Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Diego Leal - September 12, Pereira - Notes

Diego Leal -  Creating online learning networks

Think of networks
    = nides + connections + signals
    - related to what I said yesterday

How to make possible cooperation in online learning environments?
    - ArTiC - learning in networks
        - is a MOOC
    - sometimes the emphasis in a MOOC is the 'massive' - but here the emphasis is in the 'open'
        - it is to be free, to support eg. copying
        - also, 'open' is to find different perspectives, not just what the teacher proposes

Model of early MOOCs and open learning
    - the aspects of the cMOOCs proposed have been tried in our local environment
    - esp. to create a connection between the people
    - and what about beyond the end of the course, to create the network that survives after the end of the course?
    - the intent was to create a local MOOC

How do we get the question of what to learn, where does this come from ('como surge')
    - started with a campaign of reflection, 'what I'm doing wrong' in this context
    - common interests: open educational practices, connectvism, common learning
    - common concerns: few local examples, limited systemitization, limited research
        - we can know a lot about connectiivism, but to apply that in the local context is limited
Practice as an elemental concept
    - created blended learning combining local groups that advance with the logic of an open workshop online
    - the idea to see emerge a network of individuals (list of names, people around the world, creating this network)
    - timeline: explorArTiC / TRAL
    - Free Participation, voluntary leadership, sharing, generosity - sharing what we are doing

What is it About?
    - relationships of human networks in societies
    - tech provides a different way of sharing, makes possible bigger connectionjs (across communities)
    - TRAL - Tejiendo Redes appre. en Linea - to create large intercommunitty network
        - when TRAL disappeared the connections were still there

How does it Work?
    - 6 week experience, in 3 cycles
        - PLE
        - my professional network
        - intervention proposal
    - technology to make the network possible - it has to reflect the ideas you want to develop
        - each participant has a personal blog - including different multimedia
        - they register a personal servce, connected in WorkPress
        - we use WordPress to avoid limitations, to have a big amount of data
        - an email feed (MailChimp) - 'un unico feed' - so you don't have to go to the platform
            - also used Twitter
        - they used several multimedia tools to keep in touch and share - Twitter, Google+
    - the participants started to create their own spaces to publish
        - the independence of the participants made possible projects, eg, a websit of just the images posted by the network
        - in the network there are key people called facilitators
            - those facilitats are essential for those people just beginning to develop their autonomous skills
            - the role of those people is very important
    - 644 people particpated in TRAL in week 0 - mnostly Spanish Latin America
            - they were expecting 100
            - they didn't have institutional support / they created their own publicity (word of mouth)
            - 314 registered blogs
            - 1881 blog posts - 6 posts per blog
            - word cloud focuses on learning, network
            - participants were mostly high school and college teachers
    - one of the first steps was for theem to create a drawing descibing theor personal learning environment
        - at the beginning, the leaders had to model the task (as Stephen said yesterday)
        - the second stage was to increase the PLE applying technology, how to improve it
        - there were some face-to-face sessions
            - important - the people at that meeting were able to touch what they were creating,
                - seeing the connections using rope
    - there were online presentations, with spaces for people to make comment
        - he learned about his own learning, how he was learning - it was a reflective process
            - comment: "I'm here writing for others without fear of people judging me"
            - comment: "In TRAL there are many open doors and I decide where to go"

    - the second cycle : creating personal learning networks
        - these were emphasizingprofessional envoironments
        - (photo from in-person workshop in Buenos Aires)
        - it was creative chaos, because in professional network we created a cave
            - unlike traditional learning where people don't question
              in the TRAL network there is critical thinking, so we can solve problems together
        - Comment: "I decided to thinking differently, to take a sceptical attitude"

    - the third cycle - mapping the network
        - the idea if for teachers to be surprised when people start thinking critically
    - 9 facilitators / 13 leaders in 4 countries
        - it's about the diretcional benefits in which participants enrich their own learning networks and can staart creating new materials

Now: think of an idea you have not considered before (you have one minute)
    - note: in the minute, there were people who talked to each other
        - but this was good, we added a new node to the network

Why is this important?
    - first, it's an emergent process - after being personaal, it can involve institutions
    - it's a continuous process
    - (diagram) learning growing as the course proceeds, drops to 0 after
        (diagram) sawtooth, over multiple courses
        - but by contract, with networks, it's a comntinuous process, because the network can survive over time
            - common projects / interests can survive from one course to the next
    - centralized, decentralized and mesh networks
        - the idea is to have distributed (mesh) networks
            - because it's easier for a person who is in Argentina to share with a person in Mexico
    - technology matters
        - when all the information remains in your personal blog, the idea is what yiou are going to do with this content
        - difference between the context related to the meaning of contents
    - To question limits
And now...
    - all of this process leaves a digital mark
    - there is the question of surveillance
        - "sell your data to save the economy and the future"
        - when sharing information, those who have the big databases benefit the most, leaving the rest behind
        - privacy is becoming increasingly important
    - priv3 Firefox extension / TOR project
    - reclaim the web / indieweb
        - your content is yours

Transsition from centralized educational institutions to a leaarning ecosystem in networks
    - more responsible rwllation with technpology
    - 'Habits of Mind' (Costa?)
    - it's a time to re-imagine, re-design, re-build

Diego Leal @qadmon

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