain motivation and extend learning. A tough ask! However, there are some really useful resources available.

The first set of resources is from the UK and comprise:

• Videos that illustrate ideas and approaches for primary
• Videos that illustrate ideas and approaches for secondary

For some super examples of projects that are underway you might like to visit the Edgecumbe College space (designed and set up by Anne Sturgess), and the Learn Now projects (designed and coordinated by Jo Gibson)

If you are based in NZ (or even if you're not), you may find the Ministry of Education, TKI resource useful, as there is information and resources available for parents / whanau, students, and teachers. You might also consider joining The New Zealand Association for Gifted Children.

If anyone has any other ideas resources, or great sites - or would like to share their experiences, please pop comments below :-)

Related articles

• Room at the Top: A New Direction for Gifted Education? (Part One) (giftedphoenix.wordpress.com)
• Gifted Education in the 21st Century (acfeinc.wordpress.com)
• The Composition of England's Gifted and Talented Population in Schools (giftedphoenix.wordpress.com)

Being Different May Be Cool - On The Autistic Spectrum

If you are working with learners who are on the Autistic spectrum, or who have other special needs, or learning disabilities like dyscalculia, you may find these two resources of interest.

The first is a blog site called Teacher Space (created by Sue King) where the focus is sharing experiences and resources that might be helpful for anyone working with students or colleagues with Autism. There is a huge range of multimedia, as well as links to resources for the classroom (including for interactive white boards), and tools (such as these iPad apps for children with special needs). You may need an hour or two to really do the site justice as it is amazingly rich.
The second resource is a 30 minute video entitled Being Different May Be Cool - On The Autistic Spectrum. The video looks at the challenge for teachers and pupils of
including children with autusm in the mainstream classroom. It presents an honest account of life with autism from the perspective of three  brothers, all of whom have the disorder. Their mother talks about how  teachers can support pupils with these difficulties and the boys explain how their autism affects them. There’s also an exercise, devised by  one of the boys, to help teachers imagine what the world is like for  people with autistic spectrum disorders. The description on the site reads:
"Inclusion can be challenging for teachers, and for the pupil school life can be a buzzing confusion of uncertainty. Meet brothers Luke, Joe and Ben Jackson. Their mother Jacqui is outspoken and articulate about how teachers can support pupils with autism, and the boys are extremely candid about how their condition affects them.

For Luke, there are many positives. He describes brother Joe as 'the most imaginative person you could ever meet' and Ben as 'the nicest and most honest kid'. Jacqui and the boys share their ideas about living with autism, as do the teachers who are working with Joe and Ben to ensure their inclusion in school life."

Click HERE to watch the video.

Related articles

• Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders (everydayhealth.com)
• 6 Common Myths About Autism (everydayhealth.com)

An e-learning philosophy. Nigel Bailey. (Guest Blogger for July 2011)

An e-learning philosophy.

e-learning

ICT in the classroom, for me, is now an integral part of what I do; teaching with it, learning with it and also using it for administrative purposes. But it was not always this way. In fact when I first started teaching I was a computer-phobe.

About 4 years ago I was invited to partake in training to deliver a Video Conference (VC) class to students across NZ. This venture is what really got me to thinking about how to use ICT to best effect in the education of students. The basic set up for our VC teaching is a once per week ‘face to face’ lesson on the VC and the rest of the learning is done via work on the WeLCom website. Online teaching and learning had been introduced to my life and I wanted to know more.

computers in classroom

The more I read, and the more technological opportunities I was made aware of,the more I wanted to start experimenting with what was available. One of the first really interesting articles I read was that by Prensky (2004). I really liked the concepts of ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’; He stated that “there is a new, emerging, different form of life out there, that the Digital Natives are creating for themselves. If you are a parent or an educator, the one thing you can be sure of is that you ignore it at your peril” (Prensky 2004). As both parent and educator (if they are indeed different species) I suddenly became aware that my own kids (and by proxy) the kids I teach in the classroom are learning in a very different way to the way I was taught and learnt at school.

chalkboard

I first began by looking at what we as a school were doing and in many cases we were following the ideas of Gilbert (2007) when she stated that ”ICT use in schools is often little more than ‘digital busywork’, preparing students for the world of the past, not the world of the future”. ICT has been strapped on to the old way of teaching and we are really just using word processing instead of writing as opposed to really using the resources available to prepare students for the world after school where information is found ‘just in time’ by Googling it or using another search engine. Research skills are more important in many cases than the actual knowledge base kids are forced to try and retain. Gilbert (2007) goes on to say that ”minds are not containers, filing cabinets or databases – places to store knowledge ‘just in case’, but rather are resources that can be connected to other resources for the purpose of generating new knowledge”. If this is truly the case then as educators (and I consider myself to be one not only as a teacher but also as a parent) we must re-assess the way we teach/educate.

concerned

Prensky (2009) stated that “digital technology can be used to make us not just smarter but truly wiser. Digital wisdom is a twofold concept, referring to both wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity and to wisdom in the prudent use of technology to enhance our capabilities”. If I can incorporate this ideology into my teaching I think I will be better serving my students. There is still a place for learning certain material, but do we still need to insist that students learn all the material we used to before the advent of high speed computer access and internet connections? In the past when information was stored in books in libraries and access was limited there certainly was a place for learning huge amounts of information but those days are gone. The only element of this that concerns me is the way we assess our students in the current education system. We still have tests and examinations to assess what kids have learnt, schools are still measured on the test results as are teachers. Until this situation is rectified then the new digital age of teaching is going to be hamstrung. This situation could be summarized by the comments of Pedretti et al (1998) “as with any new educational innovation, the impact of the changes that accompany the introduction of technology on all the stakeholders needs to be considered ... the voice of those affected most must be heard”. This is further reinforced by Rheingold (2004) when he stated that “people, especially young people, continue to learn – and to adopt new media – but institutions, and those who run them, are much slower to change their ways. All of this paints the picture of an educational system that is out of touch with the way its students learn”. Teachers and students are those affected and politicians should listen if we are to prepare students for their futures.

As a teacher I had previously been forced to use textbooks as the main means of providing information for students to learn from. This was all very well at the time but as we have progressed I now find that I am using more and more resources from the internet, as are the students. Until I started this course I was simply saving good sites to my ‘favourites’ with a very rudimentary filing system. The introduction to Delicious certainly made me think much harder about effective filing of resources. Wikis are also things that I have yet to really get to grips with, however I have tried to use forums in my teaching to elicit discussions on my VC course.

I think I have come a long way in two years of really working with the technologies now available and am seen as one of the leaders in the field of online learning at our school. I still have a huge way to go and as technologies change at an ever increasing pace I need to continue working hard to remain a digital citizen and not become simply an illiterate immigrant. I now believe that the use of technology in teaching is essential to educate the students in the ways of information gathering and presenting and also for me as a teacher to enable me to be better equipped to deliver the curriculum. Today's students like to be entertained and stimulated by instant gratification. Technology allows this in the classroom. I have, more recently, been involved with work with the MoE regarding e-learning, and the enthusiasm among the other members of the group is incredible – we just need to spread the word and get everyone on board. I have also started seriously teaching using a blended approach and this is having a great reception with the students.

I like the comments from Kadjer (2007) and probably should have them printed in my classroom/Office to remind me (and others) where we are at. “School is about fitting things into tight little boxes that you measure with a test. We need to think about what happens when we really invent – and offer students and ourselves, opportunities to do new things in new ways, taking advantage of the unique capacities of the multimodal tools now at our fingertips”. If I think along these lines then I am sure that I will continue to develop along with the students – they will be teaching me as I teach them; they may teach me technologies and I will teach them concepts and techniques.

Generation Y

References
Book
Prensky M (2004) The emerging Online Life of the Digital Native: What they do differently because of technology, and how they do it. The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native
Kadjer S (2007) Unleashing Potential with emerging technologies. In K Beers et al (Eds) Adolescent Literacy:Turning Promise into Practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Rheingold (Smart Mobs. 2004) in Richardson W (?) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, California
Journal
Gilbert J (2007) Knowledge, the disciplines, and Learning in the Digital Age. Educational Research Policy Practice 6 115-122
Prensky M (2009) H. Sapiens Digital; From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom. Innovate 5(3)
Pedretti E, Mayer-Smith J, Woodrow J (1998) Technology, Text and Talk: Students perspectives on Teaching and Learning in a Technology-enhanced Secondary School Classroom. Science Education, 82(5) 569-589




Nigel Bailey
Nigel Bailey is a teacher of Geography at Chanel College in the Wairarapa. He has been delivering face to face classes for many years and over the last 4 years has also been delivering a video conference class to students throughout NZ. More recently he has ‘seen the light’ and has begun delivering a blended course to his students.

Nigel has been involved with the MoE VPLD programme and has been described as ‘innovative’ by Canadian Educational researcher Michael Barbour.