No-one is anonymous

I forget sometimes just how connected we all are. At today's ALT-C plenary Martin Bean took a question from the floor after ending his superb keynote speech. The delegate said his name and then asked his question. While Martin Bean answered, I noticed one or two people in the auditorium checking out the questioner's website to see who he was and what his research profile was. I wonder how many more times that's been done during this conference? People are surrepticiously checking each other out all the time here it seems, using their iPhones, laptops, searching on Google, and so on. It will be QR tags and facial recognition software next. No-one is anonymous anymore.

I thought that Martin Bean nailed it on the question of how we can engage our learners. He told the story of a 14 year old boy who was heard to remark that going to school was like getting on a plane. 'You sit in rows, place your trust in someone you don't know, and you have to turn off all electronic devices,' he said. It raised one of the biggest laughs of Martin's talk, but there was also a very serious underlying message. Why should we cut young people off from their connections just when they need them the most? In many cases, formal education simply does not offer enough encouragement for flexible learning through technology.

Bean talked about massification, privatisation and other moves to bring education to the masses. One of the questions from the floor was whether massification ran counter to personalisation of learning, but Bean believes that the two are not contradictory. Massification brings learning to populations who were previously disenfrachised, whilst the personal element can still be achieved through innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies. He clearly sees e-learning as a major component in the future success of higher education, and advocates using any tools that have a cultural relevance for youth. He's not afraid to criticise government attempts to jump onto the bandwagon either, and thinks that there are smarter people outside government than are inside it.

I think Martin Bean will be a good Vice-Chancellor of the Open University when he assumes his post in a few weeks. He is following in some illustrious footsteps, but I don't think he will disappoint. He is not so much Mr Bean, more like Martin the Magnificent.

Fun in Madchester

What can I say about Madchester? We are all having fun and we are all staying up late and tiring ourselves out as we squeeze the juice out of the conference. I'm at the 16th annual conference of the 16th Annual Conference of the Association for Learning Technology, and we have around 800 delegates here on the excellent inner city campus. It's just as well organised as previous events I have been to in Leeds, Nottingham, Edinburgh etc, and this year we are on the main University of Manchester campus (the last time we held ALT-C in Manchester we were located on the old UMIST site). It rained down buckets yesterday afternoon/evening, but the weather didn't dampen the spirits of this passionate and friendly crowd of individuals. Everyone I met, old friends and new (and I had too many conversations yesterday to shake a stick at) was positive and energetic and willing to learn new things about their chosen field of expertise - e-learning.

Mike Wesch's opening keynote set the scene for the event, played out to a packed hall. We started 10 minutes late due to huge queues outside in the registration hall. Wesch gave a talk on how technology changes relationships and dwelt very much on previous talks I have seen him give on the 'whatever' disengaged youth culture, and concluded by remarking that we need to change the don't care attitude of 'whatever' into the 'we will do whatever is necessary' to engage young people in meaningful formal learning.

The delegate list at ALT-C is eclectic as ever. There are people here from just about every university in the UK and some from a lot farther afield. Meeting a number of people face to face for the first time, whom I already 'knew' online, was an interesting experience. Stu Johnson, Alan Cann, Martin Weller, Theo Keuchel, Oleg Liber, Brian Kelly, Jo Badge, Alex Mosely ... I have been in touch with all of them prior to this conference, but now I can put faces to names.

There were some interesting and captivating debates on Day 1, including of course, the epic VLE is Dead debate (see the video above) which was attended by approximately 150 people, all squeezed into a room fit for 80 so that many had to sit on the floor or stand at the back. I also chaired a late evening Edublogger face-off between Graham Attwell and Josie Fraser about whether or not Twitter is killing off blogging. Nobody won the vote as most people abstained, but it was very enjoyable none the less.

Day 2 beckons, and the skies have cleared over Madchester, but the arguments and debates will continue as usual. Such as who has the largest delegation at ALT-C... Leicester or Plymouth....?

Related posts:

Reports of the demise of the VLE are exaggerated (Niall Sclater)

The VLE is Dead: The Movie (James Clay)

The VLE is Dead... or is it? (Graham Attwell)

Hot debate on VLEs at ALT-C (Ask Auntie Web)

Yarn and Glue (Guy Pursey)

Kinda Learning Stuff (Sarah Horrigan)

The VLE is dead (Live blogging from Martin Weller)

VLE is (not) dead (Nick Sharratt)

The VLE is dead debate (Mira Vogel)

Is the VLE dead? This bus doesn't think so (Shelly Gibb)

The VLE/PLE debate and medical education (Natalie Lafferty)

The VLE is dead - or is it? (Sarah Bartlett, TALIS)

The VLE is dead (Joe Wilson)

If the VLE is dead... (Sally Ballard)

VLE is not dead yet (Bath Spa)

I come to bury, not to praise...

I'm here at ALT-C - The 16th annual Association for Learning Technology Conference - at the University of Manchester. It's not a bad place actually, and the campus is fabulous. Student accommodation - boo hiss. My room leaves a little to be desired as always - I couldn't find a connection or a socket last night, so this is the first time I have had the opportunity to get online. The coffee and tea sachets will go unused in my room too, because there is a distinct lack of kettle. I was told to look in the wardrobe as this was where kettles are usually secreted, but all I found was a lion and an old witch. Never mind.

ALT-C is very much like the gathering of the clans, with people popping up all over the place that I haven't seen for a year or two. It's great to catch up with all the news, talk over projects, ideas and debates around e-learning with people who are passionate about the topic - you learn a lot like this.

Names are too numerous to mention right now, but I'm going to present a symposium entitled 'The VLE is Dead' later on, along with Graham Attwell, James Clay and Nick Sharratt. Josie Fraser will be refereeing (sorry, chairing) and we expect a large audience, going by the Crowdvine sign up numbers. I will give a eulogy on the VLE - I come to bury it, not to praise it. The session starts at 1.40 British Summer Time (ooh, that's a joke). Please join us, even if you are not in Manchester, live on u-stream. We look forward to your comments...

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What are you doing?

Do you use Twitter regularly? I'm presenting a workshop on Twitter at the ALT-C conference at the University of Manchester later this month and will repeat the workshop at the end of September during the ICL Conference in Villach, Austria. The workshops are mainly for beginners, but those who are more practiced in using Twitter are also welcome. I have been using Twitter both professionally and personally over the last two years and have blogged about it periodically. See for example my Teaching with Twitter post from January this year where I offer ten uses of Twitter in the classroom and my views on the semantic qualities of the microblogging tool: Is Twitter the Semantic Web?

One of the things I'm keen to find out about is how people are using Twitter for a) teaching and learning and b) for their own personal networking. I'm therefore seeking for Twitter users to respond to some questions in the comments box below this post. The best responses will be used as examples of people's use during the workshops, and you will get full credit for your contributions (unless of course you shoose to remain anonymous).

The questions are: How do you use Twitter in formal learning contexts? How do you use Twitter for personal networking? What do you feel Twitter is most useful for? What do you think are the main disadvantages of Twitter? Thanks!

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A right punch-up

There are only a few days left until we all migrate toward the University of Manchester for the ALT-C annual bash. And this year, perhaps it will be a bash.

This year several of us got together and decided to have a right punch up - the result is below, and we do hope you will come along and book your ring-side seats (Warning: no fake blood will be used).

In the immortal (and fictional) words of Captain James T. Kirk 'It should be fun!'

There's gonna be a fight...

The future success of e-learning depends on appropriate selection of tools and services. This symposium will propose that the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as an institutional tool is dead, no more, defunct, expired.

And in the blue corner...

The first panel member, Steve Wheeler, will argue that many VLEs are not fit for purpose, and masquerade as solutions for the management of online learning. Some are little more than glorified e-mail systems. Steve will argue that VLEs provide a negative experience for learners.

The second member of the panel, Graham Attwell, believes that the VLE is dead and that the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is the solution to the needs of diverse learners. PLEs provide opportunities for learners, offering users the ability to develop their own spaces in which to reflect on their learning.

The third panel member, James Clay, however, believes that the VLE is not yet dead as a concept, but can be the starting point of a journey for many learners. Creating an online environment involving multiple tools that provides for an enhanced experience for learners can involve a VLE as a hub or centre.

The fourth panel member, Nick Sharratt, argues for the concept of the institutional VLE as essentially sound. VLEs provide a stable, reliable, self-contained and safe environment in which all teaching and learning activities can be conducted. It provides the best environment for the variety of learners within institutions.

The session will be refereed by Josie Fraser.

Structure of session

The symposium will begin with an opportunity for attendees to voice their opinions on the future of the VLE. Each member of the panel will then present their case. The panel, with contributions from the audience, will then debate the key issues that have arisen.

By the end of the debate, participants will be able to have a greater understanding of the evolution and possible extinction of the VLE and the impact on learners. A summary of the key points of the discussion will be syndicated on several blogs and other online spaces, and delegates will be encouraged to tweet and live blog the discussion as it happens in real time.

Look... just watch the video

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