(e)Learning 2.0 & Beyond ...it's all about what can/will be.

Is 'Little' More Effective Than 'Big'?

2009-03-12T07:33:00.026-04:00

Is a 50 minute lesson a bit much for your students?

A Little- or Micro-Lesson About
Guglielmo Marconi, President Kennedy &
Cape Cod, MA USA

Guglielmo Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi sent from Marconi Beach in South Wellfleet, MA the first wireless transatlantic transmission. Here is a photo of the original site where greetings from Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, was sent to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom on 18 January 1903. In what year and area did Guglielmo Marconi receive the Noble Prize? Was there any controversy that surrounded his acceptance speech?

President Kennedy & Cape Cod

You can visit the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum and take a virtual tour. How many children did Joseph and Rose kennedy have? Who were they and what was President Kennedy's pecking order number? What were the names of the boats he loved and used?

Cape Cod has beautiful beaches, cranberry bogs, salt ponds, hiking and biking trails (CCRT) and pristine rivers/bays to kayak on Cape Cod, MA, especially the National Seashore! See Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce for further information.

Assignments

Questions:

1) What was the actual greeting message that was sent from Wellfleet to England? In what year and area did Guglielmo Marconi receive the Nobel Prize? Was there any controversary? Explain. How many children did Joseph and Rose kennedy have? Who were they and what was President Kennedy's pecking order number? What were the names of the boats he loved and used? Send your answers via e-mail to me at bill.graziadei@gmail.com or use one of the methods listed under Discussion.

2) What impact did this historic event have on information communication technology (ICT) as you see IT today?

3) What main point did you walk away with from this lesson with?

4) What one point did they least understand in this lesson?

5) What one historical place would you like to most visit on the Cape and why?

Discussion: Questions 2-5 using:

Formal Discussion Questions 2-4 - Edmodo Click on "Student" to signup and enter code for class: xqz904. Go to Online (e)Learning after signup/login.

Informal Discussion Question 5 - Twitter using the hash symbol #tlt or Yammer if you have either a capecod.com or plattsburgh.edu e-mail domain; don't forget to use #tlt at the end of response here as well.

Assessment: The quality of your responses and replies will be evaluated.

Addendum

What is a little- or micro-lesson and a suggested format?

But first, here's a question to mull over in your mind before reading on further. Is a 50 minute, not to mention 75 or even 150 minute, lecture a bit much for your students?

Now that you have thought about the question and have come to some kind of conclusion from your perspective, read Introducing the Microlecture Format and let me know what you think by posting a comment on Twitter using the hash symbol #micro.

Here are some key excerpts.

In online education “tiny bursts can teach just as well as traditional lectures when paired with assignments and discussions.” The little- or micro-lesson format begins with a some narrative, questions(s) and perhaps even a podcast that introduces a few key terms, little known fact or a critical concept, then immediately turns the learning environment over to the learners.

“It’s a framework for knowledge excavation,” Penrose tells Shieh. “We’re going to show you where to dig, we’re going to tell you what you need to be looking for, and we’re going to oversee that process.”

"It clearly will not work for a course that is designed to feature sustained classroom discussions. And while the concept will work well when an instructor wants to introduce smaller chunks of information, it will likely not work very well when the information is more complex."

"The little- or micro-lesson format similarly requires instructors to get the key elements across in a very short amount of time/space. Most importantly, it forces educators to think in a new way."

To develop your own little- or micro-lesson, follow these simple 5 steps:

Start with your course subject area and specific content of a lecture you recently gave and construct a question about that lesson based on your stated objectives. Then list the key concepts that you would convey in a 60-minute lecture. These key concepts will form the core of your microlecture.

Write a 15 to 30-second introduction and conclusion with the intention of asking learners to provide explanatory context through discussion of the key concepts.

Search for and/or create/record an audio or video podcast using a microphone and web camera about these key concept elements. The finished product should be 60 seconds to three minutes long. A photo is worth a 1000 words as well, then and now.

Design an assignment to follow the little- or micro-lesson that will direct learners to readings or activities that allow them to explore the key concepts. Combined with a written assignment, that should allow students to learn the material. Close by asking the learners two questions: 1) What main point did you walk away from the lesson with? and 2) What one point did they least understand?

Upload the video and assignment to your course-management software, e.g., edu20 (signup and enroll or login with userid: guest8 password: guest8) or website as was done here. You can even use Google Maps; see Global PLN Map.

Needless to say I was pleased to happen upon the Introducing the Microlecture Format. I have been using the 'small chunk' or 'little lesson' approach for years and had done the Guglielmo Marconi & Cape Cod, MA for a Global PLN Google demonstration of a little lesson for K-12 teachers and their students. As you well know it works and one can easily integrate Web 2.0 applications to achieve effective learning objectives.

The end result will look something like this Little- or Micro-lesson About Guglielmo Marconi, President Kennedy & Cape Cod, MA USA without the addendum. A little-lesson is all about a little-learning and it works in bits and pieces. This is true for both face-to-face and online teaching-learning.

Do you use the little- or micro-lesson approach or something like it in your teaching? Let me know by responding to this poll question.

I’m IT. Now, you’re IT.

2009-02-27T15:02:00.026-05:00

5 Changes to Education Meme ...A Retrospective

I’ve always loved playing tag as a child. Here is a 21st century adult Web 2.0 (call it what you want or not) version.

First, TJ Shay wrote this and tagged Pat Hensley; then Pat Hensley, wrote this and tagged SkipZ, SkipZ wrote this and tagged elizabethkoh who wrote this and tagged me. I had no intention of writing this; but, being tagged by Elizabeth provided me with the opportunity to reflect more on the connections of the why, what, who, when, where and how I got to be where I am today. This sounds like a chain letter; but, be that as it may, it's fine by me given the importance of the subject matter and the opportunity for all of us to continue to learn from each other.

TJ Shay’s rules were: “List FIVE changes you would like to see in the educational system. Your responses should represent your perspective and your passion for learning and students…tag the following people…from a variety of perspectives. If you have been tagged, tag as many people as you choose, but try for a variety.”

A recent blog post, entitled From PLN to P-L-A-N for Moving our School Forward by Melanie Holtsman, brought back a memory of familiar/similar experiences. In fact, I recently blogged, interestingly on the same day as Melanie, about my "PLN P-L-A-N" journey entitled, 21st Century Teaching-Learning: Why, What, Who, When, Where & How to go about IT. As both a scientist and educator, I cherish my 10 years of Jesuit education. I always try to maintain a Socratic approach to teaching-learning and follow a path of discovery though experimentation. If you ask me a question, I’ll ask you another and another and another etc. We need to think pedagogically about six questions when considering Information/Instructional Technology (IT).

Think Pedagogically About 6Qs

View more presentations from Bill Graziadei, ph.d.. (tags: tools ple)

This post represents an ongoing reflection of how I continue to go about teaching-learning activities in my quest for life-long learning, consulting activities and now, most importantly, with my grandchildren. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I experienced 'teaching and IT burn out' in early 2002 after 35 years of teaching and 25 years of teaching-learning with technology. To keep active subsequently, I went to work in a pharmacy part-time for several years and didn't touch a computer very much except for e-mail and entering prescription information. It was just about three years ago that my daughter, who was then a senior in high school and involved in selecting and applying to colleges, mentioned Facebook; then, one of my son's (G4 out of G5) mentioned Twitter. Well, that's all it took. I began to explore and discover and got hooked on social media. My learning became exponential the more and more I gained friends and became involved with my 'learning circle of friends'.

My teaching-learning with technology journey began in 1982. The first computer I owned was an Apple IIe which I quickly enhanced and later graduated to an 'original' Mac. At work I crossed over to the PC world in 1984 when I and a colleague developed a SUNY 'living-learning experience' program called In Vitro Cell Biology & Biotechnology. Essentially students, 25-30 from public and private colleges/universities around the world, were in residence at an institute 25 miles removed from campus along with all its inherrent distractions. There was only one full-time instructor, me; the rest of the faculty (15) were guest 'experts' drawn from other colleges/universities, government and industry. Students asked, designed, experimented, analyzed and discovered 24x7 for one semester. There were no such things as 3-hour labs since there were no time constraints to learning by doing. We did what we had to do in whatever time it took. However, there was one major drawback. We were removed physically from easy access to various campus learning resources, library resources and face-to-face gatherings of people from campus.

To get around this shortcoming in 1982 was difficult since desktop computer systems and their applications were limited and inflexible. But, still we began to explore the use of technology to solve the 'distance and access' problem. We went through many teaching-learning with technology iterations from 1982-1999. These included early cryptic e-mail applications, VAX Notes conferencing, Gopher, Lynx, etc. which were all text-based, unless you used ASCII drawings. Then in late 1993 and early 1994, along came the early Web using Mosaic; hence, the began the journey to online multimedia classrooms which gave impetus to the birth of CMS/LMS applications like Blackboard (CourseInfo), TopClass (WEST), WebCT and early web conference applications. In 1999, I left SUNY to work for a LMS company based in Boston, MA and Dublin, IE which gave me an opportunity to gain a global perspective about teaching-learning ith technology in business, education and government. Wow, what a journey! I was exhausted and I took a break from IT.

I am happy to say that the current 21st century teaching-learning pedagogy and social media have revitalized me once again, primarily due to my personal and professional learning environment (PLN/PLE) friends who I would have never met and learned from if it were not for the new Web 2.0 tools. I anxiously and cautiously look forward to what lies beyond the current iteration of the Web as well. It's an exciting time to be involved and sharing/contributing once again. In the article, I outline a baker's dozen of the transition steps I took in order to be where I am today. I hope it is useful to anyone who stops by to read it because I just LOVE (Learning, Open, Visual, Experience) to LEARN (Look, Engage, Analyze, Reflect, New).

As a result of all that I have experienced, here are my FIVE changes which I would like to see in our 21st century K through Grey educational system; it’s A FACT.

1) Adoption - of both formal and informal learning and the required means to achieve true learning with a focus on high standards of performance rather than bits of knowledge

2) Focus - more emphasis on collaboration in problem solving projects and experiences with less emphasis on standardized content and tests

3) Accountability - performance reward using technology in teaching-learning with a PLAN which has a demonstrated outcome(s)

4) Connectivity - more involvement of both internal and external retired pool of ‘experts’

5) Technology - equity of access, less filtering and chance for success at using IT for all those who are seeking to realize their full potential

To continue this thread, I now respectfully tag the following friends/colleagues:

@bknittle - Beth Knittle: K12 Technology Integration Specialist

@cliotech - Jennifer Dorman: Educational Consultant/Contract Trainer for Discovery Education, STAR Discovery Educator, Google Certified Teacher, Keystone Technology Integrator

@courosa - Alec Coursa: Educational Technology Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina

@Downes - Stephen Downes: Senior Researcher, NRC of Canada, Affiliated with LCTechnologies Group, Institute for IT, specializes in online learning, new media, pedagogy and philosophy

@georgesiemens - George Siemens: Founder and President of Complexive Systems Inc., Associate Director, R&D with Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba

@jclarey - Janet Clarey: Analyst/Researcher @ Brandon Hall Research, Instructional Design Ph.D. student @ SU

@hjarche - Harold Jarche: CEO/Founder/Principal, Jarche Consulting, performance consultant

@KarinB – Karin Beil: Teacher, retired after 34 years, Technology Trainer

@mivanova / @malinkaiva - Malinka Ivanova: Blogger, Lecturer, Technical University - Sofia, Bulgaria

@sharon_elin – Sharon Elin: NCBI, Technology Integrator, Trains/models Edtech in 14 Middle Schools

@tonykarrer – Tony Karrer: CEO TechEmpower & Producer eLearning Learning

Here’s my honorary (repeat) mention because I’ve benefited quite a bit from him as well.

@rmbyrne - Robert Byrne: Teacher and Producer of Free Technology for Teachers

My sincere apologies to all my PLN/PLE friends that I didn't tag. I mean no disrespect or hold you in any less value than the above since you also also contribute to my as well as others' daily learning. If you, or any web passers by for that matter, just happen to come across this post, please feel free to leave your "5 Changes to Education Meme" as a comment or start your own. I would love to read your meme.

21st Century Teaching-Learning: Why, What, Who, When, Where & How to go about IT

2009-02-22T21:26:00.032-05:00

This represents my journey into 21st Century Teaching-Learning which is both formal and informal. e-Learning means Connectivity, Communication, Collaboration, and Content (4Cs) and connects people to people and people to information and involves the 3Rs; namely, getting the Right content to the Right people at the Right time. Participants use various combinations of face-to-face, the Web, LMS/LCMS and/or real-time collaboration solutions integrated with Web 2.0 technologies, e.g., blogs, micro-blogs, RSS, wikis, social networking tools, audio and video podcasts, screencasts, photo sharing tools, mapping tools, gaming, social bookmarking/tagging, etc. for a PLE, as well as site-based classroom instruction to collaboratively create content by networking with instructor(s), guest speaker(s) and other learners around the world.

Consequently, content materials may include various combinations of text, images, animations, games, simulations, audio, video, websites and other supplements. Participants can work at locations and times that are convenient for them and best of all the content can be customized to the knowledge and experience of the learner. All this adds up to participants getting personalized, on-demand and rapid (e)learning. It's a different and more effective way of teaching the ABCs.

Do you like to teach-learn both formally and informally? I do. Then, take TIME to EXPLORE, DISCOVER, find PURPOSE and develop a PLAN for your teaching-learning in the 21st Century. You can decide (or not) to follow one or more of the following suggestions to be more connected (Connectivism) and better at communicating and contibuting (Constructivism). This is how I got started and grew as a result of learning from others. To manage the massive amount of information and not get overwhelmed, I recommend that you have a PURPOSE and PLAN for what you decide to do. On the other hand, you just might want to experiment until you do find a purpose and plan that suits you, your time and interest. Perhaps you won't and that's OK. The point is to explore, try and learn. So, CONNECT and CONTRIBUTE using any one or more of these baker's dozen suggestions as appropriate to your teaching-learning.

Do a search on a topic of interest using Google; select a topic of interest to you professionally, e.g., education. Look at the first 10 results and see if you think they represent your topic well. With Google you can rearrange the items in a priority that suits you and your specific interests. See if your work or work you are interested in is well-represented there. If not, get STARTED by exploring the following:

Connect with a person using e-Mail and/or text message (IM) a friend/colleague about what you are doing, something you've read or what you are thinking about. AIM, Skype and/or WIM are easy to use "presence" software for this purpose.

Start using social bookmarking and tagging with Delicious or Diigo to keep track and share material you find relevant.

Look into using a RSS reader such as Google Reader to track and read material you find relevant. But, first take a tour to see what it is all about.

Learn how information spreads by posting an article you like or wrote to digg, reddit, StumbleUpon, etc. You can use Ping.fm or HelloTxt to manage/update your status simultaneously on your social networks.

View or post a picture to Flickr or a video to YouTube. If you aren’t ready to post, then participate by commenting on or voting on some.

Get involved with social networks and develop your own personal and professional learning network environment (PLN/PLE), e.g., LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, MySpace, etc. Create a profile, including a picture and invite some colleagues. If you search, you’ll find many of them already there. You can connect to me by searching wgraziadei.

Participate in microblogging by joining Plurk, Twitter, Seesmic, Utterli and/or Yammer. Explore text-, audio-, and/or video-based micro-blogging to determine if it fits your style of connectivity and communication. Find some colleagues who are already there and ask them to be friends. If they are not there invite them. Try following me at wgraziadei.

Read and explore a few blogs to get a sense of what they are about and how involved they can be. Then try your hand at creating a blog if you have the desire and can commit to the time involved. I recommend that you investigate using Blogspot or Wordpress or Edublogs.

Join and/or create a social community using Ning and set up an online community that revolves around your interests or activities, e.g., Education, Learning Town, Classroom 2.0, T-L Community, Pedagogy, Library and/or online conferences/unconferences such as Trends in Learning/Work Literacy/Spaces. First search to see what else is there. If you find some, check to see how many members they have and the date of the latest site activity.

Use a Wiki to collaborate: Try Wikipedia Wikipedia, pbWiki, WikiSpaces, etc. Search, read, join and enhance it. If there isn’t one there, create it. See who else is on it.

Join, create, share and learn in an asynchronous classroom using commercial and open source LMS/LCMS such as edu20, Edmodo, Studeous, Moodle, etc.

Join create, share and learn in a synchronous virtual classroom, office, or conference. Share and learn LIVE in Elluminate, WiZiQ, ooVoo Video Conference Room, Ustream and/or Mogulus.

eLCS - TLT Mogulus Broadcast TV

Teaching-Learning & Technology Broadcast TV

What word(s) would you add to the above Wordle representing 21st Century Teaching-Learning environments?

GO and DISRUPT your LEARNING and traditional. EDUCATION!

CAUTION! If you don't like acronyms, skip this paragraph. I just LOVE (Learning, Open, Visual, Experience) to LEARN (Look, Engage, Analyze, Reflect, New - OK your turn... can you come up with a better one for this?). Acronyms help me to remember and reflect on key points in my thinking as I teach-learn. The key to e-learning becoming learning can be represented by a discovery pathway I follow in my continuous (now grey) learning journey; I call it Q-RADAR; namely, Query, Research, Analyze, Develop, Assess, Reflect. The operative word (yes, just one more) is QUERY - Question, Understand, Evaluate, Respond, Yearn! I know that many of you are not a fan of acronyms; but, the point is that it works for me and my framework. Enough is enough; I'll stop with the acronyms. Please don't throw any tomatoes.

To understand where I am coming from in my teaching-learning with technology, think about Connectivism and Constructivism in education as explained in this video piece.

To close, we might ask, "Is there room in the 21st century student network for a teacher and teaching anymore?" Will the teacher become a technician? I say NO! The role of a teacher is important in not teaching WHAT we know but HOW we came to know WHAT we know and WHY through listening, guiding and discovery. Today, I strongly believe that learning is an informal global and social e-process in addition to the formal face-to-face (F2F) classroom, seminar and conference experiences. The exciting part is that these informal and formal empowers all of us to move rapidly from a knowledgeable to knowledge-able state of mind and presence. A good teacher knows how to ask the right question and not just give the right anwser. Indeed, there is a right time and right place for everything. Listening and collaborating are key. A teacher today needs to be a practitioner, resource, guide, coach, mentor, role model, innovator and pioneer who is able and comfortable to say, be that F2F or digital, "I don't know; but, let's go discover and learn together."

A great big GRAZIA to all my PLE/PLN friends who have CONNECTED and helped me CONSTRUCT these teaching-learning with technology thoughts. I can categorically state that I didn't learn any of this from scratch. I always try to relate my experiences and ideas to what I learn from others in order to construct a teaching-learning framework that works for me. Everyday YOU help me embed my ideas in your ideas. For this, I am deeply indebted to the e-world spirit of socialism!

Consequently, I can't close without asking, "What are your thoughts, opinions and/or suggestions about any or all of this?"

Addendum

Please see a follow-up to this post, I'm IT. Now, you're IT. - 5 Changes in Education Meme ...A Retrospective.

Twitter Followers Vis-A-Vis Mosaic Collage

2009-01-27T15:27:00.016-05:00

On Twitter yesterday I came across a url posted by @walter with a content example. It is a very clever and useful way of viewing all of your followers on Twitter. So, I created this blog to say thanks to my PLN/PLE friends on Twitter. You can click on a user icon and it will take you to their Twitter account. You can also create one for yourself at Twitter Mosaic. The app is written by Walter Higgins. Thank you Walter for the visual inspiration mosaic!

Click on the image or here to view what my current Twitter follower mosaic looks like in a typical 500 pixel wide blog post. Thank you to all my Twitterdom friends for inspiring and teaching me EVERYDAY the ways of TODAY and for helping me move from Web 2.0 and Beyond KNOWLEDGEABLE to Web 2.0 and Beyond KNOWLEDGE-ABLE.

Along With Web 2.0 Social Media Tools Does Stress Come?

2008-12-02T16:00:00.004-05:00

Why is it that with the emergence of all these great Web 2.0 social media tools that we constantly say "I'm so far behind...", "Trying to catch up...", "Almost caught up...", Busy, busy, busy, etc.? Are we adding stress to our lives?

Over Thanksgiving it felt real good to finally let my karma on Plurk slide from the so-called Nirvana of 81+ to below 77, no Facebook, LinkedIn, tweets, utters, etc. It felt good; I think this was a wake-up call for me.

...more over at Plurk, Twitwall and Utterli.

Reflection...I've changed For Better or Worse

2008-11-25T13:35:00.011-05:00

Reflection a day after start-up of Twitwall... I've changed For Better or Worse inspired by G5+ and especially my grandchildren.

Webolution

2008-10-24T14:21:00.000-04:00

Publisher, Consumer, Creator/Collaborator, Integrator, ?

word cloud image created with wordle

Teaching-Learning the Alphabet TODAY

Why Google Reader RSS/Aggregator...

2008-10-21T16:07:00.000-04:00

One of the best tools for managing information flow is an RSS Aggregator, also known as a "feed reader." With an aggregator, you can "subscribe" to your favorite sites, including blogs, wikis, news sites, etc. and be notified when new information has been added to those sites via the RSS protocol. If the terms RSS/Aggregators/Feed Readers are completely new to you, view this CommonCraft video RSS in Plain English. It explains what RSS is and how to use an aggregator when new information is posted on the sites to which you subscribe. Here is another CommonCraft video about Google Reader in Plain English to review.

I prefer to use Google Reader as an RSS/Aggregator because it is easy to setup and use and gives me access to many other useful tools from my access point to ... calendar, iGoogle, documents, maps, photos, and much more. Here's a specific example that makes this point.

Recently, I created two public Google Docs spreadsheet databases; this was done easily while reading a blog about Twitter for Educators using Google Reader from one of my PLN friends (Liz Davis, Educators on Twitter at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pM_ZE5BS0SgqDabnhl8Z2aA&hl=en"). It was easy to set about doing by simply clicking on Google Docs in my top menu.

Like Liz I had seen several lists of educators on Twitter; but, I had not seen any for Plurk and Utterli though I had recently developed Wikis for Plurk and Utterli that organizes by subject area. Liz's post inspired me to learn Google Docs spreadsheet by creating (I learn much better by DOING!) two Google Doc spreadsheet lists, one for Plurk and one for Utterli. These can be sorted across different criteria like Plurk, Twitter, Utterli,Facebook, City, State, Country, Role, Subject or Grade Level. The process I follwed was to first create a Google form for educators to fill out and then I made the corresponding spreadsheets public so that anyone can view and sort.

You can complete the form and add yourself to the list if appropriate and/or view and sort by clicking on the links below and if appropriate.

Educators on Plurk Google Docs form at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p-lJl9dLLkI8dMjHNHWdsIw ...a searchable and sortable list of Educators on Plurk to view/sort at http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p-lJl9dLLkI8dMjHNHWdsIw&hl=en

Educators on Utterli Google Docs form at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p-lJl9dLLkI_EpZKmqmTDOQ ...a searchable and sortable list of Educators on Utterli to view/sort at http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p-lJl9dLLkI_EpZKmqmTDOQ&hl=en

What RSS/Aggregator do you use and why? Do you incorporate an RSS/Aggregator into you Pedagogy? If so, how? If not, why not?

Welcome to plurk4educators wiki...

2008-10-16T17:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to plurk4educators wiki at http://plurk4educators.pbwiki.com/!

Join plurk4educators wiki - Are you looking for someone on Plurk that is an educator (K-12 & HigherEd) in the same area as you? Check out the list and add your Plurk anchor name/link,e.g., wgraziadei - with a brief description to the list too! Also, you may add your anchor name/link/description under as many categories as are appropriate. Feel free to add pages about how you use Plurk in your Personal/Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). Ciao, Bill G...

Welcome to utterli4educators wiki...

2008-10-16T17:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to utterli4educators wiki at http:utterli4educators.pbwiki.com/!

Join utterli4educators wiki - Are you looking for someone on Utterli that is an educator (K-12 & HigherEd) in the same area as you? Check out the list of and add your Utterli anchor name/link,e.g., wgraziadei - with a brief description to the list too! Also, you may add your anchor name/link/description under as many categories as are appropriate. Feel free to add pages about how you use Utterli in your Personal/Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). Ciao, Bill G...

Hands-On Labs for On-Line Science...

2008-10-15T03:07:00.000-04:00

Hands-On Labs for On-Line Science... is it possible to have high quality and safe labs for online courses such as anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, geology and physics courses? See http://www.athomescience.com/index.htm. Also a webinar entitled, Effectively Teaching Online Biology with a Hands-On Lab Component, is scheduled for November 6, 2008 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST. See http://www.athomescience.com/Webinar11062008.htm.

Let's attend the session and then discuss the question of whether it is possible to have high quality and safe labs for online science courses. Has anyone used LabPaq by Hands-On Labs, Inc? If so, do you have an opinion about the product(s)?

Ciao, Bill G...

P.S. You can also go over to http://utterli.com/LifeSciences, http://utterli.com/K12, http://utterli.com/HigherEd or http://utterli.com/K12HigherEd to post an audio or video blog about this.

Educational Microblogging Discussion Groups for Your Learning Network on Utterli

2008-10-15T01:58:00.000-04:00

I've created several microblogging groups over at Utterli please consider joining me there.

The nice thing about Utterli is that it is not limited by 140 characters and includes audio, pics and/or video. So, it gives options to users as to how they wish to microblog. Also, groups can be created as private or public with open or closed membership; visibility is public or group only.

Join Web20PLN, a discussion group about Web 2.0 Tools and your Personal/Professional Learning Networks in education and business environments.

Join SNWeb20, a discussion group for learning professionals to learn, share and collaborate about social networking Web 2.0 tools and their utility in business and education environments.

Join LifeSciences, a discussion group about teaching-learning life sciences online, blended and/or face-to-face.

Join HigherEd, a discussion group for HigherEd faculty and staff centering around pedagogy in teaching-learning environments.

Join K12, a discussion group for K-12 faculty and staff centering around pedagogy in teaching-learning environments.

Join K12HigherEd, a discussion group for both K-12 & HigherEd faculty and staff centering around pedagogy in teaching-learning environments.

Join eLearning20, a private discussion group for business and education learning professionals to help their organizations meet their asynchronous, synchronous and Web 2.0 technology needs through sharing and collaboration.

Join eLibrary20, a private discussion group for faculty, staff and librarians to discuss the nature of the next generation library and librarian through sharing and collaboration.

I hope to see you over there and, of course, on Plurk and Twitter! Ciao, Bill G...

Social Networking Web 2.0 & PLNs

2008-10-02T14:54:00.001-04:00

This definitely is a work in-progress, just like life-long learning. The questions are, "What do we use in our PLN?" and "How do we manage it all?" So, bookmark the above Social Network Web 2.0 PLN Glog and stop by often to see how I do. What are you doing with Web 2.0 tools in your PLNs?

With the onslaught of Web 2.0 tools, how many ways can you be contacted? Overwhelmed, what do you do?

2008-09-15T11:15:00.001-04:00

How many ways can you be contacted and which (top 3 in prioritized order) are the most prevalent?

For me it's over 40 with e-Mail, (AIM, Skype & Windows Live) and Plurk topping my list. Here's my list:

Face-to-Face
Landline Phone
Landline Fax
Mobile Phone
Skype
AIM
Windows Live
Twitter
Plurk
Yahoo
Internet Voicemail
Internet Fax
Email - 5
Comments on my blog - 3
Facebook
MySpace
LMS/LCMS - 3
Webconference - 3
Assorted Ning - 5 and other Web 2.0 social community and services - 12
Snail Mail

Overwhelmed? Do you get rid of a bunch of accounts and un-enroll in some groups in order to be efficient and not allow productivity drain? I just could not keep up anymore. So, as you can imagine from above, I had to cut back and focus on what was pertinent to me and my work. How do you filter? What does this say about how "busy" we are? Learning? Sharing? Collaborating? Organizing? Skills? Doing "professional" work? Workflow? Other?

Kevin Shadix writes in a September 2008 Wordpress blog about the importance of Work-life balance in a 2.0 world.He asks four questions. How would you respond to these?

Click on Contact me... for the specifics about the above various ways I can be contacted.

Private Microblogging for Teachers and Students

2008-09-09T22:08:00.000-04:00

Edmodo is a private microblogging platform that teachers and students can use to send notes, links, files, alerts, assignments, and events to each other. Teachers sign up for accounts, and then create classes/groups. Each class/group has a unique code which is distributed by the teacher to the class. Students then sign up (no email address required) and join the group using the code. Here's a quick video tour of Edmodo...

What's it like to be a Edmodo student... go to http://www.edmodo.com/ and click on student. Here's the code for my Immunology Class - vlw766

I like Edmodo very much... easy to setup and use for all stakeholders. I will be using it as a supplement to my edu2.0 and Ning classes. It has great potential in education and business. I'm interested in your comments and opinions? Ciao, Bill...

Bill Graziadei's Plurk Timeline

2008-08-30T01:31:00.000-04:00

You are invited to visit and collaborate with Bill Graziadei, Ph.D. in his Plurk Social Journal at... Plurk.com.

Participate in Polls at (e)Learning Consulting Services

2008-08-26T13:02:00.000-04:00

Poll Questions

You are invited to participate in the (e)Learning Consulting Services polls:

Poll 1 - As an instructor/trainer do you tend to ask questions in the "knowledge" category most of the time?

Poll 2 - Course evaluations are...

After voting, you can leave a comment as well. Thank you for participating. Ciao, Bill...

Comment and suggestion about edu20 vs Studeous Web 2.0 LMS

2008-08-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

Comment and suggestion about edu20 (http://edu20.com/) vs Studeous (http://studeous.com/)...Web 2.0 LMS

First, studeous is clumsy and too linear. I just didn't get an "educational" feeling about it. A piece of software should allow a user (administrator, instructor, learner and guests) to proceed in a teaching-learning style they choose not dictate one to them. I feel that edu20 does that!

I love the core organizational flow of edu20 for BOTH teacher and learner! As a professor for 30+ years I think in terms of School => Instructor => Class => Course <=> Content <=> Learning Activities <=> Learners => Assessment => Feedback => Student <=> Instructor(s), be that self-paced or instructor-led. edu20 allows me to easily build a course along these lines. Resource (people and content) sharing and reuseability are definite added VALUES!

One things that is missing - I would love to see edu20 allow a mastery level approach (unless it's there and I don't know about it) - let's say a course is built with 1-30 units with each unit perhaps having sub unit(s) 1.1, 1.2, 1.n, etc. (lessons and sublessons); a pre-test is given in each unit to ascertain learners knowledge of that unit/sub-unit(s)... if a certain score is obtained a learner can proficiency that unit(s) and go to another. Consequently, there are many weaves, paths that a learner might follow within a course. A post-test is given to certify mastery. Just a thought...

The more I use edu20 the more 'n' more I love it... it's social, collaborative, etc., e-learning 2.0 in its fullest. I definitely intend to use it. BUT, I don't much about edu20 sustainability, business plan and roadmap. I intend to keep a close eye on these items. Hopefully, it works out since edu20 is a good application.

Have you used edu20 and/or studeous? What is your opinion about either or both? Other SN LMSs?

Ciao, Bill...

Are You a Global Supercharged Communicator/Collaborator?

2008-07-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

Hi!, Ola!, Ciao!, Bonjour!, Hallo!, etc...

Are you a global supercharged communicator/collaborator? - Video

Are you a global supercharged communicator/collaborator, i.e., every day do you interact with friends/colleagues through multiple channels of communication? What communication channels do you use most and why? For example, do your communication means include cellphones, text messages, instant messages, e-mail, social networking, face-to-face conversations, etc.?

Some of the main reasons that I believe why people embrace social media, e.g., blogging, micro-blogging, social networks, etc., is to "stay in touch", collaborate/learn from each other, create identities for themselves and control other people’s perceptions of them. What do you think?

That being said, some feel that the new Web 2.0 technologies are at best self-serving vehicles for people to leave egocentric status messages, and nothing more. But, it doesn't have to be that way! It's all about how and why we use such tools. What footprint do you want to leave?

Bye!, Adiós!, Arrivederci!, Ciao!, etc...

Use of Seesmic and/or Twitter in Education and Business?

2008-07-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

If you have used Twitter (http://twitter.com/wgraziadei) then you know about text-based micro-blogging. Take a look at Seesmic, if you haven't already done so, and try micro-blogging with video You can follow me at http://ww.seesmic.com/wgraziadei as wgraziadei. There is a Twhirl client that links both togther on your desktop. See http://www.twhirl.org/project/twhirl. From my perspective, these seem ideally suited for the mobile learning environment, especially with an interrogatory problem solving didactic approach.

I'm really sold on micro-blogging especially for mobile learning . It's the way to go - short bits and pieces. You pose a question around some information and get learners to answer. Something that would take end-users only 3-5 min to accomplish. Servers let the client know there's new content and pass it along. It's quick, easy and best of all, from my experience, learners learn best with the small bits and pieces of Q&A information.

Does micro-blogging have a place in education and business? If so, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW do you use or would you use either or both? Are these two approaches (text- and video-based) complementary companions? When do you use one and/or the other? What problems have you encountered using either?

Twittle dee dee... or Twitter dee dee...

2008-07-18T16:35:00.000-04:00

Twitter (and others) is a free mobile phone social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as tweets) which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. For more information and further explanation see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

When you become a new Twitter-er...

It can change the way you think about staying in touch with friends and family. You can send and receive Twitter updates via mobile texting, instant message or the web.

You signup for a free account: http://twitter.com/

Activate Phone & IM: http://twitter.com/devices

Invite Your Friends: http://twitter.com/invitations/invite

The New York Times calls Twitter "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet." TIME=
Magazine says, "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app,"...

What do you think? Have you used it? Other like services? What are some social networking uses for work environment, learning, staying in touch with colleagues, clients, learners, family, friends, etc.?

Until we twitter...my username is wgraziadei

Hello & Welcome to (e)Learning 2.0 & Beyond...

2008-05-21T13:42:00.002-04:00

Ola! My name is Bill Graziadei, Professor Emeritus of the State University of New York (SUNY) and (e)Learning Consultant at (e)Learning Consulting Services.

e-Learning means Connectivity, Communication, Collaboration, and Content (4Cs) and connects people to people and people to information and involves the 3Rs; namely, getting the Right content to the Right people at the Right time through networking using LMS/LCMS, Webconference and Web 2.0 technologies.

For more specific information about me, please see my online resume and/or join me in my virtual office (by appointment).

You can contact me via e-mail at billg@capecod.com, telephone 508.430.2271 or Skype. You can also IM me using Windows Live or AIM.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this blog website is
licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License