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 restored technologies may have on society.
Photo credit: rgbspace
Inside this Media Literacy Digest:
- Untangling The Web – Why do two people share poop with each other? What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a trainee’s level of understanding a liegeman?
- Microsoft and Google – Benefit Of most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or level non-existent. Microsoft dominated the exclusive computer experience. That has changed.
- Accord, Memory, Death and The Internet – Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) role on how identity and recollection are preserved online.
- Taming Digital Distractions – It is always been easy to find distractions (going recompense coffee with a co-worker, chats around the water cooler), but unruffled then, a bit of effort was required. I truly had to leave my office.
- The Future of Work – Britannica is getting untidy with their blog postings. Most posts – despite ones I disagree with – are usually utterly well thought-out. Then, they tack this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized.
- Thoughts On Different Learning – Is connective learning instinctively 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 markedly interesting. What used to be an off work the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
- Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – If you moderator a juggler by how many times the balls hit the Nautical and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a delay, the juggler will always lose.
- Poop Rich… and Attention Poor – What changes in how we access knowledge? How we process it? What types of tools do we essential to cope?
- Liberating Data From Google – The DataLiberation initiative past Google is a monumental step in the unhesitatingly direction.
Here all the details:
eLearning Resources and Newsflash
learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends
at hand George Siemens
Untangling The Web
Networks serve as a useful model to mark out electricity grids, business operation, the internet, spread of diseases, and despite obesity.
Caution is warranted, however, in throughout emphasizing networks.
In themselves, networks reveal a structure and fad of organizing. They can serve as both a foundation on which to increase societal structures (such as education) and as a gateway to action.
Network analysis reveals the flow of tidings in an organization.
As important as the house itself is the why and how of connection forming.
- Why do two people share message with each other?
- What impact does a connection (social or conceptual) have on a abecedarian’s level of understanding a under the control of b dependent on?
Mindhacks links to certain reports addressing network structures underlying elation and health.
Microsoft and Google
Over The Extent Of most of the late 80’s and into early 2000, innovation on the desktop seemed slow or sober non-existent.
Microsoft dominated the close computer experience. That has changed.
Between Apple, Google, and open source software, innovation abounds.
- Advanced devices (iPhone),
- views of software (cloud computing) and
- applications (Google Docs)
have generated a fashionable spirit of progress around low-down and communication technologies.
Microsoft recognizes the threat and is responding sooner than developing an online rendition of its Office suite. Techcrunch has a (mostly) positive overview of the service, expected conducive to public release next year.
Uniqueness, Memory, Death and The Internet
Dave Cormier offers an insightful (and touching) publish on how identity and homage are preserved online. He compares the passing of a mate (last year) and his companion (20 years ago) and how they are remembered today.
The accord people create online today is, in a sense, a gratuity to their children and future generations. I recognize my grandparents through a not many black and white pictures. As Cormier notes, his children / grandchildren will be acquainted with him through rich media. Memories preserved in fully colour.
Too often, when discussing congruence, the focus rests on “do not strut this online, you will woe it in the future when you are [tournament for office, interviewing for the sake of a new job, etc.]“. The flip side of this argument is aptly expressed in Dave’s leg.
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 to save coffee with a ally, chats around the water cooler), but all the same then, a bit of effort was required. I in actuality 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 dirty with their blog postings. Most posts – to ones I disagree with – are usually completely well though-tout.
Then, they post this: The Future World of Work: Flexible and Decentralized. The promulgate is poorly presented and in great part 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 good exploring. The concept that it is generational is simpleton.
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 deliberation forums.
- Discussion forum posts are generally shorter and the context is often established through the original post.
- Blogs also become visible to be a better environment on account of a deeper level of analysis. I am not secure why – perhaps it is outstanding to the sense of offensive space or identity.
Thoughts on up to date learning:
“… Humans have an innate motivation to participate in shared knowlege and that it is this motivation that makes calligraphy for “real” audiences more rewarding in the course of students than writing owing an individual “teacher”… is connective learning honestly 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 care for writing your blog of you knew zero was reading it?“
Immediacy
Location and immediacy are two big trends developing in part to mobile devices – constant connectivity enables us to receive dirt in context – i.e. location… and microblogging produces a constant flow of low-down. The implications of immediacy is markedly interesting.
What used to be an crazy the record comment can now be broadcast immediately.
Regard Obama’s experience this week. For The Benefit Of celebrities and leaders, the concept of a “safe zone” or an “bad period” simply do not occur.
I wonder how many higher education faculty are blissfully unenlightened that their statements / treatise habits / clothing choice are the topic of lively chat and commentary on Facebook / Twitter / Friendfeed?
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point
Multitasking has gotten worthless publicity recently.
I personally do not think I multitask – I duty switch. Some people can charge switch rapidly. Others prefer to focus on one detail at a time. However, this article – why studies about multitasking Are missing the point – takes a different stance.
The prime mover states:
“If you deem a juggler by how many times the balls hit the Nautical and contrast that with someone throwing and catching one ball at a beat, 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 standard of activities we engage in.
When I am snarled in “flow” activities, I hurdle from my RSS reader, to my blog, to delicious, to a Skype gab, to Tweetdeck, to an online advice site, etc.
But… when I lust after to create something (a sheet a documents, design a course, create a podcast), I stress a different approach. If I continue to utilize a flow approach, I will likely not apply the depth of reasonable needed to complete the project wholly.
Context is king. Approaches to learning and interacting are rooted in differing contexts.
Bumf Rich… and Attention Poor
Tidings rich, and attention poor addresses a frustration many of us feel: There is too much! it is all going too fast!
I admit with the author that distinction is the attribute in greatest consumer today. But that misses an important point: Oversupply is not simply more, it is also different. Which means (and the architect addresses this slightly at the end of the article) we constraint to think about what changes in this world of “much more“.
- What changes in how we access intelligence?
- How we process it?
- What types of tools do we constraint 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 educative 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 character should students play?
Liberating Data From Google
I am frequently negative on Google (mainly because in a infrequent year’s time, Google will likely have a similar lock-in in many of its services / markets to what Microsoft had at its reach a climax). However, the DataLiberation initiative next to Google is a gargantuan step in the equity direction:
At the crux of this lies our burly commitment to an open web run on open standards.
We think open is better than closed – not because closed is inherently grouchy, but because when it is easy repayment for users to leave your product, there is a sense of exigency to improve and innovate in order to look after your users.
When your users are locked in, there is a concentrated temptation to be complacent and focus less on making your product better.
From The Word Go written by George Siemens in return elearnspace and first published on September 18th, 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and Hot Item.
About George Siemens
George Siemens is the Associate Chief in the Learning Technologies Nave at the University of Manitoba. George blogs at www.elearnspace.org where he shares his shade on the educational landscape and the impact that media technologies have on the academic system. George Siemens is also the writer of Connectivism: A Learning Theory as a replacement for the Digital Age and the hard-cover “Knowing Knowledge” where he developes a learning theory called connectivism which uses a network as the central figure of speech for learning and focuses on information as a way to making connections.
Photo credits:
Untangling The Web – Mostafa Fawzy
Microsoft and Google – Blogs Zdnet
Indistinguishability, Memory, Death and The Internet – Vasyl Yakobchuk
Taming Digital Distractions – Pitchengine
The Future of Work – Linda Bucklin
Thoughts On Advanced Learning – Jacek Chabraszewski
Immediacy – Chris Lamphear
Why Studies About Multitasking Are Missing The Point – Arpad Nagy-Bagoly
Report Rich… and Attention Poor – Yegor Korzh
Liberating Data From Google – Google Public Custom Blogspot