What is Open Learning K-12?

The terms we use, particularly for new ideas, can be confusing and mean different things to different people.
Here is one approach which I throw out for comment, particularly for the #oped12 MOOC.
In schools - that is K-12 or Primary/Secondary schools - students are taught in walled classrooms (literally and metaphorically), with a well defined curriculum/instructional plan, by a teacher who has control of the learning, the pace, the amount of scaffolding. This is "closed" learning.
"Open" is the opposite of this.
In this type of open learning in schools, we hope to have students devising their own learning, working together (peeragogy), not under the direction of the teacher, using technology (where age-appropriate) to extend beyond the classroom. And with an open scope.
The regular curriculum would remain, open learning sessions would be a small portion of the main learning experience, perhaps just initially, perhaps for a very long time.

Why have this approach? What do we hope to achieve? What will students achieve? Here is some information devised for students in 6th or 7th grade (Year 7 or 8):

Students are expected to:

1. construct understanding and knowledge by defining parameters and sharing agreement with others;
2. work cooperatively as part of a team;
3. look for different interpretations and consider different solutions to problems;
4. think from the perspective of others;
5. communicate effectively;
6. organise information and data;
7. reflect on their discoveries. 

It is recognised that many of these aspects of learning are a feature of the established curriculum but they will be the main focus of, and will be explicitly promoted, in the open learning sessions.
Open learning sessions will set up a context and a task, and students will then design and evaluate solutions. They will work in teams and collaboratively. They will keep a journal of their work and ideas. They will be encouraged to think widely and consider different possibilities and perspectives. 

Examples of seed questions for open learning sessions:

1. What do you know about your brain and how do you know it? Why does learning take place and how do you learn best?
2. What is intelligence and how should it be measured?
3. You have to send a message to someone in secret. How would you do it?
4. Who should receive a kidney transplant when only one is available? www.teachit.co.uk
5. What 10 things would the group take for survival on a desert island?
6. What would you put in a box and send to another civilisation to explain what our civilisation is about?
7. A meteoroid is heading to planet earth - what will happen, how would you prepare for what will happen, where would you try to go to?

(Thank you to the Open Learning team at the ABC and in particular Graeme Keslake for the student expectations and seed questions)

There are some very similar ideas to these - authentic learning and project based learning come to mind - but the emphasis here is on handing over the learning responsibility (perhaps gradually at first) to the student and peers.

Openness in Education - is it all about content?

Happy to be on #oped12, the Openness in Education MOOC, after sticking to 35 weeks of #change11.

The Course Outline is as below and it all seems to be related to OPEN CONTENT rather than OPEN LEARNING. Open learning is dealt with in the definition of Week 1, perhaps in Week 2 and in Future Trends in Week 12, the last week.

I do want to follow the content issues, both as OERs and in terms of digital scholarship, but would also like to learn from everyone about Open Learning, particularly about K-12 Open Learning approaches. There is clearly a great deal to learn about university level open learning approaches too.

Have asked George Siemens the following questions:
"1. Is it possible to include an open learning/teaching week? Is there enough going on in this area to warrant it?
2. Our interest is K-12 open learning - although there are things to learn from the university view too; should we have a K-12 learning strand, or even an extra week at the end for this sig?"

- BUT do not want to upset what must have been an extensive planning and preparation set up.

Has anyone on #oped12 who is interested in Open Learning and, in particular, K-12 Open Learning, got any ideas how we might complement this excellent opportunity to discuss Openness in Education?

Please comment below or use #opedK12 on Twitter. 

Week	Activity
1	Course Introductions Module 1 – Defining openness - History of openness in higher education - Types of openness: content, teaching, scholarship
2	Module 1 – Defining openness - Current definitions and trends in openness
3	Module 2 – Licenses and content protection - History of copyright (Paper #1 due)
4	Module 2 – Licenses and content protection - Alternative licensing systems - Open source/Linux models - Creative Commons - Current copyright/content protection initiatives  (ACTA)
5	Module  3 –Models for developing open resources - Crowdsource? Or Expert?
6	Module 3 – Models for developing open resources - Economics and impact of open source
7	Module 4 – Searching for resources - Semi-open resources (Wikipedia, iTunes, YouTube, Academic Earth) (Paper #2 due)
8	Module 4 – Searching for resources - OER databases - Search engines
9	Module 5 – Scholarship - Open access journals - Informal peer review
10	Module 5 – Scholarship - Open press and textbook publishing
11	Module 6 – Openness and systemic change - Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) - How does openness influence learning design? - Do OERs save university money? - Does the university’s role in society change when content is freely available? (OER-based Learning module/resource due)
12	Module 7 – Future trends - Open Teaching - Open accreditation (Concept map due) Course Wrap-Up & Lessons Learned

PLE - extending the ZPD

Vigotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) has always been a useful way of analysing a learning moment. The idea of the leap forward in learning with the help of a "more knowledgeable other" (MKO) was a useful one to explain a difficult process, and allowed the idea of a scaffold for learning.
Ismael Peña-López brings Vigotsky's ideas right up to date, arguing in “Personal Learning Environments and the revolution of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development” that a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) can take the place of the MKO, extending the ZPD significantly. Taking a "dynamic" view of this (many directional) one can argue that the ZPD is dependent only on the quality of one's PLE.
Great idea to ponder on....

Computers for serious work - tablets and smartphones just don't cut the mustard

Reading the instructions for an online survey, I was reminded of the difference in experience between computers (desktops, laptops) and tablets and smartphones:
"Please notice that this survey is best completed using a computer. You may experience some technical problems if you use a tablet or smartphone due to limitations with those devices."
How true.
Over the holiday I traveled with my i-Pad. Admittedly first generation. But it was very frustrating when I wanted to PRODUCE something with it. It was an excellent consumption device (I now agree with BillT of Click on this one).
So, what does this mean for tablets and smartphones in schools? Learning is not just consumption, it is doing. How fit for purpose are these devices?

Powerpoint - a help or a curse for learning and teaching?

There has been much said about PowerPoint as a presentation tool. Most of the comments have been negative and phrases such as "death by PowerPoint" sum up what many say it's like on the receiving end.
Schools have "guidelines" on how we should be presenting. Here is ours - notice it is aimed at both teachers and students (thanks Judith and Secondary School staff for these points):

Rationale for reviewing existing guidelines.

• Digital presentations frequently have too much information on the screen
• Many articles now refer to how Digital slide-shows are ineffective for the reader/listener
• Too many words on the screen and people read more quickly than people speak and so they focus on just reading, not listening
• For the presenters - our students - they need to prepare well and really do some proper research and think about what they want to say to have maximum impact on the audience. Now they just read the bullet points. If we restrict words and bullets they will have to prepare more thoroughly and imaginatively. This means they should learn more in the process and the listeners should be more "entertained" and informed.

A Presentation is a visual, aural and/or verbal representation of a message

1. Why do we want to deliver a message?
• to inform
• to persuade
2. A good presentation should
• have a clear and simple message
• be well prepared and delivered with confidence
• take account of the needs and expectations of the audience
• try to involve the audience
• use a variety of media – photos, audio files, video clips
3. How can we get across a message?
• Digital (like a PowerPoint)
• Aural (like a taped interview)
• Verbal – someone talking, but not to be recommended on its own
• A poster, with explanations by the presenter
• A display, with explanations by the presenter
• A drama

Some Dos and Don't s for teachers and students for any Digital Presentation

For teachers

1. Please don't have requirements like: include fifteen slides--one should be your introduction, one should include your thesis, five should include specific evidence, etc. The number of slides is not the issue - the effective and efficient delivery of the message is!!
2. Students need to be encouraged to follow these guidelines in all their presentations. Not being able to read off the slide will require better research and understanding before the students can attempt to deliver the message.
3. Teachers should provide clear and specific tasks
4. Students should be provided with the guidelines and rubric beforehand
5. Show students good examples that model these guidelines.
6. Encourage peer assessment. This should be done under guidance/detailed instructions, ie: it is better to give students a rubric or certain criteria. Peer assessment should only form part of the overall presentation assessment.

Presentation

1. Prepare well (know your topic).
2. Rehearse well.
3. Never read from the slide in a presentation.
4. Don’t ask or expect your audience to read a presentation, The slides are for the audience not the presenter, but can be used to remind you about what you should be saying.
5. Face the audience, maintain eye contact and interact with the audience . Use the laptop as a clue for what to say NOT the screen!!
6. Use rhetorical devices to grab the attention of the audience: repetition, hyperbole, metaphor and provocative questions.
7. Finish the presentation with a powerful closing statement.
8. Hand-outs may be required (this requirement rests with the teacher), but should be given to the teacher rather than the audience. This is so that (i) the teacher can check for accuracy before passing on to students and (ii) we avoid the audience reading the hand-out instead of listening to the presentation. Teachers may choose to include the quality of the hand-out content as part of the assessment and will inform students accordingly.

Slide Construction

1. Aim for no bullets if possible.
2. Aim for just one word or phrase on a slide (the nugget of information).
3. Aim for one powerful image on a slide. That image could be accompanied by minimal text, a symbol or no text at all.
4. Use real art avoiding clipart wherever possible.
5. Use your notes section of the presentation sparingly (you should be well prepared, know your topic)
6. Be creative in capturing and maintaining attention.
7. Use animations sparingly and only when necessary to get the point across.
8. Avoid slide transitions.

Maryellen Weimer does a good job in presenting the arguments for and against using PowerPoint in The Teaching Professor Blog of Faculty Focus.The comments she refers to are a good summary. Included amongst these was that PP benefits the teacher, forcing them "to think about, organize, and prioritize the material to be covered in a particular lesson". There is something to this, but I worry about "covering material" as being the objective - surely it is to have students learn (in its broadest meaning - think, know, perform, understand) the ideas being put across?
Her conclusion - that faculty should revisit their use of PowerPoint, what they do and why they do it - is a reminder that we should continuously reflect on the effect (or not!) of our teaching and whether it is achieving what we think it is doing. Is PowerPoint the right tool for the job? When used well it can be.

Educational TED for better lessons

Educational TED, with its quick quiz, think, and dig deeper parts, is a fantastic resource for teachers and students alike.
Here is the explanation video:

World population - Hans Rosling tells it with super statistical graphics and, cardboard boxes

Hans Rosling does it again, giving a wonderfully simple presentation, making sense of gloriously complicated statistics.
We have preconceived notions of how the World's population is growing and we have our own explanations for this. In this TED talk Rosling takes on the subject of religion and babies and shows that the factors that lower the number of children born to each woman are educational, cultural and economic (although not wealth).
From Qatar's social trends document: "The most important factors are as follows: increased age at first marriage, increased educational level of Qatari women, and more women integrated in the workforce".
Rosling's usual wizardry with time phased graphs is complemented here by his explanation of why the World's population will peak at 10 billion, using the cardboard boxes that the conference notebooks came in. What a master of explanation he is...