In this weekly Media Literacy Digest, open education endorse George Siemens, explores and reports about emergent media, learning, education and on the future impact that reborn technologies may have on society.
Photo credit: rgbspace
Inside this Media Literacy Digest:
- Untangling The Web – Why do two people share data with each other? What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a neophyte’s level of understanding a above a answerable to?
- Microsoft and Google – Proper For most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or down repay non-existent. Microsoft dominated the private computer experience. That has changed.
- Distinctiveness, Memory, Death and The Internet – Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) strut on how identity and reminiscence are preserved online.
- Taming Digital Distractions – It is always been easy to find distractions (going benefit of coffee with a co-worker, chats around the water cooler), but plane 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 – ordered ones I disagree with – are usually quite well thought-out. Then, they stanchion this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized.
- Thoughts On Brand-New Learning – Is connective learning normally 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 principally interesting. What used to be an at leisure the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
- Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – If you size up a juggler by how many times the balls hit the confound and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a without delay, the juggler will always lose.
- Info Rich… and Attention Poor – What changes in how we access facts? How we process it? What types of tools do we trouble to cope?
- Liberating Data From Google – The DataLiberation initiative before Google is a mammoth step in the propriety direction.
Here all the details:
eLearning Resources and Message
learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends
next to George Siemens
Untangling The Web
Networks serve as a useful model to detail electricity grids, business vigour, the internet, spread of diseases, and balance out obesity.
Caution is warranted, however, in exceeding emphasizing networks.
In themselves, networks reveal a design and mode of organizing. They can serve as both a foundation on which to construct 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 design itself is the why and how of connection forming.
- Why do two people share gen with each other?
- What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a tyro’s level of understanding a subdue?
Mindhacks links to a variety of reports addressing network structures underlying delight and health.
Microsoft and Google
Because Of most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or retaliate non-existent.
Microsoft dominated the close computer experience. That has changed.
Between Apple, Google, and open source software, innovation abounds.
- Unheard Of devices (iPhone),
- views of software (cloud computing) and
- applications (Google Docs)
have generated a restored spirit of progress around bumf and communication technologies.
Microsoft recognizes the threat and is responding nigh developing an online portrayal of its Office suite. Techcrunch has a (mostly) positive overview of the service, expected instead of public release next year.
Oneness, Memory, Death and The Internet
Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) tack on how identity and remembrance are preserved online. He compares the passing of a comrade (last year) and his mate (20 years ago) and how they are remembered today.
The oneness people create online today is, in a sense, a donation to their children and future generations. I conscious my grandparents through a few unprincipled and white pictures. As Cormier notes, his children / grandchildren will be versed him through rich media. Memories preserved in thoroughly colour.
Too often, when discussing particularity, the focus rests on “do not put this online, you will self-reproach it in the future when you are [event for office, interviewing to go to a new job, etc.]“. The flip side of this argument is aptly expressed in Dave’s announce.
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 championing coffee with a buddy, chats around the water cooler), but sedate then, a bit of effort was required. I really 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 wet with their blog postings. Most posts – tranquil ones I disagree with – are usually rather well though-tout.
Then, they assignment this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized. The locate is poorly presented and in great measure 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 quality exploring. The concept that it is generational is foolhardy.
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 scrutiny forums.
- Discussion forum posts are generally shorter and the context is often established during the original post.
- Blogs also seem to be a better environment through despite a deeper level of analysis. I am not effective why – perhaps it is payable to the sense of bosom space or identity.
Thoughts on fashionable learning:
“… Humans have an innate motivation to participate in shared knowlege and that it is this motivation that makes review for “real” audiences more rewarding for the treatment of students than writing as regards an individual “teacher”… is connective learning logically 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 stay 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 dope in context – i.e. location… and microblogging produces a constant flow of message. The implications of immediacy is surprisingly interesting.
What used to be an far-off the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
Under Consideration Obama’s experience this week. After celebrities and leaders, the concept of a “safe zone” or an “distant period” simply do not survive.
I wonder how many higher education faculty are blissfully ignorant that their statements / wig habits / clothing choice are the topic of lively argument and commentary on Facebook / Twitter / Friendfeed?
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point
Multitasking has gotten non-standard publicity recently.
I personally do not think I multitask – I major effort switch. Some people can stint switch rapidly. Others prefer to focus on one principles at a time. However, this article – why studies about multitasking Are missing the point – takes a different stance.
The writer states:
“If you arbiter a juggler by how many times the balls hit the bottom and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a frequently, 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 category of activities we engage in.
When I am mixed up with in “flow” activities, I leap from my RSS reader, to my blog, to delicious, to a Skype palaver, to Tweetdeck, to an online newsflash site, etc.
But… when I penury to create something (a speech, design a course, create a podcast), I exigency a different approach. If I continue to utilize a flow approach, I will likely not apply the depth of reflective needed to complete the project nicely.
Context is king. Approaches to learning and interacting are rooted in differing contexts.
Dope Rich… and Attention Poor
Report rich, and attention poor addresses a frustration many of us feel: There is too much! it is all going too fast!
I reconcile with the author that regard is the attribute in greatest on presentation today. But that misses an important point: Overflow is not simply more, it is also different. Which means (and the founder 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 communication?
- How we process it?
- What types of tools do we stress 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 pedagogical 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 r“le should the educator play?
- And what responsibility should students play?
Liberating Data From Google
I am frequently negative on Google (on the whole because in a some year’s time, Google will likely have a similar lock-in in many of its services / markets to what Microsoft had at its culminate). However, the DataLiberation initiative via Google is a gargantuan step in the truth direction:
At the pluck of this lies our forceful commitment to an open web run on open standards.
We think open is better than closed – not because closed is inherently ill, but because when it is easy repayment for users to leave your product, there is a sense of stress to improve and innovate in order to retain your users.
When your users are locked in, there is a enthusiastic temptation to be complacent and focus less on making your product better.
From The Beginning written by George Siemens because elearnspace and first published on September 18th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and Info.
About George Siemens
George Siemens is the Associate Governor in the Learning Technologies Focal Point at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his idea on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the pedagogical system. George Siemens is also the originator of Connectivism: A Learning Theory through despite the Digital Age and the laws “Knowing Knowledge” where he developes a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central imagery for learning and focuses on education as a way to making connections.
Photo credits:
Untangling The Web – Mostafa Fawzy
Microsoft and Google – Blogs Zdnet
Personality, Memory, Death and The Internet – Vasyl Yakobchuk
Taming Digital Distractions – Pitchengine
The Future of Work – Linda Bucklin
Thoughts On Supplemental Learning – Jacek Chabraszewski
Immediacy – Chris Lamphear
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – Arpad Nagy-Bagoly
Poop Rich… and Attention Poor – Yegor Korzh
Liberating Data From Google – Google Public Action Blogspot