Introducing MOOCs to Africa: New Economy Skills for Africa Program

December 29, 2013, 2:58 pm

≫ Next: Knowledge Series: Creating, Using and Sharing Open Educational Resources

≪ Previous: Perspectives on Open and Distance Learning: Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice

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Title: Introducing MOOCs to Africa: New Economy Skills for Africa Program

Authors: Boga, Sandi; McGreal, Rory

Abstract: MOOCs as a type of globally-networked learning environment (GNLE) could become a very useful delivery model in the developing world – but not necessarily when tied to a specific platform like Coursera. If developing countries allow themselves to be locked in to a certain MOOC platform, they may have to adhere to the foreign values put forth by the platform owners. As a result, developing nations may lose some of their autonomy and exclude potential local partners who may not be a part of the same platform (Siemens, 2013). This exclusivity will make developing countries vulnerable to the effects of cultural imperialism, and prevent true collaboration with other developing countries that may be facing similar issues.

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Knowledge Series: Creating, Using and Sharing Open Educational Resources

September 28, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study

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Title: Knowledge Series: Creating, Using and Sharing Open Educational Resources

Authors: McGreal, Rory

Abstract: Open Educational Resources (OER) are free learning resources available on the Internet. OER can be openly licensed or in the public domain, and can be used or reused for free. They can exist in many formats: text (either print or digital); audio, video, multimedia or hypermedia; or various combinations of these. They can be based on a single learning point, a lesson, a series of lessons (a module), a whole course or even an entire programme of study. They can support a specific learning methodology or approach — whether that be behaviourist, constructivist, connectivist, etc. — or any combination of methodologies or approaches. Although they may differ in format, structure or approach, they share a common characteristic: their openness. The Knowledge Series is a topical, start-up guide to distance education practice and delivery.

Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study

August 29, 2011, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: A Midsummer Night's Mash-up: Adapting Shakespeare as a Canada Day Dance Party

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Title: Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study

Authors: Park, Caroline; Kier, Cheryl; Jugdev, Kam

Abstract: This reflective case study was based on our independent use of the debate as an online instructional approach and our shared interest in instructional techniques. Using narrative inquiry, we melded our data sources to analyze the findings, including our individual experiences with the technique. Our paper contributes to the field of research on instructional techniques (specifically debates), as well as online distance education. The findings suggest that the use of debates as instructional techniques in text-based paced and un-paced courses at the online undergraduate and graduate levels can contribute to improved learning outcomes and student satisfaction.

A Midsummer Night's Mash-up: Adapting Shakespeare as a Canada Day Dance Party

October 29, 2001, 2:58 pm

≫ Next: Introduction: Copyright Concerns All Academics

≪ Previous: Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study

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Title: A Midsummer Night's Mash-up: Adapting Shakespeare as a Canada Day Dance Party

Authors: McCutcheon, Mark A.

Abstract: On 1 July 2000, Toronto's Opera House became the unlikely set for a passing strange adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Serenity Industries, a Toronto dance party promotion company, hired the Queen Street East Theatre turned concert hall to host A Midsummer Night's Dream - a Canada Day rave .

Introduction: Copyright Concerns All Academics

October 29, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Cynicism, the Heuristic Pharmakon

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Title: Introduction: Copyright Concerns All Academics

Authors: McCutcheon, Mark A.

Abstract: Intellectual property (IP) is a subject of concern to all academics because it is the legal-economic infrastructure of all academic work. The long-increasing, now accelerating, and multilateral strengthening of IP regulation does not necessarily serve and in many ways opposes the interests of academics, who are well positioned to intervene critically in the copyfight that embroils their work, a copyfight with implications that extend far beyond academia, from the structure of the Internet to freedom of expression.

Cynicism, the Heuristic Pharmakon

October 29, 2011, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Ipsographing the Dubject; or, The Contradictions of Twitter

≪ Previous: Introduction: Copyright Concerns All Academics

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Title: Cynicism, the Heuristic Pharmakon

Authors: McCutcheon, Mark A.

Ipsographing the Dubject; or, The Contradictions of Twitter

October 29, 2008, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Rev. of Clingman, Stephen. The Grammar of Identity: Transnational Fiction and the Nature of the Boundary.

≪ Previous: Cynicism, the Heuristic Pharmakon

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Title: Ipsographing the Dubject; or, The Contradictions of Twitter

Authors: McCutcheon, Mark A.

Rev. of Clingman, Stephen. The Grammar of Identity: Transnational Fiction and the Nature of the Boundary.

October 29, 2008, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: How well do Canadian distance education students understand plagiarism?

≪ Previous: Ipsographing the Dubject; or, The Contradictions of Twitter

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Title: Rev. of Clingman, Stephen. The Grammar of Identity: Transnational Fiction and the Nature of the Boundary.

Authors: McCutcheon, Mark A.

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How well do Canadian distance education students understand plagiarism?

October 29, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: “Breaking the rules”: A reflective processual analysis of multidisciplinary academic collaboration.

≪ Previous: Rev. of Clingman, Stephen. The Grammar of Identity: Transnational Fiction and the Nature of the Boundary.

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Title: How well do Canadian distance education students understand plagiarism?

Authors: Kier, Cheryl A.

Abstract: This project ascertains how well students taking online, distance education courses at a Canadian university recognize plagiarised material and how well they paraphrase. It also assesses the types of errors made. Slightly more than half of 420 psychology students correctly selected plagiarised phrases from four multiple choice questions. Only a minority was able to rewrite a phrase properly in their own words. A more diverse sample of university students also had difficulty recognizing plagiarised passages from multiple choice options. The poor ability of students to identify plagiarised passages may suggest poor understanding of the concept. Students may benefit from training to improve their understanding of plagiarism.

“Breaking the rules”: A reflective processual analysis of multidisciplinary academic collaboration.

March 29, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: The Well-being of Adults who were Raised by Grandparents.

≪ Previous: How well do Canadian distance education students understand plagiarism?

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Title: “Breaking the rules”: A reflective processual analysis of multidisciplinary academic collaboration.

Authors: Kier, Cheryl A.; Park, Caroline L.; Jugdev, Kam

Abstract: Three academics from different fields collaborated on a study in which we reflected on our group involvement. Although we originally worked together to provide our different perspectives on how to use debates in online courses, we found that our multidisciplinary collaboration evolved into self-study as we each wrote narratives about our own participation which we then discussed and interpreted from our unique perspectives. Despite the fact that our members consisted of someone from nursing, someone from business, and someone in psychology, we all agreed that we engaged in a successful collaboration, as assessed by our desire to work together again and by the joint publication of an article. This paper presents our individual and collective interpretations of our attempts to understand why we were successful in this project, even though we did not follow most of the principles of multidisciplinary collaboration, nor of the usual conventions of our respective disciplines.

The Well-being of Adults who were Raised by Grandparents.

November 8, 2013, 2:58 pm

≫ Next: OER Policies in Canada: A POERUP country report.

≪ Previous: “Breaking the rules”: A reflective processual analysis of multidisciplinary academic collaboration.

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Title: The Well-being of Adults who were Raised by Grandparents.

Authors: Kier, Cheryl A.

Abstract: Presented in Poster Session 12 on "Parenting and Grandparenting" at the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) 75th Conference, San Antonio, November 6-9, 2013.

OER Policies in Canada: A POERUP country report.

March 29, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance And New Social Media Literacies.

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Title: OER Policies in Canada: A POERUP country report.

Authors: Quirk, Diane; Anderson, Terry; McGreal, Rory

Abstract: This paper reports on the status of OER policies in Canadian government and higher education institutions, consisting of a POERUP (Policies for OER Uptake) Europroject country report on the existence of policy documents designed to support OER in the different provinces and their institutions. With the knowledge that there are not yet any governmental policies to support OER, open textbooks and few related activities in Canada, this report describes initiatives and/or policy statements that are currently being considered—or perhaps even in developmental stages—in higher education institutions and government.

Description: OpenCourseWare Consortium Global Meetings, OCWC Global Conference 2013, Bali, Indonesia, May 8-10.

The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance And New Social Media Literacies.

October 29, 2013, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: On the Design of Social Media for Learning

≪ Previous: OER Policies in Canada: A POERUP country report.

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Title: The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance And New Social Media Literacies.

Authors: Dron, Jon; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: Sociality is not just a cultural phenomenon but is embedded in our genes as eusocial creatures (E. O.Wilson 2012). Learning is an innately social activity, and the processes of teaching, the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next, are well-adapted to our eusociality. The size and nature of the groups we have evolved to form has, so far, been codetermined by exigencies of our situated existence as, initially, bands of hunter-gatherers, evolving into agricultural thenindustrial societies. Dunbar (1996) suggests the size of such groups is naturally limited. Though his research has been challenged on multiple fronts (Russell, Shelley, and Killworth 1987; de Ruiter,Weston, and Lyon 2011), the vast majority of close social ties for any single individual are limited to a relatively small number of other individuals, and our learning generally occurs in relatively small groups. Larger organizational forms such as cities, nations, universities, or corporations are mainly constituted as hierarchies and networks that maintain close personal contact at a manageable number for any given person. The focus of this paper is on describing how, after countless millennia of gentle evolutionary change, the Internet is challenging us to discover new forms of sociality and, with it, new forms of social literacy to help us become more effective learners and citizens.

On the Design of Social Media for Learning

August 7, 2014, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: A Framework for Interaction and Cognitive Engagement in Connectivist Learning Contexts

≪ Previous: The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance And New Social Media Literacies.

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Title: On the Design of Social Media for Learning

Authors: Dron, Jon; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: This paper presents two conceptual models that we have developed for understanding ways that social media can support learning. One model relates to the “social” aspect of social media, describing the different ways that people can learn with and from each other, in one or more of three social forms: groups, networks and sets. The other model relates to the ‘media’ side of social media, describing how technologies are constructed and the roles that people play in creating and enacting them, treating them in terms of softness and hardness. The two models are complementary: neither provides a complete picture but, in combination, they help to explain how and why different uses of social media may succeed or fail and, as importantly, are intended to help us design learning activities that make most effective use of the technologies. We offer some suggestions as to how media used to support different social forms can be softened and hardened for different kinds of learning applications.

A Framework for Interaction and Cognitive Engagement in Connectivist Learning Contexts

March 29, 2014, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Agoraphobia and the modern learner.

≪ Previous: On the Design of Social Media for Learning

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Title: A Framework for Interaction and Cognitive Engagement in Connectivist Learning Contexts

Authors: Wang, Zhijun; Chen, Li; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: Interaction has always been highly valued in education, especially in distance education (Moore, 1989; Anderson, 2003; Chen, 2004a; Woo & Reeves, 2007; Wang, 2013; Conrad, in press). It has been associated with motivation (Mahle, 2011; Wen-chi, et al., 2011), persistence (Tello, 2007; Joo, Lim, & Kim, 2011), deep learning (Offir, et al., 2008) and other components of effective learning. With the development of interactive technologies, and related connectivism learning theories (Siemens, 2005a; Downes, 2005), interaction theory has expanded to include interactions not only with human actors, but also with machines and digital artifacts. This paper explores the characteristics and principles of connectivist learning in an increasingly open and connected age. A theory building methodology is used to create a new theoretical model which we hope can be used by researchers and practitioners to examine and support multiple types of effective educational interactions. Inspired by the hierarchical model for instructional interaction (HMII) (Chen, 2004b) in distance learning, a framework for interaction and cognitive engagement in connectivist learning contexts has been constructed. Based on cognitive engagement theories, the interaction of connectivist learning is divided into four levels: operation interaction, wayfinding interaction, sensemaking interaction, and innovation interaction. Connectivist learning is thus a networking and recursive process of these four levels of interaction.

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Agoraphobia and the modern learner.

February 26, 2014, 2:58 pm

≫ Next: Online professional development conferences: An effective, economical and eco-friendly option

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Title: Agoraphobia and the modern learner.

Authors: Dron, Jon; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: Read/write social technologies enable rich pedagogies that centre on sharing and constructing content but have two notable weaknesses. Firstly, beyond the safe, nurturing environment of closed groups, students participating in more or less public network- or set-oriented communities may be insecure in their knowledge and skills, leading to resistance to disclosure. Secondly, it is hard to know who and what to trust in an open environment where others may be equally unskilled or, sometimes, malevolent. We present partial solutions to these problems through the use of collective intelligence, discretionary disclosure controls and mindful design.

Online professional development conferences: An effective, economical and eco-friendly option

October 29, 2008, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: A Rose by Any Other Name: Still Distance Education

≪ Previous: Agoraphobia and the modern learner.

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Title: Online professional development conferences: An effective, economical and eco-friendly option

Authors: Anderson, Lynn; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: In order to stay current within their field, many professionals regularly attend conferences and training events in distant locales. Travel to these conferences costs professionals, and their sponsor organizations, both time and money. In the past the benefits afforded by these conferences, and the lack of comparable alternatives, have provided justification for these expenditures. However, recent studies have shown that the cost of travel extends beyond the pocketbook. Transportation is a major contributor of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a key suspect in the argument for the negative impact of global climate change. This paper examines the potential effects of travel to these conferences on the environment and promotes online conferences as a comparable alternative to face-to-face events. A successful online conference is used to demonstrate the magnitude of the environmental and economical benefits of online conferences. The authors posit that online conferencing technologies have evolved such that they now offer another option for professional development that is effective, economical and environmentally friendly.

A Rose by Any Other Name: Still Distance Education

October 29, 2008, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Is Videoconferencing the Killer App1 for K-12 Distance Education?

≪ Previous: Online professional development conferences: An effective, economical and eco-friendly option

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Title: A Rose by Any Other Name: Still Distance Education

Authors: Anderson, Terry

Abstract: Randy Garrison is a long-time teacher, collaborator, supervisor and friend of mine. Thus, I approach my critique of his recent article in the Journal of Distance Education (Garrison, 2009) with some considerable unease. I am however reassured from many discussions, that he likes a good argument. His recent article seems to have missed many important developments relating to distance education and obscures the evolution of distance education in its use of online technologies.

Is Videoconferencing the Killer App1 for K-12 Distance Education?

October 29, 2007, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Ethical Issues in Qualitative E-Learning Research

≪ Previous: A Rose by Any Other Name: Still Distance Education

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Title: Is Videoconferencing the Killer App1 for K-12 Distance Education?

Authors: Anderson, Terry

Abstract: This paper overviews a multi-mode research study of Internet Protocol (IP) videoconferencing applications in five early adopter school divisions in Alberta, an oil-rich province located in Western Canada. The applications exploited the affordances of the Alberta SuperNet, a new, very high speed digital network. The study included site visits, surveys, stru c t u red classroom observations, and research interventions. The study revealed effective use of videoconferencing for enrichment, professional development, and administration, with less successful application as the primary tool for distance education delivery. I conclude the paper with a discussion of my own reflections on the use of videoconferencing and its capacity to serve as a 'killer app” for distance education.

Ethical Issues in Qualitative E-Learning Research

May 29, 2007, 3:58 pm

≫ Next: Conference Connections: Rewiring the Circuit.

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Title: Ethical Issues in Qualitative E-Learning Research

Authors: Kanuka, Heather; Anderson, Terry

Abstract: In the mid 1980s education researchers began exploring the use of the Internet within teaching and learning practices, now commonly referred to as e-learning. At the same time, many e-learning researchers were discovering that the application of existing ethical guidelines for qualitative research was resulting in confusion and uncertainty among both researchers and ethics review board members. Two decades later we continue to be plagued by these same ethical issues. On reflection on our research practices and examination of the literature on ethical issues relating to qualitative Internet- and Web-based research, the authors conclude that there are three main areas of confusion and uncertainty among researchers in the field of e-learning: (a) participant consent, (b) public versus private ownership, and (c) confidentiality and anonymity.