New Dimensions for New Media

In their article "New Media, New Learning", Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis (both from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), propose four "dimensions" to use as lenses with which to view learning in the digital era.  Many of these dimensions resonated for me, both personally and professionally.

Agency - Essentially, new media provides almost endless opportunities for choice.  My selection of the Marlboro College Graduate program is a perfect example. I chose this program for a number of reasons, many of which were made possible by new media. I can adapt the program to my own schedule and the variety of learning methods suits my eclectic learning style.  Most of all, I can embed this program deeply in my own professional practice, which was not an option I would have in many graduate programs.

Divergence - No, not a popular novel (now movie) for teenagers, but rather the way in which new media provides a variety of pathways for agency.  New media has provided me with a number of ways to access information about brain-based learning (particularly as it relates to learning styles) as well as new interactive methods to evaluate an individual learning style.  New media also provides me with a way to explore framing my work with a social justice lens, particularly within an educational environment.

Multimodality - New media presents a variety of opportunities to express ourselves multimodally.  This blog is a great example.  I can express myself in text form, I can link to videos, embed photographs, PDFs - all kind of blocks to use to build understanding.  LMSs have a similar multimodal functionality, with the addition of more ways to evaluate and assess learning and understanding.

Conceptionalism - This was initially a difficult transition point for me, and I see others continuing to struggle to get their head around the new social and technical architecture of new media.  It functions differently from traditional media and information.  I see some teachers struggling to understand the power of digital media that one accesses when they conquer their fear.  I see students struggling to find their balance in a world that is increasingly designed to trigger addictive responses.  I see parents who struggle to adapt their own learning styles and expectations (that developed in a "pre-digital" world) to a new world in which it is a struggle to balance digital media, technology and the physical and tangible connection between people.

These dimensions have given me a framework with which to understand my own understanding of our current world of new media.  I look forward to bringing forward these ideas in my own work with teachers.

Rainy Day Reflection

This feels like it has been a really big thinking week.  We have had some great discussions this week in our forums, and I feel like my thinking is really getting some traction.  I am particularly interested in how the work we have done so far is beginning to dovetail into my own work, especially the work that I do with teachers and technology.  One of my big areas of interest is how to use technology to collaborate asynchronously, and how that asynchronous collaboration supports face-to-face meetings.  I often find myself having conversations with colleagues, both classroom teachers and consultants, about using technology tools to create collaborations that are rich and meaningful, as well as convenient.

I really enjoyed the Google+ Hangout we did on Thursday.  I think the most interesting part for me was thinking about how we all interacted online, in the absence of a lengthy list of norms (something I often include in my trainings).  I thought we all did really well, although some of the long pauses (due I think to the absence of body language, which made it hard to tell when someone was finishing their thought) were just shy of awkward.  It did really help to have someone (in this case, Jane) keeping us all on the same path, with a few minor deviations.  It was a great way for us to have a chance to have a faster-paced, more organic conversation (as opposed to my typed and obsessively pondered forum posts).

I am looking forward to our next face-to-face, as, even with the Google+ Hangout, it feels like a long time between classes.

Making connections...

This week was a busy one.  I began to make connections between the readings from this week and past week.  I did struggle a bit making the connections between the Davidson reading and the Johnson video.  Interestingly, I think it might have been due in large part to the difference between a very complex two-chapter reading assignment and a 16 minute dynamic video presentation.

After I thought about it, I realized that it says something about myself as a learner.  Shorter is better and the dynamism of an individual presenter and voice made the content easier to process.  I think in the coming weeks, I am going to see if I can do things a little bit differently for upcoming readings.  Making the content more interactive for myself and asking myself to make connections along the way will, I hope, help me to process the information and make the information immediately relevant, instead of waiting until the end to try and make the connections.

Or I could borrow one of my friend's babies to recreate the observations that Davidson makes about baby Andrew?  I would probably get distracted, talking in baby talk and changing diapers, so maybe not.

As I was looking at the wikis we have been creating, I began to think that already, my brain is processing information differently.  When I was reading the text, I was getting bogged down in the visual expanse of the print.  Where were the links?  Where was the handy embedded video showing the Cymbalta commerical?  Is it true that even my 45-year old brain, programmed in my early childhood by books and 1970s television (such as it was), has been changed by my exposure to digital information and the Internet?

Many studies seem to focus exclusively on the infant, child and adolescent brain.  I am going to start looking for some information about how our adult brains have changed since the wide-spread use of the Internet.  This seems like it would be an important thing to know as I continue my work with adult learners.

Perhaps I will start with this article:

The Internet: is it changing the way we think?

Learn. Know. Teach.

To know, to learn, to teach. These three activities or guides frame our learning experiences throughout our lives. Beginning with our first moments in the world, these experiences move too swiftly through our childhood and years of formal schooling. If we are fortunate, the experiences continue throughout our lives. 

To know is the result of taking in information and processing it. Knowledge is information placed in context, when we understand not simply the facts but also the implications of the facts. To truly know something means that we have integrated the information into our world, and why it is important.

To learn is to be exposed to information, then to take that information and create an understanding and structure for putting the information into our own context. When we learn, we draw upon our own experiences (what many teachers call “background information”) to give knowledge meaning. 

To teach is a multi-step process that combines both knowing and learning. It begins with the presentation of information, which could (and should) come in a variety of formats. In an ideal world, teaching will activate a learner’s background information, helping the student place the information in a relevant context. The teacher can then use a variety of techniques and/or assignments to check for understanding, and assessing what the learner has absorbed based on previously established learning objectives. And in many cases (in my opinion, the best cases) the teacher’s own understanding is developed and altered, and they too become a learner.

As I have laid it out here, this process is complex, but once embedded in practice, becomes a natural process, whether in a classroom, a studio, a living room or an online forum.

Educational Technology

This fall semester brings me to a new course - Educational Technology. I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, as well as meeting some new people. I am a bit nervous about the new format - only one face-to-face session each month! But I am excited to have a very busy semester! Stay tuned for my first reflection from my EdTech class.

Not my "final" experience

In the final week of the class,  Games and Simulations, I returned to the Minecraft world and decided to see if I could put some “homier” touches on my house.  I first wanted to build a bed (a piece of furniture that my daughter deems “essential”, if I don’t want to be killed by zombies. Or maybe the house is to protect me from zombies, and the bed to keep me rested and alert?  I tried, in vain to convince her that there were no zombies in my version of Minecraft, but she remained adamant.

Unfortunately, there was no wool to be had anywhere (an essential ingredient, along with wooden planks).  I did my research and found that if I had a pair of shears (which I did), I could shear a sheep without killing it (hooray!).  I wandered around in the wilds away from the settled area without success.  I decided to try walking the other way, and lo and behold, discovered that Pansy had a corral with several animals. The animals shied away from me, but after going through my inventory, I found that I could wave around a piece of sugarcane, which aroused their interest.  I also fed a carrot to a pig, which apparently garnered it’s love and devotion.

Once I built their trust, I did something that I would never have done IRL.  I stole a sheep fleece.  Luckily, the sheep recovered a new coat quickly, but Pansy, if you are reading this, please forgive me.

Back to the house to build the bed, and after a few missteps, my bed stood in the middle of the room, ready for me to rest my weary head.  A few paintings on the wall, and two torches on the walls, and I now have a cozy nest.  I look forward to the chance to go back  to my home and continue to practice my Minecraft skills.  

"Mining" Online Worlds

My latest online adventure has been in the world of Minecraft.  To me, the world is a cross between Lego and Settlers of Cataan.  The block construction and focus on building in the world brings me back to the many hours I spent playing with Legos as a child (and, to be honest, as a young adult).  Anyone who has played a world-building board game like Settlers of Cataan would recognize the crafting of world elements from raw materials. 

During a disastrous first attempt in world,  I dug myself into a hole so deep I couldn’t get out.  I logged out of the game and didn’t go back until I had reinforcements in the form of My 10-year old daughter.  She has played Minecraft with a friend on Xbox, so I enlisted her help.  In another stroke of luck, our course instructor was in world at the same time, so I was able to explore with expert guides.

In the short time we had, I was able to begin building my house, including the glass windows.  I had gathered up sufficient supplies to build the house.  One of my next steps is to find some “recipes” online, to see what I would be able to make from the supplies available.  My daughter insists that I have to make a bed.  In the game version, you have to concentrate on basics for survival – food to eat, a bed to sleep in and a house to protect you from zombies and other “things that go bump in the night”.  Thankfully, so far, I haven’t seen any zombies.

When I was able to go back into Minecraft a few days later, I was able to finish building my house and plant some of the seeds I had in my inventory.    (Photo to come!)

I look forward to continuing to explore the educational possibilities presented by this world!