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How revolutionary are MOOCs and their spin-offs? Some tentative predictions #change11 #opco12

brainysmurf, 127 - markusmind, May 22, 2012.
I appreciate this analysis and respectfully disagree with several points. I don't believe that moocs only have a place as an add-on or option next to a basic university course. I have acquired deep skills, knowledge and 'serious learning' through self-directed and facilitated learning in moocs over the past two years, both in quality and quantity that would be difficult or impossible to acquire if it were mandated and controlled by someone else. The speed, volume, depth and ....

Who will come to my MOOC party?

brainysmurf, 253 - ZML Didaktik / Innovative Learning Scenarios, May 17, 2012.
Thanks, jupidu! What a great set of questions to reflect upon. #change11 affected my personal and professional life in many ways. It solidified my belief in self-directed, connected, networked learning as the best way to learn, for me and for many others. I bring these principles into my daily life and work. #change11 reminds me to risk, to explore, to dare, to challenge and to have fun learning. Like yourself and several others, I participated in all 35 weeks. It wasn't hard at all ....

The Bonk Show: "drinking from a firehose"

brainysmurf, 120 - EdTech - Insights, May 14, 2012.
Thanks, George! Your catchy post title caught my eye and I'm glad I spent 15 minutes with your description and Dr. Bonk's video. His vportal looks quite interesting and completely relevant to my current project. Keep us posted! :)

MOOC Closing Thoughts

brainysmurf, 214 - Reflections on my MOOC experience, May 7, 2012.
Congratulations on this great achievement! I hope your mooc experience will continue to compliment and challenge your formal education and bring you new insights in the years ahead.

Week 33 of the #change11 MOOC: Scholars' online participation and practices

mrearick, 248 - George Veletsianos, May 1, 2012.
Enter your comment here Dear George, This substantive introduction, with links to the article by Selwyn, N. & Grant, L. Learning, Media, and Technology. London Knowledge Lab, London. Vol. 34, No 2, June 209, 79-86 and the connection to the three articles that you either authored or co-authored that shed some light on scholars and faculty member's lived experiences in social networks. Thank you for providing members of Change11 a structure for investigating our own and our colleagues ....

the unbearable lightness of being...digital

brainysmurf, 249 - theory.cribchronicles.com » change11, April 30, 2012.
Thanks, Bon, you've just painted such a clear image in my mind about navigating through digital space and time. I now see it as comparable with trying to get through the food court at Union Station in Toronto during morning rush-hour. The smells of cinnamon buns, Egg McMuffins, flavoured coffees and fruit purees add nasal distractions to the physical chaos of thousands of people getting on and off of buses, subways and Go Trains in the same small underground space. Have your coins in ....

"Marshall McLuhan said that, 'we look at the present through a rear-view mirror,' and we 'march..."

brainysmurf, 214 - Reflections on my MOOC experience, April 24, 2012.
And, in this digital age, I suppose we have to dance like no one's recording it for YouTube. :)

Goal Setting in MOOCs

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, April 24, 2012.
Thanks, AK, I purposefully chose not to set any particular goals for myself in this mooc or in #cck12 or #ds106. Like yourself, I am happy to find some leads to other bits of interest or to participate as little or as much as I wish. Funny enough, the less others participate in the mooc, the easier it becomes for me to keep up with The Daily and read deeper into the items that are available. In the early days when the discussion threads and blog posts are fast and furious, I have to work ....

Waiting for week 33 in the change MOOC – remaking education

brainysmurf, 253 - ZML Didaktik / Innovative Learning Scenarios, April 24, 2012.
This is such an interesting and influential time to consider investing your "energies into new approaches." Imagine how many international contacts you would have through this mooc if you were looking for ideas or business

Week 30: Dr. Martha Cleveland-Innes on self leadership and share leadership #change11

Lucky Suleiman Ahmed, 311 - LEARNING RETENTION, April 22, 2012.
This post was written in a hurry and has been re-edited on the blog. As ever I would love your comments. Please feel free to

Design-based research chain of inquiry

brainysmurf, 23 - rjh.goingeast.ca, April 20, 2012.
Thanks, Rebecca, this is a great summary. I see your chain as a loop, where reflection can further shape or refine the theory on which the design was grounded, much like any validation or evaluation point in a design process that takes you back to (re)design and (re)development of the product. Design is one of my favourite tags in Diigo. Here is my collection, for your interest: http://www.diigo.com/user/brainysmurf1234/

#change11 Motivation and education and resistance to change, curiosity

brainysmurf, 104 - connectiv, April 19, 2012.
What a great perspective on change: that people embrace it where they need variety and resist it where they need stability. I will keep this in the front of my mental rolodex as my organization and clients continue to talk about 'change management'. I know you like questions so here are the ones popping up for me: - In what circumstances do we expect or seek change and are therefore pleased when change happens? - If we feel prepared for change, are we less resistant when it ....

What's in a name?

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, April 12, 2012.
Thanks, AK, you've reminded me of a great learning experience that I hadn't thought of in many years. During one of my undergrad courses (nearly two decades ago), I had an elderly psychology professor who offered all students a choice of delivery format: 1. A three-hour weekly lecture that he would deliver (very dry!) plus a few written exams OR 2. A biweekly seminar class led entirely by student presentations (twice each during the semester), without exams. For me, this was a no-....

Learning a lesson

brainysmurf, 237 - Con sabor educativo, April 11, 2012.
Thanks for sharing your story! I'm not sure how many adults would have the courage to tackle this skill, especially after a lifetime of difficult experiences with it. Your conclusions are applicable to so many circumstances.

Commentary on Commentary on Comments

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, March 30, 2012.
Hey, AK, thanks for this. There seem to be fewer blog posts and comments/discusion threads in this mooc overall but I'm not sure the length of the course is solely to blame. I continue to see a lot more Twitter action in The Daily than in previous courses so maybe folks are opting for that platform out of convenience or preference or that's just 'where they already are' (nod to Jane Bozarth on that one). There are also several moocs happening simultaneously (#change11, #cck12,....

What am I doing in this MOOC? #change11

brainysmurf, 331 - learn, teach, repeat, March 29, 2012.
Great list of self-directed accomplishments in this and other moocs! I hope Colin and his colleagues can use that insight for their survey. You seem to have covered all 5Cs (consume, connect, create, contribute and commit), which is a participation framework that I had thought about back in October. http://brainysmurf1234.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/the-5-cs-consume-connect-create-contribute-and-commit/ Keep up the great efforts and the paying forward! :)

Myths of Teaching and Learning and Technology

Antonio Vantaggiato, Website, March 26, 2012.
Here is the info you need. week27 I have been setting up a website, humbly named http://zenofteaching.us, which I am preparing with the structure and content of a book on the Myths of Teaching and Learning and Technology. The site is done with digress.it, which allows for discussion on each paragraph of the text, and this is what I hope would emerge as a product of participant's work. It is by no means an academic, or well-structured research work, but more of a popular discussion. I am ....

Comment to Bioramaxwell: Learning diary Vs blogging a story of motivation #change11

brainysmurf, 311 - LEARNING RETENTION, March 19, 2012.
Hi, folks. Back in November, Jaap posted some useful advice on blogging that you might enjoy: http://connectiv.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/how-to-evoke-more-comments-on-your-change11-blogposts/ In particular, I have found it helpful to ask more questions in my blog and to save a draft for awhile and re-edit before posting. Cheers :)

Learning Artifact for Week 25, Stephen Downes' Presentation

brainysmurf, 214 - Reflections on my MOOC experience, March 14, 2012.
I like this artifact. It's straightforward and relatable and applies the practice to something outside of the

Vast Lurker and No-lurker Participation in Open Online Courses: MOCCs and the AI Stanford like courses respectively.

brainysmurf, 343 - osvaldo rodriguez, March 6, 2012.
Thanks for this analysis, Osvaldo, it's making me sit back and think, which I appreciate. I have some trouble with using the stats on visits to a mooc home page as a basis for tracking participation. In #change11 or #cck12, for example, I rarely visit the course home page because my primary source of information comes to me by email in The Daily. Therefore, I don't *need* the course website unless I want to check out the course outline or something, which I might only do once a ....

Wisdom of the Masses and Course Creation

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, March 6, 2012.
Thanks for this question, AK. As part of my instructional design role a few years ago, I was part of a working group responsible for test-driving an LMS to see if it would be a good fit for a large organization (over 25,000 users). Sadly, we did not have our business requirements fully fleshed out when we started. That would have been quite helpful. We learned that the LMS (Saba) could do just about anything we wanted it to do and could be customized and configured to the nth degree. It ....

week 25 Activities - I

brainysmurf, 207 - lucidTranslucent, February 29, 2012.
Gracias! Your highlighting of Stephen's presentation was very inspiring for me. :)

Social Media: An Interview

brainysmurf, 1 - Half an Hour, February 28, 2012.
This is a fantastic interview/essay, Stephen. Thank you so much for detailing the mechanics "in the middle". There *is* a great deal of effort involved in playing with and selecting the right tools for one or more purposes of communicating, learning, sharing, connecting and collaborating. I'm not sure that enough newcomers to the scene understand that it isn't all instantaneous and easy. I believe it takes diligence, practice, reflection and intentional action to derive significant ....

Stephen Downes: Resources

Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, February 27, 2012.
The Purpose of Learning The Role of the Educator Deinstitutionalizing Education Agents Provocateurs What Is Democracy In Education A World To Change Connectivism and Transculturality An Operating System for the Mind The Cloud and Collaboration Critical Thinking in the Classroom The Future of Online Learning: Ten Years On

Change11 MOOC – First six weeks of 2012

Dave Cormier, Dave’s Educational Blog, February 16, 2012.
Ah… the ever increasingly misnamed change11. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a journey that i’ve been less prepared for… and still gotten so much out of. It’s been a season of change for me, I’ve moved houses, spent two months involved in our schools future discussion as an informal consultant, and have tried to dig a little deeper into my own thinking. (see previous blog post) So… here I am weeks into Change11(12) and no post to show for it. The truth is… I’ve had some ....

#change11 MOOC - Week 20

brainysmurf, 342 - Reflections on Learning - A Personal Work in Progess, February 15, 2012.
Hi, Dennis. For more ideas on how to incorporate social media into corporate training, you may enjoy the work of Jane Bozarth in "Social Media for Trainers". She gives very concrete examples of how to use Twitter, FaceBook, wikis, blogs, SharePoint, etc. to increase learning before, during and after formal learning events. Google her work - she has a blog, book, on Twitter, etc. Cheers :)

Sensemaking in a MOOC

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, February 14, 2012.
Thanks, AK, I find my relationship to moocs evolving all the time as well. I have a fairly clear understanding of how they work and don't work and I feel very comfortable choosing my level of participation, which fluctuates on a daily or weekly basis. This journey has taken me about 18 months, though, in which I have been able to relinquish a lot of old notions about structured learning, teacher as sole authority, etc. I feel very empowered and content and thankful for all of the ....

#change11 teacher roles and MOOC

onewheeljoe, 104 - connectiv, February 2, 2012.
Thanks for this post. I see the occasional Tweet by participants who want to interview other participants and I'm interested in this peer-peer self-study within a structure where the teacher role is diminished, distributed, or transformed so greatly (depending on your viewpoint.) I wonder what other formal or informal structures happen in the MOOC that are participant-facilitated opportunities to discuss, explore, and seek feedback?

Personal cyberinfrastructure - neat idea...but...

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, January 24, 2012.
Interesting questions, AK. I think the computer and information literacy stuff should start a lot earlier than college, perhaps in primary or junior grades or as an ongoing part of a multi-year curriculum? Then a person could complete some kind of prior learning assessment as part of college entry to ensure basic digital literacy requirements are met? All that being said if one continues to value the role of formal training institutions, which is becoming rather questionable in my mind ....

The selfish giant and the unlocking of the gates of elitist higher education (#change11) | opendistanceteachingandlearning

onewheeljoe, 49 - Best content in change11 | Diigo - Groups, January 24, 2012.
It all depends why the kids are playing in the garden. If they are there because it is a place to gather, play, hide, and wrestle, does it matter if the giant won't let them take any fruit or vegetables with them? Dave Snowden made the statement that the reason he and a colleague were able to look at decision making and generate new insights was because they never pursued doctoral degrees and so they had a fresh perspective for research and data, rather than an institutional

Ritual Dissent (#Change11)

brainysmurf, 331 - learn, teach, repeat, January 24, 2012.
Thanks for this. I think the water cooler experience (or staff lunch room or mail room) might look like dissent on the surface but they seem to wallow in lethargic group think. Water coolers, mail rooms and lunch rooms might be the first safe places in which people try to voice complaints but I've seen them turn too quickly into endless griping without solutions or actions taken. As such, I've spent over a decade eating at my desk, my home or a restaurant, not the lunch room. :)

Jung, Introversion, #change11, epistemology, education, labeling

Teresa Elisabeth, 104 - connectiv, January 23, 2012.
The title of the post has the word epistemology. I always think about epistemology. Just yesterday I read and liked the epistemology based on Morin. The chapter in the book points to the need to revise the look! Or Re-vision!! The current paradigm imprisons our mental model! I think the crisis will be necessary to implement and adopt the rationale of the principle of epistemological complexity and transdisciplinary perspective and also

Hugging the cactus

onewheeljoe, 240 - Connecting the dots, January 21, 2012.
Thanks for sharing. The concept of actively seeking out dissenting opinions is an idea that caught me when Howard Rheingold said, "If you agree with everyone in your network, you're in an echo chamber." To date, I've only watched a few of Dave Snowden's YouTube videos and had an opportunity to just watch a few minutes of the recorded session. You're post is sending me back to the recorded session

#change11 Lower layers of connectivism?

Ken Anderson, 25 - x28's new Blog » change11, January 11, 2012.
Does the statement: "Knowledge is in the connections" have any utility? Does knowledge 'emerge' from connecting? i.e. is knowledge an emergent property of

Talking while the teacher is talking: learning in the back channel of #change 11

brainysmurf, 331 - learn, teach, repeat, January 9, 2012.
Here are some additional ideas on how to set up discussions so that more than one person is 'talking'. They were designed for public service managers (and were developed before social media really took off in workplaces) but they seem adaptable to a classroom audience armed with collaborative technologies. http://www.managers-gestionnaires.gc.ca/documents/chartier/toolkit_e.

New projects starting while others end #change11

brainysmurf, 75 - Change MOOC Reflections, January 9, 2012.
Congrats on your launch, bioram. I like the idea of a 'pseudoMOOC' as another option on the learning menu, which takes into consideration the reality of a traditionally spoon-fed audience. Best of luck! :)

Transformational Tasks

brainysmurf, 335 - Web Tools for Teaching, January 9, 2012.
Thanks, Maryanne, I appreciate your concrete examples of how the model could be considered in

Going Off the Record at #durbbu

brainysmurf, 328 - EduTechLand, January 6, 2012.
Thanks, Ben, this is one to make me sit back and think as well. My instinct would be to record it all as well, as someone who has frequently benefitted from inclusion through asynchronicity. Then again, does one lose incentive to 'show up' if it will all be recorded later? Must ponder further...thanks for the food for thought. :)

Surviving Education: #change11

brainysmurf, 331 - learn, teach, repeat, January 6, 2012.
Thanks, Joe, you echo a point about professional blind spots that I have been struggling with for some time: teachers are typically excellent students themselves who are able to complete post-secondary studies with high grades as well as successful practice teaching rounds. Thankfully, I had a dean of education who insisted that we learn something new before we graduated, in order to remind us of the challenge/struggle to learn, to fail, to keep trying. I tried to explore piano as an adult ....

Sorry I'm late for #change11

brainysmurf, 331 - learn, teach, repeat, January 6, 2012.
Welcome! Thanks for sharing your intention to arrive late as well as the traditional educational concepts that beg to be questioned in an open course. There is lots to experience and reflect on in this environment about authority, authenticity, accountability, time management, priorities and so on. Enjoy the ride and please keep us posted! :)

orchestration of credibilit

Howard Rheingold, 207 - lucidTranslucent, January 5, 2012.
Regarding "The Wisdom of Crowds," I think prediction markets are a useful but limited tool. Unfortunately, people tend to use the term too broadly. In my chapter on collaboration literacies I break down the literacies into collective intelligence (nobody knows everything, everybody knows something, with the right architecture -- like Wikipedia -- we can make that work for us), virtual communities, social production, crowdsourcing. These are all different techniques for using "architectures of ....

Joining #change11

brainysmurf, 328 - EduTechLand, January 5, 2012.
Welcome, Ben! Thanks for jumping into a new role as a visible participant. We're glad to have you. :)

Slow Learning with Clark Quinn

scott HJ, 328 - EduTechLand, January 5, 2012.
Ben, Great posting and an important question. I too really enjoy the MOOC experience, the responding to blogs that fires up my own thinking and the digging deeper into into subjects introduced here. Self-directed learning suits my sense of independence but it just occurred to me this afternoon (while loading a quiz into a course on our LMS) that the image of the hearty individual alone and so cleverly self-actualized learning their way through the MOOC jungle is a really very shallow ....

Attention probes caught my attention

e7sas-ashq.com, 120 - EdTech - Insights, January 4, 2012.
thanks for thes http://www.e7sas-ashq.com دردشة عراقية http://www.e7sas-ashq.com دردشة خليجية http://www.e7sas-ashq.com شات خليجي http://www.e7sas-ashq.com دردشة عراقنا http://www.e7sas-ashq.com شات عراقنا http://www.e7sas-ashq.com دردشة احساس http://www.e7sas-ashq.com دردشة احساس عاشق

#Change11 Media Wise

e7sas-ashq.com, 104 - connectiv, January 4, 2012.
thanks for thes. دردشة خليجية دردشة عراقية دردشة خليجية دردشة عراقية دردشة عراقنا اغاني عراقية 2012 دردشة احساس صور حزينة صور رومانسية 2012 صور دموع صور اطفال رمزيات بلاك بيري خلفيات بلاك بيري مسجات عراقية 2012 نكت عراقية العاب فلاش

Holidays, Time Off, Fairness, Studies, and Self-Confidence

brainysmurf, 56 - Silence and Voice, January 3, 2012.
Thanks, Jeffrey. A nice reminder that abundance is within us, not just elsewhere. :) Happy

No consensus on what engagement is?

brainysmurf, 106 - Multilitteratus Incognitus, January 3, 2012.
Hi, AK, here are some bits on engagement that you might enjoy, which a colleague sent to me after reading my blog post about gaming - love how that networked learning thing works! http://employeeengagement.ning.com/profiles/blogs/what-s-up-with-gamification-and-employee-engagement http://www.davidzinger.com/speeches-workshops/engagement-principles/ http://employeeengagement.ning.com/video/giddyup-employee-engagement-

Measuring the Wrong Things — Has the Scientific Method Been Compromised By Careerism?

Kent Anderson, The Scholarly Kitchen, December 15, 2011.
I think this is exactly right: "Perhaps we’re measuring the wrong things — number of publications, number of citations, impact factors of publication outlets — as a way of measuring a scientist’s productivity, which we then reward with money, either directly or indirectly. Perhaps we should measure how many results have been replicated. Without that, we are pursuing a cacophony of claims, not cultivating a world of harmonious truths." It is not, for example, how many publications I can ....

Ideas from the thirteen weeks of MOOC

VCVaile, 139 - Not Worth Printing, December 14, 2011.
a clear, concise overview... hoping it will help me re-orient somewhat and locate the track whether or not I manage to get back on

Triangulating, Weaving, and Connecting our Learning

Valerie, YouTube, December 14, 2011.
Nancy White writes, "As a followup from my week facilitating Change11, the amazing Valerie blew my mind with her video summary and synthesis of the week. No, it was much more than that. WOW. Take a look if you are interested in this idea of the social artist. Valerie, you ROCK!" Watch it here. See also this earlier video on rhizomatic