Out of Town

Hello Distance Education Village!
After a busy and successful gala event at the Museum of Flight, I am now out of town--same story different location.
Seeking isolation and writing.
You will hear from me soon.
Have you visited zotero.org?
It has free software that gives my current bibliographic software big competition.
But I'm not getting distracted with it right now.
Bye!

Links

I promised some links.
The wiki workshop: Knowledge, Learning, and Teaching
Some music to get in the mood to write by:
The Blue Danube Waltz
Radetzky March
Journals for Publication?
Innovate
Directory of Open Access Journals

Hungry Computers

I must say that my little PC laptop has certain built-in features that I miss on my new MacBook, i.e., voice recognition without having to buy extra software. Also, my Endnote software from both my PC and older iBook does not run on this new one--incompatible operating systems. That being said, I upgraded the Endnote this weekend because the poor little PC overheats and shuts off randomly.
So now, it's time to write. I've loosened up by reading someone else's paper and giving some feedback. She may sic her dog on me afterwards, but I hope not.
The two (make that three) pieces I am working on are, as follows: an overview on the history of distance education, and in-depth account of an online teaching/learning experience, and an in-depth discussion on structural inequality and gender issues.
As I write this, it occurs to me that I prefer to upload a document, rather than post directly to the blog. I will try that next time.
So I have been feeding my computer with software and content for my papers. My determination is great and I have been looking for the ideal circumstances to write--and have discovered that the wee hours--somewhere between 3 and 8am suit me well. Sleep will change accordingly: a few hours sleep after work ( I get home at midnight) and a 90-minute nap in the afternoon--that's the plan.
How am I doing with my writing? Slow but getting there. The inner critic has been fired and I am free. I can do this--I AM doing this. My little Mother (pictured) would have encouraged me to move in this direction. She got my Dad through grad school with her constant, positive encouragement and sometimes even threw cold water on him to get him going in the morning. So it's cold water time for me! Back to writing.

My Commitments for Next Week

Reflections of what I did will be posted to this blog.

I am working on an overview and in-depth discussions of the KLT project.

Also, I will refer to the in-depth discussion on SID and give some links to the related wiki and blog. Two articles for publication will be part of this group, with suggestion of the appropriate journals for submission and according to those guidelines.

The drafts for these will be sent to Distance Education Village on or before Monday, March 3rd.

Do not expect miracles, but at least some progress in the positive direction!

2008: My Ten Year Anniversary of Personal Computing

What I enjoy is accessibility. The cruise ships have installed Internet Cafes in their lobbies and even have "Happy Hour" discounts. I now have an ASUS/Linux traveling computer that is purse-size and has no moving parts--Skype-capable with camera built-in; voice commands, Wi-Fi...and no moving parts (flash memory). I carry it everywhere.
I have wikis and blogs (like this one) and also participate in a blog that offers podcasts of meetings...a technology of inclusion, asynchronicity, learning, collaboration, and community.
At home--even in the kitchen--if technology (any appliance) is involved--cooking is more enjoyable to me. Maybe it's because I come from a legacy of women who worshiped technology as the salvation to womankind. My grandmother waxed and polished all appliances from her washer-dryer to her ice crusher, coffee pot, and blender. All had protective dust covers, as well. My mother's washer-dryer set (in pink) and fascinated me and helped set the tone for my pursuit of all kinds of interesting gadgets--before computers.
I studied electronics. Computers were first introduced to me from the inside out. Industrial computers that ran NC and CNC machinery came into my career-life in 1978. My world consisted of power supplies, amplifiers, integrated circuits, motors, feedback systems and manually-installed operating systems and programs (before floppy disks, we used punched mylar tapes and tape readers). Building, fixing, but not using computers until much later, when the desire to finish college fueled the opportunity to acquire a comouter of my own in 1998. This year I celebrate my tenth anniversary as a personal computer user. I feel like a beginner, but don't mind a bit.

Integrating Technology Exercise Ideas

For the NS07, I thought we might pre-schedule a webex meeting time and demonstrate in real-time how it looks to use this technology and also skype at the same time?...we could use a digital projector for the screen shots, i.e., who is sharing what--desktop, web content, etc.
Also maybe make some time available (post-workshop?) to assist learners in setting up their own blogs and wikis.

Wiki Integration Ideas for Workshop NS07

For the wiki, a great place to see collaborative models begins with viewing the wiki listing in wikipedia.This entry not only traces wiki history, but links to many wiki projects, references, and practical applications that show the versatility and creative approaches to the wiki experience. Some examples include wikipedia, wikiversity, collaborative writing projects and workplace solutions.

Changing Patterns

This post is for the practice of posting...to make a habit of it, so to say. The stream of consciousness will take Saturday off here, but much is happening behind the scenes to prepare for an upcoming workshop on technologies, including: mind-mapping (software, as well as hand-drawn), blogs, wikis, skype, webex, and bringing them all together in ways that prove useful for graduate work, learning and teaching. My part of this workshop will be wiki technology.

Journals for Consideration

My goal is to submit a scholarly article for publication about the experience of creating an online workshop. Based on this topic, I selected three online journals from the Directory of Open Access Journals:

Innovate Journal of Online Education offers online publishing, webcasts, conferences, and real-time discussions with journal authors (participation in these discussions is part of their publishing criteria). This is a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed journal; Chicago style.

Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education
This journal is calling for articles on "Context-Aware and Ubiquitous Learning" for the April 2008 issue, with a submission deadline of August 1, 2007 (this may be too soon, depending on the writing progress).

Journal of Educational Technology and Society
Submissions accepted throughout the year.

Today is Yolanda Day

Please join with me in celebrating Yolanda Day. This is a day dedicated to academic writing about technology, online learning, and distance education praxis.

Online Learning Environments

Paper vs Electronic Writing and Learning
Paper is good for: kinestetic experience of knowledge creation, such as mind-mapping/outlining and drawing. Variations in coloration and writing instruments help the creative process. Portability is limited to size and how much you can/want to carry. Immediacy is a valuable asset of paper, books, articles & no batteries required! Non-mediated, high technology.
Computers are great tools that save time and can be used on or off line. Software avails the writer/creator to mix media, edit, and save large amounts of data for multiple projects. The learning environment depends on user, software, and technical knowledge of how to use the products and selection of the best media for the activity.
Online environments bring resources to the user via internet. The conduits through which media arrive can be e-mail, websites, libraries, universities, people, business...and repositories of information that is available for free or purchase. Associations of common interests often facilitate access to information which optimizes users' experiences and time.
Creation of online learning communities, such as wikipedia, wikiversity, blogs, YouTube, MySpace, Skype, Wikispaces, SecondLife, and Open Source proponents example just a few areas where online learning experiences imitate life, through knowledge creation--communal or otherwise-- of its users.

Feminist Epistemology Link

Article on Feminist Epistemology

New Technologies

I forgot to mention two technological progresses achieved today--my acquisition of a video camera to make the online experience in Webex and Skype more interesting tomorrow. Also, my reading notes may appear a bit succinct and/or linear because I dictated them, via microphone, into my word documents. This was fun, but time-consuming...I learned a lot...some of what the computer thought I said was quite humorous--I must spend some more time "teaching" my voice patterns and enunciations to this machine! All in all, dictation and voice commands improved as I practiced.

Workshop Notes

I met with several of my workshop invitees--in person--Thursday. I did not provide a handout but had meaningful dialogue that raised the comfort levels of several people present. Once again, my assumptions went unsupported: non-participation was simply because people were busy--one was out of town, one was finishing up a contract position and in the middle of job interviews, one forgot because of other distractions, one did not think she had anything of value to say (now convinced otherwise). I am in the process of re-inviting them all as a renewal practice of the transactional distance theory--the structure is pretty low, so the dialogue must, of necessity, increase--that is my responsibility. Also, I see the theories for instructional design useful here--especially in teaching the wiki elements with mastery in mind--so I see the Structural Learning Theory might work for that--a structural analysis of the wiki knowledge and breakdown content into the learning paths--building onto the prior mastery as we go, and each learner can achieve the mastery in their own way--yes, I see the value here...however, the behavioral approach is also relevant, as I must do some "shaping" to set up the lesson--prior to stepping the path of the routine process--what the learner needs as a background--and looking at the component skills beforehand that will stimulate the knowledge creation through practice...so this is what I will have to do next--The lesson plan extraordinaire--and the decreasing of the transactional distance, as well. Also, my increased practice in posting--serves as what Moore calls "internal didactic conversation" and decreases transactional distance between myself and my mentor at Distance Education Village.

Reading Notes on Moore: Theory of Transactional Distance

This is a brief note concerning Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance.
Learning across distance--the transaction involves actors (learners/teachers), environments, behavioral patterns and communication techniques. Structure and dialogue determine transactional distance, i.e., low transactional distance occurs under conditions of more dialogue and less rigid structure (flexibility in responsiveness to needs), whereas high transactional distance occurs when teacher-learner dialogue is minimal or nonexistant, within a highly structured format. Learner autonomy represents another aspect of transactional distance, whereby the learner benefits from appropriate levels of ongoing dialogue and structure to facilitate a greater comfort level in various high-transactional distance situations, where autonomous inquiry decisions and modifications occur frequently.

Reading Notes on Stevens & Scandura: Structural Learning Theory

Chapter five in the Reigeluth Book:

A Lesson Designed On Instructional Prescriptions From The Structural Learning Theory

By George H. Stevens and Joseph M. Scandura

Scandura: A cognitive theory of learning that led to a theory of instruction intended to accommodate other theories. His focus is on what to teach.

Selection of content—should be taught in the form of higher order rules when possible; testing for mastery and teaching only paths to mastery not yet attained.

[ page 161] …”equivalence classes represent the unique way of operationalizing and identifying the categories of divergence.”

[ page 162] … sequencing prescriptions: teach the most simple path and proceeding to more complex unmastered paths, until the entire rule has been mastered.

Reigeluth notes similarities between Scandura’s sequencing prescription and Landa’s level of elementary operations as well as Gagne’s entry level of skills.

S. L. T., also known as structural learning theory states that all knowledge is represented in terms of rules, i.e., cognitive processes. But structural analysis of content from a body of knowledge is the basis for designing the learning path rules to lesson mastery.

[ page 163] “ …a path, then, is that sequence of atomic rules that results in the satisfaction of an objective to a specific level of difficulty”

Divergence describes the many possible paths a solution rule can take.

Reading Notes on Gropper: Behavioral Approach to Instructional Design

Summary of readings from Instructional Theories In Action, edited by Charles M. Reigeluth.

Chapter three a lesson Based on a behavioral approach to instructional design by George L. Gropper.

Practice three approaches: routine treatments, shaping treatments, and specialized treatments.

Four categories of objectives: read calling or applying facts; giving definitions and explanations, applying them to examples, or illustrating them with examples; following procedural rules; solving problems.

Underlying components skills: discriminations, generalizations, associations, and chains. [ page 51].

Page 52:

Routine treatments:

• providing a cue that elicits desired responses; how to file procedures, how to define a concept war classify an instance of the concept, how to explain phenomena.
• Providing examples of performance
• Providing opportunities to practice

Non-routine treatments [ shaping and specialized]

• The size of the unit behavior practised
• The amount of cueing made available during practice
• The mode of stimulus or response
• The frequency and variety of practice
• The content of practice

Other organizational strategies

• Advanced organizers
• Self instruction

Display of information

• Directing attention
• Characterizing lesson content

Sequencing

• “Sequence” as facilitator
• Sequencing Of prerequisites

Lesson preface

• The instructional objectives
• The performance requirements
• Classify
• Define
• Predict
• Explain
• State from memory significant events
• Applied learning to new situation
• Target audience
• Lesson description
• Testing
• Annotations
• Reader introductions
• The conditions
• What the learner has to do
• Procedures
• Transfer of learning
• Treatments
• Model performance
• Address problem through practice
• Characteristics of correct outcomes
• Practice without cues
• Practised routine in new situation
• Itemized comments
• Learning hints

The Wiki Workshop

The online workshop is evolving daily. Today, I removed project dates and added Project 5, about women in history/unsung/silenced. My goal is to populate each project with enrichment resources, including scholarly writing (usually not available in thelocal public library), media & internet links, and other sources to augment participants' choices--with they will synthesize into our collaborative discussions. Also embedded in these workshops are technology lessons--I hope to introduce other tools beyond the wiki, for participants to explore on their own, and share learnings with the group. Other postings on this blog--under other topics (such as reading) will supply theoretical background that inform my strategies and decisions will be discussed as this workshop develops.
Today, I subscribed to the wiki for a year for some features (such as no ads)...this workshop may evolve into other projects, so will give it a try and make the investment.
Membership has grown, so now there are five of us, (including my faculty mentor and myself), and hope to grow even more--this week.
Tomorrow offers an opportunity to meet, face-to-face, with prior invitees and field any question or concerns. I will also provide a written invitation/handout that clarifies learning objectives and some inital guidance on how the wiki experience works. I will post the handout next visit.

Back to work!
How many web accounts do you have and how many passwords? Time to simplify a bit, maybe?
I just re-acquainted myself with this, my blog, so am happy to continue the learning process, including linking Blog to Wiki.
There is a certain comfort level to be achieved here, as learning enhances how I populate the created space for ideas, reflections, and knowledge constructions.

Knowledge, Learning & Teaching

Knowledge, Learning & Teaching
Just a quick note to myself and others--if you value your time, write posts and save on computer--then copy and paste.
This results in fewer tears when the internet link suddenly resets in the middle of a session! Been there, done that :(