EdTechTalk#81 - The Mega-Connectivism Course (Part #1)

19:46:59  dave ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Connectivism_Planning_Page
19:47:30  courosa ->  a bit of a thunderstorm here, think the game was postponed
19:47:39  JenWagner ->  NO
19:47:45  JenWagner ->  Alec, George, and Stephen??
19:47:48  JenWagner ->  they are -- right??
19:47:52  dave ->  yup.
19:47:54  JenWagner ->  yep
19:48:42  Downes ->  http://grsshopper.downes.ca
19:49:56  JenWagner ->  do they all live near each other -- in Canada??
19:50:07  courosa ->  hail and lightning delay here in Regina, perfect timing for this show
19:50:08  JenWagner ->  so are they meeting F2F to plan this -- or is it all via online tools
19:50:26  JenWagner ->  the planning
19:50:53  JenWagner ->  they met in Memphis -- like Tennessee??
19:51:22  Downes ->  yes
19:51:25  Downes ->  tennessee
19:51:33  dougsymington ->  ETT A and B streams running for anyone not able to access ustream--of it comes up...
19:51:34  Downes ->  at the D2L Fusion 2008 conference
19:51:39  dougsymington ->  if
19:51:44  JenWagner ->  this is a GREAT story
19:52:29  JenWagner ->  how do you spell George's last name???
19:52:37  dougsymington ->  Siemens
19:53:03  JenWagner ->  is there a George Siessums??
19:54:05  dougsymington ->  Chris Sessums? http://eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog
19:54:08  JenWagner ->  or turn the ustream off
19:54:13  JenWagner ->  Chris Sessums -- yep
19:54:39  KarenJa ->  red sox/yankees on shortly
19:54:59  kmurray352 ->  what edtech talk # is this?
19:55:10  congerjan ->  iPhones rock!  I love mine
19:55:12  JL ->  81
19:55:20  Cathy E ->  Topsail North Carolina??
19:55:25  KarenJa ->  how is the ATT reception? do you lose many calls?
19:55:31  JenWagner ->  the new iPhones or the older ones??
19:55:43  congerjan ->  Old one...
19:56:34  congerjan ->  ATT is Ok best network for us because it is the only carrier that hits my daughter's college in nowhere PA
19:56:48  KarenJa ->  verizon is better here
19:57:12  JenWagner ->  is Lee in Canada too??
19:57:28  courosa ->  Lee is Australian, not?
19:57:40  JenWagner ->  okay
19:58:44  Downes ->  Leigh is Australian, he lives in New Zealand
19:58:47  JenWagner ->  this event has been twittered by MANY
19:58:58  Downes ->  sorry
20:00:31  JenWagner ->  clapping for LEE!!!!!
20:01:47  JenWagner ->  and explain WHY -- what caused you to offer this
20:01:50  JenWagner ->  the backstory
20:02:46  courosa ->  haha
20:03:28  JenWagner ->  lee is better here -- still soft but okay
20:04:18  sroseman ->  any visuals
20:04:51  dave ->  Alec Couros - Assistant Director SIDRU Faculty of Education University of Regina at the university of Regina http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/
20:05:07  dave ->  Alec Couros - Assistant Director SIDRU Faculty of Education University of Regina at the university of Regina http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/
20:05:17  dave ->  Stephen Downes - Senior Researcher at the NRC in Moncton, web news master at http://downes.ca and blogger at http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/
20:05:36  dave ->  George Siemens - University of Manitoba - Assistant director Learning Technologies Centre http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/
20:06:26  dave ->  i think he was being sarcastic :(
20:06:30  dave ->  :P
20:06:38  Downes ->  really?
20:07:05  JenWagner ->  canyou drop Lee's info??    We see Alec's twice  thank you
20:07:14  dave ->  Leigh Blackall - Leigh currently works in Educational Development for the Otago Polytechnic blogs at http://learnonline.wordpress.com/ 
20:10:12  dave ->  there are 600,000 people in manitoba?
20:10:29  mrsdurff ->  really?
20:11:02  JL ->  1,196,291 (according to wikipedia)
20:11:34  dave ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Connectivism
20:11:37  JenWagner ->  Hi Ryan
20:11:40  gsiemens ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wiki/Connectivism
20:11:43  dougsymington ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wiki/Connectivism
20:11:47  ryanbretag ->  Hi Jen
20:11:47  gsiemens ->  thx doug
20:11:58  dougsymington ->  yw :)
20:16:16  mrsdurff ->  dave loves being sarcastic
20:16:19  JenWagner ->  is there a need to make it small -- or is it okay to keep it large??
20:16:26  mrsdurff ->  it is his medium
20:18:51  mrsdurff ->  we assume dave already chose that option
20:19:07  dougsymington ->  his default setting :) ?
20:19:11  mrsdurff ->  i would never have brought it into question
20:19:19  mrsdurff ->  it is@!
20:19:56  mrsdurff ->  coffee is my default setting and it needs a refill...
20:20:26  Bronst ->  hi all
20:20:39  dougsymington ->  hello @Bronst, welcome
20:20:46  Bronst ->  thx
20:20:57  dougsymington ->  and SarahH :)
20:21:11  SarahH ->  Hi all!  I never make it live!
20:21:33  Bronst ->  is there audio?
20:21:40  dougsymington ->  glad you could make it, and welcome back Karen
20:21:42  dougsymington ->  yes,
20:21:56  dougsymington ->  click on the speaker icons on r-side of page for stream
20:22:05  dougsymington ->  or the player button in ustream window
20:22:07  dougsymington ->  for audio
20:22:36  dave ->  it's george's smile
20:22:45  Downes ->  yeah that's it
20:22:50  dougsymington ->  may have to adjust volume slider in ustream
20:23:01  dougsymington ->  to hear it there--let us know if you need help
20:23:25  mrsdurff ->  we still have rooms here?
20:23:44  Bronst ->  OK got it - thx
20:23:47  dougsymington ->  yw
20:24:01  mrsdurff ->  why not break us into rooms during a webcast of this course
20:24:09  Bronst ->  who is speaking?
20:24:18  dave ->  leigh blackall
20:24:18  JL ->  Leigh
20:24:19  Bronst ->  permaculture?
20:24:21  mrsdurff ->  so we are essentially backchanneling with a smaller number
20:24:23  dougsymington ->  Leigh Blackall speaking now
20:24:26  Bronst ->  okey dokey
20:24:32  Sue Waters ->  Permaculture in NZealan
20:24:51  Sue Waters ->  and faciliating online course
20:25:15  dougsymington ->  loined by Stephen Downes, George Siemens and Alec Couros, with Dave Cormier as host in call
20:25:21  Bronst ->  yes I am in Leigh's course!
20:25:27  dave ->  ah.
20:25:29  dave ->  nice one
20:25:31  dougsymington ->  excellent
20:25:39  mrsdurff ->  how many signed up?
20:25:50  Sue Waters ->  Leigh's course http://www.wikieducator.org/Facilitating_online_communities
20:25:50  courosa ->  1200ish
20:26:06  mrsdurff ->  how many rooms can we have here?
20:26:16  mrsdurff ->  1200/100
20:26:22  Bronst ->  the model excites me greatly
20:26:22  mrsdurff ->  ?
20:26:32  mrsdurff ->  hi dean
20:26:40  Sue Waters ->  Participants list here http://www.wikieducator.org/Talk:Facilitating_online_communities
20:26:41  shareski ->  I have no sound
20:26:42  courosa ->  dean, is the game still postponed?
20:27:01  dougsymington ->  click on speaker icons, or play button in ustream for audio
20:27:14  mrsdurff ->  can we divide participants into 12 rooms capped at 100 each?
20:27:20  shareski ->  game is just starting
20:27:54  mrsdurff ->  we would form cohorts that go through the course together
20:28:01  mrsdurff ->  hi miguel
20:28:16  MGuhlin.net ->  Hi Durff. I'm a Downes groupie now. 8->
20:28:33  mrsdurff ->  then you're in the right place
20:29:04  MGuhlin.net ->  So, what's this about?
20:29:15  dave ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Connectivism
20:29:21  mrsdurff ->  the connectivism course
20:29:53  courosa ->  value is in relationships
20:30:21  mrsdurff ->  interaction within cohort groups within the course?
20:30:34  shareski ->  love to say but pizza and the Riders call...I'll catch the archive since I know this is good stuff
20:30:56  mrsdurff ->  eat vegan!
20:32:11  Bronst ->  the course is an open lab on connectivism
20:32:21  mrsdurff ->  obviously known of you need to prove anything or this discussion would not be happening
20:33:20  courosa ->  i would certainly like to see those in the course reference/use connectivist pedagogies in multiple subject areas ... I know it is possible outside of edtech, but it would be great to have more, reference evidence and research, to support and better understand this view of information and knowledge.
20:34:03  dave ->  i don't knwo about that
20:34:11  dave ->  i feel a discussion coming
20:34:28  courosa ->  don't know about ... what dave?
20:34:31  gsiemens ->  @courosa - yes, the value of this course will at least partly be in the ability to engage established academics - i.e. we know networked approaches to learning work. Many in formal academia don't know it.
20:34:51  dave ->  that the teacher is the teacher because they know alot
20:34:54  Gardner ->  Clear and compelling exposition, Stephen. The history you've covered is crucial, in my view. Thanks.
20:35:04  MGuhlin.net ->  How can students organize their learning if they lack a structure of their own? Doesn't it come across as chaos? How do you scaffold, support that kind of learning without throwing the learner into the deep end of the pool?
20:35:18  courosa ->  @gsiemens will be trying to get my neighbors in the Faculty of Ed. involved, it may be a tough sell though ... like moving a graveyard.
20:35:34  Gardner ->  Great stuff but I need to go do some exam marking (ironies abound) for my Milton seminar. Some great stuff there too. Ciao, all.
20:36:14  courosa ->  @leigh this is something i thought about as well.
20:36:58  dave ->  and if the articles exist, then isn't the knowledge already out there?
20:37:00  courosa ->  I think this helps to bring focus to important topics within the network, and helps to bring in others.
20:37:08  MGuhlin.net ->  Won't a course result in credentialing?
20:37:55  dougsymington ->  wonder how one reconciles assessment in the course, with student-centered approach?
20:37:56  mrsdurff ->  succinct information interactions
20:38:03  Bronst ->  Yes I think Leigh is right
20:38:21  Bronst ->  I am there in curiosity and seeking revitalisation
20:38:31  dougsymington ->  and the differences and similarities in credit and non-credit participants
20:38:42  fceblog ->  fragmentation is overwhelming.
20:38:49  mrsdurff ->  hi mrchase!
20:39:03  MrChase ->  Hey Durff. Who are we listening to?
20:39:40  dougsymington ->  George Siemens (now speaking), Stephen Downes, Alec Couros, Leigh Blackall
20:39:48  dougsymington ->  Dave Cormier as host
20:39:57  courosa ->  I will take much from this course, I can't wait to see what emerges.
20:40:43  Bronst ->  me either
20:41:01  lottascales ->  link / info about course?
20:41:40  topsail_pirate ->  http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Connectivism
20:41:55  dougsymington ->  thx @topsail
20:42:02  topsail_pirate ->  no prob
20:42:44  jeannine ->  do you see a role for those of us who are calling for reform (school board types), but who are neither tech people nor educators? or might it all go right over my head?:D
20:42:47  courosa ->  plan has way more syllables than necessary. :-)
20:42:57  dave ->  :P
20:43:04  Downes ->  depends on what kind of reform you'rew calling for
20:43:17  lottascales ->  thand you!
20:43:23  lottascales ->  or, thank you.
20:44:09  jeannine ->  collaboration, parent voice, student voice, democratic learning, etc
20:44:49  Bronst ->  what percentage do you prdict will complete the course?
20:45:14  courosa ->  depends what you mean by completion, and not sure if that word is appropriate for this experience.
20:45:26  Bronst ->  vouluntary, self-managed = attrition
20:45:29  gsiemens ->  and it's not just who completes now
20:45:51  gsiemens ->  we've found - from online conferences - that we have more people access info after the conference than during
20:45:51  gradster1 ->  Saluton
20:46:33  courosa ->  nice question doug! :-)
20:46:43  fceblog ->  @gsiemens Agree. My learing time does not always coincide with conference duration.
20:46:58  gradster1 ->  Extreme echoes, anyone?
20:47:11  Bronst ->  so the time delimitations are what - unnnecesary, fluffy, guidelines???
20:47:15  dougsymington ->  you may have stream and ustream running re echo
20:47:28  dougsymington ->  two ustream windows might also echo on your machine
20:48:09  gradster1 ->  Ah, good
20:48:41  dave ->  i was forced to do this three weeks ago :| http://edugrids.org/book/davecormier/community-grading-rubric
20:48:45  dave ->  awful
20:48:51  dave ->  tried to get the students to do it
20:49:01  Downes ->  ick
20:49:22  dave ->  yes
20:50:33  lottascales ->  also, RE: during vs after, if i'm attending to the backchannel or chat, i find i have to go back to access the actual preso -- can't process wide and deep at the same time.
20:52:47  mrsdurff ->  secret assignments?
20:53:01  gsiemens ->  we're going to get a secret handshake, however, for conferences :)
20:53:05  mrsdurff ->  really  need more coffe now
20:53:10  dave ->  sweet
20:53:20  dougsymington ->  lol love it re handshake
20:53:57  dougsymington ->  what about licensing of curriculum--difference between "formal" and "nonformal" participants?
20:54:18  MrChase ->  Great phrasing of the question.
20:54:38  Bronst ->  don't you have to meet some assessment requirements for the institution?
20:54:57  gsiemens ->  @bronst - yes, and we will, according to u of M faculty
20:56:27  Bronst ->  so how did you get it approved without assessment structures described up-front?
20:56:44  gsiemens ->  @Bronst - they will be assigned up front
20:57:19  gsiemens ->  for those who enroll, they'll have a requirement that they will know in advance
20:57:37  gsiemens ->  we need this, obviously, according to U of M before the course gets approval for delivery
20:58:21  gsiemens ->  @couros - good point
20:58:30  gsiemens ->  peer and group assessment will be important
20:58:35  mrsdurff ->  adieu gentlemen....a restart calls...............
20:58:52  gradster1 ->  Adieu mis amis
21:00:58  courosa ->  For leigh's concern, I would like to see something I could share with my faculty and students as a starting point ... to bring these people in to a reasonable starting place, and then get them immersed into the greater anarchy.
21:03:18  courosa ->  Some good principles of pedagogy here - http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/876
21:06:18  gsiemens ->  @courosa, we'll be providing a series of short papers/lectures, etc. to provide a bit of that base...
21:06:49  Bronst ->  Hold a course to scaffold people through the course
21:07:07  gsiemens ->  @bronst - we'll have a short presentation on getting started
21:07:14  courosa ->  @gsiemens Great! Let me know if I can be of any help, I have a research semester coming up so I can be very useful, especially in providing/leading some research on the experience.
21:07:28  gsiemens ->  @courosa - we'll be contacting you :)
21:07:38  Bronst ->  perhaps that scaffolding is the contribution of many more experienced members
21:07:42  gsiemens ->  would love to have you more involved...
21:07:44  dave ->  @courosa i need my office cleaned
21:07:56  dave ->  if you've got all this free time
21:08:05  courosa ->  @dave After I clean mine ... it could be a while.
21:08:09  dougsymington ->  milestones, or check points regarding specific competencies might be useful--for those taking tentative first steps with tools
21:08:10  dave ->  :)
21:09:02  gsiemens ->  @sdownes - good point about research...
21:09:18  courosa ->  Yes, looking forward to the rich data!
21:10:17  Wendy Drexler ->  Was a link posted earlier for us to follow progress?
21:10:30  dougsymington ->   http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Connectivism
21:10:32  courosa ->  I didn't do anything logistical until day 1 of my course. :-)
21:10:46  Wendy Drexler ->  Thank you!  :-)
21:11:03  fceblog ->  Thank you all.
21:11:06  courosa ->  gnite all, go Riders!
21:11:06  topsail_pirate ->  Looking forward to this course
21:11:45  Bronst ->  so exciting - on so many levels - feel like I have to be there as a moment in history
21:12:08  Downes ->  Thanks, that was fun
21:12:32  dougsymington ->  ty Stephen, and all -- great show
21:12:37  Cathy E ->  Great minds! 
21:12:38  Bronst ->  bravo Leigh - am on my first activites today for your course
21:13:04  JL ->  Thanks all - audio should be up in a few hours at http://edtechtalk.com/EdTechTalk81