Effective strategies for applying multiliteracies in collaborative

							Effective strategies for applying
multiliteracies in collaborative
learning environments
http://tinyurl.com/m4ow6
     Vance Stevens
     Petroleum Institute
     METSMaC Conference
     March 16, 2006 Abu Dhabi, UAE
The UAE context
Hooked to the Net by Manal Alafrangi,
 Gulf News, March 2, 2006 -




    http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/03/02/10022377.html

                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
The survey

   In the UAE, 1,384,800 people use the Net
   It was a YouGov survey
   779 UAE residents answered questions on
    their online experiences.
       33% Arab expatriates = 260 (rounded, estimated)
       33% Asian expatriates = 260
       16% Western expatriates =125
       18% remaining ??? UAE Nationals?? = 140

                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Findings: VOIP and blog proclivities
   ―As many as six out of 10 respondents said
    they are familiar with the term VoIP.‖
       “When it was explained, an overwhelming nine out
        of 10 said they found it appealing‖
       ―With the inevitable increase in awareness and
        improvement in technology, some say restrictions
        on VoIP usage will be difficult to maintain.‖
   ―more than half the respondents were
    supportive of blogs once it was explained to
    them (with only one in 10 respondents being
    unsupportive).‖
                     Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                      Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Findings: Chat proclivities
   Net primarily used as a medium for
    communication (chat, e-mail, VoIP and
    blogging)
   ―Almost half the respondents engage in
    online messaging‖
       ―some (especially respondents aged below 21)
        considering it a good way to make new friends‖
       ―only 19 per cent of Western expatriates agree
        with this opinion (24 of the 125)‖
    (I think it’s good for making friends of professional contacts …
    http://www.homestead.com/prosites-
        vstevens/files/efi/chat2005/chat2005.htm#elderparty_marquee

                         Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                          Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
What is (are?) multiliteracies?
From: http://www.pkp.ubc.ca/multiliteracies/index.php
   ―The term multiliteracies was coined by the
    New London Group (1996) to highlight two
    related aspects of the increasing complexity
    of texts (reference):
       the proliferation of multimodal ways of making
        meaning where the written word is increasingly
        part and parcel of visual, audio, and spatial
        patterns;
       the increasing salience of cultural and linguistic
        diversity characterized by local diversity and
        global connectedness.‖
                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Aspects of Multiliteracies
Stuart Selber. (2004). Multiliteracies for a digital age. Southern Illinois University Press




Multiliterate individuals can, for example …

   develop file-naming schemes that can be searched meaningfully
   write effective email messages
   participate appropriately in asynchronous discussion
   analyze currency, authority, and reliability of website content
   generate visual images that represent data relationships
    accurately and convincingly
   situate technology in social, political, and economic contexts

                                Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                                 Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Connectiveness  Connectivism
   George Siemens: Connectivism:
    A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
    http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
    ―The pipe is more important than its content‖
   "At first people used to say it's not the e that's important, it's the
    learning. I don't think that's true. I think it's the e that's important.
    It's networking, it's management, and it's learning how to deal
    with computers." - Jay Cross, in Abu Dhabi for an eMerging
    eLearning Conference, quoted in the Gulf News, Sept. 13, 2004,
    p.6
   George Siemens: Connectivism: Learning as Network-Creation
    http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/nov2005/seimens.htm

    This last has implications for curricula …

                           Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                            Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Implications for curricula?
From: http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/nov2005/seimens.htm

   ―Instruction is currently largely housed in courses and other
    artificial constructs of information organization and
    presentation. Leaving this theory behind and moving towards a
    networked model requires that we place less emphasis on our
    tasks of presenting information, and more emphasis on building
    the learner‘s ability to navigate the information—or connectivism.
   Blogs, wikis, and other open, collaborative platforms are
    reshaping learning as a two-way process. Instead of
    presenting content/information/knowledge in a linear sequential
    manner, learners can be provided with a rich array of tools and
    information sources to use in creating their own learning
    pathways. The instructor or institution can still ensure that critical
    learning elements are achieved by focusing instead on the
    creation of the knowledge ecology. The links and connections
    are formed by the learners themselves.‖
                          Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                           Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Manifestations in curriculum
Examples …
 The Multiliteracy Project in Canada
  http://www.pkp.ubc.ca/multiliteracies/
 Cheryl Oakes‘s blog (an example of putting it all
  together) http://coakes50.suprglu.com/




                  Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                   Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Impact on TEACHERS
4 questions to ask ourselves:
 Do we teach what we know (already)?

 Or what we should know (and others appear to be
    discovering)?
   But how do we figure out what is important
    enough to teach? (given the plethora of information
    available)
   How do we learn new concepts ourselves,
    new techniques, well enough to teach them?

                    Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                     Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
How can TEACHERS stay current?
Costly, time-bound
 Attending conferences / presentations

 Enrolling in face to face courses

 Enrolling in online courses

Free, any-time
 Becoming involved in Communities of
  Practice
 Harnessing Pull information technologies as
  opposed to Push
               Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Communities of Practice
   A community of practice forms when participants in
    an online community evolve a working relationship
    that leads them to focus spontaneously on shared
    tasks and problems
   Constructivist
       zone of proximal development established
       scaffolding enhanced through developing interpersonal
        relationship of the participants
   Model constructivist techniques to use in teaching
   Friendships develop, affective filter diminished
   Training is by-product of queries, discussion

                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Communities of Practice for IT

   Webheads in Action, hundreds of members
    since 2002 http://webheads.info
   TESOL sanctioned EVO (Electronic Village
    Online) each January to March
    http://www.tesol.org




                 Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                  Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Pull information technologies vs Push
What IS a blog and why is it PULL?
 It runs on ‗blog‘ software installed on a server
  somewhere
 It allows postings

 It archives postings

 It allows comments to postings

 Crucially, it generates an RSS feed
  This is WHY is is ‘pull’


                     Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                      Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Pull vs Push – RSS

   Jay Cross: Push and Pull, Informal Learning
    February 8, 2006
    http://internettime.com/wordpress2/?p=14
   Will Richardson
    Gave up daytime job to become full-time blogger
    RSS Quick Start Guide for Educators
    http://www.weblogg-ed.com/rss_for_ed



                     Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                      Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Info Management - Aggregators

Allow you to PULL information as preferred
 Several available; e.g. Bloglines

 Stephen's Bloglines links:
  http://www.bloglines.com/public/downes
 Suggestion:
    Have students address some assignments in
     blogs,
    have their postings appear in your / each other‘s
     aggregators as they are made
                   Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                    Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Why blog?
   Anyone can publish
   Students have a voice, an audience
   For both students and teachers:
    conducive to Communities of Practice
   For serious bloggers: Instant communication.
    Echoes reverberate around the world, literally
   An up-to-date and critical literature emerges
    Spontaneous, creative commons

                  Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                   Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Are blogs the new literature?
   Stephen’s Web http://downes.ca (in hiatus)
   Will Richardson, Weblogg-ed
   Jodie Fraser Edublogs
   Harold Jarche’s Conversations at the intersection
    of learning, work & technology
    http://www.jarche.com
   James Farmer
   George Siemens
   Jay Cross, Internet Time Blog
   Etc.etc.
    (easily found in Google searches and references to one
    another)
                     Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                      Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
What kinds of BLOGS are there?

   ‗Standard‘ blogs like Blogger
   Photo blogs like Buzznet
   HTML Blogs like Live Journal
   Audio blogs
   Video blogs
   Podcasts



                  Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                   Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Podcasting characteristics
   Work through blogs
   Essentially, audio postings to blogs
   Thus, can be harvested through RSS
   Can be downloaded for listening later
   Podogogical resources
       Randy Meredith’s Podogogy
        http://www.podagogy.com/pedagogy.html
       Learncasting & Podogogy in Language Teaching [03-04-
        2006] by Graham Stanley, Allan Carrington and Randy
        Meredith
        http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?go=1151315


                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
The Voice
   Michael Coghlan: Is Voice Online for You?
    http://users.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/mater/easy_voi
    ce.htm
   Michael‘s Podomatic voice synthesis test:
    http://michaelc.podomatic.com/entry/2006-01-
    19T05_36_13-08_00
   Finding your Voice Online – An Inquiry into the Use
    of Online Voice Applications in Higher Education by
    Michael Coghlan
    http://www.elearn.wa.edu.au/kt/edition05/download/
    Coghlan.pdf

                    Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                     Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Podcast and other voice examples

   Aiden Yeh‘s
    http://www.aidenyeh.podomatic.com
       Students post speeches
       others respond with recorded comments
   Odeo and Springdoo
    http://odeo.com/a/UE66smL4kL3flKZHCP6f8i
    bGLmlwQ8PO5iK4xjff/#cmnt6800



                     Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                      Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Other content managers

   Moodle e.g. Multiliteracies for Collaborative
    Learning Environments
    http://www.opensource.idv.tw/moodle/course/view.p
    hp?id=23
   Elgg e.g. http://www.eflbridges.com
   Facebook (see Wikipedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_(website)
   Bedo (see Emma Duke-Williams, Show and tell online:
    http://www.tech.port.ac.uk/staffweb/duke-
    wie/blog/?p=390

                    Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                     Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Content management and CoPs

   What do Learning Mgm‘t Systems do?
       host some kind of content
       Provide teachers means of manipulating content
       provide means of access of that content
       Track student progress
   Foster communities when they:
       allow users to maintain their own profiles
       associate faces with events
       allow tagging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us
       It might host user‘s blogs

                         Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                          Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Characteristics of content mgmt 2.0

   Free
   Open Source
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software
   Creative Commons
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons
   You can set them up on your own server …
    Venny Su. (2005) An Open Source Portal for
    Educators. TESL-EJ Vol. 9. No. 1, On the Internet
    http://tesl-ej.org/ej33/int.html


                    Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                     Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Web 2.0  eLearning 2.0
   Links to lists of tools:
     Graeme Daniel, Web 2.0 and Education (Feb 14, 2006) in
      WWWTools for Education
      http://m.fasfind.com/wwwtools/m/2756.cfm?x=0&rid=2756
     Stephen Downes From EduBlogs to the Collective
      Consciousness: Director's Cut
      http://downes.jot.com/WikiHome
    Some I use
     YahooGroups e.g.

      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/efiwebheads/
     Frappr e.g. slide show at http://wiaoc.org

     PBWiki; e.g. http://baw-06.pbwiki.com/



                       Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                        Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Other technologies
   Tony Vincent’s
    http://www.learninginhand.com/
   iPod-learning
    http://www.epic.co.uk/content/resources/white_papers/iPod.htm
     Duke University, in the US, has distributed iPods to 1650 new
       students, pre-loaded with useful orientation information.
     Students can download from the Duke Web site, similar to
       iTunes, where they will find orientation schedules, audio books,
       language lessons, lectures, even the University song!
   Curtis Bonk’s OOPS, Did I mean to share that: Opensource,
    Opencourseware, and the learning objects of tomorrow
    https://www.elluminate.com/site/pmtg.jnlp?psid=d2036466210.34
    8289  (recorded presentation with numerous examples)
   Kerry’ Hargreaves’s
    http://web.mac.com/kerryhargreaves/iWeb/Site/Photos%202.html

                         Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                          Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
Conclusion
   Those concerned about the decreasing half-life of
    information see little point (apart from the pleasure
    of paging through glossy photos) in subscribing to
    magazines or any other media that has a production
    run that delays news getting to you when you can
    get instantly updated constantly through the
    blogosphere.
   The blogosphere has emerged as the library of
    quality and of record, and it's not all text, but
    decidedly multimedia (aud-blogs, video-blogs).
   Being multiliterate means knowing where the
    library IS in the first place, and then organizing
    access to it, then utilizing and interacting with it.
                    Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                     Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006
PP 107: Multiliteracies for Collaborative
Learning Environments
This presentation has been developed over the
  course of two years teaching online in the
  TESOL Certificate Program: Principles and
  Practices of Online Teaching
 http://www.homestead.com/prosites-
  vstevens/files/efi/papers/tesol/ppot/portal200
  5.htm
 Presenter information:
  http://vance.webheads.info
                Vance Stevens - Petroleum Institute - UAE
                 Abu Dhabi - METSMaC March 16, 2006