E-Learning Curve Blog

Connectivism, Networked Learning, Connective Knowledge course

George Siemens and Stephen Downes, those inveterate provokers-of-thought in digitally-mediated education, are co-facilitating what will probably be an innovative and timely online learning program titled Connectivism, Networked Learning and Connective Knowledge, beginning January 12th 2011.

According to the authors,

Connectivism and Connective knowledge will explore the concepts of connectivism and connective knowledge and discuss their application as a framework for theories of teaching and learning. It will outline a connectivist understanding of educational systems of the future. This course will help participants make sense of the transformative impact of technology in teaching and learning over the last decade. The voices calling for reform do so from many perspectives, with some suggesting ‘new learners’ require different learning models, others suggesting reform is needed due to globalization and increased competition, and still others suggesting technology is the salvation for the shortfalls evident in the system today. While each of these views argue for the need for change, they overlook the primary reasons why change is required. This course will tackle the deep rooted change pressures and explore why systemic response is required.

As this is an open online course, participation is open to everyone; you need only register here and subscribe. Throughout this course, participants can use a variety of web-based technologies for learning, including:

• blogs
• Second Life
• RSS Readers
• UStream
• …and so on

Course resources will be provided using gRSShopper and online seminars delivered using Elluminate.

The curriculum includes the following topics:

• Week 01: Connectivism?
• Week 02: Patterns
• Week 03: Knowledge
• Week 04: Unique?
• Week 05: Groups, Networks
• Week 06: PLENK
• Week 07: Adaptive Systems
• Week 08: Power & Authority
• Week 09: Openness
• Week 10: Net Pedagogy
• Week 11: Research & Analytics
• Week 12: Changing views

This course will provide participants with credits in the University of Manitoba’s Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education and Certificate in Emerging Technologies for Learning.

Click here to access the University of Manitoba’s course page:
http://www.extended.umanitoba.ca/Courses.aspx?id=77000009

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January 11 2011 | e-learning | 3 Comments »

2010 Edublogs Awards results & congrats to the winners

If you’re a regular reader of the E-Learning Curve Blog, you’ll know that your humble blogger was shortlisted for the 2010 Edublog Awards Best E-Learning / Corporate Education Edublog.

The runaway winner in this category was…

1. Winner: Rapid E-Learning Blog
2. First Runner Up: Edutopia
3. Second Runner Up: edReformer

Summary of nomination and voting info:

1. 27 nominations received for Best elearning / Corporate Education Edublog 2010
2. 13 blogs shortlisted for Best elearning / Corporate Education Edublog 2010
3. Total number of votes was 1,188
4. Most nominated blogs was:
   • Rapid E-Learning Blog- 3 nominations

Blogs nominated (in alphabetical order):

1. Another dot in the blogosphere
2. edReformer
3. Edutopia
4. E-Learning Curve Blog
5. Integrating Technology
6. Jane’s eLearning Pick of the Day
7. Learnboost
8. Microsoft The UK Schools Blog
9. Rapid E-Learning Blog
10. Search ReSearch
11. The Gateway to 21st Century Skills: Making the Most of Online Resources
12. The Moodle Man blog
13. Virtual School Meanderings

As you can see, the Rapid E-Learning Blog garnered nearly 80% of the 1,188 votes in this category, so hats off to Tom Kuhlmann and all the folks at Articulate on their impressive win: keep up the good work in 2011.

As for the rest of us: must try harder and be better…

You can check out the 2010 Edublogs Awards results in all the categories by clicking here.

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January 05 2011 | e-learning | 2 Comments »

Top 10 E-Learning Curve Blog posts for 2010

It’s December. We look forward to a better 2011, but also reflect on what we have done, failed to do, and to paraphrase Sam Beckett “Tried again. Failed again. Failed better.”), achieved.

Thought about. Written about.

That last two items apply here. This is my top 10 list of blog posts for 2010:

• E-Learning along the curve: adapting to knowledge workers’ learning needs
• Can We Align Kirkpatrick’s Guidelines & Non-Formal Learning?
• E-Learning Development Project Lifecycle 1: Introduction
• E-learning Ecosystem in Organizations
• Evaluating Non-formal Learning: Validity in Research
• Non-formal Workplace Learning
• A Research Design to Evaluate E-Learning Projects
• Is your Organization Ready for E-Learning?
• Knowledge Management and E-Learning
• Differentiating tacit and explicit knowledge

These posts are in in no order of preference. Rather, think of them as a selection to be chosen from and judiciously picked à la a chocolate from a box of Cadbury’s Milk Tray.

As an aside (and for those of you of a certain age and probably Irish or British) this iconic ‘Milk Tray Man’ video is actually a documentary of the effort required and the lengths I go to to create each and every E-Learning Curve Blog post for you, dear reader.

More end-of-year stuff next time…

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December 14 2010 | e-learning | 1 Comment »