Tag: diverse09

• Carol Skyring about visual communications, telepresence and education (#diverse2009)

  Leestijd: 4 minuten

  

  Visual Communications: from Zoopraxiscope to YouTube
  Carol Skyring kicked off Diverse with her keynote about the developments of visual communications: past, present and future. You can watch her keynote online via an Echo360 capture.

  Since the invention of the zoopraxiscope in 1879 to the launch of YouTube in 2005, moving images have influenced the way we see the world and have been eagerly embraced by educators. Visual communications are developing at an astounding rate. New devices and new software have the potential to change the way teachers and learners communicate. But have they delivered what they promised and have things changed all that much in education? (from abstract Diverse Conference 2009 Handbook)

  The main theme in Skyrings’ keynote is how technology effects learning and learners. She raised some important questions about how developments in technology and visual communications will influence the design principles of education and the succesfactors of visual communication in education. It was a story I heard before, but  an important one to be told, especially at the beginning of a conference. Many of her questions were themes and topics of the sessions during the rest of the week.

  This is the opening video of the keynote. The soundtrack “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”, is taken out. But the message is clear: there is a lot more to be seen.

  Telepresence
  During her keynote I learned about the concept of telepresence. I learned a new word. Telepresence is about allowing a person to feel as though he was present at a location, other than his true location, by the use of technology (source: Wikipedia). This of course can be achieved through the use of videoconferencing, but also other technologies, stresses Skyring. Telepresence and -standards let applications know where you are, what you are doing and what kind of communications you are prepared to receive.

  What does telepresence mean for students? Students experience lots of interaction online (social networking), expecting almost instant reply, choosing whom they want interaction with, choosing whom they want to learn with and not where. Well, I think the ‘where’ is still important, but developments like open educational resources, like for instance iTunes U and YouTube Edu, make it possible for students to shop for education.

  These notions were familiair to me, part of the ubiquitous learning & geo-everything concept, but I like the connection with the concept of telepresence. I like to think it focuses more on the aspect of  ‘feeling’ present online, than ‘being’ present online, and the effect this has on education and teachers: teachers and students adapting to new dimensions of communicating. Telepresence is an important concept in blending formal education with the personal web of students.

  Trends
  Next to the trend of telepresence (and videoconferencing in HD-quality) Skyring spoke of three other trends:

  1. Online social networking will becoming more visual through video;
  2. Video will become more mobile;
  3. Virtual worlds are growing and becoming more important: the real world and our virtual world are mixing up together.

  Skyring mentions Second Life as a leading example of how virtual worlds are used in education, saying that Second Life is definitely not the future, but the first virtual world that isn’t just a game. Second Life or other virtual worlds are not something I’m very active with and maybe I should change that. My main problem with virtual worlds that it is often presented as a formal learning environment in education, copying the traditional approaches of learning. I know of some great innovative examples of effective use of virtual worlds, mainly social simulations. I doubt if the ’telepresence’ of our young learners fits with the virtual worlds-platform. Are they not creating their own virtual worlds with their web 2.0/social networking tools, communicating more effectively then in virtual worlds as Second Life?

  Flipumentary
  After the keynote, Tom Visscher took the opportunity to interview Carol Skyring for a ‘flipumentary’. He asked her the question how we can help teachers with technology in the classroom and outside in this increasingly complex world. Watch the flipumentary on SURFmedia.

  In the video Skyring speaks about helping teachers making informed decisions about choosing technology for the right purposes, together with technical staff and students. The next step is to increase the awareness level of everybody in the learning organisation by showing the technoloy and what it can do, motivating others to join the effort. This process must be supported by professionals who can guide teachers moving into using this technology and the change it involves. Skyring gives teachers the advice to just have a go with it and don’t pretend you’re an expert but be open about your learning process with the students. Be brave!

  Read more on the keynote of Carol Skyring on the Diverse website and the SURFgroep conference wiki.

• The students’ voice at Diverse: a creative concept coffee (#diverse2009)

  Leestijd: 4 minuten

  I like to visit conferences. I love learning new things or approaches during the ‘formal’ sessions, but it’s the informal part of the conference that’s really important for me.  A couple of days of conference for me is one big ‘out-of-the-box-thinking’ exercise. It’s about getting inspired and being creative. And it’s about being able to fully concentrate on that proces, which for me is more difficult when I’m back at work. So when the Diverse 2009 provides a forum where you are invited to process creativity with other international learning professionals, in the form of the so-called Creative Concept Coffees, I’m having a cup.

  It becomes more interesting when there’s an award to win: tickets and conference fees for the next Diverse in 2010, Portland, Maine, USA.  I sat down at the table together with Marek Oledzki of Nottingham Trent University and Frank Westland of Tilburg University. We skipped a few sessions, processed a couple of ideas into one concept, which got nominated with four other concepts, prepared a pitch, pitched it and won the award by two votes! I love the informal part of conferences!

  

  Bringing the students’ voice to Diverse
  So what was our winning concept? Bringing the students’ voice to Diverse. This needs some explanation. We noticed two things while attending the sessions. First, the community of Diverse is working really hard at providing innovative and creative learning environments, using visual technology to engage students in active learning. Second, the community is using more web 2.0 tools and social software, some of those we describe as ’their tools’.

  More and more, we are using the informal tools and approaches of learners in a formal setting. There’s a risk-factor here, it’s not always a recipe for succes. There is much to be learned in blending the formal education with the informal learning of students. So basically we noticed learning professionals thinking for students, using their tools and approaches. But Diverse is not asking the students about their ideas about using these tools in education.

  What can we learn from students in using visual technology for learning? What’s the students’ voice in using visual technology in education? We think that’s an important question to be asked by the Diverse community. The answers can give the Diverse community more focus, new insights or confirmations in developing visual educational resources.

  

  

  Media literacy
  One other aspect we missed in the sessions of Diverse was the focus on media literacy skills, media smarts or “mediawijsheid” as we call it in the Netherlands. The Diverse community clearly understands today’s multi-media culture and all the resources it can bring for education, trying to engage the students. But it’s also about students learning to participate, learn and express themselves in this dynamic and rapidly evolving multi-media culture. Media literacy skills and media literacy pedagogy surely are a field of expertise for the Diverse community, we thought, discussing our concept at the Creative Concept Coffees. And again, what do students think of this. What part do they want education to play?

  Students’ Voice
  So the plan is to research the students’ voice about using visual technology in education. This is something I am familiar with, as I was part of a research project this year at the Centre of eLearning of INHolland University of Applied Science. In this project we researched the students’ voice of +2000 learners in primary, secundary, vocational and pre-service teacher education in the Netherlands. We asked them all kinds of questions about the technology they use while learning, in and outside school, and what they expect from education about using those tools in their learning process. It provided some interesting results (pdf). This research was obviously in the back of my head during our CCC-session, and the three of us build upon this further.

  The plan
  The main question we ask ourselves is how can we facilitate the students voice at Diverse? Are we using the informal approaches and tools of the students in a formal educational setting? And if we are, is that appropriate? What do students think about using ’their’ approaches and tools? These, and other questions, amongst others, were the results of our CCC-session. Look for the mindmap below.

  So how we go about this? We have untill November to prove we are serious with this and in March 2010 will be decided if the progress of the concept is on a level for presentation at the Diverse 2010. So it’s kind of a award with a catch. :) But we are willing to give it a go.

  First step in august is to work out a plan. We’re thinking of creating surveys for and interviewing our students, maybe even use the network of the Diverse community. We’re thinking of writing a paper with the results and recommendations for the Diverse community. We are thinking of creating 10 profiles of students, who stand model for the different kind of learners the Diverse community is developing educational resources for. Ten profiles, because it’s the tenth anniversary of Diverse next year.

  We’ll flesh it out in the coming months. I’ll keep you posted on my blog. We had fun though!

  Mindmap
  This is the mindmap Marek, Frank and I worked on during the CCC-sessions.

  The pitch
  In this YouTube video you can watch our pitch. We’re up second. There’s also a part 2.

  Links
  Tilburg University already posted the good news in one of their newsletters (in Dutch). i-Gadgets?

• Diverse 2009: Inspiring, creative and well organized! (#diverse2009)

  Leestijd: 3 minuten

  Last week I attended the Diverse Conference in Aberystwyth, Wales. Primary mission was to present the project videoreflection and digital portfolio’s we did with the students of the School of Education Amsterdam. Secundary mission was to learn more about how other learning professionals implement video, virtual worlds and other visual educational resources in their education. I talked and listened to a lot of very interesting and inspiring people, and learned a lot. I even walked away with an award! So now is the time to reflect on matters and write some blogposts. Consider this the index-post of a Diverse-series.

  Diverse Conference
  Diverse is an acronym for Developing Innovative Visual Educational Resources for Students Everywhere. It’s an interesting conference, not like others I attended. It’s a small conference, organized by an international community of learning professionals who know each other and are already working together for years. This creates an informal atmosphere, with lots of room for dialogue and creative, innovative ideas. The people attending are good company. Allthough Diverse is an international conference, most attendees are English and Dutch. The Dutch have a strong community in the Netherlands, gathered in and around SURF and the Webstream group. This explains why we were with so many, but it would benefit the conference if other nationalities could put in some more weight.

  Creative Concept Coffees
  This year the conference was organized by the University of Aberystwyth, in Wales. Great weather! It was really well organized with interesting masterclasses, three keynotes and many parallel-sessions to choose from. Every year there’s an after conference, which I didn’t attend. It always involves a boat.

  Coffeebreaks became Creative Concept Coffees, where you could form partnerships with international partners, working out creative and innovative ideas. Diverse installed a small competition this year: the partnership pitching the best idea wins their tickets and conferencefees for Diverse 2010 in Portland, Maine, United States. I’m always up for a creative challenge, so I sat down at the table with colleagues of mine from Trent University and Tilburg University, skipped a few sessions, and worked out a concept in a mindmap. This turned out to be the winning concept. So we’re flying to Portland, Maine next year! What? There’s a catch? We have to actually run our little project? Like I have the time for that! Oh well,  we’ll see how it goes! More on our concept in a later post.

  What to blog about?
  I’ve coverered most of the sessions via Twitter and CoverItLive. I’m afraid I was number one provider of tweets for this conference, but that’s the way I like to learn during conferences. But luckily I was not alone in my microblogging endeavors. All tweets were streamed in my CoverItLive-session for this Diverse, which was eventually embedded on the Diverse Conference website. There are a couple of subjects I want to expand on, using more than 14o characters. A table of contents (direct links will be added later):

  • What I learned about videoconferencing in education
  • The keynotes by Carol Skyring (LearnTel, Australia) (added 10/07/09) and Obediah Greenberg (YouTube Strategic Partnerships)
  • The presentation of me and my colleague Tom Visscher
  • Our winning concept of the Creative Concept Coffees Award (added 04/07/09)

  Posts will be hopefully added this week, still have some ‘Flipumentaries’ to edit for the conference wiki and this blog.

  Backchannel and conference wiki
  There was a lot of coverage of the event going on. Of course the hashtag #diverse2009 was used for Twitter and Flickr (#diverse2009), visualized by a CoverItLive-session and a Twitterfountain. The Dutch attendees kept a conference wiki via a SharePoint ‘SURFgroup’ and shot ‘Flipumentaries’ wich were posted on SURFmedia (#diverse2009) and the conference wiki or the YouTube channel. Great reports!
  

  Aberystwyth I’ve shot a really bad ‘Flipumentary’ about Aberystwyth, edited it terribly and to make matters worse, used a really bad soundtrack. But it gives you an idea about the location. :)

• Diverse 2009: Backchannel Alley (#diverse2009)

  Leestijd: 2 minuten

  This week I’m attending the Diverse 2009 conference in Aberystwyth, Wales. There will be lot of online coverage of this event. I will be reporting via Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and SURFgroups (Dutch online environment for higher education).  I will update this post when other backchannels are discovered.

  Conference wiki and Flipumentaries
  The Dutch attendees will report via a wiki in a special “SURFgroep”. We will be shooting ‘Flipumentaries‘ with the Flip camera all week long and of course write about the sessions, the creative concept coffees and more. Every participant of Diverse 2009 can join this site and work together on this report of the conference. You can find the SURFgroup at http://www.surfgroepen.nl/sites/diverse/2009/default.aspx

  Microblogging, social media and a Twitterfountain
  My livestream will consist of microblogging via Twitter (follow me via http://www.twitter.com/jeroenbottema), pictures via Flickr, video’s via YouTube and live updates via CoverItLive (read below). If you use the tag #diverse2009 in your tweets and Flickr photo’s they will appear in the Twitterfountain that Michel Jansen of VU University in Amsterdam has created for the conference. You can embed this fountain in your own blog or website.

  YouTube
  There is a YouTube channel for this conference: Diverse 2009. If you tag your own YouTube movies with #diverse2009 the movies will shown in the playlists on this channel.

  CoverItLive
  I will be using CoverItLive for the first time. Depending on availability of wifi and power, I will do some live sribbling via CIL. It prevents me from spamming my followers on Twitter. We will see how it goes. The CIL also shows tweets with the tag #diverse2009. I will be playing with some of CIL’s features, like a poll, inserting YouTube movies, pictures, etc.

  <a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=882ec8436b” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=882ec8436b” >Diverse 2009</a>

  So. You think that’s enough for the people back home?

• Mijn programma voor de Diverse 2009 in Aberystwyth (#diverse2009)

  Leestijd: 3 minuten

  Morgen vertrek ik richting Aberystwyth University, Wales voor de Diverse 2009 conferentie. De Diverse is een jaarlijkse conferentie over het gebruik van visuele media in het onderwijs. Woensdagmiddag mag ik zelf aan de bak, en vertel ik samen met collega Tom Visscher het verhaal over het gebruik van streaming video in de studieloopbaanbegeleiding van studenten.

  Maar wat ga ik nog meer doen? Presentaties en workshops bijwonen en verslag doen voor de conferentiewiki. Mijn voorlopige programma (bron: Diverse 2009 Conference Handbook, pdf, 3mb):

  Woensdag 24/6
  

  Masterclass Models of good practice in videoconferencing for learning and teaching
  Een bijeenkomst over het Welsh Video Network dat videoconferencing in het Wales’ onderwijs ondersteund. Wat zijn de drenmpels die gebruikers ervaren? Wat heb je nodig op didactisch, pedagogisch en didactisch vlak een goede ervaring te krijgen met videoconferencing.

  Keynote Visual communication: from Zoopraxiscope to YouTube
  Carol Skyring, CEO van LearnTel uit Australie. Haar verhaal zal gaan over visuele communicatie, over de ontwikkelingen in het verleden en de toekomst. Zij stelt de vraag of visuele communciatie in het onderwijs gebracht heeft wat het heeft beloofd en of het onderwijs uberhaupt verandert is. Het antwoord op die vraag kan ik wel raden. Ik ben benieuwd naar de rol van sociale media in dit verhaal.
  
  Student digital media productions, take 2: assessment choices
  Een case-study over het afnemen van assessments bij studenten via digital storytelling, met als doel het ontwikkelen van meta-cognitieve vaardigheden bij eerstejaars studenten, op de Universiteit van Bath.
  
  The use of video in an interactive learning environment
  Een verhaal van mijn collega’s Carla Cornelissen en Ruth Romijn (Social Works), over het ontwikkelen van een interactieve leeromgeving die aansluit bij de visie van de School, en hoe studenten video (de Flip) gebruiken in deze leeromgeving.

  The importance of assessment for learning when creatively using digital technology and web 2.0 technlogies in a researched based masters programme.
  Studenten van de master Education and Training Management van Dublin City University visualiseren hun leerproces, inclusief hun reflecties en portfolio. Yvonne Crotty zal in gaan op het gebruik van digitale middelen om het leerproces te beoordelen.

  The pedagogical role of asynchronous communication in face-to-face and distance education: a comparative study
  Een verslag van een onderzoek naar het gedrag en attitude van studenten en docenten op het gebied van a-synchrone communicatie, vergeleken met een groep in een  face-to-face onderwijssituatie.

  Donderdag 25/6

  Zoep: The engine
  Erik Boon (VU) over Zoep, een zoekmachine voor streaming video content. In januari 2009 beschikbaar gesteld aan universiteiten in Nederland. Interessant.

  Video conferencing in inititial teacher training: does it make any difference in the construction of student’ teachers’ pedagocial knowledge
  Dat antwoord wil ik graag weten voor mijn eigen rapportage over streaming video in studieloopbaanbegeleiding! Ben benieuwd naar het verhaal van de University van Leicester. Chris Comber heeft vorig jaar een goede indruk op mij achter gelaten, en ook eerder op de Handheld Learning ’07 in London.

  Using Skype for supervision of distance field placement with counselling and pre-service student teaching graduate students
  Hmm, Skype ik liever met studenten op hun stage? Of toch maar stagebezoek? Beide natuurlijk. Maar Skype is wel een tool die studenten misschien prettiger vinden om te gebruiken. Heeft mogelijkheden, zeker met deeltijdstudenten.

  Communication technologies and acquiring academic and professional communication skills: an interactive learning infrastructure and new methodology
  Een verslag van het “Invite project”, waarin communicatietechnologie, met name videoconferencing, wordt ingezet in het verwerven van academische- en professionele communicatieve vaardigheden.

  The Use of an interactive screencast
  Ton Uffink en Hans Maier van Avans Hogeschool over het maken van interactieve screencasts. Waar je allemaal niet voor Wales gaat.

  Video web-communication and 3D virtual worlds: two distinct environments which may contribute to enrich academic context for teacher training and foreign language learning and teaching programs.
  En weer een Nederlandse bijdrage, nu van de Universiteit van Utrecht. Deze bijdrage gaat over het NIFLAR-project, waarin men het vreemde talenonderwijs specifiek en lerarenopleidingen in het algemeen probeert te verreiken met twee innovatie leeromgevingen: video-webcommunicatie en 3D virtual worlds. Heeft ook weer raakvlakken met mijn project, ben benieuwd naar hun aanpak.

  Vrijdag 26/6

  How should we create video resources to enhance teaching and learning?
  Een verhaal van de Medical and Dental Faculty in Bristol, waarin video wordt ingezet in het trainen van vaardigheden en het voorbereiden op examens. Maar welke praktische en ethische uitdagingen zijn er nog te nemen om het leren met behulp van video nog effectiever te maken?

  Virtual knowledgespaces
  Een heftig project met veel spelers, ik begrijp het niet helemaal, maar klinkt goed!  Het project omvat het gebruik van een virtuele wereld in kunstonderwijs. Het gaat over connectiviteit, telematic performance en aesthetics of Mixed Reality. Dit kan zo’n sessie zijn waar je met compleet nieuwe ideeën uit komt. Universiteit van Salford.

  Dit is een richtlijn, ik kan op het laatste moment altijd anders beslissen. Maar dit zijn wel de bijdragen die dicht bij mijn eigen werk en expertise liggen. En dus veel nieuwe inzichten en leerpunten kunnen opleveren, die ik volgend schooljaar gelijk kan meenemen.

• Competenties in Beeld op de Diverse 2009 (#diverse09)

  Leestijd: 2 minuten

  In mijn mailbox trof ik de Conference Schedule aan van de Diverse 2009, waar ik van 24 tot met 26 juni aanwezig ben.

  Diverse
  De Diverse is een jaarlijkse onderwijsconferentie over het toepassen van visuele media in het onderwijs. De 2008 editie werd gehost door INHolland in Haarlem. Ik werd verrast door de vele praktische (internationale-) bijdragen van docenten, studenten en commerciëlen over hun ideeën en toepassingen voor visuele media in het onderwijs.

  Het woord unconference kende ik nog niet, maar beschrijft zeker het karakter van de Diverse. Er is veel ruimte voor informele (Creative Concept Coffee’s)- en formele dialoog en uitwisseling van ervaringen en kennis. Dit jaar ben ik weer van de partij, dit keer gehost door de Universiteit van Aberystwyth, in Wales. Samen met mijn collega Tom Visscher presenteren wij daar ons project Competenties in Beeld, studieloopbaanbegeleiding met de Flip (zie eerdere blogposts).

  Abstracts
  Onze abstract Videoreflection in digital portfolio’s:

  At the School of Education, Amsterdam, students use a digital portfolio to present their evidence of competencies. This year they started with video reflection. Video helps them to reflect on their behaviour and attitude towards the pupils in the classroom. Using video in combination with a digital portfolio supports students in their competency based learning. The added value makes the portfolio a powerful tool for the students, who are on their way to becoming competent teachers.

  In this paper we will explain the workflow of video reflection by our students and show you the instruments used: a user friendly mini-camcorder, The Flip, in combination with a secure streaming video platform, SURFmedia. This platform offers every Dutch student 1Gb of streaming video space with the opportunity to give access only to peers, teachers or assessors. After embedding their videos into their digital portfolio they are reviewed and they receive positive feedback.

  Mijn collega’s Carla Cornelissen en Ruth Romijn zijn ook van de presenterende partij: The use of video in an interactive learning environment.

  2x de Flip in actie. Flip moest maar eens sponsoren op de Diverse.

  Keynote
  Als ik de rest van het programma bekijk, heb ik het idee dat ik me wel ga vermaken daar en met veel inspiratie terug kom op de School, om daar uiteraard  het geleerde in de praktijk te brengen. Ik verheug me ook op de keynote van Obadiah Greenberg, van YouTube Strategic Partnerships.

  Maar het duurt nog even. Ondertussen even aan mijn Welsh werken.