Category: Open Resources

Donna Murdoch, educational technology, Open Resources, social learning

TeachThought51 Twitter Chat & Hashtag Tools To Help You Connect

It’s hard to keep up with them, and new hashtags and chats beyond #edchat continue to pop up.  One every so often it’s good to review a list and see if there’s anything new or revitalized that’s worth following.  TeachThought published this list.  “Twitter chats and #hashtags are exceptional ways to enable the above, allowing real-time and asynchronous discussions and other connections that can help you improve your craft as an educator.”

via TeachThought51 Twitter Chat & Hashtag Tools To Help You Connect.

Donna Murdoch, eLearning, Open Resources, social learning

Engaging the creative workforce

Harold Jarche, a member of the creative economy, shares the difference between “collaboration” and “cooperation.”  For anyone not familiar with this culture, it might be confusing, and the confusion might extend off line into encounters where expectations aren’t aligned.  His article is clear and helpful.  ” Don’t mistake cooperation for collaboration. While there may be a gift economy in cooperatively sharing via social media, you cannot engage in it unless you give gifts as well. For example, you would not show up at a potluck dinner with empty hands. If you need creative or knowledge services, don’t drop in uninvited to the social media potluck, expecting a free meal. Go to the market instead.”

via Engaging the creative workforce | Harold Jarche.

Donna Murdoch, educational technology, eLearning, online learning, Open Resources, social learning

Why You Should Be Tagging Your Curriculum

 

Yes, you probably should be tagging your curriculum.  There are many reasons cited in this article from TeachThought, but in addition to these, remember that open resources such as the Learning Registry, Online Communities of Practices/Connected Educators use metadata that can use these tags for discovery and knowledge building on a much larger scale.

“You probably should be tagging your curriculum.

It’s 2014. It’s time.

Tagging is is the labeling of content based on any chosen criteria.”

via Why You Should Be Tagging Your Curriculum.

Higher Ed, New Pedagogies, online learning, Open Resources

Can Creativity Be Taught? 73% Of Creative People Say Yes

Percentages

I posted an article earlier this month about creativity, as it has become a new academic discipline.  New degree programs are sprouting up, and some of the better MOOCs have focused on design and creativity.  Can it be learned?  We used to ask that question about leadership – are great leaders born, or can they be taught?  Now we ask that same question about creativity.  Can it really be learned?  An article in Fast Company addresses it….. “To that end, a recent poll of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business found that 73% believe creativity can be learned, with many citing the importance of being open to new experiences and unfamiliar ways of thinking–in other words, embracing the mysterious.”

via Can Creativity Be Taught? 73% Of Creative People Say Yes | Fast Company | business + innovation.

Donna Murdoch, Higher Ed, Open Resources, social learning

Course Remix: 10 Tips for Creating a Social Media Class Out of Nothing

There are lots of good ideas in this article about creating a social media class out of nothing, but it does make some assumptions.  My pedagogical upbringing does not tell me “I must know everything” but perhaps “upbringing” is the operative word.  When we were young and in school we felt like we had to know everything.  As we mature, we realize how much we don’t know.  Otherwise a helpful article with good ideas.  “The key to teaching social media classes is flexibility – and a readiness to revamp the syllabus over and over, sometimes mid-semester. Conveying the flexibility to the students is paramount for their continued success.”

via Course Remix: 10 Tips for Creating a Social Media Class Out of Nothing | Mediashift | PBS.

Donna Murdoch, educational technology, eLearning, Open Resources

15 Minute History: Quick History Lessons from a New, Chart-Topping Podcast

I’m one of those people who always wishes I had paid more attention in history class, but I don’t have time to spend an hour listening to a lecture.  This seems ideal, and follows a popular theme which we also see on the Twitter feed @historyinpics with over 1 million followers (run by two teenagers.)  On Open Culture, they have “….over 800 free online courses (including 67 free history courses) listed on Open Culture at the time of writing, and educational institutions continue to upload new lectures every week. Most of the lectures, however, last from 30 minutes to an hour, requiring users to cordon off a block of time for study. Want something shorter? Enter the 15 Minute History podcast, currently the fourth most popular podcast on iTunesU.”

via 15 Minute History: Quick History Lessons from a New, Chart-Topping Podcast – Open Culture.

Donna Murdoch, Higher Ed, New Pedagogies, Open Resources

Why Scientists Should Embrace the Liberal Arts

I am increasingly appreciative of articles that espouse interdisciplinary study – especially between STEM and the humanities.  We need to make connections across domains if we are going to keep up with innovation and its dynamics.  “Science has two important yields: increased understanding of the world within and around us (“knowledge for knowledge’s sake”) and solutions to specific problems. But even the most profound scientific knowledge won’t solve world problems such as hunger, poverty and environmental damage if we fail to respect, understand and engage cultural differences.”

via Why Scientists Should Embrace the Liberal Arts – Scientific American.

Donna Murdoch, educational technology, Higher Ed, Open Resources, social learning

Citizen science draws amateurs into scientific research

Harvard Magazine discusses their collaborative science research initiative – “FOLDIT IS PART of a growing trend toward citizen science: enabling ordinary people, often without formal training, to contribute to scientific research in their spare time. The range of involvement varies. Some citizen scientists donate idle time on their home computers for use in solving problems large in scale (the search for intergalactic objects, as in Einstein@home) or small (folding proteins). Other projects encourage participants to contribute small bits of data about themselves or their environments.”

via Citizen science draws amateurs into scientific research | Harvard Magazine Jan-Feb 2014.

Donna Murdoch, Higher Ed, MOOC, New Pedagogies, online learning, Open Resources, social learning

10 Things I’ve Learned (So Far) from Making a Meta-MOOC

From Cathy Davidson’s article posted on Hybrid Pedagogy about her upcoming (and I believe Higher Ed event of the year,) “History and Future of Higher Education.”  Note the graphic to see the scope of the initiative.

“On January 27th, Cathy N. Davidson launches “The History and Future of (Mostly) Higher Education,” a MOOC connected to dozens of other courses and events distributed across the web. Over six weeks, Hybrid Pedagogy will host a discussion group, codenamed MOOC MOOC Dark Underbelly, a rowdy exploration of topics unearthed by the course and its offspring, a place to examine the deeper (and sometimes darker) issues implicated in these discussions. Our node will include related articles, curated content from participants, weekly #moocmooc chats, and more. Watch @hybridped and @moocmooc for details. In this article, Cathy offers 10 things she’s learned from making her meta-MOOC.”

via 10 Things I’ve Learned (So Far) from Making a Meta-MOOC.