The Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) at MIT is now bearing fruit. And I thought metadata was something. OKI has more to say about sharing knowledge....

Here's a highlight from the OKI whitepapers page.

edublog "is an initiative to develop a web-based journaling tool (blog) focused on educational use and users." Here's an example from the edublog archive:

Friday, September 21, 2001
Laurel, the Edublog workstudy assistant for 2001-2001 has strarted a blog called Edu-Blogs which will focus on compiling a list of all discussions on blogging, metabloging, and educational use of blogs. You can send stuff directly to Laurel.
Posted 5:03 AM by Jason Nolan

Dr. Jason Nolan and his colleagues at the University of Toronto are doing all kinds of great stuff. Achieve, for instance, is very cool.

I've read a lot this semester about the opportunities for reflection online learning presents. The asynchronous environment lets one reflect before "posting" and to look back on lessons learned. For me the most striking aspect is the snapshot of "process" digital archives provide. Not so much what you know as how you came to know it. Blogs provide an opportunity for anyone to track their learning on any subject.

Speaking of archives, I revisited parts of this week's lecture to provide Dr. Druin's response to my question about "design partners."

She told us that the youngsters she studied (22 individuals between the ages of 3 and 6) became "partners" through a series of "stages." As the preschoolers progressed they were, in turn, learners, critics, inventors, and design partners. As you'd expect, individuals progressed through these stages at different rates. Typically, three months were spent in the "learning" phase.

She added that her current research involves longitudinal studies of the "impact" of this early exposure to technology on learners.

Today's Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) Technology in Support of Learning and Teaching, lecture:

      The K-12 Classroom of the Future

by Allison Druin, was fantastic. Here's a note I jotted during Dr. Druin's lecture:

3 - 6 yrs of age private and public playschools considered
Only 1-2 kids at computer at a time. Kids naturally gather in "clumps" around computer.
Fair amount of discussion and interaction among kids. "Mouser" didn't do all the work....
Teachers never used the technology with the kids. TV and video are used much less than computers. Generally, only one computer/classroom (14 total rooms)

More information at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab & College of Education, at the University of Maryland.

I was also intrigued by Dr. Druin's thoughts regarding "design partners" -- the "kids" themselves. What a concept! Made we wonder about the impact:

5:38 p.m. Question from Doug Symington: What are your thoughts regarding how your "design partners" are affected by the experience? For instance, in what ways does their involvement affect their view of technology and how it might be used in education?

Visit the Series archive to hear Dr. Druin's response.

The 09 April, 2002 lecture in the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) Technology in Support of Learning and Teaching, Spring 2002 Lecture Series is:

      The K-12 Classroom of the Future

by Allison Druin, of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab & College of Education, at the University of Maryland.

This talk will begin at 4:30 pm EDT.


To attend:

In person:
Lectures are broadcast from The Lecture Theatre, Room 103, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, 230 College Street (at Huron Street), at the University of Toronto.


Online:
First time participants will need to visit the Registration page at the KMDI's ePresence Lab to register and perform a wizard-based system check, and follow the prompts. Then it's a matter of logging onto the ePresence server to view the webcast of Dr. Anderson's lecture.


I look forward to "seeing" you online.

Jay Cross is doing some very interesting research and writing on eLearning.
His Research on Learning and Performance page has many wonderful resources.

One of my favourites was posted on 16 January, 2002:

"An article in eLearning mag by Deloitte's Nick Van Dam has this marvellously lucid graphic [Figure 2. The Online Learning Continuum for skill mastery learning methods] that matches depth of learning to eLearning tools." (link added).

Van Dam tells us, "The Online Learning Continuum shown in figure 2 indicates some possible applications of e-learning methods that can best support each level of skill mastery."

Futhermore:

Companies need to take a hard look at their overall learning curriculum and approach, and deliberately use all the appropriate facets of the blended model to create a total learning environment. They need to convert classroom content to e-learning where it makes sense, redesign classroom experiences for high impact when face-to-face interactions are essential, and ensure that the online learning experience is dynamic, engaging, and fun. One resource taking a fresh look at e-learning design is www.designingwbt.com