Keynote presentation for ASI 2010, York University, Toronto, Ontario - August 2010. Mashup of several presentations. More info available at http://couros.wikispaces.com/asi2010

1. How Informal Learning Networks
Can Transform Education
ASI 2010 - Toronto Ontario - August 2010 - Dr. Alec Couros

2. #asi2010

3. me

5. The Blur

7. “Web 2.0 tools exist that might allow academics to reflect and
reimagine what they do as scholars. Such tools might
positively affect -- even transform - research, teaching, and
service responsibilities - only if scholars choose to build
serious academic lives online, presenting semi-public selves
and becoming invested in and connected to the work of their
peers and students.” (Greenhow, Robella, & Hughes, 2009)

8. journey
(short version)

9. “given enough eyeballs,
all bugs are shallow”
(Linusʼ Law, Raymond 1997)

11. “Open source software
communities are one of the most
successful -- and least
understood -- examples of high
performance collaboration and
community building on the
Internet today.”
(Kim, 2003)

12. “A key to transformation is for the
teaching profession to establish
innovation networks that capture
the spirit and culture of hackers -
the passion, the can-do,
collective sharing.”
(Hargreaves, 2003)

16. open / connected

17. • philosophical stance
• power & control
open(ness) • access
(short version)
• design attributes
- privacy/publics
- transparency
- accountability

18. open(ness)
(short version)
open education
free software
open source software
open educational resources
open content
open access publication
open access courses
open teaching
open accreditation

19. • pedagogical & pragmatic
stance
connected • knowledge exchange,
curating, wayfinding,
(ness) crowdsourcing,
(short version) collaboration, problem
solving
• personal learning
network/environment
(PLN/PLE)

20. shift

21. “Tell me ... what it is I am
educating and what sort of world
we live in, and I will tell you what I
am aiming at.”
(Garforth, 1962)

23. Knowledge

24. Questions
• what is k?
• how is k acquired?
• how do we know what we
know?
• why do we know what we
know?
• what do humans know?
• who controls k?
• how is k controlled?

28. Free/Open Content
“describes any kind of creative work in a
format that explicitly allows copying and
modifying of its information by anyone, not
exclusively by a closed organization, firm, or
individual.” (Wikipedia)

31. Media

33. connected reality

37. Stats as of March 17/10 via Mashable

38. personalization

40. parents as pirates

42. the reality?

43. Networks

44. “Understanding how networks
work is one of the most important
literacies of the 21st century.”
(Rheingold, 2010)

45. social networks
• redefine communities,
friends, citizenship,
identity, presence, privacy,
publics, geography.
• enable learning,
communication, sharing,
collaboration, community.
• networks form around
shared interests &
objects.

46. the utility of networks

47. (re)shaping collaboration

48. divide

50. issues

51. Inappropriate Content

52. http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/searchspy

53. “Some of the comments on
Youtube make you weep for the
future of humanity, just for the
spelling alone, never mind the
obscenity and naked hatred.”
@leverus
(Lev Grossman)

54. Verifiability

56. Identity

60. “You are not Facebookʼs
customer. you are the product
that they sell to real customers -
advertisers. Forget this at your
peril.”
(Greenberg, 2010, via tweet)

61. Privacy/Ethics

64. Kyle Doyle is not going to
work today, f*** it, I’m still
trashed. SICKIE WOO
Cisco just offered me a
job! Now I have to weigh the
utility of a fatty paycheck against
the daily commute to San Jose
and hating the work

66. literacies

67. “...the set of abilities and skills where
aural, visual, & digital overlap. These
include the ability to understand the
power of images & sounds, to recognize
& use that power, to manipulate &
transform them pervasively, & to easily
adapt to new forms.”
(New Media Consortium, 2005, on ʻnew literaciesʼ)

68. - new media are texts
- information is abundant
- surge of multimodal/multimedia expression
- authorship increasingly complex
assumptions - social contexts collapsing
(short version)
- potential audience expanding
- social connections important
- technology tends to be deterministic
- digital reputation management vital to citizenry
- wayfinding, sensemaking, curation,
participation, production vital to literacy

69. danah boyd
pay attention to ...
•Properties: persistence,
replicability, searchability,
scalability, (de)locatability.
•Dynamics: invisible audiences,
collapsed contexts, blurring of
public & private spaces @zephoria

70. 1. coding competence
(the ability to decode texts)
(Adapted from Four Resources Model,
Freebody & Luke, 1990)

74. 2. semantic competence
(the ability to make meaning)
(Adapted from Four Resources Model,
Freebody & Luke, 1990)

80. 3. pragmatic competence
(functional literacy)
(Adapted from Four Resources Model,
Freebody & Luke, 1990)

82. Professional Identities

86. http://mediagirl.org/node/1535

87. 4. critical competence
(ability to select, analyze & participate in texts)
(Adapted from Four Resources Model,
Freebody & Luke, 1990)

92. finding inspiration

93. Example #1 - Connecting to Experts
@kathycassidy

94. Example #2: Publishing in the Open
ps22chorus.blogspot.com

95. Example #3: Use of Public Content
@christianlong

96. Example #4: Educator as ...

97. Example #5: Portfolios

98. Example #6: Social Reading

99. Example #7: Global Mentoring

100. Example #8: Real-time Feedback

101. Example #9: PD Anytime/Anywhere

102. Example #10: Remix/Mashup/Repurpose

103. The Big Ideas
• Learning networks redefine
how knowledge is created,
distributed & managed.
• Informal educator networks
are becoming increasingly
important and will redefine
teaching, learning, and ProD.
• The future of learning is open,
connected, & social.

104. Donʼt limit a child to your own
learning, for he was born in
another time. ~Tagore
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