In this weekly Media Literacy Digest, open education apologist George Siemens, explores and reports about emergent media, learning, education and on the future impact that unknown technologies may have on society.
Photo credit: rgbspace
Inside this Media Literacy Digest:
- Untangling The Web – Why do two people share knowledge with each other? What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a initiate’s level of understanding a impose on?
- Microsoft and Google – For The Sake Of most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or equanimous non-existent. Microsoft dominated the unfriendly computer experience. That has changed.
- Sameness, Memory, Death and The Internet – Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) place on how identity and tribute are preserved online.
- Taming Digital Distractions – It is always been easy to find distractions (going as a replacement for coffee with a team-mate, chats around the water cooler), but flush with then, a bit of effort was required. I in point of fact had to leave my office.
- The Future of Work – Britannica is getting gushy with their blog postings. Most posts – retaliate ones I disagree with – are usually actually well thought-out. Then, they promulgate this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized.
- Thoughts On Supplemental Learning – Is connective learning straightforwardly 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 expressly interesting. What used to be an distant the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
- Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – If you connoisseur a juggler by how many times the balls hit the base and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a circumstance, the juggler will always lose.
- Low-Down Rich… and Attention Poor – What changes in how we access knowledge? How we process it? What types of tools do we want to cope?
- Liberating Data From Google – The DataLiberation initiative nearby Google is a gargantuan step in the just direction.
Here all the details:
eLearning Resources and Gossip
learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends
at hand George Siemens
Untangling The Web
Networks serve as a useful model to represent electricity grids, business venture, the internet, spread of diseases, and the same obesity.
Caution is warranted, however, in settled emphasizing networks.
In themselves, networks reveal a form and mode of organizing. They can serve as both a foundation on which to bod societal structures (such as education) and as a gateway to action.
Network analysis reveals the flow of intelligence in an organization.
As important as the structure itself is the why and how of connection forming.
- Why do two people share communication with each other?
- What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a abecedarian’s level of understanding a cause?
Mindhacks links to diverse reports addressing network structures underlying cheeriness and health.
Microsoft and Google
Repayment For most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or equable non-existent.
Microsoft dominated the special computer experience. That has changed.
Between Apple, Google, and open source software, innovation abounds.
- Unusual devices (iPhone),
- views of software (cloud computing) and
- applications (Google Docs)
have generated a budding spirit of progress around poop and communication technologies.
Microsoft recognizes the threat and is responding on developing an online view of its Office suite. Techcrunch has a (mostly) positive overview of the service, expected benefit of public release next year.
Oneness, Memory, Death and The Internet
Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) newel on how identity and recall are preserved online. He compares the passing of a mate (last year) and his kinsman (20 years ago) and how they are remembered today.
The personality people create online today is, in a sense, a bent to their children and future generations. I certain my grandparents through a not many black and white pictures. As Cormier notes, his children / grandchildren will recollect him through rich media. Memories preserved in occupied colour.
Too often, when discussing sameness, the focus rests on “do not situation this online, you will dolour refusal it in the future when you are [continual for office, interviewing on a new job, etc.]“. The flip side of this argument is aptly expressed in Dave’s situate.
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
at my finger tips.
It is always been easy to find distractions (going an eye to coffee with a mate, chats around the water cooler), but set then, a bit of effort was required. I absolutely 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 mawkish with their blog postings. Most posts – on a par ones I disagree with – are usually veritably well though-tout.
Then, they publish this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized. The tack is poorly presented and pretty much 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 merit exploring. The concept that it is generational is laughable.
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 analysis forums.
- Discussion forum posts are generally shorter and the context is often established alongside the original post.
- Blogs also put in an appearance to be a better environment as a service to a deeper level of analysis. I am not persuaded why – perhaps it is sufficient to the sense of derogatory space or identity.
“… Humans have an innate motivation to participate in shared knowlege and that it is this motivation that makes penmanship for “real” audiences more rewarding seeking students than writing benefit of an individual “teacher”… is connective learning clearly 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 accede to writing your blog of you knew no person was reading it?“
Immediacy
Location and immediacy are two big trends developing in part to mobile devices – constant connectivity enables us to receive knowledge in context – i.e. location… and microblogging produces a constant flow of advice. The implications of immediacy is exceptionally interesting.
What used to be an sour the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
Look Upon Obama’s experience this week. Throughout celebrities and leaders, the concept of a “safe zone” or an “incorrect period” simply do not be.
I wonder how many higher education faculty are blissfully unmindful that their statements / reprimand habits / clothing choice are the topic of lively dialogue and commentary on Facebook / Twitter / Friendfeed?
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point
Multitasking has gotten irritable publicity recently.
I personally do not think I multitask – I rebuke switch. Some people can piece of work switch rapidly. Others prefer to focus on one piece at a time. However, this article – why studies about multitasking Are missing the point – takes a different stance.
The initiator states:
“If you critic a juggler by how many times the balls hit the minimum and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a regulate, 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 group of activities we engage in.
When I am interested in “flow” activities, I escalate accept from my RSS reader, to my blog, to delicious, to a Skype chew the fat, to Tweetdeck, to an online communiqu‚ site, etc.
But… when I hanker after to create something (a journal, design a course, create a podcast), I extremity a different approach. If I continue to utilize a flow approach, I will likely not apply the depth of judgement needed to complete the project personally.
Context is king. Approaches to learning and interacting are rooted in differing contexts.
Poop Rich… and Attention Poor
Dope rich, and attention poor addresses a frustration many of us feel: There is too much! it is all going too fast!
I coincide with the author that prominence is the attribute in greatest require today. But that misses an important point: Plenitude is not simply more, it is also different. Which means (and the framer addresses this slightly at the end of the article) we difficulty to think about what changes in this world of “much more“.
- What changes in how we access communication?
- How we process it?
- What types of tools do we call 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 eye-opening 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 lines should the educator play?
- And what r“le should students play?
Liberating Data From Google
I am frequently negative on Google (in great measure because in a handful year’s time, Google will likely have a similar lock-in in many of its services / markets to what Microsoft had at its ridge). However, the DataLiberation initiative past Google is a titanic step in the good direction:
At the marrow of this lies our unmistakeable commitment to an open web run on open standards.
We think open is better than closed – not because closed is inherently painful, but because when it is easy against users to leave your product, there is a sense of stress to improve and innovate in order to attend to your users.
When your users are locked in, there is a staunch temptation to be complacent and focus less on making your product better.
From The Word Go written by George Siemens for the duration of elearnspace and first published on September 18th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and Message.
About George Siemens
George Siemens is the Associate Administrator in the Learning Technologies Middle at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his foresight on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the enlightening system. George Siemens is also the founder of Connectivism: A Learning Theory seeking the Digital Age and the volume “Knowing Knowledge” where he developes a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central analogy for learning and focuses on experience as a way to making connections.
Photo credits:
Untangling The Web – Mostafa Fawzy
Microsoft and Google – Blogs Zdnet
Distinctiveness, Memory, Death and The Internet – Vasyl Yakobchuk
Taming Digital Distractions – Pitchengine
The Future of Work – Linda Bucklin
Thoughts On Immature Learning – Jacek Chabraszewski
Immediacy – Chris Lamphear
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – Arpad Nagy-Bagoly
Knowledge Rich… and Attention Poor – Yegor Korzh
Liberating Data From Google – Google Public Ways Blogspot