Everyone has one

Everyone has one - a personal learning environment, that is. Just look around when you are next sat on a bus or train, and you will see people sat listening with earbuds or using their mobile phones. Some will be reading books, or Kindles. Others will be discussing current affairs with their friends, or reading newspapers. It's quite simple. We all learn. We all use tools to help us learn. Personal learning environments or PLEs, are the collection of tools (not just online) that enable us to connect, create and share content with our own communities of interest and practice. Mine will be different to yours, because my choices and preferences about what and how I learn are different to yours. And what you choose to use personalises your learning, making it uniquely yours.


Today at the Personal Learning Environment conference in Southampton, delegates debated whether students actually have the competency to build their own PLEs. A Twitter discussion ensued, but ultimately, I think the wrong question was asked. Why should we question whether students have the competency to build their own PLEs, when in fact most learners already have their own PLE structure of tools sorted out when they arrive at university. As they gain more knowledge of their subject, broaden their personal learning networks and gain access to more content, so they modify their PLE to accommodate all the necessary storage, tagging and co-creation of content that ensues. Graham Attwell, in a recent keynote at the EDEN Dublin conference, made the profound statement that 'competency' is a socially and culturally constructed concept that has many interpretations. So the question is problematic on at least two levels. It depends on what you mean by competency.

The question that should have been asked was: Do students have the necessary skills to apply their informal PLEs in formal learning contexts? In other words, do they have the ability to use the loose aggregation of Web 2.0 tools (iGoogle, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube etc) to help them to engage more deeply with their learning? Do they have the prerequisite skills to apply these tools in a manner that gives them an advantage in their course of study? When I was an undergraduate, I used all kinds of tricks to short cut my study and buy me time. These included getting my hands on next year's course materials from previous students, and finding out what the assessment questions were likely to be when I finally sat them. It worked, and I emerged with a first class honours degree. Doesn't work for everyone, and that's why university staff should not attempt to impose tools onto students. Each student certainly has the competency to build their own PLEs and to decide what their tools and preferences for learning are. They are experts in them, after all.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” - Dr Suess.

Image source by Denise Parker


Everyone has one by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Feel the burn

The second day of the EDEN Dublin Conference saw keynote speeches from Paul Kim (Chief Technology Office at Standford University), Clare Dillon (Microsoft Ireland) and Graham Attwell (Director of the Welsh research agency Pontydysgu - Bridge to Learning). In all honesty, there could not have been a much larger stylistic or philosophical gulf between the three speakers, all of whom made their own kind of impact on the audience in the O'Reilly Hall on the University College Dublin campus. Paul Kim was both entertaining and urbane as he conveyed us through a journey which examined the ways new technologies are transforming learning experiences for children in developing countries. Dressed smartly in a suit and tie, he spoke with authoritative calm not only on the deployment of new mobile and wireless innovations - he was also well versed in how the applications were affecting education, and his conclusion was fitting. Paul borrowed from the well known aphorism and modified it slightly, stating that 'the future is not widely distributed, so it's not here yet'. He concluded by showing a tombstone with the epitaph 'I have nothing more to say', and pointed out that the date (1907-2007) was a long life represented by a simple dash. What is the dash for you? he asked. How will you fill the dash, and what will be your epitaph - the impact you have made upon the world.

Clare Dillon, Head of research and university engagement at Microsoft Ireland, spoke next on 'Technology Trends Driving Learning Opportunities', and was a pleasant surprise, not least because she is a former school teacher who appears still to understand the nuances and issues of classroom practice. Resplendent in an eye catching red dress, she elaborated on new technology, showing a number of new innovations and developments that have taken place in the last few months. Clare talked about how interaction is changing, not just in terms of new devices, such as natural gesture tools and voice activation, but also in terms of people's expectations of how we now interact with technology. There are also changes, she opined, in the way content is viewed online. Content now has to be interactive, clickable and searchable, another emerging expectation.

Graham Attwell, the eminence gris of Edupunk, and a well known disruptive activist, was the final speaker. In stark contrast, Graham wore a black skull and crossbones T-shirt, probably as more a political than fashion statement, and in his inimitable style, he stalked the stage as he spoke, berating the current educational system. He argued that real world forms of learning have never been constrained by the four walls of the industrial age classroom, and claimed that 'knowledge has escaped the academy'. Quoting from Ivan Illich (deschooling society and learning webs), Paulo Freire (pedagogy of the oppressed) and even Dave Cormier (Rhizomatic Learning, which can be first attributed to the seminal work of Deleuze and Guattari) he forged an argument that education needs to change. One of the funniest moments of the entire conference occured during his speech when session chair Sally Reynold's mobile phone began ringing, and she couldn't find a way to turn it off. Graham fixed her with a withering stare and said 'and you warned me to turn my mobile phone off!' In the end, she removed her battery to keep the peace. Graham's best takeaway was one of his final statements - 'Education needs to disrupt as much as it builds.'

There followed a brief, but intense discussion (read heated argument) between the speakers during the final discussion, which was a very welcome departure from the many restrained and polite conversations between protagonists we are familiar with from previous events. There should be more polemic and debate at conference, because everyone learns and everyone is challenged to defend their ideas and synthesise new concepts. We all need to feel the burn. More of these contrasting positions in future please, EDEN! (Video of the keynote speeches can be viewed here).

Image source by Jeff Turner


Feel the burn by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Future directions

The first EDEN (European Distance and E-learning Network) Fellows day was a thought provoking and absorbing event. Held as a part of the celebration of EDEN's 20th anniversary, 24 Fellows, as well as members of the EDEN Executive Committee and invited guests met to discuss the future direction of technology enhanced learning in Europe and beyond in the grand surrounds of Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. (Pictured - Fellows discussing a proposal for a position paper). EDEN Fellows are awarded the honour as "an expression of acknowledgement of professional merit by the Association, for NAP (Network of Academics and Professionals) members, who have demonstrated excellence in professional practice in the field of flexible and distance learning and provided valued support to the evolution and progress of EDEN."

Each Fellow was invited to give a 5 minute flash presentation addressing the question: 'What do you consider to be the most surprising development in e-learning over the last 5 years?' as well as what might be the direction of the organisation's future research efforts. Many of those who presented identified similar themes, including the exponential rise and popularity of social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social network tools), open educational resources and mobile learning. Some talked about their surprise that many institutions had failed to capitalise on these trends, and in some cases had virtually ignored their potential. Some, including me, called for the learner voice to be incorporated more into EDEN's activities, whilst others argued that we should go beyond the analysis of cognitive gain, and begin to more deeply examine 'softer issues' such as student attitudes, motivations, emotions and values. There was also a call to now put aside once and for all the inconclusive and possibly misdirected research attempting to find 'significant differences' between traditional and distance forms of learning.

Sir John Daniel (Commonwealth of Learning) provided an excellent opening keynote to those gathered on the theme of 'Open Schooling - the next frontier for distance education.' He presented a number of statistics which showed a gradually and welcome decline in the number of children aged 6-11 worldwide who are outside of school, but warned that the number may yet rise again to around 72 million by 2015. In secondary education he told us, the number is even higher, because it is at least twice as expensive to deliver as primary education. He cited Keith Lewin who is of the opinion that the cost of secondary education militates against many developing nations ever being able to implement it. The alternative, said Sir John, was to implement a worldwide policy where distance and open learning can be delivered to the unschooled. Citing his new book, Mega-Schools, Technology and Teachers, he suggested that structured teaching and high quality learning materials, delivered via distance learning methods would reach many children who are currently outside education. He warned though, that implementing any form of technology without first putting into place the 'building blocks' (teacher preparation and infrastructure to support learning) would end in disaster.

The EDEN Fellows day was merely a warm-up for the main event which begins on Monday, on the campus of the University College Dublin. You can follow the live stream from the Conference, including the keynote speeches here at this link and via the #edendublin Twitter hashtag. Keynote speakers include Sir John Daniel, Graham Attwell and Clare Dillon (Head of Microsoft Research).

Future directions by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Locked and loaded

Next week is the annual bash for learning technologists here in the UK. ALT-C 2010 looms, and Nottingham beckons once again for a gathering of the clans. The last time we all went to the University of Nottingham campus for ALT-C, I met several people for the first time, including James Clay (who had his car broken into), Graham Attwell (who didn't have a car), Sam Easterby-Smith, Josie Fraser and Cristina Costa. I have worked with many of these on a regular basis since, and count them among my most valuable colleagues, as well as great friends. ALT-C (you see) is not just about attending to hear about the latest trends in technology supported learning, or watching cool demonstrations of the latests gadgets and gizmos, nor is it about listening to great (and sometimes not so great) keynotes. It's also about making new friends, forging alliances and extending your personal learning network. And coffee. Here's the ALT-C Crowdvine site delegates are using to connect before the event even starts.

So I'm locked and loaded and ready to drive up the autobahn to Nottingham next week, and here in the picture, is what I'm taking with me: 12 essentials I will be using to keep me out of mischief while I'm at the conference. 1) A four gang mains extension cable. The more sockets you have, the more friends you make. 2) The all important Acer Netbook. Small, but perfectly formed, and powerful when in the hands of the right blogger. 3) Sony Cybershot camera. Small, compact, and very versatile. 4) My trusty Nintendo DS, for use when the keynote speeches get deathly boring. (Look, Sugata, Donald - I'm joking OK?). 5) Power supply for said DS. 6) Power supply and cable for netbook. 7) Camera/netbook cable. I'm not that sophisticated yet. 8) Ethernet cable in case my guesthouse doesn't have wifi. Yes, guesthouse. I am not staying in student accommodation again. Ever. 9) Power supply for iPhone, iPod Touch and other Jobby things. 10) Wireless presenter and laser pointer. For keeping the audience in check. 11) iPhone. 12) iPod Touch. My iPhone is not enabled for internet. Don't ask, it's a long story, involving O2, a bowl of custard and a nun. 13) There is no 13. If there was it would have been my memory stick, but I forgot to put it in the photo.

So there you have it. My travelling companions for ALT-C. What are you bringing? Oh, and I lied about the nun.


Locked and loaded by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

PLE bargaining

The first conference on PLEs took place in the humid but tranquil Cornella area of Barcelona this week. For two days, the 'unconference' event hosted delegates from all over the world at the silubrious and very impressive Citilab Cornella. Those attending the PLE Conference found themselves quickly immersed in discussion, dialogue and debate over the nature and ethos of the personal learning environment. For me and many others who attended (both physically and virtually) it was probably the most connected event we have experienced. The Twitter stream alone went wild, and by midday on the second day there had been over 5000 messages inserted into the #PLE-BCN hashtag stream. Every session, including the breakout sessions, was streamed live over the web, and many people participated from outside the event. Many of the photos of the event are already up on Flickr at this site. A great set of photos by David Alvarez is also available here.

The unKeynote was quite a feature of this event. Day one kicked off with Alec Couros and Graham Attwell performing a double act in which they managed to engage just about every member of the audience in some way. We discussed issues such as the definition of a PLE, the tensions existing where binary representations of institutions vs individual provision of web tools is used, and the future of learning in the context of personalised pedagogies. Assessment and accreditation of learning were discussed, as was the curriculum. Ilona Buchem (on Twitter @mediendidaktik) has written a useful summary of Day 1 and Lisa Harris offers her personal reflection of the event. In the unKeynote speech by Jordi Angel and Ismael de Pena (all in Spanish with live mobile translation) on Day 2, the speakers promised chaos. What they got was chaos and also a tinge of anarchy, as the entire audience ran around and voted with their feet in a quadrant of options a the back of the room. The conclusion of this exercise? We couldn't agree. What we did agree on though, was that the PLE is 'all about me' - it's what each of us personally creates around us as a means to support our lifelong learning. A number of questions were posed such as: should the PLE remain outside the institution. The super edupunks were at loggerheads with the conservatives, and there were many, many shades in between. Some preferred to remain in the centre of the quadrant to be counted in all four camps. It was fun, dynamic, and thought provoking all at once. I think the picture above by the wonderfully effervescent Joyce Seitzinger (follow her on Twitter as @catspyjamasnz) epitomises the experience.

When I have more time I will try to capture some of the true essence of this astounding event. But right now I have to pack for a flight back to the UK, so I will blog later. Hasta la vista!

Image source

PLE bargaining by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Microblogging downunder

I've been working with Graham Attwell (@grahamattwell) Johannes Magenheim and Wolfgang Reinhardt (@wollepb) on a workshop proposal recently. It's a one day workshop on microblogging which we have called MicroECoP and we hope it will create a lot of interest. The workshop will take place on 24 September, during the IFIP World Computer Congress in Brisbane, Australia this September. We are currently assembling an impressive list of Twitterati who will serve as our advisory editorial board, and the call for papers is now open.

So, here's the deal. If you have any interest in Twitter, Plurk, Tumblr or any other online short messaging tool, please visit the site and then think about putting in a paper, demonstration or workshop for the event. It promises to be lively, informative and inspirational. The official hastag will be: #microecop. And of course, it will take place in the spectacular surrounds of beautiful Brisbane in the Australian springtime. We hope to see you there!

Related posts:

CfP: Workshop MicroECoP (Wolfgang Reinhardt)

Image source

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...

Image source

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

Image source

Reflections on a great event

For me, it's time to start reflecting on this year's Plymouth e-Learning Conference. I'm incredibly tired and slept like a brick last night, but I awakened very satisfied at the level of success we achieved with this year's conference. With 218 delegates registered from 17 different countries, I think it is safe to say that PeLC has staked its claim on the international e-learning conference map. When I have trawled around a little over the next few days, I will compile a showcase of all those pictures, blogs and other web artefacts related to the conference.

The conference theme worked well I think. Crossing Boundaries certainly lived up to its promise, and clearly resonated with most of those present at the event. The choice of keynote speakers was also spot on. Mike Blamires set the scene perfectly with his Day 1 presentation on educational boundaries entitled 'Children grow to fill the spaces we create for them' and managed to engage all of his audience through interactive workshop style activities and rich feedback. Here is the link to the video of Mike Blamires keynote speech with a welcome from Michael Totterdell, Pro-vice Chancellor of the University of Plymouth.

Graham Attwell spoke on Day 2 in his normal controversial and anarchic style and challenged the audience to re-evaluate what they considered to be best practice in education. Here is the video of his keynote speech, complete with questions from the audience. Both keynote speakers promoted much debate from those present during ensuing sessions, and also evoked a storm of tweets from inside and outside the venue. At one point on Firday morning #pelc09 trended on Twitter at No 3, and some reports say it even reached as high as No. 2 for a short while at least.

The catering was praised too - the Devon Cream tea went down well as usual and the local produce buffets were very good. Only the quality of the coffee was criticised and even then only in a good humoured way. But I take these criticisms seriously and I will see what I can do about that next year at PeLC 2010, I promise.

The venue was appreciated by just about everyone - the Roland Levinsky building is a masterpiece of engineering and design, and with its contemporary art gallery attached and open to all, provided some welcome distractions just when they were needed. Technically there were some issues, but as with all conferences of a technical nature we became something of a hostage to fortune, and I know things will be better next year.

The quality of the 80 papers and workshops was high - everyone I spoke to remarked that the presentations were engaging, rooted in sound theory and offering excellent case studies and research data in support. State of the art demonstrations such as the 3D Visual Immersion Cinema were very well received prompting some delegates to discuss their experiences for hours afterwards. The crowning glory for some, experience wise at least, was the choice of the National Marine Aquarium as our conference dinner venue. A splendid spectacle it was, with stunning views of the huge aquarium tanks containing sharks, sea turtles and other aquatic life, and the food and service were most excellent too.

As conference chair I would like to thank all those who took part, either as presenters or simply attendees at the conference. I would also like to thank my admin, technical and reception support teams, and the student ambassadors who played such a key role in the success of PeLC09. The review panel who did a tremendous job sorting through and selecting the best papers from all those that were submitted deserve a vote of thanks, as do the organising committee who worked hard to ensure the event was successful. A special big up for our designer Mark Lyndon whose stunning images graced our publicity materials and website - thanks Mark. Lastly, a special mention for my co-chair Mark Townsend, who will be leaving us this year and for whom this will be his last conference. We will all miss you greatly Mark, and we wish you every success in the next chapter of your career. Here's to PeLC 2010 - Learning without Limits! See you in Plymouth on April 8-9, 2010.

My PeLC picture collection

James Clay's PeLC picture collection

Peter Micheuz's PeLC picture collection

Give PLEs a chance

This is my penultimate post in the series reviewing the new book 'Connected Minds, Emerging Cultures'. This post features Graham Attwell's chapter on the social impact of personal learning environments (PLEs). Graham, as director of the Wales based independent research agency Pontydysgu (Bridge to Learning) is deeply embroiled in the study of emerging learning technologies. In his chapter, he concentrates on learning in the workplace, and predicts that PLEs will have:

a profound effect in systems for teaching and learning, on pedagogic approaches to learning, and on knowledge development and sharing (p 120).

Graham Attwell shows how industrial models of education and training fail to address the needs of contemporary society, and argues that it is the PLE concept, with all its associated content generation and sharing tools, that will provide solutions. He argues that most learning takes place informally outside the boundaries of traditional school environment:

Learning is taking place through engagement in social networking, both by young people of school age and by older people in work. Furthermore, learning takes place in multiple contexts, in work, in the community, and in the home as well as in the school, yet our schooling systems remain wedded to attainment against a narrow curriculum of formal knowledge. Informal learning is hardly acknowledged, less still fostered and facilitated (p 125-6).

Attwell makes some compelling arguments for change in the school system, calling on teachers to revisit the concept of learning. For him, the PLE is the weapon of choice for those who want to survive and thrive in the shifting sands of a challenging and volatile world of work. It's another cracking read for all those who are interested in how learning technologies, education and training will prosper in the coming decade.

(Image source: replacement-software.co.uk)

.. And now a word from our sponsors

It's bitterly cold here in Berlin, but the snow has gone from the ground and the skies here today are a clear pale blue. I'm sat in the Marlene Bar of the Hotel Intercontinental just before the start of day one of the Online Educa Berlin conference. After wading my way through a couple of dozen German policemen, I made my way into the main reception of the conference...

The first thing you notice about Educa, is that it is shamelessly commercial. Most of the space of this huge event is taken up with exhibition and vendor stands, more than 120, and everyone, it seems is trying to flog you something. I have just opened my delegate pack and out popped no fewer than 19 flyers and brochures from sponsors, around an inch thick. They are discarded on the side without me reading any of them - oh woe to the rain forests! Oh, and this wireless link is brought to you courtesy of Adobe....

Last night I spent a very enjoyable hour or so with some of the more notorious Edubloggers including Josie Fraser, David White, Dirk Steiglitz, Graham Attwell and George Roberts. We chewed the fat over the future (or not) of VLEs, residents and visitors, social software and German caberet. Yep, we aren't completely boring.

I will report back on some of the sessions here today and tomorrow as they take place and try to bring you some interesting images from the event. There is also at least one Twemes site hosting images, tweets and blog postings for the event. For now, I'm off to try and avoid the vendor stands and find the sessions.

A little bit of culture

I am really pleased that I was able to finish off the final editing and proof reading for the new book 'Connected Minds, Emerging Cultures' which has now gone to press. A whole host of people have contributed toward the 17 chapters in the volume. The publishers, Information Age, who are based in the USA, Greenwich, Connecticut, are already publicising it on their website, and I have seen some of the cover artwork, so publication is imminent. Here's the blurb (wot I wrote meself):

As the title indicates, this book highlights the shifting and emergent features that represent life online, specifically in and around the territory of e-learning. Cybercultures in themselves are complex conglomerations of ideas, philosophies, concepts, and theories, some of which are fiercely contradictory. As a construct, "cyberculture" is a result of sustained attempts by diverse groups of people to make sense of multifarious activities, linguistic codes, and practices in complicated and ever-changing settings. It is an impossibly convoluted field. Any valid understanding of cyberculture can only be gained from living within it, and as Bell suggests, it is "made up of people, machines and stories in everyday life." Although this book contains a mix of perspectives, as the chapters progress, readers should detect some common threads. Technology-mediated activities are featured throughout, each evoking its particular cultural nuances and, as Derrick de Kerckhove (1997) has eloquently argued, technology acts as the skin of culture. All the authors are passionate about their subjects, every one engages critically with his or her topics, and each is fully committed to the belief that e-learning is a vitally important component in the future of education. All of the authors believe that digital learning environments will contribute massively to the success of the information society we now inhabit. Each is intent on exploration of the touchstone of "any time, any place" learning where temporal and spatial contexts cease to become barriers to learning, and where the boundaries are blurring between the formal and informal.

And here's a taste of the contents:

Foreword, Howard Rheingold. Introduction, Steve Wheeler. PART I: DIGITAL SUBCULTURES. Learning in Collaborative Spaces: Encouraging a Culture of Sharing, Steve Wheeler. Mobile Subcultures, John Traxler. Podcasting: A Listening Culture, Palitha Edirisingha. The Emergence of Ubiquitous and Pervasive Learning Cultures, Mark A. M. Kramer. PART II: ROLES AND IDENTITIES. Identity in Cyberspace, Hugh Miller and Jill Arnold. Digital Tribes, Virtual Clans, Steve Wheeler. Gaming and the Network Generation, Nicola Whitton. Creating an Online Course Generational Community, Leon James. The Social Impact of Personal Learning Environments, Graham Attwell. PART III: CYBER PERSPECTIVES. Emerging Online Practices: An Endo-Aesthetic Approach to E-tutoring and E-learning, Viv Tucker. Cyberculture and Poststructural Approaches, Ken Gale. Cyborg Theory and Learning, Vasi van Deventer. Transfer Through Learning Flexibility and Hypertextuality, Gorg Mallia. PART IV: NARRATIVES AND CASE STUDIES. Cybercrime in Society, Steven Furnell. Language Evolution in Txting Environments, Tim Shortis. The Cultural Impact of E-learning and Intranets on Corporate Employees, David Guralnick and Deb Larson. Imagined Worlds, Emerging Cultures, Steve Wheeler and Helen Keegan. Author Biographies. Index.

Bazaar sounds again

Noises off... and now it's live. Just in case you forgot, Emerging Sounds of the Bazaar, recorded live during ALT-C last week, was a great event. More good news - it's now available for download on the Pontydysgu site. Hosted by Graham Attwell and Josie Fraser, and featuring interviews with Scott Wilson, George Siemens (pictured with Josie) and a host of others, the programme is fast paced, full of pithiness and humour, and features great contemporary music. There are even some poetry performances by George Roberts and me, so it has a little of everything, for everyone. Thanks to Joe, Graham, Cristina, Dirk and the rest of the Bazaar crowd for putting this together.

For me, it is simply a case of listening to it all over again, so that I can relive the very entertaining and thought provoking hour over a hundred of us spent beside the JISC stand at the conference in Leeds last week.

Punk it up

I'm getting ready for the 310 mile drive up to Leeds tomorrow to participate in ALT-C 2008. I'm going to be speaking in the main conference about some of the research we have been doing in Plymouth on wikis in teacher education. I'm also speaking in the fringe event F-ALT entitled WTF Edupunk, where I will try to show how the punk rock ideology has parallels with contemporary thinking about going outside the walled garden of the institutional VLE to use free, open content, social software tools. The movement behind this idea is referred to by many as Edupunk. I make no apologies to Jim Groom or anyone else for repurposing the idea behind his poster boy image (above) because that's what punk is all about - do it yourself!

There is a growing consensus that punk philosophy can and indeed, does, have a resonance with those in universities and colleges who are considered mavericks. I have never used my university VLE for a number of reasons, preferring instead to use a variety of tools, websites and methods that in my opinion, work better. Just about anything a VLE can do, social software can do better, with the possible exceptions of surveillance and control (and even those are debatable). Joining me for the presentation at this fringe session will be Helen Keegan and Graham Attwell, and we hope that there will be some lively debate on this thing we call edupunk.... Punk it up!

Boundary Changes

The Plymouth e-Learning Conference 2009 website has been launched today. Entitled 'Boundary Changes: Redefining Learning Spaces', the two day event aims to examine the theme of e-learning in a time of change, and will challenge notions of traditional boundaries, learning spaces and roles. We will focus on new practices, new technologies, new environments and new learning. There will be primary, secondary and tertiary education threads. We invite papers on the digital divide, e-learning methods and case studies, mobile and pervasive technologies, digital games, multi-user virtual environments, informal learning, new classroom technologies (PDAs interactive whiteboards, etc), personal learning environments, visual media (videoconference, digital photography), e-portfolios and social software (wikis, blogs, podcasting, etc).

Our two keynotes speakers are well known in the field of ICT and e-learning. Academic and author Mike Blamires (Canterbury Christ Church University) will open the conference on Day 1, which will focus mainly on compulsory education. On Day 2, Graham Attwell (Pontydysgu and the Wales Wide Web) will bring his own particular brand of critical commentary to the conference. There is also a conference dinner for the event (to be held in a venue on the historic Plymouth Barbican (pictured above), and of course, the now traditional (calorie free) Devon cream tea will be on offer!

Thinking around corners

Edupunk is anti-establishment apparently, and is a response to the corporate and institutional efforts to contain education. It is about destroying the boundaries of our oh so comfortable education systems. It is about wresting control from central authority and liberating the learner. Edupunk is certainly about using tools and services that are outside of the institution, beyond the walled garden, so to speak. I have been doing that for a while, with wikis, blogs and the like, circumventing the university portal. So I certainly support this movement, if that's what it is. As I write this I am listening to Graham Attwell's Emerging Mondays podcast, where he is in converstion with Jim Groom (dubbed the 'poster boy' for Edupunk, whatever that means).

I was a punk the first time around, in 80s Britain (to be honest I was probably more new-wave actually, because punk was essentially late 70s - I played in a band that was fast, loud and furious, and we stood against the mainstream culture of the time). I still have the punk attitude, to be frank - that rebellious streak - and it has carried through into my professional life, so perhaps I am one of them there edupunks. I am against the sterile, meaningless Managed Learning Environments (read BlackBoard, SharePoint and yes, even Moodle) that universities and colleges push which are purpose built to maintain strict control. They constrain the use of materials, and ensure that only bona fide students are allowed in. The students don't like them, and only use them because they have to. Anything an MLE can do, the social web can do just as well, if not better.... oh, and did I mention, usually for free. I'm really thinking about my students and what's best for them.

And that is my version of Edupunk, so I'm glad Jim Groom coined the phrase. When you have a mysterious illness, it is often a relief to be diagnosed, so that you put a name to your illness. The same applies to my 'condition' - I often swim against the mainstream, and try to find ways to subvert 'accepted practice' and I like to 'think around corners'. So it is nice to find a word that describes my condition. Whether 'Edupunk' will survive as a movement or will be strangled at birth remains to be seen. But at least now I know that there are others out there who think the same as me.

There is a tension between the Web 2.0 culture and Higher Education control mindsets and it is difficult to know how this can, or will be resolved. The bottom line is this - the MLE is dead, and the corpse needs to be removed before it stinks the place out. Trouble is, the university managers don't know it's dead, but they know it cost a lot of money, so there it remains, quietly rotting away.

Check out more on Edupunk on Stephen Downes blog, here at Professors go edupunk, and also in the Wikipedia pages.

5 get a MUVE on

Well we did it. And it worked. Last time I was that nervous was when my (first) wife kept me waiting at the altar for 20 minutes over the odds, while her chauffer searched for a place to park. We are still married 22 years later, don't worry. Today was a technological success, where we linked 5 people together using Elluminate and managed a slightly flakey audio system in a very large and echoey hotel ballroom in Kuala Lumpur. I also did a successful in-world demonstration of Second Life for the LYICT Conference delegates here in Malaysia.

Graham Attwell (Pontydysgu) moderated the panel session from his eyrie in Bremen, Germany, whilst David White came in from Oxford to talk about design issues in SL, Helen Keegan spoke from Salford about augmented reality and mixing SL and real life, and Steven Warburton, who was in London, gave a presentation on the barriers to collaboration and participation in MUVEs. They all got up at a sickeningly early hour to participate due to the time zone difference. And it couldn't have gone any better, thanks to stirling support from the local technical team here in Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks to all concerned, for making this a memorable and enjoyable experience. A lot could have gone wrong, and I was a little worried about it, I admit. But is shows that you can take risks and it sometimes pays off. Next time, perhaps we will use Second Life as the presentation platform. When we have plucked up enough courage....

SL in KL

This is going to be quite a challenge, but we don't back down from them do we? I will be chairing a live demonstration and panel of Second Life in Second Life at the IFIP ICT and Learning for the Network Generation Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (7 am GMT). The panel session will feature several friends from our previous bash at Online Educa Berlin last November. Steven Warburton (Kings College London), Graham Attwell (Pontydysgu), Helen Keegan (University of Salford) and David White (University of Oxford) will all be presenting as their avatars - and very colourful they all are too - and we will be using the JISC Emerge Island as our venue. I will appear as my new and improved avatar also - and although there are many technical issues to contend with and several things that could go disasterously wrong, we are going to take the risk and push the technology to see what it can do...

You are welcome to join us in world to take part and quz the panel as we explore some of the pedagogical, social and psychological issues that arise when Multi-User Virtual Environments are used for formal and informal learning activities.

... Emerging Cultures

Here's the second extract from the introduction to the forthcoming Book 'Connected Minds, Emerging Cultures', which will be published later this year by Information Age Publishers, Connecticut, USA.

Part 2, which has been designated ‘Roles and Identities’, covers a range of ideas about how the individual copes within the new cyber landscape. Several key questions are addressed: How do learners maintain a constant identity in an ever shifting digital world in which multiple identities and roles are possible? Do they adopt alternative personae as easily as they create new avatars within multi-user virtual environments? Does the creation of an avatar create something new within the identity of the individual? And are real life identities influenced by what the individual does whilst within a cyber identity?

Hugh Miller and Jill Arnold open this section with an investigation into cyber identities and the presentation of self within online environments. They show how social rules governing presence in virtual environments are as important as those that apply in embodied life. Miller and Arnold argue that people construct and reconstruct themselves in cyberspace in ways that are subject to cultural restrictions on both sides of the screen, as well as being influenced by the affordances offered by new media. They suggest that to learn not only requires gaining a new understanding of the world, but it also requires a re-adjustment of one’s self.

In chapter 6 Steve Wheeler takes the reader on a journey through the various digital tribes and virtual clans he believes are emerging due to intensive and sustained use of new technologies. He argues that new tribes and clans are emerging as a direct results of sustained interaction with technology. He contends that tribal identity shapes individual identity in cyberworlds, and that digital tools and networks provide ideal environments within which new cultural transmission propagates. Clans tend to emerge within tribes as cultural definitions and the generation of artefacts become more pronounced. Finally Wheeler asserts that there may be one single ‘digital tribe’ in the broadest sense of its meaning, but analysis of the many social activities found on the web indicates that many sub-sets of this large digital tribe exist – the ‘virtual clans’.

In a robustly written chapter on the digital gaming cultures, Nicola Whitton explores how games can be positioned in higher education. Chapter 7 considers the acceptability of computer game-based learning in the context of university education. Whitton discusses the potential of computer games in relation to theories of learning, and examines the conceptions of a cognitively different type of learner. She challenges the notion that these learners find computer games the ideal environment in which to learn. Whitton discusses student game preferences in terms of genre and the types of computer game that may be more appropriate for learning, and aspects of computer game design that may influence student use. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the benefits and challenges of computer games for learning and teaching in tertiary education.

In Chapter 8, Leon James describes the creation and management of an ongoing course-integrated Web community at a college social science course in Hawaii. Each student enrolled in the course automatically adopts cyber-community membership by reading, processing, and identifying with the reports of prior generation students, and then contributing their own reports to the cumulatively expanding ‘generational curriculum’ topics. The benefits of such an approach are discussed in terms of psychological models of acculturation, identification, cyber-citizenship, and the student as scientist model functioning in a Web environment that is increasingly shaped by human social processes. James concludes that the project demonstrates that a course-integrated online learning activity can be effective in producing cybercitizens by managing the students’ interactional procedures through the generational community-classroom approach.

Graham Attwell conducts the reader through a journey that examines the social dimensions of personal learning environments in Chapter 9. His chapter examines the social impact of Personal Learning Environments. Attwell expects that Personal Learning Environments will exert a profound influence over established teaching and learning systems and will radically change pedagogic approaches to learning, knowledge development and sharing. He suggests that the emergence of PLEs and the widespread interest in PLEs are a reaction to the changing ways in which people are using technology for learning. He argues that PLEs result from new societal demands for education and are a response to changing forms of knowledge usage within society.

Emerging Mondays

I'm taking part in a live podcast on Monday evening for Pontydysgu using Skype direct from my new wireless laptop, if I can get the blasted software to download.

I'm going to be talking about social software and open content for e-learning, and will be in conversation with the show's host, Graham Attwell. This was a session I agreed to do with Graham earlier this week whilst attending the Edumedia conference in Salzburg. Graham has already posted an invitation on his JISC Emerge site and I see the show will also feature Jay Cross from Internet Times who will be talking about informal learning, Hank Horkoff from Chinese Pod in Shanghai on personal Learning Environments and language teaching and learning and a 'culture spot' with the Last Poet in Oxford (I suspect it's George Roberts, but one can never be certain).

Just one thing though, Graham. I'm not from Plymouth College (it doesn't exist anymore and I left there over 12 years ago). I'm now working for the University of Plymouth.... Oh, it doesn't bode well at all.....