Hackneyed phrases and new and emerging hackneyed phrases

Recently I blogged a response to George Siemens' weariness of the concept of "Pedagogy first" and it made me ponder what I phrases feel weary of when I hear them. I find that these are particularly prolific in conference presentations, educational developer/learning technologist meetings and (increasingly) job interviews. Following George's example I'm going to endeavour that this doesn't become a rant but considers the "what lies beneath" of the hackneyed phrases.

1. "I'm looking forward to the day we can drop the 'e' and just talk about learning" usually followed by a mexican wave of nods around the room (and a sigh from me). To me this is a "so what" sort of comment, of course I recognise the sub-text of not treating e-learning as a novelty or needing special attention, but I personally think it is interesting enough to generate a rich seam of conversation in its own right - just before it starts to become ordinary something new and exciting come along to refresh thinking. This is not restricted to e-learning, I've also heard "let's stop talking about assessment/teaching/student support/transition and just talk about learning." Of course everything is a subset of learning but do we really want to just describe everything with one word and start every conversation with totality? Will that really advance our cause? Is it a good measure of impact? What's wrong with using language to shine a spotlight?

2. "technology is just another tool in the academic's toolkit that they may or maynot choose to use and I'm OK with that" this is usually an ed dev/learn tech comment and makes me want to ask a whole host of follow up questions - is technology one tool? in this day and age is there a legitimate opt out? in what circumstances might they choose not to use anything at all? and is it really OK to be OK with it? - where are the parallels? - would a librarian declare the same level of comfort if an academic opted out of using any information resources? I realise that I am going against conventional wisdom here, but I don't subscribe to the toolkit perspective. I think about living, learning, working in a digital age (in a world immersed in technology), I think about authenticity to discipline and/or professions, I think about the rich learning opportunities technology can offer and then I wonder in what context is it [yawn yawn] "just another tool"?

3. "technology is fine, but it isn't appropriate within my subject/discipline" obviously an academic comment (well, you know, ed dev/learn tech don't have the monopoly on hackney). I don't really have much to add to this one - its ??? is absolutely explicit. Is there really a subject or discipline in which learning cannot be enriched by thoughtful application of technology or that doesn't have a real world technology component worth embedding? If there is I haven't come across it yet, but if others have, please share...or (I like a challenge) suggest one and let's see if we can't prove/disprove this once and for all.

New and emerging hackneyed.... well "new and emerging" is probably a good candidate in itself, others might include "e-portfolios are the true personalised learning environments", "wikipedia is damaging students' ability to research", "we need to take learning to where the students are, Facebook, MySpace etc". The recent ELI Spring Focus Session with a focus on authenticity through "learning by doing or learning by thinking like.." offered a range of candidates for the coming soon "hackneys" (I even found myself trotting out a refreshed version of 1 above for which I am eternally sorry - "stop talking about them as students but as engineers, psychologists, nurses etc" - oh dear, oh dear) but for now, for the new and emerging ones, I'm not going to fret they are afterall not established yet and as long as they still offer opportunities for conversations and encourage everyone (whatever their role) to re-consider their practice to be more student-focused then I'll stick behind them for a while.

Your comments are most welcome on any of the above together with, if you wish, suggestions for phrases to put in the "Hackneyed Hall of Yawn"

ELI SFS: Integrating Community History, Technology, and Service Learning: The Digital Durham Project

Trudi Abel (Duke)

fyi Community History is a big theme in the History subject group at SHU.

Students pulling together research project re community history to share with 8th grade students (similar to UoS English Lit dept work on kiddult fiction - worked particularly well because lots of the eng students were considering careers in teaching)

not much going on in this session - its good enough, but once you've got the concept (sentence above) you've got the concept... and the rest is, well you know, history.

the website is great, of course, http://digitaldurham.duke.edu/

ELI SFS: The New Virtual Field Trip: A Perspective from NC State's Entomology Bug World

North Carolina State

a NC farm built within ActiveWorld (it's got a very big barn).

Favourite chat quote "virtual walking is a real waste of time" discuss.

..actually this triggered quite a flurry of chat discussion culminating in "Actually walking is quite useful since there is some spatial mapping that occurs automatically that one can leverage to content learning"

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mjklesat/

ELI SFS: Using Computer-Simulated Case-Based Scenarios to Improve Learning

David Segal (Central Florida)

MyCaseSpace - a tool for diagnosing illnesses (I think) - small case study, differential diagnostics, additional information, medical history, physical exam, lab tests etc - of course very subject specific, but quite impressive (no cartoon in sight) - question again about maintenance and sustainability. Ask expert for help and all info linked to medical database. Score of performance on each of the stages.

Visual decision map for feedback and performance interesting (sorry screen grab so not the best - click on image to get a better look)














and then the words that make my heart sink: "I've built this myself for my own students and it runs from a SQL server"...just stopped short of - "under my desk". 15 minutes to develop/build a case. This is a really interesting tool but "enthusiast-dependent" and "high-tech staff member".

Keen to work with any participants to beta test/develop further.

Now here are a couple of interesting comments from the chat:
"This is a little unusual course development. You seem like a lone ranger with no collaborators, no other expert reviewers of your cases, no other technical assistance. Can you speak to how we might model your efforts in our institutions?"

"What kind of budget is involved in the creation of an application such as this, and did you face any obstacles in obtaining funding from your institution?"

His experience shows that the students respond disproportionately better to human avatars/photos rather than cartoons - find cartoons funny, unrealistics and don't have empathy with "patient" - so don't find it realistic/authentic. We should tell this to.....

As previous will add link to presentation when available

ELI SFS: Making Learning Real: Turning Sim City into "Sim Science"!

Diane Jass Ketelhut (Temple University)
Starting with a poll: When was this statement made: "If we are in earnest about universal education, we must...recognize that our education succeeds just to the extent that we make it focus upon the real activities of life?"
scroll right of this sentence for answer: Answer 1895

Not going to take copious notes as slides will be available after the event, what is most interesting as always are the side channels - fellow tweeters trying to find each other when tweet id not used, chat is full of questions about how chat works and, of course, the quality of the sound. An online session could do with a longer intro session to get past some of this stuff before the first keynote.

Demo of Chris Dede's River City - seen before, but it is interesting, and students like it "I felt like a scientist for the first time" - always wonder about maintenance and sustainability when I see it. It can look a bit like a "traditional" multimedia package designed to look like SL.

An interesting comment in the "chat" from U of Colorado: "I polled 500 university business students about using SL and the overwhelming majority did not want to use it - didn't want to learn yet another tool." What do you think about that statement?

Assessing student learning - methods of assessing change in the VE with assessment within the environment - River City - still use on online test but when compared to in situ assessment (eg letter to the mayor) no correlation between performance on each.

Now take a look at this comment in the chat: "I was at a conference last week where a private college had established a counseling center on SL- they actuall had a interactive tissue box for those encounters between counselor and client where tears flow. They are considering using the new tool in Sl that actually changes the facial expressions. This was a distance learning course for counselors in various locations in the US and globally." What do you think about it?

ELI Spring Session - Discussion questions

As part of the Spring Session, here are some starter questions for on-campus discussion, anyone want to provide some perspectives on any of these. (please include the Qu in your comment):

1. Considering the needs of our students and the demands of the workforce, what key skills should we try to develop through the use of authentic activities?
   
2. How can we adequately gauge the types of activities that students want in the classroom? Are there ways to solicit advice from our students?
   
3. When working with faculty to implement authentic learning experiences, what key concerns should be addressed?
   
4. When considering the implementation of an authentic activity, what partners should be brought into the initial planning process?
   
5. Considering those partners—and potential roadblocks ahead—what key questions should we address during the planning process?
   
6. How can we help faculty move past their initial fears when considering these activities? What arguments support the use of authentic activities in class?
   
7. What does assessment look like in an authentic environment? What needs to be taken into consideration?

Future of student learning

All UK HEIs have to do a Corporate Plan for the funding council (a strategic document that sets direction for next five years). Please forgive the corporate language a necessary element of the piece. Here are some things we are kicking around in our drafting group comments/ observations welcome - Does it reach as high enough, too high, too tame, too jargony, ???

Firstly sometimes the most basic assertions can be the most powerful:
Students are our core business. Enhancing the student experience, with learning and teaching at its heart, is the foremost strategic priority of the new Corporate Plan.

What might it look like:
Engaging with the learning process
Learning opportunities are most effective when they are authentic to the relevant discipline or profession, underpinned by research and requiring active engagement by students. Wherever possible the curriculum design should encourage social and collaborative learning, recognising the importance of the cohort/course experience and the opportunity to learn, not just with, but from peers. The learning experience should be rich and distinctive, providing students with opportunities to engage in the process of enquiry and participate in a vibrant academic community.

Becoming effective learners
Successful study in higher education is primarily about engaging with learning and scholarship. Students will be supported to develop the skills and attributes of learner autonomy and digital fluency that enable them to engage actively and creatively with their learning. The University's pioneering learning centres serve students' needs, delivering access to books, journals and online information sources. The University will continue to respond to the changing balance between information sources providing a rich range of resources in a variety printed and electronic formats.

Digital natives and immigrants - lost in translation (part 2)

The earlier post unpacked (somewhat) the nature of immigrance and "fit" but there is another premise of digital immigrancy that his helpful to consider, that being "instinct and development". As a non-native speaker, the first step to any dialogue is to work it out in our native language and then translate it to the required language. It is the skill of translation that is both the saviour and the curse of the digital immigrant. Having those quick translation skills are helpful for anyone in a changing world. For example in the UK those who were children between the ages of 5 and 10 in the early 70s might be considered the most cross-fluent between Imperial and decimal measurements; any older and they had to unlearn, any younger and the imperial is “foreign”, those in the middle “use whichever side of the ruler comes to mind” and flip between the two without much thought. This attitude to change can be liberating and means that in many ways, that generation have embraced their translation heritage to move between the old and the new (age in 2007 of this group of translators approx 35–45). However, with this form of translation, the initial process of “work it out in your own language first” can be a problem. We think:
“I want students to demonstrate their knowledge on this topic”
“how would I usually do this? – write a 3,000 word essay”
“how shall I do it using the technology? – word process and submit online a 3,000 word essay”
(oh dear!)

Our thought processes graft on the technology to the activity – the “traditional plus technology” approach to curriculum design. So where is the problem? When conversing with the digital natives they don’t have a frame of reference for the traditional (ie the equivalent of not understanding that French nouns have genders or that German verbs go at the end) so the translation seems awkward.

“you want me to demonstrate what I know about a topic – let me build a webpage, make a video, or better still, if you want to know what I think – check out my blog”

Linguists aspire to (and develop skills in how to) think in their non-native language and it is this equivalent skill that we need to promote in the use of learning technology.

Digital natives and immigrants - lost in translation (part 1)

The starting point for many discussions around learning in the digital age begins with the question: Are you a digital native or a digital immigrant? But, be warned, your response can then determine the direction of your conversation, with the inquirer making a host of assumptions about who you are, what you know and what you think. Whilst some question the determinist view of this form of classification, it can be useful in framing how to consider the development of learning technologies and student engagement with these. So let’s start with the question, explore what this means and then consider so alternative perspectives:
Are you a digital native or a digital immigrant?
The question should be easy to answer – if you were born after 1980 (in the US) or 1984 (in Europe) you are a digital native – everybody else is an immigrant. Digital natives are considered to have been born into a digital world and they have no knowledge of a world without technology.
Prensky terms from his 2001 article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants has become a useful nomclamenture to quickly articulate the points made. However a number of writers have challenge the simple dichotomy that his classification suggests, whether it is backed up with evidence of greater usage of technology and importantly for us, whether it really changes the way people learn.

It is definitely helpful to review the primary source paper, and it is clear from the paper that there is more in the sub-text about generational divide and willingness to change, than specifics of “number of hours using technology”. It provides a different perspective on “the trouble with the kids today, with their hair and their clothes”. In particular the points he, as a digital immigrant, makes about the thickness of accents:
“There are hundreds of examples of the digital immigrant accent. They include printing out your email (or having you secretary print it out for you – an even “thicker” accent); needing to print out a document written on the computer in order to edit it (rather than just editing on the screen); and bringing people physically into your office to see an interesting web site (rather than just sending them the URL)…..My own favourite is the “Did you get my email?” phone call.”

The paper explores the impact of this action on the generational divide and goes on to outline how education might be different but there is more to the immigration analogy than simply the accent. It speaks more to the immigrants place in the world and ways of thinking.
He suggests that the immigrant community, by their nature, are deemed to declare: “I am not comfortable in this place”. Let’s consider the immigration analogy a little further, by exploring some themes around English ex-pat community in Spain (and other Mediterranean countries) as a parallel “immigration”. There is no single immigrant community or attitudinal set, but rather sub-sets, let's explore these and their learning technology equivalents:

Spain: “I like the climate, but I want to live in a mini-England with sun”
Learning Technology: “I like the convenience of technology for booking holidays, banking, news etc but I want to teach they way I always have”

Spain: “I love living in Spain, but I haven’t bothered to learn the language, I get my son/daughter to deal with all the Spanish things”
Learning Technology: “I like being associated with a technology-rich course, but I rely on younger members of the teaching team to do it.”

Spain: “I can’t really speak the language, but I have a few stock phrases I can use to get by in shops”
Learning Technology: “I don’t understand it, but I have my list of eight steps to upload my teaching material and I can email if I need to”

Spain: “I speak great Spanish! And the locals are so grateful when I try” (think policeman in ‘Allo ‘Allo)
Learning Technology: “I use as much technology as I can, and the students are so grateful I ‘deliver’ in this way”

Spain: “I like Spain, I like everything about it, I have to learn the language to really live here, to get the most out of it”
Learning Technology: “Don’t give me this digital immigrant nonsense, I live in the digital age too, if I want to use technology and it makes learning better – I will!”

OK, so that is the “foreign land” perspective and whilst many will continue to assert that learning is learning and will never change, and that “all this is fine, but not in my subject”, many digital natives leave the higher education classroom with a mashed-up, mp3 speed-enhanced, flickr-blog impression that the first line of L.P. Hartley’s (1953) novel The Go-between is speaking directly to them - the past really is a foreign country, and they really do do things differently there...

Exploring the hypothetical...

A while ago we were tasked with exploring the perspectives of students in the (not too distant) future and express our thinking as a poster. A group of us worked on a expression of “What will students of 2012 expect to see?” The poster was a excellent feat of expression (due entirely to the rest of the group, not me!) but the comments within did not provoke the debate I would have liked so I am going to “replay” them here for the purposes of documentation and capture…and to invite the views of readers.

“What will students of 2012 expect to see?” focused on three strands:

Learning Opportunities - Personalised Curriculum - Staff of the Future

Learning Opportunities
Authentic learning activities designed to interweave students and staff prior experience and knowledge with high quality resources across a wide range of formats. They encourage engagement, collaboration and student empowerment.

Hypothetical examples of discussions via the "virtual learning environment" allow staff and students interaction:

“Please share your digital portfolio with your tutor and your peers through the course wiki, this is a perfect time to explore how each of you have approached selecting, reflecting your learning so far”

“Your level 4 critical thinking group will meet at our Crucible Campus in Second Life every Tuesday evening. Come and join in the discussion, guest lecturer this week Professor Lord Robert Winston.”

“OK, it’s my turn to facilitate the online discussion this week. The background reading is online and I've provided a “mini case study” from my own work context as the focus for discussion.”

“Have you agreed your negotiated assessment criteria yet with your tutor, these need to be fixed by 1 July; remember formats for this assessment are optional.”

“Sign up for your multi-disciplinary groups and add your profile to the group page by way of introduction. Peer assessment starts in two weeks time.”

"Hi, I use statistical analysis a lot in my work, but can't get my head around Harvard referencing at all! Anybody out there want to buddy?"

Personalised Curriculum
As learning becomes increasingly personalised, the University will need to offer a flexible curriculum that fit with learners’ needs and reflect the growing market for employer-led curriculum development.

So what is the role of the traditional degree in this context – can we move beyond business as usual? Hypothetal example questions from prospective students:

“To accommodate my work I may want to study my degree faster – 6 semesters in 2 years to minimise costs, or slower, with a combination of full time, part time and distance at the same time with pauses in the middle. Is this possible?”

“You do some good modules at Sheffield Hallam, but there are some elsewhere that look good too, can I pick and mix my degree - accumulate modules from different institutions into a single award?”

“I want to take a vocational course but my interests are eclectic, can I major in the vocational course and minor in a general interest course, or vice versa?”

“My employer has negotiated with the University to set a series of assessments, completion of which will lead to an accredited award. What study support can I expect from Sheffield Hallam?”

“I want to keep up to date in my profession, can I subscribe annually to the University for a programme of non-credit bearing professional development?”

“Can I take a generic undergraduate degree that gives me employability skills without having to choose a particular discipline to study?”

Staff of the Future
A committed and highly skilled workforce is essential to delivering a high quality and cutting edge learning experience. There is a broad range of staff contributing to that experience and we see professional development as vital to success.

Hypothetical extracts from the student charter 2012 demonstrate our commitment to this:

At Sheffield Hallam University you will engage with staff who are:
Commercial Consultants sharing their real world experience through dialogue and engagement in business and social enterprises
Academic facilitators focused entirely on designing and facilitating your learning
Cutting edge researchers within their discipline

Hypothetical student feedback from 2011/12:

“Working with staff who are keen for me to maximise my potential gave me great confidence to explore and take risks. It really surprised me that the staff had taken the time to get to grips with digital resources and our technology.”

“Working on my dissertation with a leading UK athlete, who is competing in the London Olympics, was exhilarating”

“Communication with other students and staff was great even thought I didn’t go into uni – shuspace was a lifeline”

“Talking online to the guy from America who wrote the book was great.

“I never thought I would be learning from a Chief Executive”