NISOD 2008 - A Few Days On...

I've been home from NISOD 2008 now for six days now and I've had some time to reflect on the experience. What did NISOD 2008 do for me? What did I get out of attending NISOD 2008 and how will it influence me and how I do my job over the next few months?

All great questions that I need to answer in order to take in the NISOD experience. I'd like to compare it to my attendance at STLHE 2007, a very similar conference focussed on teaching and learning being held this year at the University of Windsor.

Both conferences were about teaching and learning - at NISOD 2008 I got to see the issues and concerns of the U.S. community colleges and realized that we share many of the same issues with engagement and retention, with literacy and numeracy, and with reaching our current generations of learners. I also came to see that there are many differences between us and the U.S. based community colleges - teaching chairs, more adjunct faculty, less learning and teaching resources and that we are doing a good job at NSCC meeting the needs of our learners and supporting faculty and staff. I saw many of the exact same issues at STLHE, so these issues are not isolated or restricted to one country - they are in many ways systemic issues that we all must address.

At NISOD I got to listen to, meet, and talk with (briefly) to Vincent Tinto, who is to me the expert on engaging and retaining learners, particularly in that critical first semester of their college experience. I will take away a lot of what he presented and incorporate it in my practice. If you are an educator who is at all concerned about engagement and retention take a look at Tinto's work.

I got to spend a great two hours listening to Ron Berk talk about and demonstrate the use of humour and multimedia in the millennial classroom - check out his work too - it will add a lot to what you can do in your classrooms and online spaces.

I got to sit in on other good presentations that I have already posted about, all of which have given me ideas that should make me better at what I do. I met some amazing people, go to hang out with several colleagues from NSCC, and even got some shopping and sight-seeing in!


I have taken away from NISOD that we are doing a good job at NSCC and that we need to celebrate that more - one way that I can do that is to go back to conferences like NISOD and STLHE, but the next time go back as a presenter, sharing what it is that makes us who we are at NSCC...

NISOD 2008 - Closing Session And Excellence Awards...

This being my first NISOD conference I was not sure what to expect at the closing general session. It was very well done. For the past 20 years NISOD has been awarding excellence awards to educators (faculty, staff, administrators and others) from member institutions. the member institutions develop their own criteria and nominate their employees. the employees who attend NISOD are identified by the medals they wear around their necks for the duration of the conference (and quite possibly beyond - who knows?)

One of the coolest part of the closing ceremony was asking the award winners to take off their medals and to hand it to a friend, loved one or the person next to them. This person was then asked to ceremoniously place the medal around the neck of the award winner - a very nice touch.

NISOD 2008 was a very interesting conference with a lot of great ideas and discussions. I'll wrap it up in my next post...

NISOD 2008 - Getting To The Collaboration Zone - Professional Development That Results In Action...

The last breakout session that I attended was presented by two colleagues of mine from NSCC, Shelley Zwicker and Todd Verge. There presentation was about a faculty self-developed and self-directed professional development programme known as the Faculty Learning College Portfolio or FLCP. the FLCP is a five-year plan with significant reviews built in that upon successful completion adds $5,000.00 to the faculty member's salary.

The began by reviewing the FLCP which is a self-defined and self-determining PD programme. It is based upon the idea of Significant Learning espoused by Dee Fink. One of the big issue of developing the FLCP is determining what is needed - what is significant learning? I know that when I developed my own FLCP plan that I spent a lot of time figuring this out only to realize that a lot of my significant learning, being IT faculty (at the time) was simply staying current in my field, so that became one of the learning activities of my plan.

Another key element of the FLCP is aligning it with NSCC's strategic plan, mission and vision. there are four currencies that need to be addressed in the plan as well:

• Teaching/Facilitating Learning - Includes activities that support faculty efforts to acquire, enhance, and continuously update and demonstrate understanding of learning theories and innovative practices.
• Occupational/Professional - Includes activities that support faculty efforts to maintain and continually update the relevancy of their occupational and professional skills and knowledge
• Organizational - includes activities that support faculty efforts to sustain awareness, support, and promote the strategic directions of the College and its values.
• Portfolio - Incorporates all the learning achieved throughout the Faculty Learning College Portfolio experience.

Each learning activity developed for your FLC must address each of these currencies.

The presentation ended with some of the issues that occurred while going through the FLCP planning process. Creating an appropriate scope and depth is important to the success of your FLCP as is managing the scope through the life of the plan. Several challenges were also pointed out by Todd and Shelley:

• Getting buy-in - believing in the value of the FLCP is important
  
• Midway changes in direction - not a bad thing s many fields will change significantly over a five year period, but one that needs to be addressed
  
• Intellectual property - needs to be clarified to the satisfaction of all
  
• Culture of trust and sharing - a big part of the FLCP is the portfolio - the sharing of what you have learned with your colleagues and the body of knowledge of the college.

The FLCP is a great PD opportunity that wold work at any college focussed on being learning centred...

NISOD 2008 - Sculpting And Spanning Spaces - The Learning-Centred Community College Course

This session was presented by Claudine Lowry, Dean of Organizational Learning and Craig Collins, Principal of the Lunenburg Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. (NSCC) I am an academic chair at NSCC and attended this session to provide support to my colleagues and to see what other attendees thought about our amazing faculty and staff development programme - the Community College Education Diploma Programme (CCEDP).

This session focussed on one of the ten courses that learners in the CCEDP (all new faculty and professional support staff at NSCC must take CCEDP to get regular status) - The Learning-Centred Community College. This course introduces learners to what it means to be learning-centred and to work in a learning-centred college.

The session was conducted very informally as a talking circle, one of the actual tools and techniques used in the course - it was a very cool way to present the course after having sat in on so many formal presentations that revolved around the screen at the front. It was interesting to hear the questions being asked by the audience - it made me realize just how blessed we are at NSCC to have such an amazing learning opportunity that CCEDP is. I'm so glad that I chose to sit in on this session - sometime you have to leave home to realize just how good you have it...

NISOD 2008 - Humor And Multimedia as Teaching Tools For The Net Generation...

This session was presented by Dr. Ronald Berk, professor Emeritus at John Hopkins University. A statistician by trade, Ron has published several books on using humour to teach, including "Professors Are From Mars, Students Are From Snickers".

In this informative, entertaining, funny, and transformative presentation, Dr. Berk presented an approach to using humour and multimedia to reach our current millennial students. he began by talking about the parts of the act of teaching;

• Content (the what)
• Pedagogy (the how)

Further breaking pedagogy down:

• Learner-Centered Teaching (over 1000+ articles 119 studies)
• Technology - online, offline, inline, and outtaline

We looked at the characteristics of the Net Gen digital native learners, the fact that they are visually oriented, that there is a need to address multiple intelligences and learning styles, and that the use of humour can go along way to reaching students. Include humour in your tests, take a "commercial break" when things are lagging and eyes are glazing over, use humour, demonstrations and even role plays to introduce complex or confusing topics, and connect with your learners.

His entire presentation was full of sound clips, vidoes and other cultural references that the audience and his students would get - an amazing use of technology and tools to use humour to break down barriers, present difficult topics and most importantly reach millennial learners with language and symbols that the understand.

One of his key pieces of advice (and there were many) was this - if you want to identify what is in your students' world - ASK them, conduct a survey - great, simple advice. as he put it "We are working together in the room".

Perhaps his best quote of the presentation, and one that encapsulates something that I have believed for a long time is this:

"PowerPoint by itself is a bunch of dead words on a screen"

Add sound, video, interactivity - bring life to your PowerPoint - great stuff.

there is no doubt that this approach to teaching, which I believe works is time consuming - the depth and richness of Dr. Berk's presentation must have taken hours to prepare. I think that the end result was well worth it though - a jam-packed room full of engaged learners.

This was an amazing presentation, perhaps the highlight of NISOD 2008 for me so far - best way that I can sum it up is to say that I wish I had been one of Ron Berk's students and I am so glad that for a very short two hours I was...

NISOD 2008 - KConversation With Amado's Friends...eynote -

This keynote was a moderated conversation with Larry Gatlin, the 2008 winner of the Amado Pena, Jr, Journey of Excellence Award and Dr. Don Cameron, president of Guildford Technical Community College, home of the Larry Gatlin School of Entertainment Technology.

Larry Gatlin is many things, an entertainer, a songwriter, a business man, but most of all he is a teacher. His memory and recall are amazing, attributed to teachers that he had. He spoke of the how important teachers have been in his life, telling stories of several of them with great affection, how his family was blessed with several teachers, and how important education has been to him (when was the last time you have heard a country star quote Chaucer from memory?).

Dr. Cameron then spoke about the Larry Gatlin School of Entertainment Technology, how it was conceived up to today where it has moved into a brand new facility.

Larry Gatlin then lead what was basically a short master class in songwriting, walking through his process of writing a song - a very natural, learning and teaching moment. He is a teacher, a supporter of education and an entertainer - what a great way to start the day...

NISOD 2008 - Integrating Ethics Into Your IT Courses

This session was presented by Dr. Peter Meggison of Massasoit Community College. The presentation was on his experience delivering a one credit (five week) course in compute ethics.

He recommends three possible ways to deliver ethics to IT students:

1. A full course in computer ethics (3 credits, one semester)
2. A short course (1 credit, five weeks - his method)
3. Integrated into a computer applications course with an ethics component

Ethics falls into the area of "soft skills" which are in many ways more in demand by employers than technical skills (which they can provide themselves). This is also very true of employers in Halifax, so interesting to see that employers have the same concerns in the Boston area.

Dr. Meggison provide a series of resources that he uses in his course including his process of ethical decision making:

1. get the facts
2. identify all of the stakeholders
3. consider the consequences of the decision
4. weigh various guidelines and principles
5. develop and evaluate options
6. review decisions
7. evaluate the results of the decision

This is very much a critical thinking course.

I believe that there is a definite need to include ethics education in all of the programmes we offer. It was good to see one instructor's approach to delivering this important subject area...

NISOD 2008 - e-Portfolio + Reflective Writing = Enhnced Student Learning

This session was on a combination project between the Colorado department of Labor (e-Colorado), a writing instructor and an IT instructor, both from Pikes Peak Community College.

e-Colorado is a shared resources for workforce development and the instructors from Pikes peak used it as a repository for student portfolios - tying together reflective writing pieces with course work, the advantage was greater exposure of students to employers and students writing reflective pieces on their work, getting a better understanding of who they are and what they have done.

It was interesting to see how another institution, combined with a workforce development initiative used portfolio. I really liked the idea of having a site like e-Colorado to display student portfolios to industry. At my college we are much further developed in the use and integration of portfolio into our learning, but we do not have a "portal" for e-Portfolios like e-Colorado - I think it is something that we need to explore...

NISOD 2008 - Welcome To College! Don't Let the Door Hit You On The Way Out...

This session was presented by Vincent Tinto and Arleen Arnsparger, project manager MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success, along with two students from Austin Community College. The session was conducted as a panel discussion with the students being asked questions about their college experience, specifically their experiences as new students. What a great hing to do - actually have learners at an education conference. I had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Tinto later in the day and I thanked him ofr including learners in the session. we need to inlude learners more in opportunities like this.

The research behind this session comes from a couple of sources - CCSSE - the community college survey of student engagement and SENSE - the survey of entering student engagement. The focus of this panel discussion was starting right - a first look at engaging entering students. These initiatives were launched to determine why 50% of students leaving college were leaving before completing one semester.

Dr. Tinto used a metaphor approach to ask questions of the students - a process that he has used extensively with focus groups of students, faculty student services folks, and presidents. His advice on running a focus group was:

• serve food
• ask questions
• 6-8 participants

Here are the two questions that were asked of the students using the metaphor approach:

1. The process of enrolling in college was like...
2. My first two weeks of classes were like...

and the students completed those statements. Some of the advice that they had for us (and other students) included:

• make skills courses credit courses more students will take them
• communicate what you need
• take advantage of advisors/counsellors
• talk to people

The interesting thing listening to the students is that both became successful when they took responsibility for their own college experience - they were engaged in the process.

So what needs to be done to help learners get engaged in their learning and at their institution? The learner experience of new students must be improved:

• be available and accessible
  
• advise, be open and honest
• care about students
• embedded advising - advisors go to class

This session was an amazing opportunity to hear about engagement and retention from the very people we are trying to engage and retain - learners! It was interesting to hear two students from Texas describe experiences that I know are happening at my college. We all need to get better at this critical piece of getting learners into college in the right programmes and then giving them the tool and resources that will keep them there.

It was also very cool watching Dr. Tinto interact with the students and the audience of educators. I learned a lot observing someone who is a master of their domain...

NISOD 2008 - A Learning-Centered Ph.D For Community College Leaders

This session, conducted by two community college presidents who are both faculty mentors in Walden University's Community College Leadership program, highlighted the program and what it has to offer to learners.

I've been researching various PhD and EdD programmes and learning options for several months now, with an aim to staring an EdD sometime in 2009. I attended this session to get detailed information on Walden's programme and I was not disappointed.

Walden takes a scholar/practitioner orientation in its programme - a combination of online and residency (a total of 20 days of residency), built on the Learning College principles. The key learning opportunity in the Walden programme are the Knowledge Area Modules or KAMS. Five KAMS are completed as part of the programme along with course work and a dissertation. the cool thing about the KAMs is that they are areas of research and learning that you want to do - a customized learner and learning-centered approach.

Walden offers a 25% discount to candidates in the CCL PhD programme - $3037.00 per quarter with a typical completion time of 3-4 years. Still expensive, but nice to get the break.

An informative session that has kept Walden firmly on my list of potential PhD/EdD programmes. The research continues...

NISOD 2008 - What Does It take To Become A Successful Chair?

This presentation was done by Dr. Jim Hammons of the University of Arkansas. Dr. Hammons is the "godfather' of what has now become the Chair Academy, and has many years of research and practice dealing with chairs.

I've been an academic chair for about nine months now and was interested in attending this session to see if I was on track and if there were any tips and hints that would make me more effective in my job. The presentation started with a definition of what a successful academic chair is:

"A successful chair is one who has the ability to take an ill-defined job that none of your colleagues would consider taking and perform it at a level acceptable to your faculty and your boss with no orientation or training and without being given the time, information, or other institutional support necessary to do so" - Hammons 1991

While this definition received much laughter, there is a certain grain of truth to it in that the chair's job is busy and in many cases looking in both directions - teaching and learning with faculty and administratively "up" with the larger College perspective. My own experience is that I have had the support of faculty, administration and my institution in doing my job, and i was very fortunate in that I was mentored for several months by my predecessor - an invaluable experience and one that I would recommend as the norm for anyone entering a chair's position.

I am a non-teaching chair and this presentation was focussed on the US college model where most chairs are still in the classroom. I think being a non-teaching chair, and having come from the ranks of faculty, is a distinct advantage. I understand the issues faculty face and I have the time to deal with them (well some days I do... :-)). The biggest thing about being a chair, and one that was emphasized during this presentation is that a chair has such a wise variety of roles that you cannot be expert in them all. There is a need for development opportunities for chairs.

Dr Hammons included a couple of instruments in his presentation handout, one dealing with institutional support factors influencing chairperson performance, and the other one a self-testing instrument for chairs on how do you rate your skills? He suggested that the second one be filled out by a chair and also be their faculty - I think that this is a great idea and will try it with my faculty.

What I got from this presentation is that chairs no matter where they are are very busy people. Most importantly I got some perspective on my own position as an academic chair - I like our system of non-teaching chairs and the broad scope of work that we do. I am an administrator, but I am also a leader and I must remember that as I do my job. There is a need for formal training for chairs, to help all of us be as good as we can be at our principal task - supporting learner success...

NISOD 2008 - Keynote - Access Without Support Is Not Opportunity...

The Monday morning keynote address was given by Dr. Vincent Tinto, Distinguished Professor, Syracuse University. Dr. Tinto is a leading researcher and authority on learner retention in College. To demonstrate his influence on community colleges, Dr. Walter Bumphus who introduced Dr. Tinto asked those in the audience who had read or used an if Dr. Tinto's work to stand up. Dr. Tinto received a standing ovation form the audience, well over 1000 strong.

Learner engagement and retention is an area of concern and research for me and it was great to finally get to hear Dr. Tinto speak after having read so much of his work.

The theme of his address was that Access without support is not opportunity. Simply getting learners into college isn't enough - they have to stay there and succeed. In the US access to college and university education is greater today than it has ever been, but at the same time stratification by income limits where and how people attend post-secondary education (PSE). Low income enrollment was over 60% a few years ago and is currently less than 45% - low income has become the decider of college attendance, not academic ability. At the elite colleges there is less income diversity than racial diversity. College completion rates are lower amongst low income learners - in 1995 60% of high income learners earned a BA withing six years, only 25% of low income learners earned a BA in the same amount of time.

Restructuring is needed to solve the problem:

• Supplemental Instruction
• Promoting success within the classroom - many low income learners only have time on campus to be in the classroom and cannot use the other facilities
• Must meet student needs in the classroom
• Academic supports connected to a class
• Alingment of support activities of the class
• One class at a time - this is how most low income learners complete their education - we need to be aware of that - it is their reality
• Basic Skills Learning Communities
• Students enroll in connected classes together
• Course content is aligned
• Academic supports are linked
• Learning communities improve performance and retention
• Teaching in context - Content Course - Skills Course linked"We learn better together"

Dr. Tinto spoke about SPECC - Strengthening Pre-Collegiate Education in Community Colleges, a Carnegie Foundation initiative loking at 11 California community colleges rethinking basic skills training. SPECC is looking at basic math and language skills - developmental skills needed for PSE success. There is a need to change the experience of at risk learners , and this goes beyond simply starting a retention program - the whole college experience needs to be changed.

The attainment of two and four year degrees needs to be improved - it's more than just access - access without support is not opportunity. We must support our learners - I think in general at my college we are doing a good job, but there is still room for improvement.

I found Dr. Tinto's address quite compelling - I sit on my campus retention committee and it is more than simply having a retention plan - we need to determine why we are losing learners early in their college careers - is it lack of preparation, lack of or the wrong skill sets, motivation, something else or a combination of these and other factors? Researchers like Dr. Tinto not only give us lots to think about, they point the way to improving how we deal with our learners and help enhance their college experiences. Today's college learners are the operators of tomorrow's national infrastructures - we must be better at helping them succeed at college...

NISOD 2008 - Keynote - "America's Community Colleges: The Nation's Best Defence

This keynote address was given by Dr. Ronald Williams, Vice President of the College Board. Much of his address was based on a College Board report " Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America's Middle Class: an Action Agenda for Community Colleges".

Community Colleges in the US currently enroll 46% of all undergraduate students and community colleges are much more diverse than universities. It was pointed out by Dr. Williams that the US lags behind most developed nations in most educational measures and that it is community colleges that are preparing the current and next generations of the people that will run the national infrastructure.

There are four threats to the community college:

• Rising costs
• Mismatch between demand and resources
• A culture that has emphasized access more than success
• The challenge of monitoring outcomes

We are looking at very similar issues in Canada and it was somewhat reassuring to realize that institutions in the US are dealing with many of the same issues.

A thought provoking address that I am sure gave US-based faculty and staff lots to think of. If you get a chance, take a look at the report - it has lots of relevance for colleges outside of the USA as well...

NISOD 2008 - Factors Affecting Student Performance and How to Influence Them...

This pre-conference workshop was delivered by Dr. Jim Hammons, professor in the Higher Education Leadership Program at the University of Arkansas.

This was a very good workshop - Dr. Hammons has many years (over 40 by his count) of experience and presented in a very inclusive and participative manner - a great example of how to get your information across by engaging the audience in the process.

Two things were looked at:

• Factors that influence student performance
• Ways to influence them

Here, in raw form, are the factors that influence student performance:

• A = Ability (what a student can do)
• M = Motivation (a student's ability to use ability)
• O = Opportunity (the chance to perform (and learn if they did so correctly))
• C = Classroom Culture (the way things are), Classroom Climate (how students feel about it)
• O = Organization (the organizational unit where instruction occurs)
• C = Organizational Culture (the way things are), Organizational Climate (how faculty feel about it)
• E = Environment (factors outside of the classroom that affect student performance inside the classroom)

The whole model together is described as C5AMEO2 - a way of looking at the factors affecting student performance. I found it a simple and clear way of identifying the factors that create the learning environment that your learners find themselves in, and then it allows you to figure out how to support learners (and yourself) deal with these factors. The bulk of the workshop was the discussions on how to influence these factors and support learners.

One of the influencers that was discussed was student success courses, a new concept for me, but one that many in the audience were familiar with. Effectively student success courses provide the knowledge and skills that learners need to succeed (or at least start on as level a playing filed as possible) at college. We have something similar that we call "College 101", but these student success course are much more formal, mandatory at some institutions, and in my mind a great idea that all learners should take at the beginning of their college career.

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS) and the use of counsellors were also consistently mentioned as influencers that have an impact on student assessment - CATS inside the classroom, counselling outside the classroom. I firmly believe that learning IS a team sport and counsellors, student success processes, learning centres, in class assesment, and other resources are all part of the modern learning "team".

I believe that the factor with the greatest potential impact on student assessment and performance, and the one that we sometimes tend to overlook as educators is E, the environment that learners exist in. Fortunately, Dr. Hammons spent a significant amount of time discussing this factor and drove home its importance to everyone. From my own experience, the learner's environment, their "life" is what is going to impact the most on their learning experiences - knowing this, it is so critical to get to know your learners, to realize that they are people and to be proactive in supporting them.

Simple things like open computer labs for students who cannot afford their own computer, financial services and advice, counselling, proper academic advising and other tools that engage you in the learner's educational journey will allow you to assist learners to manage their environment and increase their opportunity for success.

This was a great workshop. If you get an opportunity to sit in on a presentation by Dr. Hammons, do so. He says he doesn't travel much anymore, but if you can convince him to travel to your institution or conference, do it, it will be a great experience for all...

NISOD 2008 - Fundamentals of Good Assessment - Student Learning Outcomes

Today I attended two NISOD 2008 pre-conference workshops. This first one, Fundamentals of Good Assessment - Student Learning Outcomes was presented by Dr. Cathrael (Kate) Kazin of ETS (Educational Testing Service).

She presented an "evidence" and "task" approach to assessing Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), defined as the "accumulated knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students develop during a course of study". They can assessed at the class, programme, or institutional level (although for the purposes of this presentation, I felt that Dr. Kazin kept her examples to the programme level). SLOs reflect a shift of focus from, " What am I teaching?" to "What are students learning?" I found this learning-centred approach very familiar and relevant to me as it allowed me to participate in the rest of the presentation based on how we approach learning-centredness at NSCC.

SLOs need to be measurable to be meaningful, and in order for there to be proof that they have been achieved there must be evidence. This evidence is gathered through the careful design of tasks, questions, tests, that will show whether or not that a learners has met a SLO. The two main "tasks" that were presented in this workshop were:

• Multiple Choice Questions
• Constructed Responses

Dr. Kazin uses the term "constructed response" to identify any questions or tasks that help learners construct their response. Learners should not have to guess at what a suitable answer to the question is.

The next section of this workshop focussed on Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) - what they are good at, how to best construct them, and when to use them. MCQs are good at:

• Breadth
• Facts
• Some higher-order thinking skills
• Easy to understand results
• Increased reliability
• Objective scoring
• Efficient scoring

One of the other good uses of MCQs brought up be several members of the audience was the preparation of learners for the writing of certification or licensing exams, many of which are exclusively based on MCQs - a whole different debate - do you want a mechanic who gets 100% on the MCQ test or one who can actually fix your brakes? Hmmm...

Some time was spent on analyzing the anatomy of a MCQ:

• Stem
• Distracter(s)
• Options
• Key

I will admit to a personal bias against MCQs and MCQ tests. I really believe that the true measure of learning is in its application - show me what you can do - how have you assimilated the learning, made it your own and then applied it in the completion of one or more related tasks or activities - it's about competencies. Having said that, this workshop did point out to me that properly developed there is a place for the maligned (by me) MCQ. That is a valuable take away for me. The key is to ensure that MCQs are properly developed and used - several tricks of the MCQ trade were revealed:

• Focus on the stem
• avoid undirected stems
• always direct test-takers to the matter at hand
• after reading the MCQ, test-takers should be able to answer the question without looking at the options
• avoid too much info in the stem
• strive for concise stems
• Focus on the options
• avoid overlap
• make the options parallel
• put options in the most logical order possible (an interesting point - I've always tended to mix up the order of the options. Hmmm...)
• avoid "All of the Above" and "None of the Above" options (Yes!!)
• capture common misconceptions in distracters - make sure they are wrong and avoid trickiness
• Avoid inadvertant clues
• clues to correct answer with a MCQ or within the test
• grammatical clues
  

While I am not sure that I am a total convert to MCQs, I did get a lot out of this workshop - MCQs do have a place in learning as an assessment tool, but like any tool they must be properly designed, developed, and deployed...

Constructive Response (CR) questions are good at:

• Depth
• Higher-order thinking skills
• Assessment of performance
• Capturing the thought process
• Often less time to construct a test (but more time to score it)

Some examples of constructed response questions:

• Short answer
• Essay
• Performance

These are the types of questions that I tend to place more value in personally - I feel that they are a truer test of learning in that they require some sort of synthesis on the part of the learners.

A quick CR checklist:

• Define the task completely and specifically
• Give explicit directions regarding length, grading guidelines, and time to complete
• Develop and use appropriate scoring guide (rubric)

I don't like the idea of explicitly giving a length to a CR question - I find that many learners write their answers to the length, not the content. My answer when I am asked "How long does it have to be?" has always been "Long enough to answer the question". I personally believe that once learners get used to the idea that length does not matter that they focus more on actually answering the question

The next section of the workshop dealt with the creation and use of rubrics (something I have used for several years and really believe in). The two styles of rubrics looked at were holistic and analytic rubrics. there are pros and cons to both - personally I prefer the analytic style of rubric ( success factors, levels of assessment, tangible scoring). Holistic rubrics, in my opinion, tend to be more qualitative in nature and therefore more open to interpretation and discussion by learners and others (and we all know that a learner morphs into Clarence Darrow when discussing grades with faculty...).

The last section of the workshop dealt with puling things together - both before and after SLOs are put into a syllabus or on a Web site.

• Be sure it can be assessed
• Give learners opportunities to learn and practice it
• Commit to fewer and do them well
• Talk to learners about its importance
• Make it explicit when you explain assignments
• Assess it well in exams
  
• share results with colleagues - take a research approach

ETS has developed a report "A Culture of Evidence" that describes an evidence-centred approach to assessing SLOs.

This was a very useful workshop - it showed me that MCQs do have a place in my assessment toolkit and it reinforced my opinion that CR style questions, tasks, and assignments are still my preferred assessment tools - for me assessment is about what you can do, not just what you know...

NISOD 2008 - The Shopping Begins...

Well, we have all successfully arrived in Austin Texas for NISOD 2008. It was an uneventful 12 hour travel day (why does it always seem to take 12 hours to fly anywhere? Hmmm...). After checking in to our various hotels (we have strategically surrounded the Austin Convention Center - there is no escape), the shopping genes kicked in and we were off to San Marcos Texas and the outlet mall. Hundreds of stores, thousands of people, it's a real cultural experience. Everything from half-price Armani suits (still $1,000.00), to alligator shoes ($2,000.00) to $10.00 sunglasses, just about every store imaginable was there.

In fact there are so many stores, the crew is headed back to San Marcos later today to start in on the other outlet mall across the road.

We also discovered, thanks to our veteran attendees at NISOD the magic of the Whole Foods Market - what an amazing place - you name it, they had it all fresh and priced well. We could sure use one of those home (just in case there are any budding Nova Scotia entrepreneurs reading this and looking for an opportunity).

So today it's more shopping, returning the rental car and getting ready for the conference which kicks off in ernest bright and early tomorrow morning...

NISOD 2008 - The Adventure Begins...

I'm sitting here in the Maple Leaf Lounge at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, on my way to NISOD 2008 in Austin Texas. NISOD is the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development and this year marks their 230th conference. I'm heading down with several colleagues from NSCC, and my primary focus is going to be on learner engagement, online learning, and academic chair development (what with me being an academic chair and all). Apparently there may also be a sid trip to the outlet malls in San Marcos and I will be heading fro the Austin Apple Store at the Barton Creek Mall.

I'll be blogging daily about the sessions I attend, and the sights and sounds of Austin, so stay tuned...

(NISOD logo from NISOD Web site)

Who I Am Makes A Difference...

All I am going to say is watch this video and then pass it on...



Hmmm...

A Real World Use of Virtual Worlds...

Loyalist College is one of the first colleges in Canada to have an active learning presence in Second Life. Several other Canadian colleges including my own, the Nova Scotia Community College now have presences in Second Life, but the forerunner was Loyalist.

Currently they are using Second Life to assist learners with Canadian border security and clearance processes. Here is a video of their simulation:



This is a great use of Second Life (or any other virtual world for that matter) to simulate learning environments and work places where the actual real-world environment is not available for learning. This is the power of virtual worlds - simulation, non-destructive testing (and destructive testing too), life-size modelling (very effective with molecules and single-cell organisms that can be "walked through", and other learning tools and resources that are not feasible in the real world. This kind of mix of real-world and virtual world learning will, I believe, become a large part of what we will need to do as adult educators in order to engage our learners - it's a great use of technologyto support learning and meets learners where they are - "Generation XBox".

Many thanks to Ken Hudson (Kenny Hubble in Second Life) for continuing to push the envelope of learning in Second Life. Check out Kenny Hubble's Media Ecology site as well- some great stuff on virtual worlds, media and culture.

If you are in world check out the Loyalist College island (and NSCC's too!) - they have a very interesting student lounge - the Shark Tank...

Learning Technologies - The Cart Or The Horse?...

One of the projects that I am involved with at the College is a committee dealing with Learning Technologies, trying to determine just how we are going to implement and support learning technologies at the College and the faculty and staff that use them.

First off, what exactly is a learning technology? In my mind it is any tool or technology that supports or enhances a learning opportunity - a pencil and paper may be the perfect learning technologies - relatively simple to use, doesn't require a lot of training and support, or a lot of other resources.

Unfortunately in many cases "learning technologies" has become code for "let's do it with computers!". Now in all fairness, I am one of those people - I live and breathe bleeding edge technology and all things IT related - I've embraced Web 2.0 tools and technologies and firmly believe that online, distance, and blended learning are some of the key ways to deliver learning now and in the future. All demand a certain level of computer literacy. What it does not mean though is that everyone has to be out here on the edge (or ledge :-)) with me.

The most important thing to remember, and here is where the cart and horse analogy comes in, is that whatever technology gets used in a learning environment, the technology is only a tool that supports the learning and makes it easier for learners to learn. The learning technology can assist in the delivery of content, aid in assessment and evaluation, allow learners to access learning when, where, and how they want to and generally support and frame a learning environment whether that environment be brick, click, or a combination of the two.

So what are the implications for us as adult educators? First we have to determine what learning technologies to employ - they have to support the learners and their environment and not overwhelm them in having to learn how to use technology instead of focussing on the learning. Learning must be about meeting the learning outcomes, not spending a lot of time learning a tool or technology. Most learning environments are finite in nature and there is only so much time available for learning - don't spend anymore time than is necessary with learning technologies.

There are two ways to ensure that learning technologies support and not overwhelm learning - the first one is to know all your learners well, and use the "lowest common denominator" learning technologies to support the learning - the disadvantage of this is that this lowest common denominator technology will be different for every learner, and will engage some learners and unfortunately disengage many others.

The better way and the one that I have used successfully, is to let the learners themselves select the learning technologies that work for them, for their learning and their environment. This way learners are comfortable with the technologies they use and can concentrate on learning.

So there it is - learning technologies are tools used to support and augment learning, and who better to choose what technologies and tools get used to support learning than the learners themselves? Hmmm...




(Photo - "Lapices" - Juanjoseixas)

"You Aren't Dumb - You Just Haven't Learned Yet"...

To paraphrase Art Linkletter, teens say the darndest things. I ride the bus to and from work (gave up my car four years ago - that's a whole other story...) and the other day coming home from the College there were two teenage girls of indeterminate age (13-17 or so) behind me carrying on an animated and loud conversation. Other than the fact that they mostly used words that would make a sailor blush, at one point in their conversation one said to the other "you aren't dumb, you just haven't learned yet" - WOW! What an amazing thing to say - talk about your AHA! moments.

As adult educators we deal all the time with earners who bring all sorts of challenges and baggage to their learning environments. One of those challenges is a feeling that they can't learn - someone, somewhere, at some time called them dumb or told them they couldn't learn - that's never true - anyone can learn if given the chance and support - and what a way to tell them - "you aren't dumb, you just haven't learned yet". What a lesson to carry into our learning environments and when dealing with our learners.

Thank you girls, and speaking of learning, about that language...

Great Teachers Seminar Alumni Retreat

Darn!! It's all over and I'm home again. The GTS Alumni Retreat is over for another year and it was over way too fast. Hard to believe hos fast 24 hours goes by. It was a great opportunity to come back together and see where we all were after having attended a GTS in the past.

The validation and sense of community that I felt as we sat in a circle and got caught up with each other - sharing our experiences, issues, and practices had to be the highlight of the weekend. Taking time to come together, to pause and reflect on what we do as educators, to listen to others, and discover a shared passion for what you do is a very powerful thing.

I brought, for me (and who knows maybe for you too), an interesting perspective to the retreat. When I attended the GTS last year, I attended as a faculty member who had just finished his fourth year in the classroom at NSCC and had not yet begun a lengthy process that would end up with becoming an academic chair. Now a year later I'm at the alumni retreat, not only as a GTS alumni, but as an academic chair with a completely different perspective on the impact of the GTS. I found myself not only looking at what I do, but how what I do and what I've learned at the GTS would effect the faculty that I work with, great teachers all. As a chair I will do aaht I can to see that that all my faculty get the opportunity to attend the GTS.

I have four faculty attending the GTS this year (which started today - have an amazing weekend everyone) and I know they will come back better for the experience. Now I can't wait until next year when I hope to attend the whole week of the GTS with several of my fellow chairs in tow. We are all very busy, particularly this time of year, but I think it's very important for chairs and others at the College to attend the GTS - there is lots to share, lots to learn and lots to go away with.

It's OK to know that you are good at what you do and that you are part of a company of Great Teachers - we need to be better at celebrating what we do and who we are - and in the presence of the greatest teacher who gives all of us something to aspire to - David Gottshall.

It's the conversations that give the GTS it's power and if you want proof of that look no farther:

Great Teachers Seminar Alumni Retreat

Here I am at Cornwallis and the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre attending the Great Teachers Seminar retreat. We gathered yesterday evening from all over NSCC and the province, 25 great teachers coming back together to share what they have done and experienced since last attending the GTS.

We are off to a good start - David got us in our circle and we re-connected renewing old acquaintances and making new ones. Some new and interesting exercises from David to get a feel for the room - creating human bar graphs based on years of teaching and years at NSCC - some interesting results - many had lots of years of teaching, but less had many years at the College - an indicator for me that we are doing a great job of attracting great teachers to the College. A really cool exercise that I'll add to my tool kit.

We then convened for a most pleasant evening, but not before David actually gave us a handout (testing the extremes of minimally rigid structure) - seven questions that we will share and answer today - I can't wait. The stress and minutiae of the World slipped off my shoulders as soon as I passed through the gates of Cornwallis, and I'm feeling quite refreshed this morning.

Back to the pleasant evening - we solved all of the problems of the World but typically, no one took notes. I suspect that was because we had a glass (or can or bottle..) in our hand and paid heed to David's three rules - Eat, Meet, and Bring Nothing.

I can't wait for today...

Great Teachers Seminar Alumni Retreat

Last year at this time I had the great luck to attend NSCC's Great Teachers Seminar, led by David Gotshall (you can check out the experience here) at the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre in Cornwallis.

Today and tomorrow alumni of the GTS are getting together back in Cornwallis for a retreat - to reconnect and celebrate nother great year at the College with each other, the amazing team of facilitators, and with David. I can't wait.

If you are an educator, and you get an opportunity to attend a Great Teachers seminar - DO IT!!- the GTS is a cathartic, transformative, restorative and absolutely affirming experience.

I can't wait for the weekend to begin...

I'm Baaaack!!

Just when you thought it was safe to venture back into the blogosphere...

Hard to believe that it's been over a month since my last post - it's been busy here wrapping up another semester at the College, attending meetings, and watching the last vestiges of Winter and the arrival of Spring (although not all that sure about Spring today - rainy and cold with a threat of snow later tonight).

Well, I'm back now and plan on being a little more regular and consistent with my posting. here are some of the things I have on my mind and hope to blog about over the next little while:

• Great Teachers Seminar Alumni Reunion...
  
• Learning is a team sport...
• Learning technologies - the cart or the horse...
• Assessment and Evaluation - what exactly does authentic mean?...
• NISOD 2008..

And anything else that makes me go hmmm...

(Photo - "Panorama of an Extremely Messy Classroom" - Jenicra84)

Where Were You When - Obama's "A More Perfect Union"

Like most people I can recall several events from my life and remember exactly where I was, what I was doing, and that these events had a profound effect on me. Two of these events were speeches by John F. Kennedy - his "Ask Not" speech and his "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" speech (I will also never forget where I was the day he was assassinated either, even though I was only 7 years old.

Well I now have a third speech that I will remember - Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union". Take the time to listen to what he has to say - it is most profound...

Notes From The Brier - Final Thoughts

I'm back home and back to work tomorrow. Had a great time sharing the Winnipeg Brier with Dad - curling fans are amazing people - I have never had so many conversations with strangers in all my life - about curling, the weather, politics, you name it - and all friendly and engaging as if we had known each other for years - as I've already said - there was a real sense of community in the MTS Centre - even in the lines for Tim Hortons (which had to have set some sort of Guinness record for most patient people in one spot).

I will take away a lot of good memories, of spending a great two weeks with Dad, of meeting some great people, seeing some great curling, and all in all getting relaxed and refreshed, ready to go back to work.

My only regret is that I brought the snow back with me from Ottawa. Sorry about that, but they have more than enough to go around - check out the picture with this post.

So good luck to the Brier finalists who meet each other later tonight - Alberta and Ontario (the defending Canadian and World Champion) - it'll be an amazing final, you should watch...

Notes From The Brier - Of Haves And Have-Nots

One of the things that I have noticed at the Winnipeg Brier this week (other than the incredibly long lines at Tim Hortons) is that despite there being 12 teams at the Brier (one from each province, Northern Ontario (a men's curling quirk - the women's championship invites back Team Canada, the defending champions), and the Yukon/Northwest Territories), there is in reality only 3 or 4 with even a reasonable shot at actually winning the title. Curling, like most sports is extremely expensive and time-consuming if you want to be the best, and this year the best include teams from Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Newfoundland & Labrador. Of these, the champion will probably be one of either Alberta or Ontario - and both of these rinks are effectively professional curlers who have dedicated the time, money and effort to become the best in the world.

With the top teams, curling becomes a game of inches - with the others a game of feet - there is no comparison. If curling is to maintain itself as a sport, it must find a way to level the playing field so that everyone who gets to the Brier has an opportunity to be successful, or after a while the have-nots will get tired of being cannon-fodder and the Brier will suffer...

Notes From The Brier - Of Men and Brooms, and Communities...

Lots to see at the Tim Hortons Brier here in Winnipeg - amazing curling, amazing people and crowds, and men with brooms. It took a sport like curling to even introduce men to brooms, because I don't know about you, but I for one applaud the rights of dust bunnies in their quest to become sentient beings. For all of those housework-challenged males out there (and you know who you are...) you may want to take up curling and ease into that whole wielding a broom at home thing...

The real cool thing at the Brier though is the sense of community or should I say communities - each province and territory has a team - there are communities supporting each of them, there are the pin traders, the curling fanatics, the curling novices, organizations like the Governor General's Curling Club, local clubs and associations, and many, many more - some who have been around for 50 years and longer. Then there is the organizing committee, and the hundreds of volunteers that make the whole show work. A whole series of individual communities that collectively comes together to be the Brier.

I have spent a week listening to perfect strangers talk to each other like life-long friends joined by the sense of community of their sport and the event. There are people who make the annual trek to the Brier - their annual community get together and many have been doing this for scores of years.

Being surrounded by all of this sense of community has gotten me thinking - if we are so good at making and being part of communities in our day to day lives, how can we successfully bring this into learning communities - which for me will be (and are) the future of education - learning has become too complex and there is just too much information out there for learning not to be done collaboratively in a community - the key is how do we do that? we need to take our ability to form and nurture communities and do the same for our faculty, staff, learners, and institutions of learning - learning is a team sport - it works best in a community that will encourage and foster it - I have lots to say about that - stay tuned...

But for now it's back to the Brier - "HURRY HARD!!"

Notes From The Brier - Coffee and Curling - I AM Canadian...

One of the joys of living in a culturally mosaic country like Canada is that you are exposed to so many different traditions, events, sights, senses, and sounds that you can lead a very rich life. The downside of living in this culture is when someone asks "what's Canadian?" it's sometimes hard to figure that out - at least until now...

I'm in Winnipeg (or as it is also affectionately know, Winterpeg - when we arrived last week it was -44 C with the wind chill - but it's a "dry cold". Yep - it sure is...cold) with my father attending the Brier - the men's national curling championships - officially know as the Tim Hortons Brier. There are probably no two things more quintessentially Canadian than curling and coffee, particularly in the winter and particularly Tim Hortons coffee. True, coffee did not originate in Canada, nor did curling (like many things it was invented by the Scots which just goes to show you what perpetual bad weather can do for creativity), but we were smart enough to combine the two and turn them into a cultural event of epic proportions.

The line ups this week at the MTS Centre have been longer for the Tim Hortons orders than for the box office and attendance has been great - and it's great for the event - a highly caffeinated audience watching some of the best curling in the world - it's a win win! I've heard as many requests for a "double-double" this week as I've heard "hurry hard" coming from the competitors.

We're having a great time here this week, so the next time someone asks you "what's Canadian?", tell them to get a large double-double at Tim's and head for the local curling club - the essence of Canada. Hmmm...

Obama and Clinton - "We" and "I"...

First off let me say that Henry Jenkins is amazing and a must read for all educators. His recent post "Obama and the "We" Generation" has really gotten me thinking about and looking at US politics, not that there is much choice what with all of the 24-hour multi-channel coverage and all.

He starts by noticing that adult leaders were using "I" and "what I can do for you" a lot to describe what they did while younger leaders used "we" and "what are our goals...". Obama is the "We" and Clinton is the "I". As Henry Jenkins puts it - Obama is more of a movement than a campaign. He talks of community and organizes bottom up instead of the traditional top-down campaign model. Hillary Clinton is running very much an "what can I do for you" traditional campaign and now that I am aware of this have I ever noticed a difference,

An article in today's New York Times really brings this difference in the two approaches of the Democratic candidates home - "In Texas, Clinton’s Veterans Test Obama’s Rookies". The article describes the difference between the two campaigns as they set up in Texarkana - the Clinton campaign set up in a big building and handed out phone numbers to campaign workers to start calling. Down the street in a small office, two Obama supporters without any official campaign sanction set up their computers and self-generated activity to get the word out on their candidate.

This describes exactly what Jenkins is saying - Clinton is the controlling "I" candidate and Obama is the open, bottom-up "We" candidate - He is a movement, not a campaign,

My very good friend Randommind described to me an even better analogy from Henry Jenkins (and must blog about it :-)) that brings this diagrammatic difference between the two candidates home - Obama is a Wikipedia stub, and Clinton is the Encyclopedia Britannica - such an amazing analogy I had an AHA! moment when I first heard it. It so accurately describes the fundamental differences between the two campaigns - and for me explains why Obama has been so successful - he is letting the voters participate in the campaign to become a part of his "movement", to build the Wikipedia entry, while Clinton is simply telling everyone that she knows what is best and is ready to do the job Day One - the bound and printed Britannica entry.

There are implications here for educators - we can learn a lot from the differences in these two campaigns. Obama's success to me shows that engagement and participation, the creation of community is something that people understand and want - this leads directly to the creation of learning communities. Clinton is the old "sage on the stage" telling us what we want to hear. Obama is creating a "learning community" (a political community?) where participants engage in the election process - they feel a connection and a sense of belonging, of being part of what Henry Jenkins calls a movement. If this works for a presidential candidate (and it sure seems that it is), then it should work in our classrooms too, don't you think?

I wonder who will win...?

(Photo from "The State Of...")

Multi-Generational Learning And Development of Learning Communities...

One of the issues addressing adult educators is how to develop educational opportunities for learners from multiple generations and create learning communities that support the success of learners regardless of what generation they belong to. This is particularly true when looking at e-learning and other non face-to-face learning opportunities as we are less likely to identify the generations of our learners based on their appearance. It also adds the complexity of dealing with digital natives and digital immigrants.

The Aetna insurance company has done some interesting stuff in this area. They identified the following groups to whom they were providing training:

• Silent Generation, ages 62-77
• Baby Boomers, ages 52-61
• Late Baby Boomers, ages 43-51
• Generation X, ages 31-42
• Generation Y, ages 18-30

Aetna found each of these groups had unique cultural and learning preferences that came from their individual experiences acquired during their formative learning periods. Aetna began developing training more closely aligned to the learning styles of each group.

Here are some of the more interesting things that Aetna discovered while developing their age-group specific training (taken from the article):

• Baby Boomers and Late Baby Boomers like linear courses in which information is covered in a very logical, progressive manner. They struggle with simulations. They also accept objectives. If you tell them upfront what the course objectives are and what the training will cover, they are apt to accept what you say.
• Generation X learners appreciate new technology and expect a certain amount of interactivity. Like Boomers, they prefer linear content, but they also want to be able to "test out" of courses when they reach a point where their level of knowledge is sufficient. Those in this generation also want choices, such as being able to turn audio and closed-captioned text in a course on or off. They want you to teach them what they need to know and apply all the time. If there is something that they won’t likely apply for another six months, they prefer not to receive training on it. They'd rather receive a performance support tool or job aid to which they can refer later.
  
• Those in Generation Y like to freeform it. The first thing they like to do in a course is take a test and figure out what they don't know. Then, they want to be able to go back in and learn what they don't. They also want to navigate through parts of a presentation in the order they prefer. Then, they want to have the option of researching references at their discretion.

This information has implications for us as adult educators - we have to get to know our learners, particularly in a blended or distance learning opportunity in order to develop educational resources that will assist learners regardless of their generation.

Here is what Aetna did:

• For Generations X and Y, more of their e-learning now incorporates games and simulations. Content search and research capabilities were also added to a number of courses.
• To meet Generation X's preference for learning takeaways, Aetna began building more performance support tools for those tasks that learners don't perform often. Because this group likes choice, Aetna also added an audio on/off and closed-captioning option to many of their courses.
• For Generation X and Y learners, Aetna changed the way in which they write course objectives. If you put objectives at the beginning of an e-learning program, Baby Boomers will read and accept them. Generation Xers and Yers won't. So Aetna began telling a story instead. The story usually explains why the training is necessary (e.g., Here's a situation and here is the outcome that will occur if the situation is not handled properly.)
• For Generation Y learners, Aetna adopted The Thiagi Group's Four-Door approach to e-learning, in which learners choose their best learning style and can shift from one to another to meet their needs. This approach, which consists of the Library (performance support and reference materials for self-study), the Playground (learning through gaming), the Café (learning through social interaction) and the Torture Chamber (the opportunity to test one's skills or knowledge through simulation) is having a tremendous impact on our Generation Y learners. (Taken from the article)

There is much to be gleaned from Aetna's experiences and applied to adult learning opportunities and the development of multi-generational learning communities, particularly as we move towards more and more mobile learning...

Another really good post on this subject is Natalie Laderas-Kilkenny's blog "Design For Learning"and her post on Generational Learning Styles and Methods. The continuum that she includes in her post clearly identifies various learning generations and what learning styles and methods work with each of them...

It's All About Context...

I received some great comments on posting Stephen Downes's Reality video. In those comments, context was mentioned as being key to learning.

Well, turns out that context is key - it can even lead us to see and believe things that are nt there. A study at University College London has seen this. here is a quote from a report on the study:

"Scientists at UCL (University College London) have found the link between what we expect to see, and what our brain tells us we actually saw. The study reveals that the context surrounding what we see is all important -- sometimes overriding the evidence gathered by our eyes and even causing us to imagine things which aren't really there."

Neat stuff. One of the very interesting things that came out of the study is that a vague background context was more influential than a clear well-defined context - explains why different people see different things - a critical thing to remember when dealing with learners.

It also explains how illusions work, so if you are one of those people who believe in the magic, you may not want to read the study.

So there you have it - context is key - no context, no learning. Context explains why some people "get it" and some don't. Or does it? Depends on your context I guess. Hmmm...

Reality...

Stephen Downes is one of the leading lights of online education and learning. His blog, Half an Hour is a must read for anyone interested in education, learning and technology. He is always thought provoking and interesting.

This video "Reality" asks several questions about what is reality and what effect does reality have on learning and students. It's an interesting watch:



Learning is about creating reality. Stephen also defines what learning is not - it's not remembering, it's not content - it's about creating patterns in the mind - growing meaning - fascinating stuff that really makes you go Hmmm...

Subscription Learning - Sign Me Up!...

Like most institutions, the college I work at delivers its learning in the form of boxes - classes, courses, and programmes. Classes are regularly scheduled, course are offered by semester and programmes are anywhere from one to three tears in length. All are delivered on a regular schedule defined by the academic calendar. Learners fit their learning into this schedule.

But what if there were a different way to provide learning? One that is focussed on the convenience of learners, not the rules of institutions - what if a course had no actual end date, or start date, and it could be changed as needed while being offered and could accommodate different learning styles, then perhaps such a course could be "sold" by subscription. Learners would sign in and out of the course when they wanted to over the life of the subscription on a schedule that works for them fit. No different than how we read magazines, or watch cable channels or get RSS feeds - we subscribe to them and use them on our own time, at our convenience, not the convenience of the providers.

The design of a course delivered by subscription would have to be fully interactive and activity driven... a key would the evaluation of the activities and the artefacts they produce, for example, that can evaluate learner progress. A competency-based assessment system that allowed learners multiple opportunities to become successful and was both formative and summative would work best. A portfolio learning approach would also be a key element of subscription courses, giving the learner and the facilitators a clear picture of the capabilities of the learner.

This subscription model, which would give a learner a mostly indeterminate amount of time to complete a course would work very well in an online learning environment. It would allow people to learn at their own rate and in their own way... with support from other students and expert facilitators.

A subscription based course model would also require a curriculum that is not based on
weekly class schedules, fixed assignment times, and semesters. It would require an adjustment in thinking in that a facilitator could be assigned to a course with learners in many varying stages of completion, something we do not do a lot of yet. But it is a great way to model education without boundaries, learner and learning-centred education. Subscription based courses would also allow an institution to provide learning opportunities where formal outcomes may not be as important as skill development and community access. The community of community college. This model would work for both credit and non-credit courses.

So would subscription learning take over the current system of schedules, courses and semesters? Maybe not, but it would certainly provide one more learning-centred opportunity and truly be education without boundaries. I think it is something that needs further exploration...

(Photo - Cargo by Miskan)

The Canadian Health Care System Saved My Life...

As Canadians it's our God given right to complain - we complain about the weather, about taxes, about our government or a lack thereof, and particularly about our health care system - too slow, too hard to be seen by a doctor, you name it, we complain about it. depending on who you talk to we either have the best or worst health care system in the world. heck, with this being an election year in the USA, our health care system is getting knocked down there too.

Well, I will never complain about our health care system again, because last week it saved my life. I developed pneumonia nad had exhausted myself trying to breathe - I was later told I was only hours away from REALLY bad trouble. I went to Emergency where you hear of the multi-hour wait, but they triage patients and I was taken in right away. I was quickly assessed and treated and all of the doctors and nurses were absolutely amazing - I received amazing care. It was determined that I needed to be put on a ventilator to give my body rest and I spent two days in ICU, and seven days in hospital all together. I am now at home recovering nicely (I think).

During my whole stay in hospital I was treated incredibly well by the doctors, nurses, therapists, everyone was positive, caring, and obviously loved what they were doing. their compassion and empathy went a long way to helping me heal.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of them - Dr Petrie, Dr. Greene, and all of the Emergency nurses and staff, Dr. Gallager (a wee Scots gentleman - my Mother would have loved him), and all of the staff of the ICU, and all of the nursing staff and doctors (specially Turkie - thank you so much for your caring and gentle manner)on the 8th floor - you are all my angels and life savers - thank you so much.

So this is one Canadian who has one less thing to complain about - we have a health care system that works and is there when it is needed - for that I will be eternally grateful...

Let's Not Just Do Things The Way We're Used To Because That's All We Know...

There is a group of us who gather regularly in Second Life (come join us in Bam) to talk about a lot of things, but most things of an educational nature. lately we have been talking a lot about learning communities, tools for reaching learners, and what's important to us as adult educators as we and our learners move forward.

In one of these recent conversations one of my colleagues made the following statement:

"let's not just do things the way we're used to because that's all we know"

As educators we are a the cusp of a whole new paradigm of learning - the classrooms that have been around since the time of Victorian England (Dickens and Nietzsche would not feel out of place in our classrooms - can tat be said of just about any other part of our modern society?) and before are becoming the least popular way for our learners to learn - they are looking for convenience, mobility, and flexibility. For many learning is just another product or commodity to be purchased and consumed where and when they want to, not where a brick institution or an old lecturer tells them too.

We have to meet our learners where they are - so keeping this quote in mind we have to know what it is they are using to get their information, when they want to learn, and how they want to learn - knowing these things is critical for the future of post-secondary education.

Will the classroom ever go away completely - probably not, but the regularly scheduled class in a brick classroom may - replaced by mobile learning that can happen anywhere and the PLE that meets the learners needs. We will need to be better at engaging our learners and giving them a larger voice in what exactly their learning looks like. There will have to be options - where you learn, how you learn, when you learn.

So keep in mind my friend's quote - "let's not just do things the way we're used to because that's all we know" - let's do things because they are best for learning and best for our learners. Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride...

Eight Things You Don't Know About Me...

My friend randommind sent me this post - "8 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me". It's part of an internet meme making the rounds of the blogosphere. The idea is that you list eight things that people didn't know about you then "tag" eight other people. Sort of an internet chain letter. Well. I'm going to play along, sort of, and list eight things that most don't know about me. I'm not going to tag eight others as it seems that my friends have already been taggedin this process.

So here goes - eight things that you didn't know about me:

1. I was awarded the RMC Club of Canada scholarship in 1974 to attend the Royal Military College of Canada - I turned it down because that summer I did basic officer training at CFB Shilo and I didn't want to end up like my platoon commander, a recent RMC graduate. I went on to serve 28 years in the Canadian Army Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 2001
   
2. I've always wanted to jump out of an airplane (with a parachute) but have never had the courage to do it - mind over matter and right now mind is still winning and keeping my feet firmly on the ground
3. I'm allergic to cats but love (I love dogs more but live in an apartment building that is not dog friendly) them and an still thinking of getting a Maine Coon cat
4. I'm not afraid of heights but I get the willies if I look up from a high place (what's that all about?). I have no problem looking down from a great height (of course I'm 6'6", so that might have something to do with it)
5. I love military history, particularly World War II - the strategy, tactics and politics of the era
6. I have never gotten lost, temporarily misplaced, but never lost. When I travel to a strange place I love getting a map and just exploring - it's the best way to see the sights.
7. I spent the equivalent of grades 2-4 at a British school operated by the British Embassy in Bonn, West Germany (Dad was posted to the Canadian Embassy) and the PNEU. I learned things in those three years (math, biology, geography, economics...)that I didn't see again until I was in high school in Canada and I sailed through school because of what I learned and the study habits and skills I developed as a 7-9 year old - what's that all about, and what does it say about our education system?
   
8. Like many educators, I am an introvert - do not put me in a social situation with a room full of strangers - I hate it. Put me in a classroom with a room full of strangers who are there to learn and I love it...

So there you have it - eight things you didn't know (but might have suspected) about me...

(Picture - "8 Mosaic" - by Leo Reynolds)

Personal Living Networks... AHA!!!

One of the best education blogs out there is Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed. It's one of my regular stops in the blogosphere and should be one of yours too.

In a recent post he talks about "Personal Living Networks", and I had an AHA! moment. He quotes Chris Lott:

“In the emerging model, students learn to navigate, assess, construct and participate in a living network that comprises the heart of their learning network and they take that with them when their time as part of any particular institution’s offerings come to a change…’Going to school’ is an activity that has a life and dies; learning is a continuing process. Enrollments and degree programs terminate; personal living networks accompany learners through life– the ultimate educational institution– serving as companion, confidante, and oracle alike.” Chris Lott

Chris Lott is another must read for educators, and he in fact uses the term "personal living environment", feeling that limiting it personal learning environment is too narrow a focus.

Anyone who has read my blog know that I personally believe that PLEs (Personal Learning Environments) are the future of education - they will get us out of our neat rows of desks in classrooms, away from one-way lectures, and allow us to deliver education when, where, how, and why, learners want it. They will place more responsibility on learners to become engaged in their learning, to collaborate with each other and their facilitators, to use mobile devices to get learning when and where they are at and to participate in an open educational environment. In other words what I have coined as ECMO - Engagement, Collaboration, Mobility, and Openness.

What Will Richardson and Chris Lott are saying makes so much sense - it is more than just personal learning - it has to be personal living, that education is a life-long process that they have to manage along with the rest of their life.

I love what Chris Lott says:

"“Going to school” is an activity that has a life and dies; learning is a continuing process. Enrollments and degree programs terminate; personal living networks accompany learners through life– the ultimate educational institution– serving as companion, confidante, and oracle alike."

This is what we as educators have to instill in our learners - if we do nothing else, we must do this...


(Photo - "Collaborative Technology Labs"- by MSU Libraries)

I Just Like The Picture...

No particular reason to post this, I just like the picture - lots of noise if you look closely, but the tree at dawn just looks mysterious and brooding somehow. I took this last Thursday out the front of my building on my way to work: