Social Media and Education: The Conflict Between Technology and Institutional Education, and the Future
Sarah Intellagirl Robbins
Intellagirl's claim: Many of the benefits of institutional learning can be accomplished via social media, she fears for future of high ed
High ed offers:
--membership in social affinity or intellectual groups (online or rl)
-- engage in intellectual discourse
--access to resources and experts
--endorsement of completion (credentialing)
--accumulate skills for employment
--association with professional community (esp with things like nursing schools)
--guidance through experiences and thought processes
Role of social media for those who engage?
Social media offers:
--self expression
--sharing enthusiasm for common interests
--access to experts and personalities (pic is of TED talks)
--enhance personal and professional reputation
--build and share skills
All communication is educational
Dialogic communication allows for more community, exchange of ideas (Web 2.0)
Institutions can be replaced by a *self-motivated* investigator
Where does education fit in a world where production & consumption of info has become:
-- wikipedia (v. brittanica)
-- amateur (you tube)
-- distributive (crowdsource)
Strategies for the future:
--we are not the gatekeepers to knowledge
--role of educators changing (edupunk )
--references Henry Jenkins (aca-fan ); teach students how to learn in an information economy
--teach importance of contributing to community (global citizens now); their value in an info economy is the quality of what they share; teaching them to learn and express alone -- not what's needed today
-- teacher as guide (she doesn't say 'sage'); teacher a co-creator (uses ex from elementary school)
--arguing for teacher as expert, the helper when students get in trouble (how many teachers navigate w2.0 with that degree of skill)
Educators more imp than ever in world of social media
We are the last cohort of educators who will remember what the world was like before not only social media but other technologies (hand helds)
intellagirl@gmail.com
SL: IntellagirlTully
slides on slideshare
Q: {accurately points out that the claims at the start of her talk are more alarmist than the conclusions she presents at talk's conclusion}
I: if we don't embrace the shift (teach courses lecture style, large classes without online community accompaniment), then we may have trouble. Will students choose to be controlled by institutions?
Students raised in a world where they have a voice and every system they engage in allows them to do that, except school.
Q: I've taught biochemistry and bioinformatics for many years, and there is a set body of knowledge, and I wouldn't want to drive over a bridge built by someone who studied engineering at wikipedia;
I: We don't need to abandon facts but we can remove individual isolation and allow students to collaborate better while learning concrete information
Output mechanisms of tests and papers may not help the learning outcome.
Q: from Israel -- why do you say "IT" when "ICT" (c=communication) is so important
Q: Inside HighEd this am: FB becoming the campus commons, rather than a physical commons; please comment
I: Don't think that students spending more time in FB than F2F,
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Educause 2008: Out/Insourcing point/counterpoint
Educause 2008: In and Outsourcing, Benefits and Risks
Len Gonick and David Trevvett
Outsourcing -- many things -- cloud computing, hosted applications
-- 30 yrs ago most of us writing own business apps
-- 90s packaged apps took over marketplace
--in effect, we have outsourced our business applications
--leasing = outsourcing ownership
-- open src (sakai) or shared dev is a form of outsourcing
G: growing expectations internal and external, hi ed slow to respond
--textbook conversation about core and context
--everything not core a prospect for outsrcing
T: prime ex of insourcing -- old legacy business systems
--Leadership scared of consulting costs; they decided to build an in house consulting group who would assist (I guess with ERP migration)
Both of them seem to be talking about either creating an internal group or developing an equity option in external firm that they helped to develop
G: Network not still core, trending towards commodity
--work with a non-profit to turn a commodity into something of strategic value
--mentions Campus EAI
{In general, I like this new point-counterpoint format -- less boring}
T: currently, pushed by executive to outsource an application but there was a lot of work mapping internal business processes to external application
-- standard, clearly defined business rules a must to take advantage of outsourcing potential
--security and privacy a big deal
-- can have greater agility in house
-- outsourcing doesn't mean you don't have to manage the application at the ext vendor
G: 800 lb gorilla -- time to have serious conversation about impact of global economic meltdown on our industry (DOW below 9,000....and sharp drop at end of day)
--advocating for a community focused attempt to answer some questions (shared service development) where there isn't an obvious industry advantage
--we will be getting mandates from BoT and legislators -- need to be prepared
T: agree with idea of regional, community based things and a mixed portfolio
--need larger economies of scale that we can never have internal to our own institutions
Question: describe a mixed portfolio
G: outsources to IBM intrusion detection, satisfies a regulatory requirement, a lot of $$ to build up expertise in house
Q: Have you come across best practices for considering in/out-sourcing?
T: move to out -- cost, dev of inhouse expertise, faster turn around, depth of offering (7/24/365)
in -- risk, security, u
--institution's culture and drivers are key
G: best template comes from an outsourced 3rd party provider (something like a Gartner) -- also provides cover for CIO
--hardware play v. SAS play -- CIO's see these as different pots of money (capital v. operational)
T: we haven't outsourced email for students but we allow them to forward their mail
G: that's why we did outsource, to develop a framework for the reln btw univ and corp -- a risk mgmt strategy
T: do you know where your data is stored? what country it's stored in?
Len Gonick and David Trevvett
Outsourcing -- many things -- cloud computing, hosted applications
-- 30 yrs ago most of us writing own business apps
-- 90s packaged apps took over marketplace
--in effect, we have outsourced our business applications
--leasing = outsourcing ownership
-- open src (sakai) or shared dev is a form of outsourcing
G: growing expectations internal and external, hi ed slow to respond
--textbook conversation about core and context
--everything not core a prospect for outsrcing
T: prime ex of insourcing -- old legacy business systems
--Leadership scared of consulting costs; they decided to build an in house consulting group who would assist (I guess with ERP migration)
Both of them seem to be talking about either creating an internal group or developing an equity option in external firm that they helped to develop
G: Network not still core, trending towards commodity
--work with a non-profit to turn a commodity into something of strategic value
--mentions Campus EAI
{In general, I like this new point-counterpoint format -- less boring}
T: currently, pushed by executive to outsource an application but there was a lot of work mapping internal business processes to external application
-- standard, clearly defined business rules a must to take advantage of outsourcing potential
--security and privacy a big deal
-- can have greater agility in house
-- outsourcing doesn't mean you don't have to manage the application at the ext vendor
G: 800 lb gorilla -- time to have serious conversation about impact of global economic meltdown on our industry (DOW below 9,000....and sharp drop at end of day)
--advocating for a community focused attempt to answer some questions (shared service development) where there isn't an obvious industry advantage
--we will be getting mandates from BoT and legislators -- need to be prepared
T: agree with idea of regional, community based things and a mixed portfolio
--need larger economies of scale that we can never have internal to our own institutions
Question: describe a mixed portfolio
G: outsources to IBM intrusion detection, satisfies a regulatory requirement, a lot of $$ to build up expertise in house
Q: Have you come across best practices for considering in/out-sourcing?
T: move to out -- cost, dev of inhouse expertise, faster turn around, depth of offering (7/24/365)
in -- risk, security, u
--institution's culture and drivers are key
G: best template comes from an outsourced 3rd party provider (something like a Gartner) -- also provides cover for CIO
--hardware play v. SAS play -- CIO's see these as different pots of money (capital v. operational)
T: we haven't outsourced email for students but we allow them to forward their mail
G: that's why we did outsource, to develop a framework for the reln btw univ and corp -- a risk mgmt strategy
T: do you know where your data is stored? what country it's stored in?
Educause 2008: IT Governance
The Real World of IT Governance: Culture, Politics, People and Transformation
Michael Ridley, CIO and Chief Librarian, Univ of Guelph
http://www.amazon.com/Governance-Performers-Decision-Superior-Results/dp/1591392535/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225295075&sr=8-1
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ECAR/ProcessandPoliticsITGover/47101
If we are in period of transformation – can’t attempt to connect dots to past; on the other hand, you cannot ignore the past
“Culture eats strategy for lunch every day of the week.” – Elson Floyd
Guelph iCampus = IT strategic plan (one community, many neighborhoods)
{This is a good ppt}
Money, resources at forefront; aligned with strategic goals; governance about using scarce resources
End of day -- yes to some, no to others
http://www.uoguelph.ca/cio/
ITSIG (key consultative group)
-- frontline folks not in central IT but provided lots of direct IT support
--monthly meetings to communicate, informal, felt disenfranchised
-- if you organize, we will give you designated positions within the governance discussion
-- formed a steering committee, elected executives, dev processes
--key to connect these folks in
--with their collaboration, we can drive innovation
--semi-controlled chaos
Office of Portfolio Mgmt
--not trying to set up a PMO
--community would see as a control grab
--initially focus on "what" -- what's going on, what are the resources
--facilitator, not gatekeeper; this office doesn't say yes/no to projects
--manage the decision process; mechanisms glue policies and processes together
Governance landscape:
-- control
-- What's In It For Me
-- Communication
-- Relationships (down as much as up, incl student groups and alumni)
-- Leadership at exec level but also from central IT
-- Vision (quickly and easily articulate what you want out of IT governance)
How does research computing fit into governance model (something they haven't done well)
--need to maintain relationships with researchers, articulate the value of cyberinfrastructure
--challenge of letting researchers have a genuine place at the table
Trying to:
-- focus on art of the possible
-- vision carrot and policy stick
-- mutual self interest
Vision first; people second; process third
Michael Ridley, CIO and Chief Librarian, Univ of Guelph
http://www.amazon.com/Governance-Performers-Decision-Superior-Results/dp/1591392535/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225295075&sr=8-1
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ECAR/ProcessandPoliticsITGover/47101
If we are in period of transformation – can’t attempt to connect dots to past; on the other hand, you cannot ignore the past
“Culture eats strategy for lunch every day of the week.” – Elson Floyd
Guelph iCampus = IT strategic plan (one community, many neighborhoods)
{This is a good ppt}
Money, resources at forefront; aligned with strategic goals; governance about using scarce resources
End of day -- yes to some, no to others
http://www.uoguelph.ca/cio/
ITSIG (key consultative group)
-- frontline folks not in central IT but provided lots of direct IT support
--monthly meetings to communicate, informal, felt disenfranchised
-- if you organize, we will give you designated positions within the governance discussion
-- formed a steering committee, elected executives, dev processes
--key to connect these folks in
--with their collaboration, we can drive innovation
--semi-controlled chaos
Office of Portfolio Mgmt
--not trying to set up a PMO
--community would see as a control grab
--initially focus on "what" -- what's going on, what are the resources
--facilitator, not gatekeeper; this office doesn't say yes/no to projects
--manage the decision process; mechanisms glue policies and processes together
Governance landscape:
-- control
-- What's In It For Me
-- Communication
-- Relationships (down as much as up, incl student groups and alumni)
-- Leadership at exec level but also from central IT
-- Vision (quickly and easily articulate what you want out of IT governance)
How does research computing fit into governance model (something they haven't done well)
--need to maintain relationships with researchers, articulate the value of cyberinfrastructure
--challenge of letting researchers have a genuine place at the table
Trying to:
-- focus on art of the possible
-- vision carrot and policy stick
-- mutual self interest
Vision first; people second; process third
Educause 2008: Active Learning Spaces at UMN
Univ of Minnesota Digital Media Center (part of 750 FTE central IT unit)
• 3 research fellows (all PhDs)
• 3 tiers of program
* consultation
* technical research/evaluation assistance
* research partnership (FTE spends 50-60% of time on one project)
• Ex: Tier 3 partnership with office of classroom mgmt
Formed active learning classrooms pilot evaluation team
Active Learning Classrooms – like SCALEUP (round 9 person tables, plasmas, multicast of student work, markerboard around perimeter of space, students bring own laptops into room (but they will provide laptops if requested), teaching biology and EE/CS); glass markerboards around whole perimeter
One room seats 45 and the other 117; Biology prof uses larger room with two TAs, wants a 300 seat room; larger room has mikes
24 ASF/student
national benchmarking 20-22
their historical classrooms are 16-18
Small classroom technology cost $120k plus facilities cost; larger room double roughly
3 computers connected to monitor (plasma) assigned to table;
http://www.classroom.umn.edu/active-learn-room.asp
CM: I wonder if in these type of presentations, there isn’t some obligation to contrast the incubator spaces with the typical classroom?
JS: Also wonder how you can get at the amount of time faculty spend changing the way they teach to use the spaces attributes… e.g. how much faculty development needed etc. and can they change back when they are kicked out of the space for the next group who wants to try it out.
CM: I know – you end up with groupies who you can’t kick out of the space b/c they can’t go back to the regular pool
Trained faculty around physical limitations of room (sightlines)
• 3 research fellows (all PhDs)
• 3 tiers of program
* consultation
* technical research/evaluation assistance
* research partnership (FTE spends 50-60% of time on one project)
• Ex: Tier 3 partnership with office of classroom mgmt
Formed active learning classrooms pilot evaluation team
Active Learning Classrooms – like SCALEUP (round 9 person tables, plasmas, multicast of student work, markerboard around perimeter of space, students bring own laptops into room (but they will provide laptops if requested), teaching biology and EE/CS); glass markerboards around whole perimeter
One room seats 45 and the other 117; Biology prof uses larger room with two TAs, wants a 300 seat room; larger room has mikes
24 ASF/student
national benchmarking 20-22
their historical classrooms are 16-18
Small classroom technology cost $120k plus facilities cost; larger room double roughly
3 computers connected to monitor (plasma) assigned to table;
http://www.classroom.umn.edu/active-learn-room.asp
CM: I wonder if in these type of presentations, there isn’t some obligation to contrast the incubator spaces with the typical classroom?
JS: Also wonder how you can get at the amount of time faculty spend changing the way they teach to use the spaces attributes… e.g. how much faculty development needed etc. and can they change back when they are kicked out of the space for the next group who wants to try it out.
CM: I know – you end up with groupies who you can’t kick out of the space b/c they can’t go back to the regular pool
Trained faculty around physical limitations of room (sightlines)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hockey season is here
It's been four months since the Stanley Cup was hoisted by the (filthy) Red Wings and the season is upon us! The Thrashers got off to a great start, spanking the Capitals 7-4 in the season opener. We went with our friends Barb and Mike, pictured here. I had my obligatory one hot dog at Phillips....yea, that's enough of that. Don't think I'll even try the chicken sandwich or the turkey burger this year. No need, really. Especially since Taco Mac has opened immediately adjacent to the arena. There, you can get a real burger for the same price as the Phillips stands. Of course, for last night's game we stopped at our beloved Hsu's which really is the best Chinese food in Atlanta. Our regular waiter saw us come in and came right over to catch up. He thought we might not have renewed because he knew the season had already started. No, no, we reassured him, we were just away for the preseason.
Under Coach John Anderson, the Thrashers are playing a more puck handling team approach style that is a lot of fun to watch. Lots of emphasis on passing and coordination. And the powerplay has additional strategies other than "hope Kovalchuk scores." As of last night, Kovy appeared to be getting used to the system, which initially looked like an awkward fit.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Heating it up in the frozen north
At 7am in Averill, Vermont, it was 33 degrees fahrenheit. Brrr. As we drove out the driveway, our Pontiac Torrent flashed on screen, "Danger -- snow and slippery ice conditions exist." Perfect weather for standing around in frigid waters. It was a rather uneventful drive to Lopstick with the exception of my punctuated shriek as a young bull moose crossed Rte 114 just east of the NeverHomeBoys Camp. Upon arriving at Lopstick, we licensed up and Bill asked where we wanted to fish. I said, "Ledges or Meadows," and we were off. A car was parked at the Ledges so all Bill's careful work rigging our gear for nymphing was for naught and we headed north for the Meadows. No one there so we headed in.
The day tried to have some blue skies but couldn't escape the pull of winter and dark clouds and that wet cold that permeates your bones characterized the day. You have to remember that of the last six day we've been up here, it's rained five and Vermont/New Hampshire isn't known for its heat retaining capabilities. Nonetheless, we plunged into the Meadows, fishing on Adams with blue-wing olive emergers, size 22. Darn near invisible, in case you're wondering. It was a day for salmon and some big ones at that -- Alan pulled out a bunch of fish, the smallest being eight inches. I got three and the largest of the day at about 21 inches -- my largest ever. All in all, it was our most productive day at the Meadows ever. Previous fall visits resulted in...not much.
At the end of the day, the fish were feeding wildly, just jumping up all over the place, but not taking our flies. Bill tied on everything and they just were barely interested. So, finally at 1:30, we called it quits. Our feet were numb anyways--it was just frigging cold.
Only fishing day on the Connecticut this summer so it's fitting that it was special. The fish were beautiful and the company good -- really wouldn't have been summer without a fishing trip with Bill.
Tomorrow we head back to Georgia. Sad to think that the Vermont season is coming to an end, a short three months after it started.
Photos on flickr.
The day tried to have some blue skies but couldn't escape the pull of winter and dark clouds and that wet cold that permeates your bones characterized the day. You have to remember that of the last six day we've been up here, it's rained five and Vermont/New Hampshire isn't known for its heat retaining capabilities. Nonetheless, we plunged into the Meadows, fishing on Adams with blue-wing olive emergers, size 22. Darn near invisible, in case you're wondering. It was a day for salmon and some big ones at that -- Alan pulled out a bunch of fish, the smallest being eight inches. I got three and the largest of the day at about 21 inches -- my largest ever. All in all, it was our most productive day at the Meadows ever. Previous fall visits resulted in...not much.
At the end of the day, the fish were feeding wildly, just jumping up all over the place, but not taking our flies. Bill tied on everything and they just were barely interested. So, finally at 1:30, we called it quits. Our feet were numb anyways--it was just frigging cold.
Only fishing day on the Connecticut this summer so it's fitting that it was special. The fish were beautiful and the company good -- really wouldn't have been summer without a fishing trip with Bill.
Tomorrow we head back to Georgia. Sad to think that the Vermont season is coming to an end, a short three months after it started.
Photos on flickr.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Last Vermont trip of 2008
It seems hard to believe that three months have gone by since our first Vermont foray this year but they have and now it's coming time to close up camp. We absolutely hit peak foliage this year and it's unimaginably beautiful. The maples this year are just stunning. I guess a wet year makes for good foliage because the one unifying theme of 2008 has been rain! It is pouring right now as I sit in front of a roaring fire waiting for Alan to bring me some cheese and crackers. Dinner is going to be a Canadien yellow split pea soup that I started yesterday. Perfect for a cold, rainy night.
We did get a bit of sunshine yesterday and took advantage of it by breaking out the kayaks. Beautiful views of Brousseau and Averill. The western flanks of Averill are just a sea of oranges and reds. You'll notice that the Coaticook Power company has the dam at full release because there's more beach than I've ever seen--you can literally walk from one beach to the other.
Flocks of geese settle into the cove every night on their way south and the loons are doing their fall socializing before their journey. Lots of calling going on. We had dinner Monday night at Rainbow Grille and got to catch up with Guide Bill who is bartending there now. Yummy food and a good conversation. We're going to head out fishing Sunday morning. Breaking in Pinky2 this week, it being confirmed once we got up here that Pinky had been a victim of the great Burlington airport fleecing. Yeesh, that pisses me off.
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