Comments on: An Open (Institutional) Learning Network http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/ Musings about Academic Technology Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:42:09 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Harold Jarche http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-1188 Harold Jarche Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:31:57 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-1188 My first observation in looking at this diagram was how most of the learning activities are outside the institution, while schooling/administration functions are within. I think it's a good example of opening up learning within the constraints of the existing system. While it may be better to have community-based assessment, as Nils suggests, the current reality is that institutions own the accreditation process. The sweet spot between open and controlled is constantly moving as technology, the economy and society change.<br><br>Great post! My first observation in looking at this diagram was how most of the learning activities are outside the institution, while schooling/administration functions are within. I think it's a good example of opening up learning within the constraints of the existing system. While it may be better to have community-based assessment, as Nils suggests, the current reality is that institutions own the accreditation process. The sweet spot between open and controlled is constantly moving as technology, the economy and society change.

Great post!

]]> By: staffing1 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-1150 staffing1 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:29:49 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-1150 Great stuff, nice and interesting post .useful to the students thanks for you.<br><a href="http://www.staffingpower.com" rel="nofollow">www.staffingpower.com</a> Great stuff, nice and interesting post .useful to the students thanks for you.
http://www.staffingpower.com

]]> By: Karen http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-979 Karen Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:30:00 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-979 Love this amalgamation, diagram and conversation, Jon, thanks. Wondering if you are including the organizational/departmental conversations and productions in the shared 'cloud' segment.. I see not just personal blogs, social networking sites and portfolios there, but the 'newsworthy productions, features of students interning, traveling abroad, winning l'Oreal Brand competitions, 'in' activity, departmental projects student or teacher led, etc' more visible and landing there as well... The audience, once we have the shared materials in the cloud, becomes the world, and there is so much material already captured in audio-visual and on latent departmental pages about what's happening among "LDS" students and faculty that the world doesn't see..shared only among ourselves. Will that all be represented in this diagram and in the evolution of the shared material and open course developments? So I guess I'm asking if the personal publishing tools is inclusive enough or if there needs to be a "university publishing tools" gear also--BYU NewsNet, BYU TV, departmental audio-visual stories and news on individual BYU sites"--all of which also could be extremely beneficial in the cloud. Much is online, but online in BYU-centric circles that need to be broadened to the world-wide Net. Love this amalgamation, diagram and conversation, Jon, thanks. Wondering if you are including the organizational/departmental conversations and productions in the shared 'cloud' segment.. I see not just personal blogs, social networking sites and portfolios there, but the 'newsworthy productions, features of students interning, traveling abroad, winning l'Oreal Brand competitions, 'in' activity, departmental projects student or teacher led, etc' more visible and landing there as well… The audience, once we have the shared materials in the cloud, becomes the world, and there is so much material already captured in audio-visual and on latent departmental pages about what's happening among “LDS” students and faculty that the world doesn't see..shared only among ourselves. Will that all be represented in this diagram and in the evolution of the shared material and open course developments? So I guess I'm asking if the personal publishing tools is inclusive enough or if there needs to be a “university publishing tools” gear also–BYU NewsNet, BYU TV, departmental audio-visual stories and news on individual BYU sites”–all of which also could be extremely beneficial in the cloud. Much is online, but online in BYU-centric circles that need to be broadened to the world-wide Net.

]]> By: The End in Mind » I’ve Seen the Future and the Future is Us (Using Google) http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-877 The End in Mind » I’ve Seen the Future and the Future is Us (Using Google) Sat, 30 May 2009 17:15:48 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-877 [...] wants his course rosters pre-loaded and otherwise integrated with institutional systems. This is, as I have previously noted, the most likely evolutionary path for learning technology environments–a hybrid between [...] [...] wants his course rosters pre-loaded and otherwise integrated with institutional systems. This is, as I have previously noted, the most likely evolutionary path for learning technology environments–a hybrid between [...]

]]> By: eLearning 3.0 Blog: Daily Digest (May 20, 2009) | eLearning 3.0 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-867 eLearning 3.0 Blog: Daily Digest (May 20, 2009) | eLearning 3.0 Wed, 20 May 2009 19:47:59 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-867 [...] The End in Mind ” An Open (Institutional) Learning Network | The End in Mind “I’ve been noodling on the architecture of an open learning network for some time now. I’m making a presentation to my boss today on the subject and I think I have something worth sharing. (Nothing like a high-profile presentation to force some clarity of thought.)” (tags: Open Learning Network Social) [...] [...] The End in Mind ” An Open (Institutional) Learning Network | The End in Mind “I’ve been noodling on the architecture of an open learning network for some time now. I’m making a presentation to my boss today on the subject and I think I have something worth sharing. (Nothing like a high-profile presentation to force some clarity of thought.)” (tags: Open Learning Network Social) [...]

]]> By: jonmott http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-978 jonmott Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:49:19 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-978 Nils--<br><br>Great feedback. As you can tell, this is a work in progress, so I very much appreciate your insights. I've been following your work with the Harvesting Gradebook, so I'm glad to make a connection with you here. <br><br>A couple of thoughts . . . <br><br>First, I agree that more of the assessment we do should be more open and public. But I'd argue that there's still an important place for traditional quizzes and exams (especially low-stakes, formative quizzes). I'm ecumenical when it comes to assessment--I'm in favor of a broad range of assessment types in the context of a course or program. There are some courses (or elements thereof) for which tests are appropriate. Regardless of my assessment preferences, there are many faculty members at my institution who administer high-stakes exams in their courses. Additionally, we have new legal requirements for our distance programs to ensure that students who complete assessments are who they say they are. Accordingly, we need to provide a secure assessment environment. That's the piece that I think remains inside the institutional network. <br><br>Second, I agree that student portfolios should live outside the university network. I placed it on the boundary in the diagram because we still need a way for faculty members to evaluate portfolios and record confidential information about them (akin to evaluating student work in a gradebook). Some programs also keep archived versions of portfolios or artifacts for long-term program evaluation and improvement purposes. These institutional components of the portfolio process are what I think belong within the university network. Nils–

Great feedback. As you can tell, this is a work in progress, so I very much appreciate your insights. I've been following your work with the Harvesting Gradebook, so I'm glad to make a connection with you here.

A couple of thoughts . . .

First, I agree that more of the assessment we do should be more open and public. But I'd argue that there's still an important place for traditional quizzes and exams (especially low-stakes, formative quizzes). I'm ecumenical when it comes to assessment–I'm in favor of a broad range of assessment types in the context of a course or program. There are some courses (or elements thereof) for which tests are appropriate. Regardless of my assessment preferences, there are many faculty members at my institution who administer high-stakes exams in their courses. Additionally, we have new legal requirements for our distance programs to ensure that students who complete assessments are who they say they are. Accordingly, we need to provide a secure assessment environment. That's the piece that I think remains inside the institutional network.

Second, I agree that student portfolios should live outside the university network. I placed it on the boundary in the diagram because we still need a way for faculty members to evaluate portfolios and record confidential information about them (akin to evaluating student work in a gradebook). Some programs also keep archived versions of portfolios or artifacts for long-term program evaluation and improvement purposes. These institutional components of the portfolio process are what I think belong within the university network.

]]> By: Nils Peterson http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-977 Nils Peterson Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:54:50 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-977 I really like this old piece by Downes <a href="http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-source-assessment.html" rel="nofollow">http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-sou...</a> that I think challenges your notion of putting the assessment tools in the institutional section of the diagram. I'd opt for more robust and public assessments and move away from the need for test security (privacy of the individual test results is a different matter).<br><br>However, I think you can move away from tests, and toward more community-based assessments. We are exploring that with the Harvesting Gradebook, which you can test drive here <a href="http://wsuctlt.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/test-drive-the-harvesting-gradebook/" rel="nofollow">http://wsuctlt.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/test-dr...</a><br><br>My other suggestion would be to move the portfolio (at least for the student) out of the institution and into the cloud. When the institution runs the portfolio it seems to be a creepy treehouse. If the student can work where their learning community has gathered the portfolio seems more authentic. I really like this old piece by Downes http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-sou... that I think challenges your notion of putting the assessment tools in the institutional section of the diagram. I'd opt for more robust and public assessments and move away from the need for test security (privacy of the individual test results is a different matter).

However, I think you can move away from tests, and toward more community-based assessments. We are exploring that with the Harvesting Gradebook, which you can test drive here http://wsuctlt.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/test-dr...

My other suggestion would be to move the portfolio (at least for the student) out of the institution and into the cloud. When the institution runs the portfolio it seems to be a creepy treehouse. If the student can work where their learning community has gathered the portfolio seems more authentic.

]]> By: Ryan Lanham http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-976 Ryan Lanham Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:27:14 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-976 Jon,<br><br>I found it realistic and useful. Would be curious about your views on the future evolution of the model. Jon,

I found it realistic and useful. Would be curious about your views on the future evolution of the model.

]]> By: Dave http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-975 Dave Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:14:37 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-975 You wouldn't need to worry about the integrity of the data if the data actually belonged to the student and not the institution. Now that would be forwarding thinking! You wouldn't need to worry about the integrity of the data if the data actually belonged to the student and not the institution. Now that would be forwarding thinking!

]]> By: Glen Moriarty http://www.jonmott.com/blog/2009/04/an-open-institutional-learning-network/comment-page-1/#comment-974 Glen Moriarty Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:40:42 +0000 http://www.jonmott.com/blog/?p=45#comment-974 Jon, you've captured much of what we've been working on at <a href="http://www.nixty.com" rel="nofollow">www.nixty.com</a>. Your diagram is spot on. We've got a few other tricks up our sleeve, which should amplify the network effects that you can imagine would arise from this type of architecture. <br><br>Our goal is to launch late summer. If you are interested, then please sign up for our beta at <a href="http://nixty.com" rel="nofollow">nixty.com</a>. Jon, you've captured much of what we've been working on at http://www.nixty.com. Your diagram is spot on. We've got a few other tricks up our sleeve, which should amplify the network effects that you can imagine would arise from this type of architecture.

Our goal is to launch late summer. If you are interested, then please sign up for our beta at nixty.com.

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