H808 comes to an end, where next?

Its all been a bit quiet, I guess I have been busy. Where did the last 6 months go. Almost as soon as it started I find myself completing an ECA. And breathing a sigh of relief as the final assessment flies off into cyberspace. Hopefully to return and signal the successful completion of H808, ‘The elearning professional’. Now I have had a few moments to catch up I think a gentle reflection is in order.

It’s been a fast and furious journey how did it all fit in, we have created wikis, blogs and performed group work. A pause here on the group work because, yes it was a successful group work as a result of the contributions within the group I think. Not easy as group work across the globe is certainly a challenge. I have tutored course with group work and watched groups fail despite all my efforts, you tend to blame yourself as a tutor and think you can control the efforts of your students when you can’t.  However a couple of catalyst in the group and you can be away, the trick is plan quickly and layout a flexible structure with clear targets. Members can plan with clear aims other wise the first 3 or four days are wasted and then before you know it a week has past.

OU students are motivated not that students in full time study aren’t , there is just something different about an OU student. I am not sure it's the fact that they are paying for the course its more to do with the reasons they have for study. 'fun, it keeps the brain active, the materials are second to none, its more than just learning; just some of reasons given to me in the past for my students wanting to study the OU way. As a student myself I can add to this, its certainly not an easy option.

What else have I learnt this year.Having researched and discovered eportfolios I have changed my approach, gone is Pebblepad and in comes Google Docs, Sites and all the trimmings of working in the ‘cloud’. I have collaborated online and built a power point presentation with 5 other students. It worked well was easy and was actually effective. I have been a cloud user for over a year but a security issue at work prevents me from fully embracing it which is a pity. It will come I am sure but for now it’s a case of , steady as she goes.
Academic writing is back on the agenda, I was a bit rusty but it soon comes back, blogging is laid back, no one should read a blog and start correcting the grammar of spellings, come on peeps let the blogger just rattle it off, don't spoil it; we want more blogging and sharing of information. 

Where to next ? Quite simply a short break perhaps a little reflection and it’s off to H807 and ‘Innovations in elearning’, hoping for some inspiration from the Learning Technologies Conference in Olympia.

I almost forgot I am now Tutoring a new course T215 and all the adventures that brings, actually looking forward to it, it was time for a change and it should keep me on my toes.

One profession to another.

Is there really a difference in professional values from one profession to another?

As an academic I am a member of the IFL HEA and IET all professional institutions so what ethical values or pprofessional values do I follow. When considering all three institutions I read word such as Integrity, Fairness, confidentiallity Professional competence are there really any differences 

The following table just serves to highlight some of the quotes from each of these institutions' professional codes of practice. Not a great deal of difference really especially between the IFL and HEA. As an engineer the professional values strive towards excellence in engineering whereas the IFL and HEA both strive toward excellence in education be it at HE or FE level.

Taking a completely different perspective though looking at the professional values in the counselling and psychotherapy profession of which I know very little. It is interesting to see the same words being used in the interest of striving 'Towards an emotionally healthy society'.

Values of counselling and psychotherapy. British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (n.d.)

The fundamental values of counselling and psychotherapy include a commitment to:

• Respecting human rights and dignity
• Ensuring the integrity of practitioner-client relationships 
• Enhancing the quality of professional knowledge and its application
• Alleviating personal distress and suffering
• Fostering a sense of self that is meaningful to the person(s) concerned
• Increasing personal effectiveness
• Enhancing the quality of relationships between people
• Appreciating the variety of human experience and culture
• Striving for the fair and adequate provision of counselling and psychotherapy services

All four institutions strive for excellence, improvement of standards and actively encourage the self improvement and continual professional development of its members. To say actively encourage is not strictly true as failure to provide evidence of this could well mean the withdrawal of membership. It is reasonable to say though, that all memberships aim to improve standards and the overall experience for the customers, whether these customers are students, patients or clients.

Higher Education Academy (HEA)	Institution for Learning (IFL)	The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Our vision is for students in UK higher education to enjoy the highest quality learning experience in the world	The Institute for Learning (IfL) is the professional body for teachers, trainers and assessors across further education (FE)	Sharing and advancing knowledge throughout the global Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) community to enhance people’s lives around the world.
1. Respect for individual learners 2. Commitment to incorporating the process and outcomes of relevant research, scholarship and/or professional practice 3. Commitment to development of learning communities 4. Commitment to encouraging participation in higher education, acknowledging diversity and promoting equality of opportunity 5. Commitment to continuing professional development and evaluation of practice	1. Professionalism Strive for excellence in teaching and learning, and high levels of subject or vocational expertise, placing the interests and progression of learners at the very heart of their practice. Members have dual professionalism. Development Continually develop their expertise, individually and within communities of practice Autonomy Should be trusted to exercise informed judgement Integrity Use their skills and knowledge wisely to benefit all learners, the public and their organisation and are respected, trustworthy members of society. Equality Are celebrated for the diversity of their backgrounds and as positive role models for learners and colleagues, and should have fair opportunities for success in their career, whatever their background	Honesty How do you take advantage of business opportunities whilst making sure you are as honest as possible with your customers?  Integrity To what extent should your own moral views about war and warfare affect your professional judgement as an engineer in the defence industry? Fairness What is the fairest way to approach the allocation of a resource such as radio bandwidth? Confidentiality In what situations can a claim of "whistleblowing" justify the disclosure of confidential information? Competence How do you know whether you, as an engineer, are competent to make a particular decision which might have important personal consequences for people? Objectivity How do you give objective professional advice, whilst making sure that you don't disclose confidential information? Environmental sustainability How do you handle public and commercial pressures when called upon to provide expert advice?’ Health, safety and risk How do you ensure the safety of a workforce whilst respecting the autonomy of workers and maintaining a comfortable working environment?
Higher Education Academy (2006)	IFL (2009)	IET (2009)

References

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (n.d.) Ethical Framework (online). Available from: http://www.bacp.co.uk/prof_conduct/ (accessed 19 August 2009).

IET (2009) 'Professional ethics and the IET'. (online) Available from: http://www.theiet.org/about/ethics/ (accessed 05 December 2009).

IFL (2009).'IfL Vision and Strategy'. (online) available form http://www.ifl.ac.uk/about-ifl/ifl-vision-and-strategy (Accessed 5 December 2009).

Higher Education Academy (2006). UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education, Higher Education Academy, UK. Available from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/professional/ProfessionalStandardsFramework.pdf (accessed 01 December 2009). 

Group work, How to Assess ?

It’s always difficult to get a group of people to collaborate online towards a single goal. In this case it was a presentation which was used to identify good practice in elearning. The case study was  taken from the Gallery Of Teaching and Learning (?) and the group work process was as follows:

·         Identify one or two cases between us to focus on

·         Using the cases identify the key principles demonstrated

·         Get screen shots to backup key principles identified

·         Decide on the presentation media

·         Construct the presentation

·         Post to forum.           

Its now been successfully completed over the period of two weeks, but how can we present this for individual assessment and measurement of competence? In this case it was not difficult as the outcomes required an individual slide to created by everyone wit additional slides being created as seen fit by the group. To get to this outcome there was a number of debates and decisions that were made based on research. So it was possible to enter the arena late on in the activity and still complete the task. This was not a bad thing as no one should be excluded just because they have other commitments in fact it was a clear benefit in this case. How then can we determine if any learning has taken place additional competence earned. Quite easy really write a reflection and justify your own learning as long as evidence can be collated it is quite possible in this case. Considering the supporting evidence in this case is a wiki, group conference and a presentation.

Gallery of Teaching & Learning (?) ‘KEEP Toolkit case studies’ (online), The Carnegie Foundation. Available from:http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/gallery_of_tl/keep_toolkit.html(accessed 18 August 2009). 

'Academics and established professionals'

According to Beetham, H., Jones, S. and Gornall, L. (2001), I would fit myself quite nicely into the category of 'Academics and established professionals'.  I would like to think I had a secure positions in the institutional infrastructure, I am an 'individual that has incorporated an interest and formal responsibility for learning technologies into my existing professional identity although I perhaps would not class myself as a learning technology specialist.

However the more I read on H808 the more I am inclined to feel the more knowledge I am aquiring but having been involved in education for so many years I have naturally embrassed some of this technology.

In contrast a  They tend to be younger, 20s and 30s (thats good, make me feel old) but the more I read about their role the more I can see myself. Within my discipline I have developed, researched  and produced elearning material. It has been a gradual progression from using powerpoint, web pages and now content management systems and a virtual learning environment all this whilst still performing the role of a Senior Lecturer. (Sounds quite good I might put that on my CV).

'New specialist' was a 'true' learning technologists: multi-skilled and peripatetic but with learning technology work at the core of their professional identity.

Whilst I perhaps would not go so far as to say I am a 'new specialist', maybe I could say I am an 'old specialist'.


References
Beetham, H., Jones, S. and Gornall, L. (2001) ‘Career development of learning technology staff: scoping study final report’ (online), JISC. Available from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/cdss_final_report_v8.doc (accessed 18 August 2009).

Just what is a 'Learning Technologist'

Learning technologists form a link between the academic or teacher and the technologies available to to enhance the learning experience. Whilst it would be nice to think that educator has the time to take each lesson and consider how technology can be used to enrich it, in reality their time is taken up mainly performing the role of teaching.

In practice this profession has grown as the tools have developed and in many ways teachers that have experimented or tried to keep up to date with new methods have gradually introduced the technologies as part of their own personal development. In essence what I am trying to say is that many educators are in fact learning technologists. It is now apparent that there is a role for someone with knowledge of the technologies to call themselves a 'Learning Technologist', but I would expect that most come from the teaching environment.

Its only now that tools are becoming more commercialised that there would appear to be a need for a specialist with a much wider knowledge to help the educator. My experience of this so far has been that the tools have been selected and put in place and the teaching staff have been left to put the tools to use.

I believe it is an emergent profession but at the moment it is really an additional task for an educator to take on board and utilise the tools available as they see fit.

CA 5.2 - Definitions 'elearning professionals'

profession
A skill requiring specialised theory based knowledge, this skill is then used in order to receive financial reward. The more difficult or specialised the task the more reward can be expected.

elearning
Learning using electronic applications via the Internet or a standalone computer. Elearning applications can include audio, video, social websites, electronic conferences webpages wikis blogs etc the list goes on.

elearning professional
An elearning professional is someone who is aware of the technologies and practices available for the implementation of learning in an electronic manner. They engage in reflective practice with other elearning practitioners in order to further develop good practice and enhance the learning experience for the student.

CA 5.2 - Is Perkins view of modern society justified?

The third social revolution (Perkin)

http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=264620

In the current climate I would agree with Perkin but I don't think it is as straight forward as this. He states the major trends to justify his argument, which include:

High living standards for all
The rise of service industries
Class into hierarchy
Meritocracy
The incorporation of women
The welfare state
The centrality of higher education
The rise of the giant corporation
The global economy.

It is difficult to argue that this is not the case however, is it really this clear cut? We are in no doubt a society that entrusts the running of the country to the learned occupation, although democratically selected. Whilst we hear we are in a classless society not many people would agree. We are also driving more of the younger generation towards universities complete with student loans and long term debts. City workers still seem to get fat bonuses despite the fact that we are in a recession.

A network society is a society that is shaped around a number of social and media networks such as facebook and twitter. There is no doubt that these networks are becoming increasingly a way of life for many people. The millennial student has grown up with technology experiencing a positive economy during their school years whilst they have also seen the introduction of a safety to an extent that is perhaps wrapping them in cotton wool. To an extent we could consider our society to be a risk society, constant reminders of the greenhouse effect and how humanity is destroying the world, implies a society increasingly preoccupied with the future.

There is also no doubt that modern society has become very dependant on information. There is a need to create, record and manipulate data in an electronic form in all we do. A vast amount of data is being stored and manipulated for all sorts of dubious reasons and we are like it or not becoming dependant on this information. Is it however a significant economic, political, and cultural activity?
 
There are elements of a risk society, information society and certainly a network society encompassed in the overall picture making it difficult to argue any of these being the predominant one. As to the future? I'll leave that to the learned occupations I think, with tongue in cheek.

CA 5.1 - Definitions 'elearning professionals'

Just what is an elearning professional. I read an article that proclaimed when referring to a 25 page ebook, 'What I’ve covered in this book is more than enough to get you started on your new career as an eLearning professional'. Could I therefore read a 25 page book that would be everything that I need to be a teacher? I don't think so.
Once one has qualified to be a teacher, solicitor, barrister or similar profession as a result of all that hard work, one could class themselves as a professional but surely this is just the start and true professionalism will follow when experience has been gained and further development continues. How professional is a teacher that trained in the 70s and still refuses to use anything other than a blackboard.
Is an elearning professional someone who designs elearning packages using some fancy software? Or a teacher that is trying to improve the learning environment for their students by diversifying and providing blended learning.

As for 'professional', what really warrants the use of the word professional. I do not believe you have to have a qualification to be a professional, many professional footballers, are certainly not qualified and some I would say are not very professional. Marlon King was sent to prison only recently, hardly the act of a professional.

As fellow student, Alan puts it Sewell, A(2009).

'You need to practice your profession
You need to actively participate and contribute to a community of practice.
Be accepted by your profession as a professional'.

A couple of scenarios to help explain. Every morning I arrive at work the cleaner, has been in my office and cleaned my desk and emptied my bin. If I am in early enough she is always friendly, polite and discrete. She does a good job and although there may be sensitive information around the desk she would not read it. Is she a professional? She certainly goes about her job in a professional manner.

A teaching assistant in a classroom is a vital part of the smooth running of a class, he/she may not be qualified in any way (Although I do appreciate many are these days) The TA works by the same rules as a teacher and acts in the same professional manner as the teacher. Just because the TA doesn't have a teaching qualification it doesn't mean they are not professional IMHO.

So going back to Alan's three points I think in this case all three could be upheld. Providing the TA does the job well, seeks to improve, stays up to date with current practices, takes part in discussions etc long gone are the days when a TA was there for sharpening pencils and taking children to the wc.

Just some thoughts

Sewell, A. (2009) H808 Trevor’s Tutor forum, eLearning and professional development, 6 November 2009, 08:47 Available from:http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=810

3.4: Your own template for PDP

It is not easy assessing yourself there is a tendency to be negative about oneself. To overcome this I produced what I thought was a reasonable assessment of my current skills and then asked two of my colleagues to comment. This not only confirmed this fact but also enabled me to update my PDP plans for both my current position and the aspirations to develop in terms of the use of Moodle and more importantly the development of online learning material at work.

This helps to bring focus to what I want from H808 this year and my plan is to further develop this PDP to take it away from being Moodle specific and more 'Elearning skills', based.

For this task I approached it from two directions.

• The first being my current development as a lecturer within FE with my role as a lecturer performing class tuition within a traditional class room environment.
• Secondly a development of  PDP for the introduction of Moodle at 'Eng College'. This second task was based on the standard format but seeks to adjust the template to enable it to become a PDP for all teaching staff at the college. Both forms were completed with the co-operation of my peers at Eng College.

There are therefore four files for this activity with two being blank templates and two completed as follows:

• Blank PDP, lecture PDP in FE teaching
• Completed PDP SM PDP as of Oct 2009
• Blank PDP, Development of Moodle skills.
• Completed PDP  SM Moodle skills as of Oct 2009

Eng College to embrace lifelong learning by introducing Google Docs as an eportfolio system.

With the implementation of Moodle ^[1] at Eng College well under way, students are becoming more active and proficient in the production of electronic course work and evidence of achievement. It would be a logical progression to now introduce an eportfolio system to complement Moodle. Batson (2002), states,'Electronic portfolios have a greater potential to alter higher education at its very core than any other technology application we have known thus far'. It is perhaps a unfortunate that their implementation has taken this long to be considered by Eng College.

Many students at Eng College are expected to compile evidence of learning and coursework. This is currently produced in paper form with additional practical tasks dependant on the course of study taken.

'An eportfolio is a purposeful aggregation of digital ideas, evidence, reflections, feedback etc, which presents a selected audience with evidence of a person's learning an/or ability'. Sutherland, S and Powell, A. (2007).

The introduction of the eportfolio system would mean that an electronic repository of information would be gradually produced during the course, tutors would have access to material when required and feedback could be given. This would help to encourage students to further develop their portfolios in order to reach the required standard.

Not only would students see there work develop during the course they would also have access to the information after the course and most importantly when they return for the next training phase. At Eng College a course would last around twelve months and students would return after field experience to complete the next stage, advancing further their qualifications. It is a unique college that encourages lifelong learning and provides its students with both a career path and employment.

Staff and Tutors would be able to play a more proactive role in the students development and it would be easier to spot a student that was falling behind on coursework. The implementation of an eportfolio system would also encourage:

• reflective practice
• individual learning plans 
• a better understanding of the course contents
• students to form a community and support each other
• tutors to introduce learning more appropriate to a digital age
• a reduction in the amount of paper based material and evidence

There are a number of possible applications that can be used to produce an eportfolio. The fact that we are currently using Moodle may well influence the choice. However I would recommend using Google Docs. The main reason for this choice is the flexibility this gives the students. An eportfolio is owned by the students and this choice would leave the students in full control of the contents. I am confident that they would also make use of the many additional web 2.0 applications that google has to offer. Students today naturally expect to encompass blogs wikis and social networking into there student life.

To encourage students to create a portfolio within the college network would mean the contents would not be available after their course has been completed, unless students take steps to export their data. This rules out portfolio tools such as PebblePad^[2] and similar systems, Google is both free and open source.

By adopting this approach we maintain the course structure and management within the college system but we are encouraging the students take control of their eportfolio and more importantly their own lifelong learning.  

---

References

Batson, T. (2002) ‘The electronic portfolio boom: what’s it all about?’ (online), Campus Technology. Available from: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2002/11/the-electronic-portfolio-boom-whats-it-all-about.aspx (accessed 10 July 2009).

 

Sutherland, S. and Powell, A. (2007), Cetis SIG mailing list discussions [www.jiscmail.ac.uk/archives/cetis-portfolio.html] 9 July 2007

[1] Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS) It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites. http://moodle.org/

 [2] PebblePad is a Personal Learning System being used in learning by schools, colleges, universities and professional bodies. http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/

2.5 What constitutes a good reflective writing.

Reflective writing is a personal account of an experience that has occurred on life's long journey. It is something we wish to record and possibly share with a friend, colleague or the whole world. It's personal and it's owned by the author, anyone reading a reflection should feel privileged that someone is prepared to share their feelings and thoughts on the contents of the reflection.

As Professor Phil Race puts it. ‘Reflecting’ is about thinking. Jotting down your reflections is about capturing your thoughts – the brilliant ones alongside the silly ones (which are often, of course, fun). Race. P (2007)

So what is a good reflection? If you choose to reflect it is your event, what you write is for your benefit, it helps you to develop or learn from your experiences. These experiences could be formal learning or just an event, a wedding, visit to a new country, anything you want to share or reflect on.

It's a fact though that if you take the time to write you should check your spelling and spend just a little bit more time making sure what you have written makes sense. I think its a bit harsh to critique someones reflection, it is after all a gift, they have agreed to share a personal event with you the reader.

There are no real rules but I think it is sensible to try and avoid long paragraphs and rambling on, you want the reader to tune in to your thoughts to enable them to see where you are going with the reflection. After all the reflection is aimed to generate thought provoking ideas and reflection on the part of the reader. This enables the sharing of ideas and collaboration on the topic being reflected on.

An article by Rebbeck. G (2007) does well to state a number of examples where reflection can be used but as for rules states. "There are few rules. What happens is in the main driven by teaching and learning episodes and as a response to events and incidents in their professional life."

Geoff continues by stating the purpose, "The use of e-portfolios is to promote scholastic endeavour and raise the professionalism of tutors at College".

I can't help but think there is an awful lot of reflection going on and we have to be careful that as learners the core subject is not overlooked, we learn by reflecting but we won't learn about a new subject just by reflecting. However we might learn a bit more by reading about another persons learning experience, it most certainly is likely to shed light on alternative viewpoints or invoke meaningful discussions about our new found learning.
So read, reflect, discuss, have a go at sharing your thoughts with a wider audience. You never know it may make a difference.

References.

Race P. (2007) 'How to write a reflection', Assessment, Learning and Teaching. (online) Available from:
http://alt-resource.teams.leedsmet.ac.uk/how-to-write-a-reflection (accessed 30 Sept 2009)

Rebbeck.G (2007) 'Using a REfLECT e-Portfolio' (online), Thanet College. Available from:
http://www.ifl.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/6673/reflect-narrative-by-geoff-rebbeck-thanet.pdf (Accessed 01 Oct 2009)

First Group Work Activity Reflection, "Well that wasn't too bad"

My experience of group work online and Trevor's opening comments "I have to say from the outset that working together online can be difficult sometimes, BUT, with a little planning on everyone's part, it can actually be a rewarding experience. You never know, you may even enjoy it ;o)", left me a little concerned especially when there was little activity in the conference over the first few days.

As for the task in hand I did not find it at all easy, a page of web links to read and trying to ascertain what were the relevant drivers from all this was a little confusing. Do I print? Certainly not it was clear from the outset. I found myself easily distracted and I wandered off. I posted a number of additional messages in the conference and suddenly there was life. My first attempt at spotting the drivers for the USA was posted other inputs started to appear. I found the reading was a bit difficult to concentrate on although once I focused on just spotting the drivers it wasn't so bad.

In terms of my PDP I would like to focus on my Research related competencies it was clear I was trying to read too much detail and not focusing on the actual task after all we were only after the drivers. I was distracted into RefWorks did I need to sort out my referencing? Along came an email with contact updates so my Google contacts were updated. A quick scan at what else I had to do and it was clear I had to focus back on the task. I must stop allowing myself to be side tracked. Just something as simple as checking my emails before I start studying can distract me from getting on with my studies. I consciously have tried to stop checking my mail until after the study period. One other slight distraction is my job of course, preparing my own lessons and planning the weekly teaching commitments means setting a regular study period is not easy.

Whilst my technology skills are pretty good, well I think they are. I was suffering a bit from information overload I thought I was on top of the course then I checked the Wiki and found I had missed a task out completely. I guess blogs, wikis, google docs etc will all become as natural as driving a car. I must admit though I am struggling to see the use of Twitter but then again Facebook took a while for me to accept.

Once a fellow student put up the post suggesting a Wiki it was clear we had to start moving forward. The Wiki was the trigger point. A reading list was added as suggested by other students in the group. This was my first attempt at using a Wiki and I have to say it was quite straight forward. I did however find it easier to produce the HTML in Frontpage rather than the Wiki editor. This enabled me to copy and paste the HTML straight into the wiki. I posted a gentle reminder in the conference in an attempt to trigger some activity, this received a response on the Friday evening.

Personally I was now able to pick a few documents and read them solely to spot the drivers which suddenly wasn't that bad. I was able to also start looking for useful sources of information for the TMA essay, bit early yet though. The activity in work group picked up and text started to appear on the groups wiki. I have to confess I printed some of the main sources to enable a relaxing read on the sofa, I still can't get used to performing everything on a PC.

There was then an influx of activity an the Wiki page became more populated. I think the end result is a good collaborative effort. We are a small group based all over the world in different time zones and we have managed to link together discuss and form a joint opinion on a topic. In view of how hectic the course has been at the start and the fact that some students are just finishing ECAs for other courses I think it's well done all round.

Reflection and learning

Reflection is a pain! I spend hours preparing a lesson, present my lesson and then find I have to reflect on the lesson, when really I want to get on with the next one. Well that's my opinion. However in all fairness it is a valuable tool and well worth doing it’s just a matter of time and looking at the next task in hand.

As for Blogging well at first I thought this was all a bit sad, why write personal reflections online for others to read?

Enter the ‘learning arena’ and suddenly it all becomes clear, it is useful to read both your own as well as the reflections of others. It is part of the learning and useful to read other experiences. The blog makes it efficient to keep a journal, it can be private or shared selectively. I have just written this blog whilst having a 5 minute break at work by emailing straight to my blog.

Where next, ‘Twitter’ I don’t think so I am not quite ready, but I said that about ‘Facebook’.

H808-09I: Unit 2 (part 2): Reflection and learning: "Post a comment to your blog reflecting on your own attitude to reflection in learning and on the usefulness or otherwise of blogging as a means of doing it."

2.2 Reflection Core Activity

This is a my reflection on the first groupwork activity to find a number of eportfolio drivers from a given reading list. What has been driving eportfolios forward in the  UK, USA, Europe etc.

My experience of group work online and Trevor's opening comments,
"I have to say from the outset that working together online can be difficult sometimes, BUT, with a little planning on everyone's part, it can actually be a rewarding experience. You never know, you may even enjoy it ;o)",
left me a little concerned especially when there was little activity in the conference over the first few days.

As for the task in hand I did not find it at all easy, a page of web links to read and trying to ascertain what were the relevant drivers from all this was a little confusing. Do I print? Certainly not it was clear from the outset. I found myself easily distracted and I wandered off. I posted a number of additional messages in the conference and suddenly there was life. My first attempt at spotting the drivers for the USA was posted other inputs started to appear. I found the reading was a bit difficult to concentrate on although once I focused on just spotting the drivers it wasn't so bad.

In terms of my PDP I would like to focus on my Research related competencies it was clear I was trying to read too much detail and not focusing on the actual task after all we were only after the drivers. I was distracted into RefWorks did I need to sort out my referencing? Along came an email with contact updates so my Google contacts were updated. A quick scan at what else I had to do and it was clear I had to focus back on the task. I must stop allowing myself to be side tracked. Just something as simple as checking my emails before I start studying can distract me from getting on with my studies. I conscious have tried to stop checking my mail until after the study period. One other slight distraction is my job of course, preparing my own lessons and planning the weekly teaching commitments means setting a regular study period is not easy.

Whilst my technology skills are pretty good, well I think they are. I was suffering a bit from information overload I thought I was on top of the course then I checked the Wiki and found I had missed a task out completely. I guess blogs, wikis, google docs etc will all become as natural as driving a car. I must admit though I am struggling to see the use of Twitter but then again Facebook took a while for me to accept.

Once a fellow student put up the post suggesting a Wiki it was clear we had to start moving forward. The Wiki was the trigger point. A reading list was added as suggested by other students in the group. This was my first attempt at using a Wiki and I have to say it was quite straight forward. I did however find it easier to produce the HTML in Frontpage rather than the Wiki editor. This enabled me to copy and paste the HTML straight into the wiki. I posted a gentle warning message in an attempt to trigger some activity, this received a response on the Friday evening.

Personally I was now able to pick a few documents and read them solely to spot the drivers which suddenly wasn't that bad. I was able to also start looking for useful sources of information for the TMA essay, bit early yet though. The activity in work group picked up and text started to appear on the groups wiki. I have to confess I printed some of the main sources to enable a relaxing read on the sofa, I still can't get used to performing everything on a PC.

When I reviewed some of the other messages in the group it was clear to me that I was more active than most I guess I have seen many online activities fail on previous courses so I wanted to do my bit to try and get it started. I made a conscious decision to back off a bit and posted a message to that effect. I was aware that I had steered this activity some what and I didn't want to appear pushy.

At the moment we are steering towards the end of this activity with our template looking OK it perhaps could do with a few more drivers but there are still a couple of days left for a few latecomers to add a bit.

Write a short reflection on your first impressions of H808

H808 is about to start I have had a browse through the website, sorted out my Blog, emailed my tutor and popped an introduction in the tutor conference. At the same time I have experimented with Vstuff, iGoogle and pebblepad and we haven't started yet. I can see there is a great deal of reading on this course and I haven't wrote an essay for a long time. Concerned? no not really, I just know I am going to need to plan my study time. Life will get slightly easier when I wave goodbye to T224 students that complete their course in October.

As for H808 first impressions are good, the OU leads the way in Distance Learning and the standard of material and quality of the web interface is impressive. Everything is available from the student homepage. A few additional links added to my Student Homepage mean I now have efficient access to My Blog, Pebblepad and refworks. The PDF file of the first four units was requested by a fellow student and it appeared within hours, and a pretty useful document it is, I still like to read paper copies and jot notes occasionally. Another must is the environment map a few pages in and the table breaks down the activities into clear tasks that will help me focus on the key elements of the course.

Am I an Elearning Professional well I think I will save that for my next posting.

Any H808ers reading this I wish you all the best for the course and I look forward to sharing ideas and discussing the course content over the coming months.

Steve

H808 preparation

With the website up and running and a bit of time before I go back to work I couldn't resist a look. First impressions are just what I expected everything links nicely from the student homepage and resources are easy to find.

Having skip read some of the material and had a quick peek at the TMA, I know I couldn’t resist, experience has meant that I keep the TMAs and assessments in mind from the off. A really useful document is the technologies schedule I printed this off straight away, it will form a useful guide I am sure.

Initial concerns are also as expected there is an awful lot of reading, plenty of technology to get my head around but it looks really interesting. So many writing styles as well, I am out of practice here so will be looking early for examples of academic writing, reflective writing and reports. I have been using Pebblepad for a while and GoogleApps. I need to decide early on which app to use I think. An important criteria here will be what I can access at work. I look forward to discussing them in the conference later.

A quick look in the conferences revealed a few early birds, will stay away from here for a while I think. The OU has learn’t from previous courses and its good to see that my tutor conference does not open until the course start date. A quick email to my Tutor just to say hello I think, and that will do for today.

ePortfolios ?

A quick look at what an ePortfolio is I have found a couple of useful links which I want to note for now. My initial thoughts looking at the content is that there is a graet deal of reading and information to absorb. It it evident that organisiation is required. How will I remember whwere I saw a piece of useful information? What am I going to use to logg activity? A blog, a google doc? This will be a discussion point in my conference asap I need to know what others are using?

There is a fear of information overload here.

Anyway some links

Balancing the two sides to a Portfolio Dr Helen Barrett
Focuses on the two sides to a portfolio

Investigations into differant types of ePortfolio apps. A whole range of apps where does she find the time. No reference to Moodle?
http://electronicportfolios.org/balance/index.html

H808

H808 The eLearning professional starts on Aug 24th. This Blog will be used amongst a number of other web 2.0 apps to provide evidence and support for my studies.
At this stage I am not sure what wil be my main app that I will use. Other currently used apps include:-
iGoogle
Pepplepad
Vstuff
My Stuff

The main app that I use at the moment is iGoogle it offers a whole range of facilities from just one link. http://www.google.co.uk/ig?t=3