The EdTech Bach

One my objectives for 2008 is to provide the conditions for a community of practice around e-learning to grow on our campus. We have many excellent examples of e-learning in the classroom and online, but so far haven’t really had a platform for sharing that knowledge & experience.

First things first, obviously sharing “knowledge, methods, stories, cases, tools, documents” as described by Wenger is impossible if staff members don’t even know about each other’s existence. So we’ve set about establishing the needed connections. Monthly e-Learning Lunches began in the middle of 2007 and have a growing and loyal attendance (yay!). I’m also trying to introduce practitioners to each other just-in-time. Recently I invited one of our Business & Computing lecturers, to demonstrate her online course to a group of lecturers who are just making the first steps in putting their courses online. I say demonstrate, but what I really wanted was for her to show off, because she & her colleague really challenged themselves, always focusing on keeping the course flexible, project-based and learner-centred. The course looks great, and the demonstration was much appreciated by the lecturers.

Unfortunately, I got so busy that shock, horror, I forgot to thank Kim properly. About to send her a thank-you note, I reconsidered, a. it’s kinda lo-tech and b. doesn’t match my tactics this year. I’ve been getting excited about the concept of viral professional development as described by Jennifer Jones (aka injenuity) as I see VPD as a factor in the creation & maintenance of our community of practice. So starting today instead of notes, e-cards or chocolate fish (very popular in New Zealand) to say thank you, I will instead undertake a little hidden VPD and share a cool tool, neat resource or activity idea that I know matches what they are working on.

Here’s my thank-you for Kim, created in Sketchcast explaining my limited understanding of the concept of a critical path. (Note: a little glitch, I could only get Sketchcast to record audio in Internet Explorer, not Firefox.)

JoMcLeay just blogged about our Trans-Tasman collaboration this evening. Much happier experience for the Aussies than for Amanda S and myself on the Kiwi side. By Twitter invitation from Sue Tap aka sujokat, we played with Tokbox, a free online videoconferencing system, which doesn’t require an account for those invited, just gives you a url to share. Should be easy-peasy.

Unfortunately it kept echoing, even with echo regulation on, sometimes hearing yourself back a minute and a half later. And the others’ volumes kept alternating between crystal clear and deathly whispers. Predictably bad when people were talking at the same time. We concurred that Tokbox could really use a chat function, to exchange advice about improving settings when sound is off. Now we were polluting the twitter-stream (sorry tweets). As the Aussies were chatting happily, Amanda and I left early.

Simon B said”different – random strangers on a video call”. To me being on Tokbox tonight was reminiscent of when you were 11 and your parents took you to an acquaintance’s house on a Saturday evening. You’d be introduced to their children and expected to just get on with it. Like then, there were some initial moments of just staring at each other. Then a little bit of shy laughter, followed by more staring. But once you discovered your shared interest (Lego back then, now Ed Tech – still playing with toys) the ice was broken and you felt totally comfortable with the others, to the point that you were happy to make a fool of yourself.

Very lo-tech communication

I’d be up for trying out some more tools across the Tasman. Tools Tuesday anyone?

Only just found out (start of the academic year down under and swamped with course requests & staff support, I’ve been blocking out blogosphere and the twitterverse) but absolutely thrilled to be named Twitku champ. Twitku is one of my favourite Twitter projects and aching to show it to our teachers as I think it could be a neat in-class project for our ESOL students.

All that is a long-winded way of saying:

thanx/@twitku/575 xj

Although I follow the blogs of Will Richardson, Alec Couros and D’Arcy Norman with great frequency (much better than my gym attendance), their perspectives don’t necessarily match the state of educational technology in our New Zealand context. This wiki site is a listing of all known Kiwi educators who have blogs and/or podcasts and one way of discovering new Kiwi edubloggers. Feel free to add your edublog. Open to Kiwi edubloggers living abroad or edubloggers living in New Zealand.