User:Vtaylor/Learning Spaces

Learning space - defined by entries in an aggregation of WikiEducator study guide pages. Sequence may be indicate by top-down section location in individual study guide pages. Personalized presentation of learning objects aggregated from WE study guide pages about a topic.
 * /Science example/ study guide - too broad, but demonstrates the idea
 * Mobile learning study guide - mobile learning intro
 * /Moodle: teaching with/ - discovering features, methods and tips for using Moodle in teaching


 * study guides - wiki pages - outline, linear progression, links, descriptions, learn more... additional resources at this level not directly in path
 * harvester - builds database from pages - links, sequence
 * personal learning space - presentation, display
 * provide link - get previous, next and similar based on "known" sequences
 * select topic - get sequences - combined, selected source
 * provide feedback - works as is, suggest sequence changes, need for additions
 * visualize as a map - http://www.text2mindmap.com/

What's different about this
 * wiki format - simple to construct as part of "doing business" gathering references for teaching and learning
 * scalable - no practical limit to the number of entries, pages, hierarchies, creators, users
 * educator-generated - connectivist - use for own teaching, share
 * learner-generated - constructivist - product of own learning
 * community of practice - collaborative

Assumptions
 * top to bottom sections are progressive, increasing complexity / difficulty
 * links in the same section are related
 * learn more.. links are enrichment on the same or similar topics
 * links to OERs including full courses, open textbooks, as well as individual articles, lessons, media clips

? additional info ? template with selections, category
 * learning space profile - who, why
 * learning object - what - course, article, video


 * You only learn what you almost know

study guides - connections between web resources - OERs, learn nodes that suggest routes for learning
 * I want to know this but how do I get here from what I do know? - backtrack through the path to some solid ground
 * This is interesting. What are some related topics? - same complexity or knowledge base, related topics of interest, recommendations, similar sources
 * Show me more complex issues associated with this topic - progressively more difficult, build on this

Now there is a critical mass of open educational resources (OERs) and considerable interest in (re)use, rework, remix and redistribution. So what? There needs to be some mechanisms to find and use these in some meaningful way. There is a significant benefit to be gained by learners (and their instructors, mentors and tutors) by building out networks or collections based on related OERs.


 * you are here - web address - unique identifier
 * what's this - type of resource (text, image, audio, video), subject, tags, category
 * who dun it - owner, creator, author, maintainer, remixer
 * similar
 * previous / prior
 * next / beyond
 * meta - difficulty, popularity

Anyone can "record" and share study guides or chains of links.
 * background information / prior knowledge required
 * similar information
 * more advanced information

With a search capability based on tags, categories, usefulness to the display, tutors and volunteers have another source of assistance.

Personal learning space - dynamic content populated with links to interesting and important learning objects built from aggregation of study guides.

inputs
 * openLearning content - OERs, OpenUniversity - repositories, collections, individual resources
 * Learn nodes - learnodes.com - recommended, summarized, should have some related links
 * OER promotions, highlights - "ads" for OERs - OpenX

Complexity and direction

 * acknowledging and embracing ‘emergent’ learning – you don’t always know what you don’t know ..more

More complex than lists or links, some learners sometimes need recommender (peers and SMEs with similar interests, tastes), sequence (previous, next, background, more advanced), related links (side trips), serendipity (browse / graze threads - like flipping through Scientific American - different topics but similar readability, assumed background knowledge...), dynamic subscriptions (approximate equivalent to blogrolls, newsfeeds that evolve with time and use)

Anyone can create a path for any OER. Think restaurant reviews, only better. Like a meal with a course in each of five different restaurants listed in Yelp.com for OERs (restaurants), related subjects (neighborhood), sequence (meal courses), guides (reviewers) and learners (diners).

Getting started


 * study guides - the main OER with links to some additional resources - background for this OER, more depth on this topic (learn more...), similar topics. Tag as social bookmarks. These can be retrieved and posted dynamically by their tags.


 * learn more - links to more advance topics, related topics, broader context

profiles
 * learner - interests, progress, use rating
 * creator - links to profile, other study guides created, community recognition
 * virtual tutor, instructional designer, curriculum developer, guide, mentor, facilitator, subject matter expert (SME)

connections - learners personalized learning space
 * starting point, general direction or goal
 * creators I like
 * guide selected / directed
 * dynamic population of suggested paths based on all of the above - RSS, ...

== Expanding / condensing learning networks ==
 * dialogs to create scripts for dynamic feeds as new sites are tagged with a specific tag or set of tags - delicious already provides this function


 * contributors by tag - dynamic blogroll based on who is adding bookmarks with specific tags

Personal learning space - dynamically populated as sites are tagged and learner refines needs and interests
 * tone / readability - news, magazine, academic journal
 * depth - overview, general information, advanced topics / details
 * sources / people - anyone, trusted, credential
 * tag count - most / fewest tags
 * learner feedback - usefulness rating, perceived characteristics of sites viewed from links provided

WikiEducator
 * categorize and tag OERs
 * ?? RSS feeds and/or learn nodes - embed in wiki page

== Learn more... ==
 * http://grsshopper.downes.ca/ -
 * eduglu
 * ROLE - in comments - one day after starting this page, boom - here is something similar with a better name --16 October 2008
 * SocialLearn
 * OpenLearn - Maxwell's equation