Learn by doing, doing by learning - Co-facilitating a MOOC

I´m co-facilitating with Eduardo Peirano a very special connectivist MOOC about New Ways of Learning TIOD10. What is really special about this online course?

It was designed thinking about teachers, the everyday-classroom-teacher-with-kids, not the university-theory-researcher-professor. Is a course for the edubloggers without a blog yet (because they dont dear to write one, they dont think they have something to say or dont know to whom they might be speaking). Mostly, they don´t have a blog because they are not ICT teachers, and they don´t have the time or motive.
After working for some years trying to make teachers use ICT on class, we thought: and if we think of teachers as learners? Simple idea, isn´t it?

This course (that we call workshop so they don´t expect teachers from us and we can be facilitators) is inpired in the connectivist CCK09 because is the best example we have of an online course for learning in a chaotic and free and fun atmosphere where knowledge grows between connections and learning is creating your own network. May be, the best way of understanding why CCk09 (an cck08 too) is an inspiration is reading this post that for me is kind of "the bible for teachers online".

cck09: The End --> new beginnings

Last week of the cck09 and last week of the most powerfull year of my life. When I come back from holidays it will be time to start with new projects about connectivism.
See you then.

Our connectivist session

In yesterday session I had a confirmation: free learning happens! (or "from freedom learning emerge" or "learning from freedom emerges"...help me with the English please)

When you raise a child you are told that constrains is needed, you need to give containment for them to feel secure and grow safely. I´m raising a child right now...Is that true?

As a learner I enjoy the freedom I have in cck09. I enjoy it because I´m learning. Freedom doesn´t mean anarchy, clearly the facilitators of the course have designed this freedom enviroment for us, with not traditional constrains (are there any constrains at all? You are not even bound to participate, you can be a total lurker!)

In CCK09 I´ve learnt more than in all the courses I´ve ever done. I may say I´ve learnt more than in many cases at the University, where sometimes I had nothing but constrains.

On the forum Roy makes a distinction between kinds of constrains, ones that allow emergence, ones that don´t.

The question is not whether there were any constraints and sanctions in place in 08 or 09. There were constraints and sanctions in place in both. There are two, linked questions:

1. What type of constraints best provide conditions for emergence? In CAST terms, negative constraints, i.e. constraining what can NOT be done facilitates emergence, and, paradoxically, autonomy. On the other hand, positive constraints, e.g. "you must do 3 assignments on the following topics, in text only, with references, against predetermined outcomes", are most likely going to exclude emergence. [So, does that mean we have to redesign our curricula, completely 'upside down'? Yes, and the design of CCK08/09 goes part of the way in designing 'courses' upside down for the same reason.]

2. Constraints without sanctions are just hot air. So what sanctions should be in place, and i) how can you avoid imposing them, by offering alternatives (diversions, etc), and ii) if you have to impose them, how will you go about doing so, to ensure that they are swift and effective? - And this means there is a 'you' in the picture, (singular or plural) 'you' cant be air-brushed out. To put it plainly: 'freedom is conferrred -either by an authority, or by a consensus, but conferred it is'.

I think that the only limits I have on CCk09 are my own, all I didn´t know and what I don´t know yet. I am learning because I can get over the overwhelmed fase and go to research and to learn from others adn make connections, and hold back my anxiety and keep going at my pace.

So, learning on cck09 is very challenging for learners, i like that because i can learn with big challenges. The question is what happens with learners with learning problems? (And with "learning problems" I mean mostly what I think is the big problem -and a politic issue-: the real learning disability is feeling so confortable within limits made by others).

Freedom works with learning desabilities? May be we can be surprised.

Lets write a "collaborative micro-paper on twitter" for #CCK09

I threw a proposal on twitter:

--> WHAT YOU LIKE MOST OF CONNECTIVISM?

So far, I got this answers:
from @leilanachawati: I like PLEs

from @RolandLegrand:
It helps us understanding macro issues while enhancing personal learning capabilities

from @NicolaAvery - what I like most about connectivism - surprising comments from people that you never imagined

and mine:
I like there is no outside control on learning: is a personal discovering process (with others)

(I don´t know if i think the same now, i will think of a new answer when i finish the course)

Want to leave your answer? Please do so.

I want to write about this...can I?

"Learning is about embracing vulnerability" says Siemens on October 23s´ session

Empowerment. Freedom. It´s interesting that this words are starting to arise. I think we were experiencing them but we were not talking about them. In yesterday session the wheel started to move on that direction: "daring to learn", "making our own decisions as learners" and "embracing vulnerability". After the Elluminate session where finally participants of the course took the mic, a co-learner posted:
-Risk taking & vulnerability in open courses – get over it?
-And Sui Fai commented on Tracy´s post ..."We all support each other especially when we are vulnerable. That sets the spirit of empowerment"... (update: Today Leila´s post is a great example of this)
Then: Siemens thanking us for participating on that session (daring to!) shows that eventhough we are taking a course on the transformation in learning process is not easy for us to be transformed.

In Search of Lost Time - almost 2 weeks outside of CCK09

Reading Nicola´s post about her experience of the course just with her mobile inspired me to write about the experience of the course just without the time for it.

Special circumstances from work made me stay away from my computer, from my emails, and of course, from CCK09. I can´t remember ever been disconnected for so long before, not even checking my emails! I think that never happened before. Even when I gave birth to my child, after two or three days I checked my mails for sure.

To be disconnected was not so terrible ( I was stressed out with all the things that were going on at work) but what worried me was staying out of the course, how would I be able to get back in?

I asked for help. Emapey wrote me an email with a resume of what happened on those days I was away and that is helping me to stay on track. Using emapey´s selection over subjects gives me a general idea and makes me feel confident on going on the way I can.

And this is the lesson: I´m late, but I can join again if I want to. I have many things to read, but if I hurry up I can be able to be ready to follow discussion at the forum soon. The bottom line is: at the end of the course, even people wont be discussing on the forum after the course is finished, the discussion will still be there, the course will still be online, I will still be able to "make my own course" (as Emapey says, my personal and wonderfull guide for CCK09). The readings, links, recordings, blogs, tags will still be there for me. CCK09 is a tailormade course, and I´m my own tailor.

network vs group - week3

a network way of speaking about god: #GOD
a group way of speaking about god: CHURCH
a network way of agreement: RETWEET
a group way of agreement: IDENTITY
a network way of property: CREATIVE COMMONS
a group way of property: SIGN IN
a network way of love: LINK
a group way of love: FAMILY
a network way of thinking: COMMENT
a group way of thinking: LISTEN

DONE! I did a netbio of my learning process

Good exercise: think of the most important learning process you´ve done. Then draw them and try to see the conections between them. Chaos/coherence may arise.

I´ve always done this kind of concept drawings on paper . First time with map softwares. I tried with freemind and xmind, finally did it with the second one.

Spring is coming to my network!

I finally finish reading and viewing and listening the material for week 1 of the CCK09 course.
In terms of Stephen: knowledge is growing...I´m an entity that has been changed by other entities with wich I have made contact.
In terms of George: I´m so excited about all the nodes/people I´m discovering, I´m learning a lot, opening to so many new constelations of conections.
Thank you all for this beautifull first week.
I´m blooming!

Netbio of learning process

Some notes during & after listening Richard Schwier interview to George on Connectivism:
-history of the theory: how I´ve learned? Node. Source. Conections.
-nature of knowledge is conection, then it´s a process...and learning is navigating that network.
-difference between connectivism and other theories: recognition of network
-complicated: education/puzzle // complex: education/weather
-how teachers can use it? Openess + make students understand that active learning is the formation of a conection + don´t give students a pre-created world...give them access to sources in a network, so they can be feed not just in class but after class, and keep current + help them recognize good sources, key sources, good nodes
-"participatory pedagogy" not created in advance but co-created with learners
-a theory about us


This interview inspired me to create the "NETBIO OF MY LEARNING PROCESS". I´m doing it.

notes on my reading / beta version

What Connectivism Is, by Stephen Downes

• I like a theory that draws a line between education and control.
• I understand why people get angry with connectivism: it´s simple!
  
• I like the slogan: "to teach is to model and demonstrate, to learn is to practice and reflect"

"what there is (ie., connectionist networks) is not built (like a model) it is grown (like a plant)"

Extras for this article:
An Introduction to Connective Knowledge
Robin Good´s presentation about the principles that characterize successful networks, Downes´s paper.

I quote things that interested me (reading co-learners)

rom learning by doing to doing by learning – from intuition to innovation,
by Irmeli Aro

Something great about this concept of "doing by learning" is that in "the doing" you already have the evaluation aspect solved, the same for correction. I´d like to work on this items during the course, hope to get somewhere .

Sleepless in Buenos Aires

I´m spending the night reading introductions and differents PLEs from co-learners of the course.
I can´t say anything yet, too much information. I must process.

getting ready: building my personal learning environment

I liked silvia andreoli 's PLE: http://www.netvibes.com/saandreoli#Connectivism_CCK09
I´m building mine: http://www.pageflakes.com/luzpearson
It takes longer than I thought.

First day: CHAOS!!

Before the course started, I had all under control: "the course is about what I already know...we learn making conections, i know that, we work and learn as a community the same way our brain does, yes, sure, i know..." and all the things I could think to myself to make me feel confortable and save in a traditional save place, like for example: a university classroom -I can raise my hand there and ask, and be clever, or be silent, and listen to no more than 10 students that most of the times will make fake questions (they know the answer) I can just be in the classroon...nobody will bother me-.

Yesterday I listen to the first conference: the counter for people getting in elluminate started growing and growing, I didn´t know were to look, chat, links, siemens & downes´voices. I googled CCK09 during the night, and read.

Today, google alerts of CCK09, blogs, searchs, videos, introduction on moodle, tweets...fortunatly I loosed control: I´m confused. I´m in chaos.