Blogs that I read regularly (top blog list for 2011)

About twice a year, I review my igoogle home page, editing out those blogs that I don't read and adding blogs that I may find myself accessing more often. I decided that others might want to see who I read on a regular basis and perhaps find new sources of information (which I do on a regular basis).

Daily reads

These blogs are ones that I read as soon as they are posted. While the authors may not post on a daily basis, I look for any new posts almost daily. In reviewing these posts, the reason I look for them daily is because I feel a "kindred spirit" with them (as Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables would say).

Karyn Romeis (Karyn's erratic learning journal) : Her blog deals not only with learning issues, but many times she includes cultural observations and family issues that I can connect with (especially as I also have two teens). I like the way she integrates her personal life into the blog and the honesty in which she writes about any issue. I like to think I do the same with my own blog

Andy Coverdale (Phd blog (dot) net) Like me, Andy is working on his Ph.d. In addition, I'm very interested in the visual communication aspect of his research. I connect with many of the academic issues he discusses in his blog including how the university works, the process of research, collaborating with colleagues, and emerging ideas (especially in academia).

Ken Allen (Blogger in middle earth). I have been a fan of Ken's blog for a long time as, like Karyn, there is a high level of integrity in his postings that cover a wide range of topics that he is interested in. Unfortunately, this year he has only posted sporadically ( I am afraid that he is being held hostage in Second Life as when he began to dabble in that program was when he stopped posting regularly). Hopefully, he will pick up the blog posts again this year.

Weekly perusals

The next group of blogs are those that I skim at least once a week (sometimes more often if I have extra time) because of the quality of information in their posts.

Jenny Luca: Lucacept-Intercepting the Web. Although she is half way around the world, it is amazing how relevant her blog is to what happens in k-12 (primary and secondary school) here in the US. Her School's out Friday are must reads for me (although I usually read them on Mondays). Many of her posts deal with integrating technology into primary and secondary education on a practical, practitioner's view point.

Quinn Clark: Learnlet's and Harold Jarche often have related content. Both are educational technology consultants, mostly in professional and/or organizational training. Quinn also has posts dealing with some of the issues for other levels of education. Both of these blogs have theoretical models, research related links, and frameworks for learning that are very educational. I usually skim through and find the most relevant issues to read as just keeping up with their posts would require too much of my time (this is the richness of their posts).

Tom Haskins: growing changing learning creating Tom deals with issues at both the university level and those in the field of business (especially management, marketing, and communication education). Reading his posts helps me stay current with the field in which I am teaching. For a business professor, his posts are remarkably insightful educationally (my experience with business professors is that they are grounded in old fashioned teaching methods, usually in the behaviorist tradition).

Michael Hanley: Elearning Curve As basically a non-techy in the area of computer mediated communication, I find Michael's blog an invaluable source of information. Each post is well thought out, grounded in current research, but also easily accessible to the basic novice. His series study an area in-depth which makes it easy to search past postings when there is a topic I may need help on.

Sahana Chattopadhyay: ID and other reflections. Like Jenny Luca, Sahana's blog (geared towards adult learning) is very relevant, although she lives and works in a totally different culture than my own. There are times when I have gone back to check her location, because the issues she discusses are so relevant to issues in instructional design I face here. Her posts always have good supporting resources. She does more than regurgitates interesting resources, she puts theories into practice with good analyses and examples.

Old Stand-bys

There are some sites that I check in on when I have the time as I know the posts will be interesting (as well as the conversation). I don't have as much time to participate in these blogs as I used to as I work on my dissertation, but I access these blogs, especially if there is a specific area I want to investigate.

Tony Karrer: eLearning Technology A popular elearning blog which allows readers to get a pulse of trends in elearning and organizational training.

Jane Hart: Jane's E-Learning Pick of the day. Still the best site to look for new technolgy.

Nancy White: Nancy White's Full Circle Blog. For anyone doing research on collaboration or communities of practice, this is an invaluable resource. I just wish she would post more frequently than she did this year.

Christine Martell: Exploring with Images Christine repositioned her business and her blog last year. She now includes many of her own original artwork. I love to just sign on and look through her images as it always makes me smile. Her art has such a soothing, happy spirit to it.


New Blogs for me this year

Mark Berthelemy: Learning Conversations Although I had visited his blog sporadically over the past few years, this year I finally added Mark's blog onto my igoogle page. He has a number of interesting insights, especially into learning and learning with technology.

cv harquail: Authentic Organizations This is a hard one to describe. This blog aligns with my dissertation research and addresses organizational behavior, but from a critical literacy perspective. It includes posts on organizational behavior, culture, and a feminist perspective. At the very least, it is always interesting in its perspective; at its best it is very enlightening.

So what are you reading?

I'm always looking for new blogs. What blogs would you recommend?

Is blogging changing?

This was going to be a different post. I was going to look at the blogs that I follow and the different ways that I follow them. However, as I began to review (and purge the links as I usually do on an annual basis) the blogs I read, I realized that blogging has really changed this year.

In fact, I still have a core group of blogs that I read on a regular basis. But their style, patterns of posting, and even the way they link to other posts, blogs, and readers has (for the most part) changed drastically.

I see blog posts now following one of three trends:

• Blogs are more informative, reflective, and formal. Michael Hanley's posts have always fit this format. But I noticed this year that Tony Karrer's eLearning Technology become less spontanious and pondering. As a result, blogs appear to be more of a learning tool or marketing tool for an organization. It also seems to be replacing more traditional publishing venues to get research or articles out in a more timely manner. Taking a page from Andy Coverdale and Gina Minks, I have begun to blog my own dissertation research process and results.
  
• I am feeling that I am coming into the middle of a conversation (or the end of a conversation) that was started somewhere else (such as twitter or facebook). It appears that blogging is the reflective or summary of those conversations. Karyn Romeis still has a very conversational style, but she will refer to other conversations she has had on facebook. Harold Jarche will refer to others at aggregated blog sites where he is collaborating with colleagues. As a result, I don't feel that there is as much "conversation" on blogs as there used to be. In addition, I have noticed that Michael, Harold, Karyn, and Tony all have easy access to Twitter on their sites. Ken Allan has moved into a different rhelm this year: 2nd life. His posts often include graphics taken from 2nd Life. In fact, some blogs that I have been reading for the last couple of years either took hyatises or have not had posts in months.
• One thing I have noticed is a decrease in the number of comments. I'm not sure if this is because the conversation has moved to other venues or if the authors are not responding as much. It seems, though, that blogging is still being used to start conversation, but not necessarily on the blogs. There are other technologies being used for the "community". I am always surprised that there are not more comments on Nancy White's Full Circle Associates' blog or Jon Husband's Wirearchy. After all, these blogs are about community and network building!

So what do you think blogging will end up looking like in the next year? Are bloggers that don't tweet at a disadvantage? Is blogging even passe at this point?

By the way, since I listed most of the other blogs that I read on a regular basis, I think I should include the others that are on my igoogle or reader:

Visual's speak: Chrisine Martell writes a nice "creativity" blog
Lucacept: Jenny Luca is a librarian in an Austrian school
Growing Changing Learning Creating: Tom Haskins' blog reminds me of mine...it's all over the place but always thought provoking.
Digital Perspectives: I just love Kathreen's photo blog. But she's been a bit quiet at the end of this year! I hope she starts up again because her photos always make me feel good.

Some predictions for the new decade

Last year, I commented on a number of blogs that I thought the future of elearning would be in mobile technology. In fact, Michael Hanley had a good post evaluating some of the new mobile elearning apps last year.

So, taking my crystal ball, what do I see the trends being in elearning, technology, and higher ed/training in general? These are based on my observations in the classroom, my own children's technology habits and what is happening in their classrooms, and my own research.

1. Mobile technology (including ebooks, smart phones, and smartbooks) will continue to grown and make learning mobile. In the US, if the transportation plans come to fruition, commuters will spend commuting time learning. This might already be happening in other parts of the world.
2. If wifi and 3g technologies are expanded enough, learners will be able to access learning tools anywhere. As a result, learning will take place outside of traditional classrooms, with less face to face time in the classroom and more individualized learning plans. However, the classroom will continue to be the location for assessment. This means there will be a shift for educators from being the source of learning to being the assessor of learning. Universities will still be the source of research (at least in the US) but the location of the research will expand as there is more incentive to work with businesses in developing research that is economically viable.
   
3. In the US (and I think other countries as well), there will be a push for universal standards at the University level to be maintained through technology based assessment tools. The current K-12 standards based education has developed a student that requires structure for learning and assessment. (Disclaimer: I don't think this will be good for education, but I feel the pressure in my own teaching these days).
4. There will be a shift from learning about various tools to learning how to use different classifications of tools to acheive results. There will also be demand to find new apps and tools through a central location. An apps search engine will probably come into popularity at some point in the next few years. For example, need to find a note taking software that can be used on a Mac for academic purposes? Go to the Apps search engine and input the parameters.
5. Video will become more important, especially subtitled video. Why subtitled? Because users can access the images and read the information without others in a room knowing they are accessing the internet/video. This currently happens with texting. Being able to have an instant subtitled video or attaching comments to the video means that the image can be shared privately in public spaces.
6. Learning, business, customer service, and societal values will be customized. Businesses and educators will need to offer options that allow choice by users. (See my earlier post).

So what are your predictions for the New Decade? Write a post and link it to this post or put the location in the comment section. I can't wait to see what others have come up with. To get it started, I'm going to tag 5 people, who I hope will tag 5 others.

Ken Allen (He already made his predictions and inspired this post)
Michael Hanley
Paul Cornies
Anita Hamilton
Sahana
Andy Cloverdale

Does any one know anything about open source qualitative research tools?

As I am in the midst of my dissertation data analysis, I keep thinking that there has to be an easier way to do the data analysis than to cut and paste coded data (using the tracking and comment function of word) to do my data analysis. The problem is that I need to maintain a certain degree of privacy in my data analysis as per the IRB (Institutional Research Board) at our school. While I have access to data analysis programs at the university, I can't use them securely.

So after reading Michael Hanley's series on open source elearning, I began to wonder if perhaps there are some open source free research tools. Why do qualitative research tools cost so much? And why aren't universities trying to develop free research tools for others to improve the quality of research?

4 R's Meme: my favorite posts

Ken Allen tagged me for his 4R's Meme: favourite posts. In it, I was given the following instructions in identifying posts within my blog:

Paul Cornies’ recent post, 4 R's Meme: Favourite Posts, asks those tagged to select 4 of their favourite posts from their own blog, one from each of the categories: Rants, Resources, Reflections and Revelations.

The posts are then listed with a brief summary on each describing:

why it was important,

why it had lasting value or impact,

how you would update it for today.

The intrepid bloggers are to tag all of their selected posts with the label postsofthepast and then select five (or so) other bloggers to tap with this meme.

After a lot of sifting, these are my favorite (and in some cases my readers' favorite) posts. Like Ken's, mine are not all related to education, but are related to my blog description found on the side of my posts.

Rants

In the middle of December's ice storm, I posted a rant about customer service and communication. This continues to be a pet peeve that I have difficulty with. Just a few weeks ago I was trying to find out information from my daughter's school and being bumped from place to place until I found someone that would listen to me and give me some information. I found out through an ad in the newspaper that the person I kept leaving messages for was leaving which was why my messages weren't being returned.

My experience in December and again in June, makes this posting relevant, as it is obvious that poor communication frustrates end users and gives organizations (schools, utilities) a bad reputation. I have the feeling that NO-ONE knows what is going on and therefore, there is probably a lot of waste and corruption/nepotism in these organizations. I am not willing to work with them as they are not willing to work with me. This creates a poor working environment, not to mention outright hostility towards the organization which can result in greater levels of oversight and control from outside of the organization (i.e. government, etc...).

The one area I would update today has to do with the importance of creating an avenue of two way communication. Both customer service and organizational communication systems need to make sure the they have feedback mechanisms and ways around the formal communication process so clients/customers/employees/stakeholders are able to communicate their needs and at least have a feeling of control over the communication process. Computers do not allow for this. Only recently, I tried to call our New York State Dept. of Environmental conservation and was in the middle of an infinite loop. After listening to the 5 options on the recorded message, none of which were the reason I was calling, I pressed the option to speak to an operator, which then brought me back to the same 5 options!



Resources

This was probably the hardest for me to decide on. However, I think I like the most recent series of posts on assessment: Incorporating assessment into constructivist based design, Examples of multiple assessment: traditional courrse, Examples of assessment Part 2: Blended course, and Examples of assessment Part 3: Online learning

This was difficult because I don't really provide many "resources" per se in my blog. However, this series (and it is important that it be taken as a series, not just one post) gives concrete examples of assessment tools that are updated from the traditional standardized exam. I have seen little written about assessment, even though I feel this is the currency of learning. It is like looking at economic policy without analyzing the financial data that indicates the results of that policy. While everyone could see the numbers of foreclosures increasing, no one was really looking at the reasons why. In fact, it wasn't until these numbers began to impact the economy negatively that anyone really paid attention to the rising number of foreclosures.

I feel this is the same thing that is happening in education. While more and more people are earning degrees online and training is moving to an online or blended format, little has been done in changing the way that learning accurately captured and measured to reflect the complexity of these new learning formats.

As this was a relatively new post, I would not change anything.

Reflections

My favorite reflection is something that I come back to on a regular basis: a new way of thinking for the internet society. I think it is important that we recognize that there are different ways to think and our society has preferred one over the other in its educational policy over the years. New technology has made the different forms of thinking more obvious, allowing for spacial thinking to now become more accepted and useful.

I would update this post by include some ideas I have been working on in terms of student preferences in "learning style". Using each of the learning theories, I think each person has a natural tendency or preference towards one style over another. Some people process information well, others learn through repeated actions, still others learn through social interaction and group processes, others are creative in building models or other artifacts that help them make sense of the world around them, while others, like myself, seem to make connections where there does not seem to be any, accessing information through learning networks (Cognitivism, behaviorism, socio-cognitivism or situated elarning, constructivism, and connectivism).

I am beginning to believe that it is important to include all learning theories in a teacher's repertoire so as to help all learners to reach their maximum potential.


Revelations

I think my blog is one of revelations. In fact, my most popular posts are those in which I have revelations about technology, learning, and communication from my classes. I just can't limit it to one post, so instead I will lump together my 3 favorite posts on blog (and the readers' favorites also) in this category: Hanzel and Gretal through the Internet (an analysis of how I navigate the internet), Lessons learned in Wiki use (a summary of findings from my use of the wiki in my classes), and Time, technology, and the younger set (observations on the use of the internet, mobile technology, and social software by my children).

All of these are timely and impact my own understanding of my students. I use these observations in developing my classes and class activities, integrating technology, but also identifying areas my students may need more support in and a deeper understanding of the concepts behind the formats they use.

I am hoping to update the last post (time, technology, and the younger set) soon as my daughter has been using facebook and a cell phone for the last month and a half now, giving me new insights into the use of these technologies.

Tag, You're IT

It is always hard to find who to tag for this, especially if they have already been tagged.

However, I would like to see that the following people come up with as they contribute to my blog and learning:

Paul C
Anita Hamilton
Michael Hanley
Karyn Romeis
Harold Jarche

If you decide to take this challenge, you should include the tag (label) #postsofthepast. You can find others using this as a search term.

The sound of silence

I realized yesterday, when I had to moderate comments for my last post, that it had been more than a week since I last posted. Boy, does time fly! However, between shuffling my children to and from camps, working on my dissertation, preparing to teach a new course (for me), and doing the mountain of paperwork necessary for the kids' schools next year, time got away from me.

I also had begun to review my posts in response to a challenge by Ken Allen. I think it'll take some time to write my response. However, in the meantime, I thought I would address an issue that happens to me in times like this.

I check my regular blogs that I subscribe to on a daily basis. Last January, there were a couple of weeks when Ken did not post. It did not occur to me that he might be on "summer break". All kinds of thoughts went through my head. Is he teaching? Is he doing some new research? Likewise, over the last couple of months, I have notices that Michelle Martin was not posting as much. However, she had a post that explained that due to work obligations, she might not be posting as much.

Finally, I have had trouble submitting comments on Michelle, Michael Hanley and Jenny Luca's blogs (all wordpress blogs). At first, I thought I had somehow insulted these authors. Then I realized and was notified that it was the wordpress software.

All of this leads me to my point about online learning and communication. I tell my first year communication students that no feedback IS feedback. In the US culture, silence is awkward and negative. This is not so in other cultures. Nothing was more obvious than the international project my students worked on with other student groups in Italy, Peru, and France. Each culture interpreted silence differently. Sometimes it was used as a delaying tactic. Sometimes there were forces out of control of the group members (in one case a flood in which all of the computers were destroyed, in another there was only one computer available once a week, and in another, the students were on vacation). Yet other times, student groups did not want to make a mistake, so waited until they had the project completed.

The lesson is that it is important to provide consistent information and communication (i.e. once a week or even once every two weeks if that is all you have time for). When you are unable to do so, it is important to let others know. Finally, rather than looking at silence as a negative void, look at it as a type of feedback which requires more communication to figure out what is going on with the others you are communicating with.

Incorporating assessment into a constructivism based instructional design

Michael Hanley's 15th and 16th installment of instructional design had me thinking about assessment. In the two installments, Michael introduces a flexible instructional design model that fits will with constructivism. However, as I commented on his blog, there is little discussion of what assessment tools can be used that will maintain the level of flexible learning. He asked if I had any suggestions.

In fact, when I teach introduction to distance learning, this is an area that I work at developing with my students. The following is a compilation of the notes I give my students with some additional updates based on my own experience:

The assessment-learning connection

Sometimes, students need to be pushed to go beyond their comfort zone. If we want our students to succeed in the real world, at some point they will need to learn how to take initiative and risks. Those are the employees that are rewarded with promotions and greater responsibilities. However, there will be some students (for a variety of reasons including lack of confidence, maturity, background, personality) that will always avoid risk of failure. Constructivist activities, especially those designed for distance learning, generally allow students to step out of these fears into a supportive environment that allows them to risk failure as long as there are supports in place to help them if they do fail. These supports include instructional support (either preparing them for the experience or using the experience as a stepping stone for further targeted instruction), emotional support (empowering students when they make mistakes rather than leaving them with a sense of humiliation, building confidence by finding success in making mistakes or errors and learning from them or working through them), community support (making sure members know what their role is and creating an atmosphere that will build trust), and support in setting goals and processes to achieve them (helping students to make choices that are presented to them, helping them to develop time management skills with a timeline or structure within which to work, giving clear expectations for any activity and being flexible--or not--depending on the student needs).

In looking at assessment, there often is little attention given to trust and trust-building activities. Often assessment and evaluation leave students feeling "set-up" initially, feeling betrayed. This is something that can happen much easier in distance learning than in a traditional class, as there are no social cues as can be found in a traditional class room. It is important, therefore, that any constructivist learning instructional design with an analysis of the current level of trust between the various "presences"--teacher, students, community, and discipline (Phillips). In all instructional designs, the designer should analyze (either implicitly or explicitly) how trust will be impacted, supported, maintained, and developed. You may need to explicitly identify assessments and activities that will undermine trust (e.g. a reflective blog on identifying weaknesses and solutions for a group that can be seen by a supervisor and used in promotional considerations).

Looking at the variety of activities that can be used in a flexible instructional design like the models proposed by Phillips and Sims & Jones (2002), there needs to be a variety of ways to assess learning. The differences in activities help to provide different types of learning for different learning needs. Likewise, different types of assessment will address the different ways that people apply their learning and demonstrate their knowledge.

Assessment Tools

We all know the traditional ways that we assess learning in the classroom: quizzes (multiple choice), joint projects, etc... In the classroom, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, we can see the class dynamics; we have social cues to indicate to us when a student "gets it". But this is not always true in distributed, distance, or adult learning. Technology can distort feedback (both receiving and giving). In addition, the time delay for feedback can be both positive (giving time for students to reflect) and negative (frustrating students when they are stuck with no visible means of support). So, for distance learning, not only is it important to determine the best way to assess student learning (what did they really learn and how well did they learn it) but also the best way to provide evaluation so administrators, parents, employers, other faculty, and the students themselves understand how well they met the expected outcomes and those areas in which there needs to be improvement. As assessment tools are chosen and created, try to think of these questions: how can the learning activity be justified to all stakeholders (e.g. the $500 spent on a video conference with the Baseball Hall of Fame)? What type of feedback will help focus student learning? What did students really learn (e.g. in addition to the content, perhaps communication and technology skills, problem solving and group skills, and understanding of the world outside of the classroom) and how can this be documented? How will the skills students have learned benefit them in their future? Did the learning activity allow them to use what they have learned immediately, or will there be a delay (need to practice or reflection, for example) before they can demonstrate their understanding? Will assessment be a part of the learning or is it used to measure learning for outside stakeholders?

If we follow the advice given by constructivist researchers, the best activities for learning are ill-defined, action based, with multiple possible outcomes. As such, will a multiple choice test be appropriate to measure student learning and outcomes? The reality is that our current educational system requires that we test in a time efficient way, which is multiple choice or "objective" testing. As a result, as teachers, we feel compelled to use these tests to prepare our students. So how do we resolve these competing forces?

In a traditional classroom, where there are pressures for standardized test scores, therefore, a combination of assessment tools can be used. Follow-up classroom activities that lead to objective testing with student presentations on what has been learned, application of constructivist concepts to a traditional classroom activity, and application of constructivist skills (critical thinking, situating learning, perspective taking) in other contexts that fit a traditional classroom assessment requirement.

In non-traditional classrooms (i.e. online learning, self-directed learning), on the other hand, assessment tools must match the teaching approach: reflective journals, online discussions, group work and presentations, projects, papers. Grading rubrics help to guide students in terms of expectations. Written feedback from both instructors and peers also help to establish expectations and perceived learning outcomes. I use written feedback and a holistic approach to grading (which is used on your SAT, GRE, and GMAT written sections). Others feel more comfortable using a rubric, especially when there are multiple instructors for the same class or course. More and more, I have seen departments that work together in training and developing group standards through feedback and triangulating grading among evaluators.

A number of researchers have also suggested including student input in developing the assessment tools (McLoughlin & Luca, 2001). The co-creation of assessment tools means students are not only constructing their learning, but they are aware as they do so of how they will be able to demonstrate their level of learning and stakeholders' expectations.

Some samples of alternative assessment that was developed by my students can be found on my web page in the right hand margin under Evaluation Rubrics. Over the next few posts I will include some examples of how I incorporate flexibility into my own assessments and the guidelines I use for my own assessment tools.


References

McLoughlin, C. & Luca, J. (2001). Quality in online delivery: What does it mean for assessment in e-learning environments? Available at: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne01/pdf/papers/mcloughlinc2.pdf

Phillips, R. (2004). The design dimensions of e-learning. Presented December, 2004 at ASCILITE Conference in Perth, Australia. Available at http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/pdf/phillips.pdf

Sims, R., & Jones, D. (2002). Continuous Improvement Through Shared Understanding: Reconceptualising Instructional Design for Online Learning. Proceedings of the 2002 ascilite conference: winds of change in the sea of learning: charting the course of digital education. Internet: Available from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland02/proceedings/papers/162.pdf

Experiential Learning

Michael Hanley has had a great series on Instructional Design. The 13th posting had a model which reminded me a lot of the Kolb Model of experiential learning. So I decided to post here a part of my Dissertation Proposal on Kolb's model:

Kolb’s experiential learning model is one explanation of how individuals might learn from their experience (Kolb, 1984). There are four basic stages to Kolb’s model. In the first stage, concrete experience, an individual experiences some phenomenon, such as a meeting, collaborative process, training, or reading new product material. Kolb also identifies this stage as one of problem finding. During the next two stages, reflective observation and abstract conceptualization, the individual reconstructs the experience internally and develops hypotheses or generalizations that can be used in future situations. In other words, individuals ask questions and look for answers during these two stages. In the final stage, active experimentation, individuals apply their generalizations or hypotheses to diverse contexts, reformulating their generalizations based on the outcomes as they repeat the cycle for each context. The final stage, Kolb also categorized as the portrayal of knowledge, in which concepts are verified, developed in a way to communicate to others, and explored through various contexts and situations so they eventually will be incorporated into new concrete experiences.

Kolb (1984) also distinguished between two types of knowledge: apprehension and comprehension. Apprehensive knowledge is the intuitive process that happens as we experience the world. Apprehensive knowledge makes us aware of what we are experiencing and perceive our world, although it may not have meaning. Comprehensive knowledge is the abstract ideas and understanding we create based on our experience. “Apprehension of experience is a personal subjective process that cannot be known by others except by the communication to them of the comprehensions that we use to describe our immediate experience. Comprehension, on the other hand, is an objective social process, a tool of culture”(p. 105). It is the apprehensive knowledge, communicated through shared concepts, known as concepts or comprehensive knowledge, that companies would like to capture since this is the intangible know-how that an individual brings to a situation. Putting this into the context of Kolb’s model, it is possible that the collaborative writing process helps individuals create a deeper level of apprehensive knowledge through social interaction that requires apprehensive knowledge be transformed to comprehensive knowledge. Transforming personal knowledge that is a result of experience (apprehensive knowledge) into social knowledge requires common symbols, culture, social structures, and images; in other words, comprehensive knowledge. Likewise, comprehensive knowledge is irrelevant without personal knowledge or experience (apprehensive knowledge) to mediate understanding (Kolb). The collaborative writing process may give group members the opportunity to utilize both apprehensive and comprehensive knowledge. If language works as a medium of thought through the use of inner speech, as a mediator of thought through discourse, and as a tool though the generation of thoughts and knowledge systems (Nelson, 1996), in studying collaborative writing, there is a chance to understand the multiple use of language in developing thoughts, apprehensive, and comprehensive knowledge, at the individual and group level.

Kolb, David. Experiential Learning: Experience as a the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood-Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1984.

Nelson, Katherine. Language in Cognitive Development: The Emergence of the Mediated Mind. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Elearning of the future: Mobile technology

I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but just did not have the time. As I commented on Michele Martin's blog

Each generation creates their own tools aside from their parents. 20 somethings have been using facebook and now others are catching up. Teens (of which I have two) are using mobile technology. My daughter was just lamenting that "Trackphone doesn't have any apps" (yes, she used apps which I am sure most 20 somethings don't use). "Can I get an itouch? They have cool apps." Did I mention that she is 13?

The media's new frenzy seems to be twitter. But many are overlooking the impact that mobile technology is having on our communication and access to information. One reason twitter is taking over is because the short messages are perfect for mobile phone access.

Ken Allen recently had a post about the impact of mobile technology on writing. Texting, in its various forms, is creeping into my student's papers. Will this mean that in the future writing conventions will include "i" and "u"? Perhaps. But the current state of truncated language in text messages do have a unique feature that will limit the extent of "texting language." Take a look at Ken's post. My initial observation is the "accented" language use. For example, my kids would never use "hiv." In fact, they would probably "translate" his title of "hiv u evr wundird wot it wiz lyk b4" as haf u evr 1Nderd wat it waz lIk B4." This leads to be believe texting will be more "regional" with some standard conventions internationally.

What does this mean for Elearning?

It would seem to me that the younger generation will use mobile technology as a means for not only communication but also learning and information sharing/gathering. However, it is likely this won't be in text form. Complex ideas will be difficult to convey in short textual spurts.

However, as my daughter pointed out, the new technology has powerful multi-media apps that will allow students to listen to lectures, watch video clips, and even post comments in a multi-media format (i.e. using a camera feature on the phone). It would appear that the current text based preference for communication among the younger generation will swing back to oral and visual communication for learning.

It is important that we begin to consider the ways we can integrate these new technologies into elearning, before it is too late. Michael Hanley has recognized this trend and posted a series of useful posts on using mobile technology for training. It is a good start. But we need to begin to recognize the importance of "place" of learning and how the portability of elearning technology will change access to education.

My e-learning book shelf

Michael Hanley had an interesting post in which he listed his top e-learning books. As I commented on his blog, I was surprised that he would have an elearning "booklist" as I found that most written about elearning is out of date by the time it is published.

Michael's comment back was:

I take your point about information remaining current, but if you have a look at the list, you’ll see that the texts reflect aspects of learning and development that don’t change - at least not *that* quickly. Luckily I am at this stage in my career where I have the skills to critically analyze any piece of information (analog or digital) and evaluate its relevance and currency, so I’m not too bothered about that...

...As I mentioned in my blog post, this library is my knowledge well: magazines and journals are equally a valued learning resource for me: I also subscribe to a range of electronic and print media, as well as reading blogs and wikis etc.

In another way, this shelf is a tangible representation of my personal growth and history as an e-learning pro. Some of those text has been with me for quite a while and they’re not going anywhere, anytime soon.

So what do you keep on YOUR shelf, whether it be physical or virtual?

This gave me a different perspective on what he was asking. So I compliled a list of books I have near me at all times when I am designing, researching, or teaching elearning.

Elearning design:

• Garrison, D. & Anderson, T. (2003). E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. I like the way the framework looks at the instructor, student, and technology as equal partners in learning. This also has the best section on elearning research of any text (elearning or research) I've read to date.
• Snyder, I (Editor) (2002). Silicon Literacies. Routledge. A nice collection of studies on different forms of elearning for multiple levels of learners.
• Jonassen, D. & Land, S. (2000). Theoretical foundations of learning environment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This is a good overview of multiple learning theories that create the learning environment that can be used in elearning. What I like about this is that it is not a "one size fits all" but gives various learning theories that might work better in one environment (level of education, discipline, technology) over another.
• Anything by Dewey. Everytime I read one of his books, written from the turn of the century to the 1930's, I am surprised how relevant it is to elearning. He bridged the formal learning with the learning environment and the informal learning.
• Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as a the source of learning and development. Englewood-Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. It is important to read ALL of this book, not just taking out bits and pieces. I find that the experiential learning model he presents in the book is ideally suited for elearning. This is the basis for all of my instructional designs.

Culture: As I feel culture (organizational, society, discipline) plays a big role in how elearning should be set up, I have four books that give a foundation that all instructional designers should keep in mind when developing elearning and a fifth that helps put the global communication skills and challenges in mind:

• Hall, E. (1983). The Dance of Life: the other dimension of time.
• Hall, E. (1966). The Hidden Dimension.
• Hall, E. (1959). The Silent Language.
• Hall, E. (1976). Beyond Culture.
• Schmidt, W., Conaway, R., Easton, S., and Wardrope, W. (2007). LA, CA: Sage.

Writing: We are becoming more and more of a text based society and the concept of "writing" has become important in elearning. However, we have to look at the new ways of writing and the impact it will have on learning and how we design elearning. These are the books I always go back to as I look at written interaction between students in elearning enviroments and the impact that elearning has on writing and reading.

• Selber, Stuart, (2004) Multiliteracies for a Digital Age, Southern Illinois University Press. This has a good discussion of the impact of the digital age on writing and reading. It includes how students might react to an electronic format for learning and assumptions we can make about what the students comes in with into the elearning environment.
• Berkenkotter, C. & Huckin, T. (1995). Genre knowledge in diciplinary communication: Cognition/culture/power. This is especially important for instructional designers that may be designing elearning outside of their own training, expertise, or discipline. Basically, this book looks at the impact that disciplinary culture has on what is acceptable writing style (for that subject), the nature of written communication within a community of practice, and the understanding of what knowledge is.
• Dias, P., Freedman, A., Medway, P., & Pare, A. (1999). Worlds Apart: Acting and Writing in Academic and Workplace Contexts. This is especially good for those that work in both academic and workplace environments. The authers looked at the different purposes, styles, and expections within academic and workplace writing environments. Although it is primarily a "writing" text, it gives good insight into the differences in learning within both environments.

The silver lining

I've been reading a lot lately about the impact of the economic downturn on training and education. Michael Hanley had a great post about the response companies are having to the economic downturn, with less investment in Training and education, and marketing. It is interesting that these are the two areas most likely to use social networking within a company. My own university, in feeling the pinch, has created larger classes (without corresponding classroom space) and a drive towards using distance education with a minimal amount of investment.

While all of this might sound like the death knoll for e-learning or distance education, the fact is that I see it as a great opportunity for instructional design, e-learning, and educational technology. With that in mind, these are the opportunities I see for the next two years:

1) More training for telecommuters. As companies cut their training budgets, they will want a cost/benefit analysis to justify training. Creating training programs that will orient workers to become effective telecommuters (including communication structures and procedures, distributed team building, online supervision, management, and performance evaluation, and new technology skills) will help companies that are closing brick and mortar spaces to be replaced by telecommuters. One of the options that SUNY has identified to cut costs is to either shut down buildings during low demand and allow workers to work from home, or closing building for administrative offices, combining departments and having workers share desks, with telecommuting.

For this to be effective, there needs to be more research on collaboration, distributed teams, and information literacy.

2. There will be a greater need for new technologies, new instructional designs, and new means of assessing learning. History has shown that recessions and depressions create a greater level of innovation and entrepreneurship. Of course, this innovation will come from outside of a firm. I think there will be a greater level of innovation as people lose their jobs and are no longer constrained by the big business fear of risk-taking. Although terrifying, many unemployed will take the opportunity to start their own companies. The use of new technologies are not going to go away, so those that can take advantage of this time to create something useful, will prosper in the long run.

3. The new US administration is committed to connecting the country to high speed internet, creating lifelong learners, and supporting the development of innovation. If the new economic stimulus package is passed, there will be access to grants and tax credits for the development of new technology, wireless and broadband structural improvements at the community level, and education at all levels (children to adults). It is important that we all take advantage of this opportunity to develop new approaches to learning using educational technology.

4. We are currently in the midst of a change in generational power. As such, I see a shift in the way business and education is conducted within the next decade. It is important that we take this opportunity to become involved in the planning process, bridging the gap from the computer (computation) based business practices to the web 2.0 ("connected" and information based) based business practices. This will require the transition of top management into networked communication, a structural change to the organization, and a change in the educational system from information transfer to information analysis to prepare workers and citizens of the future. I think also there will be a new push towards integrating creativity into the curriculum as new solutions are needed for the developing world problems.


As the eternal optimist who survived the 1982 recession (although at the time it was never acknowledged that there was a recession, I think we have a great opportunity to become phoenixes rising out of the crash and burn economy that was really in a downward spiral for longer than many wanted to admit.

Leadership: is it overrated?

Michael Hanley had an interesting post last week about Donald Clark's posting on leadership.

This is something that I have thought of over the last 5 years as some of my research, teaching, and education has brushed up against the "leadership" research. In fact, my university has one of the leading leadership gurus in Management today. However, like Michael and Donald, I have always questioned the basis of these leadership theories. On the other hand, my current research has demonstrated that leadership can have an impact on how groups (especially distributed groups) work and are able (or unable) to complete work in a tight timeline.

Management or Leadership

I think one of the problems is that there has been a distinction made among "leadership" scholars between leadership and management. However, leadership is one aspect of management. Likewise, communication (which seems to be the link taken out of "leadership"), organization, motivation, analysis that balances risk and security, and TAKING RESPONSIBILITY for mistakes and correcting actions (another aspect of management that seems to be lacking in current leadership theories) are also vital in Management.

On the other hand, there is a role for leadership (effective leadership) in the new organization. With the advent of a flat organizational structure, where distributed groups may all be working at the same level, there needs to be some leadership structure. My current research looking at a working group demonstrates that when there is a perceived lack of leadership structure (as happens in newly formed groups) it is more difficult for groups to make decisions and move forward. This can be especially difficult for groups that have been set up under a strict time constraint to accomplish discrete goals or objectives. My sister works in professional groups which, because the members are professionals of equal standing, there are no identified leaders. As a result, the organization is having trouble maintaining a uniform level of service.

Is this leadership or management? If leadership is defined as the all powerful person that tells group members what to do without really interacting with them so that there is a fall guy when things go wrong (or more likely, someone to find a group member to blame) then this is "leadership". However, there needs to be a group facilitator (leader? manager?) who organizes the group, keeps them on track, manages interactions and communication between group members, makes final decisions when the group is deadlocked, helps interact with those outside of the group (i.e. with clients, upper management, front line workers) and develops the working structure for the group as members come and go into the group. This role is a bit more than a "manager", a bit more than a "leader" who makes decisions regardless of the group input, and more of a juggler of many aspects of the group.

Most importantly, what I have not read is why leaders (who are the risk takers) should get compensated more than the workers (who may have no choice in their jobs)? Shouldn't leaders that fail have to pay back money if they fail is they are being compensated for big risks if they succeed? Wouldn't this encourage them to make "better" decisions? Or should they be compensated the same as their team members as theirs is just a different job within the group? Why should "leaders" make twice as much money as "followers"? Isn't it just as important to have good followers?