#EDCMOOC Artifact

Compared to the standard of work evident  by other submissions seen so far, this is a very mediocre attempt at producing an artifact for the EDCMOOC assignment.

Human vs Machine

However in reflection, the challenges that I have faced have been in using the technology tools for the first time namely Storify, YouTube Videos, TED, and Flikr.  Though this experience I have developed far more confidence in trying out different tools and communicating my ideas through this medium.

I have learnt so much from viewing others Blogs, occasionally plucking up the courage to comment. and have been inspired by the skill and creativity of so many who have produced such innovative and inspiring Artifacts.

Aritfacts Exemplars

Examples of Artifacts that inspired me.

1.  Ron Leunissen:

Video: Vision of K- 12 Students today.

Using the tool Slideshare:
ttp://www.slideshare.net/nordreams/the-meaning-of-two-words-16789655


Comic Artifact:



http://Pixton.com/ic:2jr178zc

DAVID using Prezi

http://prezi.com/3kqigxovqtcr/david/

making room for the human in e-learning

This Prezi is a response to some of the themes of the e-learning and digital cultures course run by the University of Edinburgh through Coursera. There is a voiceover on most of the slides.

http://prezi.com/cnemhwcczmvp/making-room-for-the-human-in-e-learning/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/116967860906905648378

Resourses

Prezi Examples:

Murally: Being Human
https://beta.mural.ly/!/#/emicortina/1361141982367



Goggle:

TOOL  Pixton for fun

http://www.pixton.com/login?redirect=%2Fcomic%2F2jr178zc

Week 4 Popular Cultures

This week we have been discussing Trans-humanism.  This refers to the movement towards the development of new technologies to enhance human life (something that my son is passionate about).

If AI will instructing humans

VIDEO:

Robbie  video depicts a robot with what I would consider are human like qualities, feeling emotions like happiness or loneliness; need to have friendships; creative,  talks about choosing a faith,  works independently, is self aware, take responsibility, is rational etc. I guess he is no different to a human apart from not having skin, bones and flesh.
However does that mean that humans are machines once we substitute our flesh or metal and machinery?

Initially Robbie was under the control of a human but then he was given his own artificial intelligence.  It reminds me of the Planet of the Apes where humans were always considered of lesser superiority due to the intelligence of the apes.


Gumdrop Short Film:

The personality and communication skills of Gumdrop appear human like presenting a utopian view of robots.  She is obviously a machine but her design is human like with endearing human like qualities.

 True Skin video is exactly where my mind was going to next.  When is a human body that is made up of machine not a human. Where is the distinction between man and machine.  I think of 'blade runner' competing in the Olympic games against others without prosthetic s   When is it not OK for a person with non organic body parts to compete against 'organic' human competitors?

I feel especially taken by the concept of being able to retrieve our memories to retain our humanness.  It is particularly worrying to me thinking of people who have no memories eg Alzheimer's
and question the quality of their life.


Video Avatar Days:
 Interesting depiction of the merging of life for online game players of Warcraft with their avatars and the blurring of the real and imaginary world.

 Blog comments I found interesting:

1. It seems that, for a transhumanist, society can take control of technology and use it to enhance ourselves so as to learn more, or maybe better.

Ref: http://elqueencuentrabusca.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/edcmooc-week-4-so-what-does-learning.html

Week 3 Video Reflections

Video World Builder:

Q: What ways does it position ‘the human’ in relation to the technological? What does it say about ways in which human emotion can be manipulated by digital simulation?

The message in the video stated the potential of humans to find ways to connect with those  that they love,  and use their creative imagination to build a world that enables us to connect.

Video 2 There made of meat:

Q:What conclusions might you draw from this about the human body, and whether we can see the body as providing a stable basis for defining what it means to be human?

 

 

 This video reminds me of the discussion I recently had with my son as to when are we human? Is it when our heart stops beating or when we are brain dead, or when our sole has left our body.

 

For me being human is about being able to connect, have and express emotion, or  have conscious thought. 

 

Will it be possible in the future to freeze our brains and to become alive again, with a different body made of 'meat' or machine?

 





#EDCMOOC Week 3 Defining Humanity

Video:

Humanity 2.0: defining humanity - Steve Fuller’s TEDx Warwick talk (24:08), http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/podcasts/media/more/tedx?podcastItem=steve_fuller.mp4

 

Steve Fuller asks have we always, sometimes or never been human?

• I was interested in Steve's views that we should not ignore the 'big questions' that still need to be answered from the 70's ie having failed in the humanist project in achieving racial, gender or class equality.
• He asks - "have human beings left the building".
• Coursera says " Thinking about education specifically, might we see MOOCs as an example of an ‘old humanistic project’, particularly in the promise they appear to offer for democratisation, equality of access and so on?"
• Yes this would probably suggest that it is one strategy to create the equality of access to education.  However although there are over 40,000 participants, how many are from lower socio economic, or disadvantage backgrounds

Reading:

Shirky, C. (2012). Napster, Udacity and the academy. shirky.com, 12 November 2012. http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy

Quotes I found though provoking:

• Comparisons of changes to music industry and potential effect for impending change on our educational system.
• MOOC questions:  what it is, who it is, how it is delivered and who delivers it?
• "Blistering public criticism makes an open system better".
• Open education will "raise quality and certification faster than traditional institutions can lower costs or increase enrolments.

"At a minimum, a student is someone for whose education you have assumed some personal responsibility. You have a vested interest in your students’ progress, and your own success as a teacher is related to their success at mastering the course material you have designed"

Read more:

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/10/29/essay-how-moocs-raise-questions-about-definition-student#ixzz2KTsgqQiI
Inside Higher Ed

• "The kind of dedicated and innovative teachers typically drawn to MOOCs will find it very difficult to ignore the demands of online learners who act and feel like, well … students."
• Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the degree to which a sense of connection with an individual instructor, one who models the project of intellectual inquiry, is a key dimension of many students’ motivation"
• If we allow the word "student" to lose its primary meaning as a person formally engaged in learning through enrollment in a school or college, a person toward whom that institution and its faculty assume some responsibility, then we undermine the case for colleges and universities as the place where students go to meet their educational goals

It seems clear that the spaces, formats, and media in which higher education is offered may change radically in the coming years. We will certainly need to adjust our terminology to keep pace with these changes. We must not lose sight, however, of the central axis around which all education revolves. Classroom walls may disappear as predicted, lectures may go the way of the dodo bird, but what will still define education is the presence of (a) a teacher, (b) students, and (c) a set of agreed-upon goals that they work toward together.

 

Read more:

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/10/29/essay-how-moocs-raise-questions-about-definition-student#ixzz2KTubQ4Ih

Inside Higher Ed

• Why have we stopped aspiring to provide the real thing for everyone

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/12/06/essay-critiques-ideas-clay-shirky-and-others-advocating-higher-ed-disruption#ixzz2KTwSFylr

Inside Higher Ed

Blog Comments:

 Phillip Holden: EDCMOOC -- are the students and teachers human?

Phillip raises some interesting points ie. he sees this MOOC as providing an opportunity for lots of enrichment, information, software to learn and things to read but not "the  kind of intense intellectual engagement and debate that really produces knowledge in class.

I would agree that I feel like I am floating around aimlessly picking up little snippets, reading and making comments here and there but not really challenging my thinking.  This is occurring more with my in person conversations that I am having with my son in sharing my learning experiences.

Connecting and sharing

These are a few ideas that show what others are doing OR suggesting.

Blog:
http://daryahayes.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/free-on-line-tools/


Video:
Bruner  Constructivism in Education:

#EDCMOOC Week 2 Looking to the future

I am starting to relax into this on-line existence and developing a routine to focus on EDU MOOC and my e-Learning Adviser training.

The first activity for the week:

A Day Made of Glass

Visions of the future appears in this video depicts and exciting and integrated world.  I am relieved to see that children still physically meet together in a collaborative learning environment where they appear to be actively engaged in their learning and interactions with the teacher and peers.
It is an

Video: Productivity Future Vision (2011)

Both video's depict a utopian view of technology and how humans determine how and when they utilize this into their world.  I wonder what might happen though to humans if the technology is for some reason 'disconnected' after we have become so reliant on it to help us through our daily lives.
I must say I am excited

Strategies I am using to Connect in the MOOC:

1.  Refer to my MOOC circle Google+
2. MOOC News
3. Read Tweets as appear on week MOOC  page 2

 

Insights from Bloggers

a) Felicia made the suggestion of the importance of "distilling the essence of your ideas into a compact tweek, blog title or discussion title" so that others may find your topic for further discussion.
http://www.feliciasullivan.net/?p=443


b) Random Ramblings Blog
Tips for MOOC:
1. Prioritize - choose Google+, Coursera platforms.
2. Skim - locate the topics that interest you.
3. Group-up - try quad blogging groups (4)
4. Organise - find a tool that helps keep notes in order - MS OnNote
5. Have fun

http://ilzele.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/how-to-survive-a-mooc-in-5-easy-steps/

c) Dave's Blog : Success in a MOOC

As suggested by Dave in the last week I have moved through the Orient and Declare stage and now endeavouring to build up my  Networks.


 Ways to Keep Track of Digital Information – A Resolution for 2013

This is a great blog to refer to at a later date.
http://resourcelinkbce.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/6-ways-to-keep-track-of-digital-information-a-resolution-for-2013/

Video:  Charlie

This video had an underlying dystopian view of a futuristic life of a 13 year old.  Control, compliance, monitoring, subservient, were all words that came to me. Technology provided the vehicle to oppression.
However Charlie had a utopian outlook, view of being an 'adventurer', optimism, strength in convictions, risk taker and very brave to take such drastic steps as to cut off his finger to remove the chip.
A very well produced and thought provoking short film.

Video: http://vimeo.com/46304267

This showed a more sinister and dark side of influence of technology - definitely a dystopian perspective.  I felt uncomfortable with the analysing and scoring of the interactions between the man and his date.

Video: Plurality

Great short film sci-fi depicting how technology "replaces freedom with the illusion of safety".  Again it portrays the fight against evil with accessibility to time travel.

Ideas and interpretations

Core
Johnston, R (2009) Salvation or destruction: metaphors of the internet. First Monday, 14(4). http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2370/2158

• "Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argued that our speech, thoughts, and actions are based upon metaphors. These metaphors are so entwined in our lives that they are invisible to us; however, since our conceptual system defines our reality, we only understand reality through metaphor"

• “Metaphors … are lenses which refract current cultural beliefs and values. They not only provide a prism through which to understand consumption behavior but, in their use/instantiation by individuals, are creative ways of seeing.” [5]

• To identify metaphors, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) provided three main types of metaphors: structural, orientational, and ontological.

 

Structural = ideas used for one another;

Orientational = locating metaphors in physical experiences;

Ontological = abstract ideas given in physical form.

Perspectives on education

Shirky, C. (2012). Napster, Udacity and the academy. shirky.com, 12 November 2012. http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy/

Bady, A. (2012). Questioning Clay Shirky. Inside Higher Ed, 6 December 2012. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/12/06/essay-critiques-ideas-clay-shirky-and-others-advocating-higher-ed-disruption

These two pieces fit together as an initial opinion piece (Shirky) and a critical response (Bady). Together, they provide a good overview of current debates about MOOCs, expressing hopes and fears about what a digital revolution in higher education might be like. 

Video: Google I/O 2011: Ignite

A few points I picked up from this video:
a) Video depicted in movies eg social media leads to social revolution.
b) The word NO eliminates the experience, warning signs sanitise the experiences.  You need to know your level of risk tolerance.
c) Suggestion to be approachable: provide a reason form people to talk to you, form a group, be a speaker, give away 'free shit'.
d) 30 day challenge: your time is more memorable.

Shared Blogs

1. Amanda Evans Blog

Interesting article which provides a bit about MOOC.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/opinion/sunday/friedman-revolution-hits-the-universities.html?pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me&_r=0

Marc Prensky : Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf

Summary of Week 1

Personal Reflection:
This has been a big week with commencing both the 'Effective On-line Facilitation' for Swinburne University, and MOOC E-Learning for Digital Cultures as part of Coursera.
I have felt overwhelmed initially adjusting to the e-environment as a place to connect with 'real' people.  The experience of posting to strangers either linked through the 20 participants on the  Swinburne discussion board;  or by commenting on  some of the posts I viewed from the  40,000 participants in the MOOC.
Overcoming my fear of posting was the first hurdle.  Making written comments that made sense, that I hope would be responded to in a positive manner, or were of a standard worthy of being 'published'.  The second big step was to allow myself to have a digital identity, providing a profile about me, or through  providing my blogs available for all to see in the MOOC.

My main challenge has been to try to manage the shear volume of new information and create some order to retain what I need.
1. I started with using One Note to keep track of action items, assessment, and good ideas that were coming through from Blogs and Tweets.

2. I decided to focus on getting a handle on the features available through Google+ rather than Tweet and began to connect with various people through their Blogs.

3.  I started to investigate a number of new e-tools including and how these may be useful to me.

• Synch Tube  http://www.synchtube.com/
• Slideshare  https://www.slideshare.net/login
• Storify  http://storify.com/login?next=%2F
• Scoop.it  https://www.scoop.it/login

4. I worked through the weekly activities for the course viewing the following videos.

Bendito Machine III:

The Inbox:

I responded to a number of  blogs posting my comments and selecting various people to follow.  I found this to be a big first step for me and a strange concept in making connections with strangers from across the world. I

5.  Google Hangout
https://plus.google.com/104505101854214069712/posts/CWiFuN7FdBY.

I managed to get up early but miss calculated the time difference so only watched in asynchrony  view but still posted my comments .  I found it of value to see the lecturers and get to know them a little through the video rather than just written communication.

E-learning and Digital Cultures by Jeremy Knox, Sian Bayne, Hamish Macleod, Jen Ross, Christine Sinclair

Core Reading:
Chandler, D. (2002). Technological determinism. Web essay, Media and Communications
Studies, University of Aberystwyth. Download as PDF.

Chandler’s web essay explores the concept and history of technological determinism, which he defines as ‘seek[ing] to explain social and historical phenomena in terms of one principal or determining factor’ - technology. Chandler calls this theory ‘reductive’, and points out that as a way of understanding social phenomena, reductionism is often criticised as being overly simplistic. This is especially the case when determinists become ‘technocentric’ - ‘trying to account for almost everything in terms of technology'. He introduces concepts such as ‘reification’; ‘autonomy’; and ‘universalism’, as elements of technological determinism. Importantly for our purposes, he also indicates how we can identify when a determinist position is being taken, even if an author or speaker doesn’t make it explicit:

The assumptions of technological determinism can usually be easily in spotted frequent references to the 'impact' of technological 'revolutions' which 'led to' or 'brought about', 'inevitable', 'far reaching', 'effects', or 'consequences' or assertions about what 'will be' happening 'sooner than we think' 'whether we like it or not'.

The resources below contain some language like this, and you will probably start to notice it elsewhere. The relationship between technological determinism and utopian and dystopian accounts is one we’d like you to consider and discuss as you engage in the readings and films during the rest of this week and next week.

Perspectives on education
Daniel, J. (2002). Technology is the Answer: What was the Question? Speech from Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa, Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, 27-29 May 2002. http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5909&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
In this decade-old speech, Professor Daniel, at the time the UNESCO Assistant Director for Education, offered the view that ‘in all parts of the world evolving technology is the main force that is changing society’ (a model technological determinist position, you’ll observe!). He argued that, despite popular opinion, education was not exempt from these changes, nor should it be. Indeed, technology could solve the three most pressing problems of education: access, quality and cost. His praise of open universities directly prefigures the current fascination with MOOCs, and you will recognise many of the same arguments about economies of scale at play. He asks his audience to be critical in assessing the claims that are made about educational technology and what it can accomplish. Using Daniel’s four “b”s - bias, bull, breadth and balance - what observations can you make about his utopian arguments about education? What currency do they continue to have in this field?

Noble. D. (1998). Digital Diploma Mills: The Automation of Higher Education. First Monday 3/1. http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/569/490
Noble’s piece, still a classic 15 years on, shows just how long debates about the consequences of digital education have been circulating. In contrast to Daniel’s speech, the orientation here is clearly dystopic. Where Noble frames ‘administrators and commercial partners’ as being in favour of ‘teacherless’ digital education, and ‘teachers and students’ as being against it, these divisions have never been clear, and they certainly aren’t now. Why does Noble say that technology is a ‘vehicle’ and a ‘disguise’ for the commercialization of higher education? How can we relate this early concern with commercialism to current debates about MOOCs, for example? And how are concerns about ‘automation’ and ‘redundant faculty’ still being played out today?

And there’s more....
You may find it interesting to return to two very well-known pieces of work which have been, in their way, highly influential in the field of online education, and think about them again in terms of the perspectives we’ve been looking at. What kind of determinist position do they take? To what extent are they utopic or dystopic visions of the future? Why have the ideas they represent been so readily taken up and distributed within all educational sectors?

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9/5. http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf
Sparking extensive debate, while working its way into common usage, Prensky’s metaphor of the native and the immigrant is one of the best-known accounts of the effects of the digital upon education. Offering a narrative of ‘native’ young people’s seamless integration with technology, and the revolutionary changes that information technology has brought, Prensky warns ‘immigrant’ teachers that they face irrelevance unless they figure out how to adapt their methods and approaches to new generations of learners. When reading this paper, try to identify the strategies that Prensky uses to make his argument - how does the language he uses work to persuade the reader? Who are ‘we’ and who are ‘they’? What associations do you have with the idea of the ‘native’ and the ‘immigrant’, and how helpful are these in understanding teacher-student relationships?

Video:
The Machine is Us/ing Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=NLlGopyXT_g