#etmooc #clmooc Week 3 Reflection #f5f

clmoocreflect
#clmooc Week 3 Reflections

How is what you create driven by your interests?

Since this is voluntary learning, it’s all based on interests; I have no preconception or grade to concern me. I love being inspired by those who jump in and share, so that I can piggyback on their ideas or find the spark that leads to my own creative work.

How is your learning and making supported by peers?
We all love receiving feedback, and this group is great at that. I believe the reflection week in this #clmooc provides the time to make those reflections and connections. Excellent leadership in this mooc. We’re given options and permission to try, to fail, to try again, or to just lurk and comment, which is also learning. Everyone is at a different place, and those places change as our lives “happen.” Peers encourage and suggest often in comments on the Google+ community and in the blogs/projects. Thanks.

How is your learning and making connected to larger systems?
Don’t you love that you can share our learning in the #clmooc and others? in Twitter and in blogs? Each of us finds the focus of the week, and then connects in ways that extend the learning to others — that rhyzomic type of connection.
How is it useful to know the boundaries of something? What do you learn from bumping up against boundaries? How do boards help board games? How do playing fields help sports? How do rules and systems shape learning? Can we describe how our learning spaces look right now for us and our kids, and can we revise those maps of learning to open them up for all of us?

In such a large #clmooc boundaries are flexible: we have a focus (maps), but each member must create the boundaries that fit the situation and vision each needs. Our boundaries are dotted lines that can be opened as needed to create our own boundaries of solid lines, contained to our situation. As I work through these, I wonder how it applies to my classroom. What it suggests is that I need to share our goal — and then talk about what that might look like, and allow students to frame the boundary in which each will meet the goal.

An example of a hacked boundary:
Grade 8 CCSS Reading For Information 8:
“Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.”

Format:

Discussion:
Questions
Hack

Intro:
What does that mean?
Where would you find an argument?
What topic are you interested in?
Where could you find the information?
Student-driven vocabulary padlet
Shared collaborative google doc (form groups on topics; peer help for search terms and formulate topic/questions)

Information Connection:
What did you discover?
What do you believe?
What are the facts?
Team brainstorm mind map (http://www.mindmeister.com/ or other); share and discuss
Information Analysis:
What arguments/claims were presented?
What is valid?
What is relevant?
What is missing?
What are your arguments/claims/evidence?
How have your ideas changed?
Team share (tool options: presentation; prezi; mind map; info graphic; photo/captions;

Information Survey:
What do others think?
What other experts?
Other arguments?
How will you find out?
(Repeat Connection/Analysis)
Peer comments/feedback (f2f; doc; Edmodo)

Information Hack:
Annotated Media Remix: tool of choice for own article/reflection demonstrating goal based on target topic analysis
Possible: Blog/Wiki/Google Site with Animoto/YouTube/Prezi/Slides/Map

What is the connection between place and story? When is a map integral to a memory, or vital to a memoir?
Do you love to open a book, it’s faceplate a map of places within the world to be imagined, like The Hobbit? We still must imagine the place, the scene; but to have it organized helps us understand the author’s world. In our digital maps, we can provide a place for a story, and an image that hints to a part to lead the reader in. A map that adds flavor allows the reader to breathe in the aroma and imagine more, as did Stephanie West-Puckett with my map/poem/bio/story in this post.

When is it useful to have a map? When is it not? Do we become learners dependent on one set up or the other? How do we preserve flexibility to move and judge between the two?

Mind maps, visual maps, illustrated maps, flow chart maps, photo-maps: this project has helped us all to open our minds to the possibilities so that we aren’t stuck with one image of “map.” A main idea of #clmooc is to open choices, to imagine a product that fits the message for two reasons: 1) share a clear message and 2) allow others to hack or copy the form. We are learning to be flexible and fluent, elaborating on the originality of others, the process of these is called creativity.

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Keven Hodgson asked:

Is there demographic diversity in the MOOC?
Yes, it seems that diversity is an issue. I noticed in one post, a facilitator asked: “Who will you bring to #clmooc next week?” Perhaps we do need to reach out to our own PLN and invite others, anyone who might want to expand their connected learning.

Why are you so Google Plus-centric?
I am glad we are in the Google+ community (I don’t usually connect to the Facebook groups); I enjoy the ease of use and the fact that we can form smaller circles. Perhaps that is what members are doing, besides using the +name sharing. I’ve connected with Google Docs to collaborate, and that works well for projects. In the #etmooc experience, several of us connected in a wikispaces, and that helped during #etmooc, but then everyone was pulled back to their usual connections — though still connected through Twitter and Google+, we aren’t using the wiki. People connect as needed for interests and projects; it can’t be contained, but must remain fluid: neighborhoods we visit (an #etmooc discussion). I still think there needs to be a way to show who’s who as far as work position, grade bands, interests. Instructional Coaches have different needs than professors or teachers. A primary teacher has different needs than a middle school teacher or a high school teacher. A writing teacher has different needs than a science teacher. Although seeing ideas from everyone is terrific, our needs determine how connected we stay, and how collaborative we can be beyond the #clmooc. My question in #f5f insights asked about this.

Is it OK that much of the activity seems chaotic?
It is difficult to watch the flurry of activities, but that’s what gives me ideas. Considering question two, I would find looking at the community ideas would inspire me, and then connecting to a smaller “grade/subject/interest community would motivate me to communicate and collaborate with those who would be able to use the project idea in the coming school year. I think it would engender more connections.

How can we better encourage folks to break off into smaller, interest-driven groups? Is there something more we can do/should have done to set the stage for that kind of small group setting?

I don’t know if there is such a thing as “sub-communities” on Google+, but perhaps people could sign up on separate Google docs created for interests, topics, grade bands, subjects, etc. Not to keep people in groups, because members could sign in at several.

What about using tags? So I could add #clmooc #middleschool to my posts, and a search would show me others. Ronnie Bincer’s About Tags

 

What will happen, MOOC, when the last Make Cycle comes to a close in early August?
Perhaps we need a “Follow-Up” topic in the list so we can add connections and projects that have resulted from the #clmooc. I’ve continued some friendships from #etmooc and follow on Twitter and Google+, and I hope to find some to develop projects with that connect students. I’m not sure the education community in our schools is completely ready though; the people here are connected learners, but in their schools and in the policies of their schools, the opportunities may be different and less inviting to connections. That said, the connections made here will provide the support to inspire and transform the “back home” communities and institutions. So, a question is for me is, “If you want to inspire ‘connected learning’ in your own school/community/institution, what would you share first as motivation and introduction to your colleagues?”

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From David Truss

So how do I build capacity here? What are people doing to help them make their role as a leader more about what they want it to be? What strategies work? And how do people ‘find the time’ to do the things they really want to do?
I’d like to know that answer to this as well. I see George Couros @gcouros and Alec Couros @courosa online, blogging, and all their other duties, and they always find the time to answer my silly questions as a struggling leader. Do they schedule times? Probably.

That’s what I need to do, because I sometimes go for days doing what I must, but without connecting. I then feel the need to catch up, especially with the MOOCs and other places; I don’t want to let anyone down.

I’ve seen some bloggers who blog tweets with comments, and I started that (SoConsider). If I were a principal, I might do that for staff and community — helpful blurbs with links to the resources.

Hootsuite helps me connect to lists of people I follow and want to remain connected to by following the stream from that list, my one or those I’ve subscribed to.

If I were a principal, a Google+ community might be a great place to keep up to date – or a collaborative blog. I hope to add Google Plus to our staff Google Apps for Education and will do just that as Tech Liaison.

As a leader, I need to be what is possible for our needs and with our tools (fortunately, we have Google Apps for Education) in ways that provide others with a path to join in. For example, I helped several teachers start blogs, but that didn’t continue due to many factors. So, this year, I will start a collaborative blog – so when the time and topic presents itself, any teach can blog their class story. And I also try to do as much of the secretarial stuff in collaboration through Google Apps so I have more time for face-to-face interactions and the projects I want to do. I’m sure David is doing some form of these because that’s why I read his blog posts at http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/  — to learn from a master.

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This reflection seems so “I” heavy, but questions were asked. I’m not an expert, so the reflection helped me consider a path to take. I hope it helps others.

 

Again, my question:

“If you want to inspire ‘connected learning’ in your own school/community/institution, what would you share first as motivation and introduction to your colleagues?”

 

 

 

 

 

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6 Comments

on “#etmooc #clmooc Week 3 Reflection #f5f
6 Comments on “#etmooc #clmooc Week 3 Reflection #f5f
  1. I’m honoured by your comments in this post, although like you I must admit that when it comes to blogging and reflecting on my leadership:
    “I’m not an expert, so the reflection helped me consider a path to take. I hope it helps others.

    I started a community/collaborative blog this year to reflect on the learning we do at the Inquiry Hub. So far it has three posts, all by me. We aren’t there yet, but I have faith we will be. It has to be organic. Here is a fantastic community blog that I think exemplifies what’s possible: http://calgaryscienceschool.blogspot.ca/

    Really love the questions you ask and they way you answered many of them. I’ve only ever been a MOOC dropout, but that hasn’t been because of lack of interest, simply because of a choice to focus on other things. That doesn’t leave me any less interested in the learning that occurs in MOOCs. Thanks for sharing!
    ~Dave

    • Thank you so much for the link to the blog! That’s what I’ve been looking for, an example to show the opportunity and options for a community blog by staff. I also believe we’ll get there. As with our students, we adult learners also need models, encouragement, and time to try. Thanks so much for your input. Sheri

  2. CLMOOC isn’t a walled garden. One of the O’s is for Open. School systems have rules / restrictions that bind the open O. Not here though. Sub-groups don’t have to be on G+ or other Google feature. Google Groups ~ threaded and searchable ~ might be an idea and perhaps help navigate chaos.

    Wearing another hat, I blog and tend social media content for a national HE educator advocacy group ~ in that role, I have to go where the users are and accommodate their comfort zones, not shoehorn them into my preferences. That means using Facebook more than I might otherwise choose. So be it. I can still use that or any other platform to share information about the other options and (hopefully) educate potential users, invite them to test the waters….

    I wear other hats for other networks: similar considerations apply to their contexts. That part of what I am trying to map and hope to coordinate, sync…

    • Vanessa, thanks for your comment. CLMOOC definitely is not a walled garden, nor would we want it to be. I like the idea of tags to help people find those who can help each other when there are so many posts to sift through. And we do need to go where others are, and provide options for those who don’t have access to certain platforms. An invitation is what brought me to both etmooc and clmooc, so when you say “invite them,” that is the best idea. Thanks for pulling together important issues. Sheri

  3. The “I” is only one place to begin with reflection,but it is the most accessible. So…keep on! I was hoping to get you to come onto the Hangout on Air Monday night at 8 PM Eastern. Might that be possible?

    Thanks.

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