User:Vtaylor/Learning objects, personal learning environments, study guides/review suggested major revisions

3 Oct, 2104 Education for a Digital World - notes

=Learning objects, personal learning environments, study guides/revision notes= < User:Vtaylor | Learning objects, personal learning environments, study guides

{| class="wiki_table"
 * wikispaces http://collaborativebook.wikispaces.com/
 * facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5045281940
 * wordle - "personal learning environment" http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2837880/personal_learning_environment

Contents
[show]


 * }

message
plan, act (gather, search, use, create, reflect, collaborate), evaluate

10000 words -- 15:07, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
 * evolution - old ideas, new tools - online, collaboration, find, reuse, create
 * education available to everyone - free/open, anywhere, anytime, any format
 * issues - sources, credit, usage, access
 * strategies, tools

new stuff
study guides - direction - plan, guide Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) 'Curriculum theory and practice' the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm. curriculum theory and practice
 * move textbooks > learning objects


 * definition offered by John Kerr and taken up by Vic Kelly in his standard work on the subject. Kerr defines curriculum as, 'All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school. ... 'a proposal for action which sets out essential principles and features of the educational encounter'.
 * content, learning strategy, sequence, progress evaluation - Lawrence Stenhouse (1975)
 * experimentation, personalization, interaction, relationships
 * curriculum itself develops through the dynamic interaction of action and reflection. 'That is, the curriculum is not simply a set of plans to be implemented, but rather is constituted through an active process in which planning, acting and evaluating are all reciprocally related and integrated into the process' (Grundy 1987: 115). At its centre is praxis: informed, committed action.

Education for a Digital World
Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around the Globe http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx


 * Education for a Digital World contains a comprehensive collection of proven strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process.
 * It offers practical, contemporary guidance to support e-learning decision-making, instructional choices, as well as program and course planning, and development.
 * Practical advice, real-life examples, case studies, and useful resources supply in-depth perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning in an online environment. A plethora of e-learning topics provide insights, ideas, and usable tools.
 * Tips and evidence-based theory guide administrators, program and course developers, project teams, and teachers through the development of online learning opportunities.
 * Education for a Digital World is an indispensable guide, resource, textbook and manual for policymakers and practitioners

so what - strategies, guidance/advice, tools, examples, resources
examples, strategies, so what gather, search, follow, create, collaborate


 * learning objects - open / ??
 * personal learning environments / networks - content, tools
 * ? study guides ?? learning objects or different
 * ? instruction /facilitation
 * ? adoption, reuse, remix
 * objects issues - sources, review / validation / accuracy, authority, creation - learner, knowledgeable other
 * PLE issues - learner freedom, assessment, tools, access, scalability, community - learner, knowledgeable other, beyond "course" requirements, interest
 * diy - objects - created share, find, review, recommend, adopt
 * diy - ple - own, direct learners - set-up, expand, relationships
 * issues - academic / legal requirements - protection of students - identities, records
 * print source references - reliable sources, research
 * resources - organization
 * tools, technology
 * innovation - what is innovative, why, says who

Part III: Chapter Evaluation
1. Based on your numerical rating in Part I, explain in detail how the chapter does or does not provide sufficient background information and literature review regarding its topic. Include in your assessment thoughts and recommendations as to how the author(s) can augment this area of the manuscript.

2. List and describe in detail any topic(s) or information related to the discussion in the chapter which appears to be missing. Please provide suggestions as to what topic(s) or information the author(s) can add to ensure that the scope of the chapter’s contents is complete.
 * There are lots of references, but they are poorly organized.
 * The many references to blog and wiki materials and organizational/project website are likely to be quite useful to readers.
 * However, very few of the claims in the body of the text, some of which are far from uncontroversial or obvious, are supported by specific citations.
 * There are virtually no references to print sources or academic research, and there are many important publications in both of these categories about these topics. For example, given the author’s focus on open educational resources, it seems imperative to cite and discuss chapters from the recent collection on open education from MIT.

3. Please supply a detailed discussion as to whether or not the information in this chapter clearly illustrates the issues, problems, and trends related to the theme of this proposed book, Innovations in Education. Please offer your constructive and analytical assessment and list suggestions for improvement and/or enhancement.
 * This chapter feels like a brain dump of virtually everything the author has read or thought about the very broad topic.
 * To know what’s missing, there would have to be some sort of argument and a coherent organization.

4. Please provide your opinion as to whether or not the issues, problems, and trends described in this chapter are given appropriate emphasis. Supply specific recommendations as to how the author(s) can improve in this area.
 * Many important issues are at least touched upon, but the chapter does a poor job of indentifying which issues are the most important, and to whom.
 * As a manager, I would not have time to wade through all this. I don’t want to know what everyone in the world thinks. I want to know what the best that has been said and done is. There’s no such filter here.

5. Give an explanation of any serious over-emphasis or under-emphasis of any issues/problems in the chapter. Please provide critical and constructive assessment by offering suggestions as to how the chapter can be improved and enhanced in this area.
 * Given the stated topic, it’s not clear why open educational resources are the sole focus and proprietary tools and content are barely considered at all. It is still the case that many resources useful for learning aren’t freely available.
 * The category of study guides in new to me and could be useful, but it’s definition is unclear. Why, for example, would a textbook be a study guide rather than a learning object, given how open you’ve left the definitions of both?

6. In your opinion, what are the weaknesses of this chapter? Please describe how these specific weaknesses contribute to the ineffective aspects of this chapter. We ask that you carefully list specific suggestions for improvement and/or enhancement.
 * There is an over-emphasis on content and under-emphasis on tools and activities, particularly in the Personal Learning Environments section.

7. In your opinion, what are the strengths of this chapter? Please describe how these specific strengths contribute to the value and quality aspects of this chapter and how said strengths can be utilized to make the weak areas of the chapter more effective.
 * Organization and brevity. (See above.)

8. Please describe whether or not this chapter is properly directed to the proposed target audience of the book to which it was submitted.
 * The range of informal publications referenced, which would be hard for a researcher to locate through conventional library research techniques. If better organized and annotated, these could become a very useful resource.

9. Please describe your thoughts on the effectiveness of the organization of the chapter. How can the “flow” of this chapter be improved? Please be specific.
 * No. See above.

10. Please provide your opinion as to whether or not the references used in this chapter are sufficient, appropriate, and up-to-date. If not, please suggest the relevant references you feel are necessary for the author(s) to include.
 * The chapter needs to start with clear definitions—the current ones are very vague—and
 * identify the most important issues, around which the rest of the essay should be structured. * Also, each section needs specific examples of practice from multiple institutions. The case studies from the author’s own experience at the end are useful, but they don’t stand alone.

Part IV: Comments to the Author(s) Please provide your constructive comments to the author(s) for improving and revising the chapter.
 * See above.

collaboration
Education for a Digital World http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx The second edition of this collaboratively developed book is in progress. http://collaborativebook.wikispaces.com I have a draft of a chapter - Learning objects, personal learning environments, study guides. I am looking for one (or more) collaborators to join the project to finish the chapter. Having another author to help organize the material, as well as identify and fill the gaps, would help a lot. Of course you would be included as an author, too. Please let me know what your interests are and we can work something out.

Would you or anyone you know like to co-author this chapter? I'm thinking that a collaboration might be the best way to revise the chapter. I reread the original review (somewhat unfavorable) and many of the points were well taken. I'm working on general edits, but I'm not making much progress on rethinking the organization and some of the other big-picture suggestions. Having another author to help re-organize the material, so we could then identify and fill the gaps, would help a lot. The text is all in a wiki page http://wikieducator.org/User:Vtaylor/Learning_objects,_personal_learning_environments,_study_guides The wiki page works well for shared authoring and editing. The collaboration is ready to go. The wikieducator page can be saved as a text file and easily formatted for submission - so that is the last small step. Collaborating on content is what I would really appreciate. I'll ask around as well. If you can suggest someone who would like to jump in, that would be wonderful. Thanks ..Valerie