Month: November 2020

Hello everyone !

Thank you for handing in your Assignment #5 Proposals. I am looking forward to some amazing final projects on December 4, 2020.

Over the next week you will be completing your final assignments and thinking about next steps. I have added some helpful hints based on student questions throughout the past week.

Assignment #4 (Due Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 11:59 PDT – 500 words)

Can you rephrase Q2 for me please?

Current Question: Q2: When you consider the definitions and practical examples of distributed (online) and open learning that were examined throughout the course, which approach to learning would be most effective for YOU as a learner and why? You can also suggest a blend of the two approaches. Please ensure that you clearly take a position and explain your position. 

Rephrased: Compare and contrast online(distributed) learning and open learning based on the different contexts that we have discussed them both within this course. THEN – tell me which type of learning (online-distributed OR open) that you think is most effective for you as a learner and why. If you believe that you learn best in both types of learning approaches – then explain that.

(What I am looking for is your ability to distinguish the similarities and differences between online/distributed and open learning by asking you to contextualize it from your own personal learning experiences – then explain yourself).

Can I cut down on the Learning Outcome Words? Yes

Please feel free to use abbreviations for the learning outcomes (LO1, LO2,LO3) in order to save words for Assignment #4 & 5.  We can all use the following legend as a guide, then I know what everyone is referring tp in their writing. 

LO1: Develop an awareness of the potential of human-centered learning in online and open learning contexts

LO2: Explore and engage with current literature on the distributed and open education movement 

LO3: Critically reflect on and articulate concepts around modality, pedagogy, and access, including distributed and open learning theory, online and open learning history, privacy laws, online learning communities, open research, and open data.

LO4: Examine and reflect upon the potential for equitable access for all learners in online and open learning contexts.

LO5: Conduct research into and critically reflect upon emerging and future educational technologies

LO6: Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about distributed and open learning

Make sure that you review the Assignment #4 Rubric: Final Reflection Rubric 

My assessment will be summative (a final grade) and I will not be adding additional formative assessment feedback for this blog post

Assignment #5 (Due Friday, Dec 4, 2020 – 11:59 pm PDT, 1500 words)

Question from students: Do I need to use the SECTIONS Framework for the whole of Assignment #5? No

No, you do not have to use the SECTIONS framework for your whole assignment. The assignment asks you to use the framework as a guide when writing your final assignment. You WILL need to refer to it and provide evidence that you thought through each step. A great summary of a project using the SECTIONS framework to help those of you who may be struggling. Check out: http://shailakarim.weebly.com/sections-model.html

Although the student did not use a social learning experience per se as their guide, I want you to focus on how they used the Framework to complete their analysis. 

SIMILARLY, if you choose to write a story about the future of EdTech, you will still need to integrate 1) the Course outcomes 2) the Sections Framework 3) the Key Themes and Concepts of Course Topics. These will be integrated creatively in your won way – BUT – they need to be mentioned.

EVERY Assignment #5 will be assessed using the Assignment 5 RUBRIC, so please make sure to review the rubric.

My assessment will be summative (a final grade) and I will not be adding additional formative assessment feedback for the final assessment.

Please hand a copy of the Assignment #5 rubric with your OWN self assessment as well as a separate file in the BrightSpaces Dropbox.

Roberts, 2020

If you have any questions, please send me a note in Slack OR contact me through my UVic email.

Thank you so much for learning with me in these difficult times. I hope that this course has helped you have a better understanding of online and open learning – and that you continue to explore and learn in these ways in the future.

Have a wonderful break ! Be Safe!

Dr. Roberts 🙂

Hello everyone!

As Covid numbers rise across Canada, I hope that you are your family are keeping safe during the next few weeks. I am home in isolation with my family after my daughter was considered in close contact with a Covid positive teacher, I have friends going through symptoms of Covid – I know that all of you are facing challenges in your own ways. Please contact me if you need any extra support as we…. complete the last few assignments for this class.

Weekly Reading:

Selwyn, N., Hillman, T., Eynon, R., Ferreira, G., Knox, J., Macgilchrist, F., & Sancho-Gil, J. M. (2019). What’s next for Ed-Tech? Critical hopes and concerns for the 2020s. Learning, Media and Technology, 1–6. (Check your course outline for a link to access the article through the UVic Library).

In this article, Selwyn et al. (2019) identify some major influences in educational technology, online and open learning – before Covid. The article sets the stage for your final project and final blog reflection. Your final project will have to consider an emerging trend that may or may not have been considered before Covid AND is still considered emerging in 2020. Alternatively, you can choose an educational technology that was not as apparent before Covid – BUT was amplified as a result of Covid. The research in educational technology can be identified in “pre- Covid” and “During-Covid” please take that into account as your complete your final assignments.

Assignment 4 – FINAL Blog REFLECTION: 

Assignment #4 is your final blog reflection about how and what you learned throughout the course.

FINAL REFLECTION: 

In the final reflective post, you are asked to reflect upon your learning throughout the course. This is a personal final reflection and you are NOT expected to add your reflection to your public blog if you do not want to. You can add your final reflection to the Brightspaces Dropbox as a pdf file OR add your link to your blog post.

Please use the following questions to help guide your final reflection blog: 

 Review the #EDCI339 course outcomes: 

1) Develop an awareness of the potential of human-centered learning in online and open learning contexts
2) Explore and engage with current literature on the distributed and open education movement 
3) Critically reflect on and articulate concepts around modality, pedagogy, and access, including distributed and open learning theory, online and open learning history, privacy laws, online learning communities, open research, and open data.
4) Examine and reflect upon the potential for equitable access for all learners in online and open learning contexts.
5) Conduct research into and critically reflect upon emerging and future educational technologies
6) Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about distributed and open learning

Final Reflection Questions:  (please attempt to answer all three questions in your own way integrating the course outcomes, course resources, course activities and course twitter hashtag when able to do so )

Q1: Of the six learning outcomes, which outcome(s) did you feel you demonstrated the most growth in as a learner? What kinds of evidence can you share to demonstrate this evidence of learning ? Please share some of the evidence to support your answer and describe WHY you chose these examples.  (Some examples of “evidence” could include screen shots, videquotes from your blogs,  summarize conversations with your social pods). 

Q2: When you consider the definitions and practical examples of distributed(online) and open learning that were examined throughout the course, which approach to learning would be most effective for YOU as a learner and why? You can also suggest a blend of the two approaches. Please ensure that you clearly take a position and explain your position. 

Q3: Finally, what was the most valuable thing you learned about yourself as a learner throughout this course?  Give evidence to describe and support your answer. 

You can create these reflections as text (500 words) or by using audio and/or video (2-3 minutes). Make sure to address all of the reflection prompts from the weekly instructor blog posts and use multimedia appropriately. I will expect you to use open educational resources and openly licensed content in your reflection. Use the category ‘Reflective posts’ for the reflection if you choose to post this reflection in your blog. 

Final Reflection Rubric 

Assignment 5: Review of distributed and open learning initiatives, technologies, or futures

***Your proposal for Assignment #5 is due by next Monday, Nov 23, 2020. Please write up to three sentences (50 words) describing your topic and how it connects to the course. The proposal will be included in the final rubric score. You can add your proposal into the Assignment #5 Dropbox in Brightspaces/ D2L.** 

You CAN do this assignment as a group, but each person will have to clearly communicate how they have demonstrated evidence of their 1500 words or project contribution. You may want to compare and contrast 2 emerging trends if you are doing this as a group.

You will create a 1500 word review of a distributed and open learning initiative or technology. You must include 2-3 academic references as part of this assignment, using readings from the course is acceptable. Use the category ‘Final review paper’ for this assignment. 

Options for this assignment include:

• Review a social learning experience you have taken part of or choose to engage with as part of this course (a MOOC, online course, social learning community). Use the SECTIONS Model to guide your analysis.
• Review an emerging technology you believe has merit to support distributed and open learning (artificial intelligence, adaptive learning, educational games, virtual or augmented reality, etc.).

Use the SECTIONS Model to guide your analysis.

• OR The last option allows you to be creative and imagine a possible future for open and distributed learning. Create a story about learning openly and in a distributed way in the year 2040. This activity must be grounded in topics from the course, but you can feel free to imagine a future based on the current state of the field. (The story must include implications of Covid from the year 2020)

Due dates: This assignment is due before the final day of class, December 4, 2020. Early submissions are also welcomed.

Evaluation criteria: The final project will be evaluated using the following rubric: 

Assignment 5 RUBRIC

I look forward to receiving:

• Assignment #5 Proposal: November 23, 2020
• Assignment 4: November 29, 2020
• Assignment 5: December 4, 2020

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Dr. Roberts 🙂

Welcome to Week 11!

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. David Porter for our final webinar. In order to have a better understanding of Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Educational practices (OEP) and Open learning, I encourage you all to listen to this webinar which you can fiDr. David Porter’s nd here:

Dr. David Porter’s Webinar

Weekly Readings:

Reading #1

Hegarty, B. (2015). Attributes of Open Pedagogy: A Model for Using Open Educational Resources. Educational Technology, 55(4), 3-13. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/stable/44430383

This reading describes 8 attributes of open pedagogy which details examples based on open practices and theory.

The article focuses on a Higher Education context and I would suggest that you consider also listening to the podcast and watching the videos from a K-12 learning context from the following Multiplying K-12 OER Project with Athabasca University: http://bolt.athabascau.ca/index.php/oer/multiply-k-12-alberta-oer-project/oer-videos/

Reading #2:

Wiley, D. & Hilton, J. (2018). Defining OER-enabled Pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(4). Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3601

This reading provides a context for thinking about open educational practices. The article provides a wide variety of examples to help you better distinguish open learning form online/ distributed learning.

Questions for Your Weekly Blog Post:

Identify, Define and Describe the 8 Attributes of Open Pedagogy. USe your own personal examples, OR example provided in the second reading, to give examples for each attribute. What are your experiences with open educational practices (OEP)? To what extent your instructors integrated open learning into your courses ? What are the key differences between open learning and online/ distributed learning?

Final Assignment Update:

Please start reading the assignment expectations for your final assignment. NEXT WEEK – I will ask each of you to please send me a 50 word proposal of your topic. I will be sending out an updated rubric for the final assignment by this Thursday, November 19, 2020.

Have a great week! Please do not hesiatte to conact me with any questions and/or concenrs,

Dr Roberts 🙂

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

Hello everyone! Welcome to week 10 and the final topic – Sharing Resources and Open Practices in Distributed & Open Learning.

Last week, you collaboratively worked together in your groups to complete a project which consider how to provided equitable and accessible learning opportunities for ALL students in online learning contexts. I will be reviewing the projects this week.

At this point in time – it is essential that you choose your FINAL project topic. Next week, I will be sending out a list to ask you your topics.

Roberts, 2020

Weekly Activities:

This week, we will be learning about multiple pedagogical approaches, strategies, resources and possibilities to expand the learning opportunities for ALL learners. You are asked to review some digital resources which focus on Open Educational Resources.

What are Open Educational resources? Open Educational Resources (OERs) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. (UNESCO, 2018, p. 2)

When we consider open educational practices and open learning, OER are often used to as the resources to support the open learning experiences.

What are Open Educational Practices? They are, “collaborative practices that include the creation, use, and reuse of OER (Open Educational Resources), as well as pedagogical practices employing participatory technologies, and social networks for interaction, peer-learning, knowledge creation, and empowerment of learners” (Cronin, 2017, p. 18).

Weekly Readings and Digital Resources:

These are your weekly course readings/ digital resources which consider OER and OEP:

Use the tutorial at the following link to learn about open educational resources (OER) https://www.oerafrica.org/book/tutorial-objectives

Review:

• OERCommons: https://www.oercommons.org/
• BCCampus: https://bccampus.ca/topics-of-practice/open-education/
• BC Open Textbooks: https://open.bccampus.ca/browse-our-collection/find-open-textbooks/
• eCampusOntario – EXTEND
• https://extend.ecampusontario.ca/

Optional Webinar: Thursday, November 12, 2020 (9-10 am PST):

This week, you will have the opportunity to learn about the potential of OER and OEP with a global expert on open learning – Dr. David Porter. Dr. Porter currently works as the Senior Advisor: Higher Education with the Commonwealth of Learning. His previous role as the CEO of eCampus Ontario helped to amplify the potential of open learning across Ontario – and Canada.

This FINAL optional webinar will be in Thursday, November 12, 2020 from 9-10 am PST. This will give our students in China the opportunity to make a webinar for this course. The webinar will be recorded, but if you can come, please do.

Weekly Blog Post:

As you review the resources and consider the potential of OER and OEP, please consider the following questions for your weekly blog post:

What are the resource that resonated with you the most? Do you feel that open learning is a “Mindset” or is “values based”? How would this point of view influence an instructor when considering OER or OEP? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn? What is one topic you might consider to expand upon for your final project? What are the similarities and differences between online (distributed) learning and open learning?

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns…

Dr. Roberts 🙂

Hello everyone ! Welcome to Week 9!

As you complete your Pod Equity Projects (see the bottom of Week 8 blog post for project information) I want you to spend some time thinking about all the different aspects of “access to learning” that are explored through the UDL Framework.

This week in your reflective blog, I want you to consider the ethical bias and inequity in distributed and open learning environments.

First, I want to take the time to consider the writing of my colleague Dr. Chris Gilliard. In our weekly reading, you will be introduced to some of Chris’ writing which examineds the pervasive digital redlining that occurs across Higher Education. Other digital redlining has been identified by Joy Buolamwini, whose MIT research examined How she is Fighting Bias in Algorithms.

Then, you will take a different cultural perspective of digital learning design. In Chapter 4, Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces, Kral and Schwab (2014) advocate that the way to design for safe and culturally responsive digital learning spaces is to ask the learners for their input. You will read about Indigenous youth who share their voice, to help us all better understand how to be inclusive and create authentic, relevant and authentic learning tasks in online and open learning environments. This is a longer article to read, but it is full of exciting examples and case studies.

I hope that you have a wonderful week – and I look forward to your Equity Pod Group assignments due this Sunday, Nov 8, 2020. Only one person needs to add the link to your assignment into the D2L Assignment Dropbox.

Please consider using FlipGrid to make your group video (NO Editing required and lots of room for additional resources), rather than writing out your group project.

Please be reminded that Blog Post #3 for Topic 3 is optional.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me…

Dr Roberts 🙂