mbogle Member since April 7, 2008

In preparation for his upcoming presentation at the 2009 Open Education Conference in Vancouver this August, Alan Levine has begun to gather individual accounts of what happens when you live and work in the open. As such he is hoping people will come forward to share their personal accounts of what open education and [...]

I’ve seen references to the Society of Geek Advancement for several months but haven’t been motivated to mention it until tonight when I saw Peter Black post this same video on his blog.
Initially I wasn’t really sure what the “I am a Geek” thing was all about, but reading into this a bit further, it [...]

Just in the last two days I’ve decided to make some fairly sweeping changes to the commenting system on this blog and have installed the Disqus Comment System. This video is a basic overview of what Disqus is, how you set it up (primarily from the standpoint of self-hosted WordPress blogs), as well as [...]

The explosion of mobile devices has gone a really long way to freeing computer users from their desks, and letting them roam in the open, while still engaging and collaborating in many of the same ways they do in more traditional computer environments. Yet there are other ways as well by which you can [...]

[Image: cc licensed flickr photo shared by Yahya Natanzi]
It’s been a pretty amazing fortnight for both world news and social media. The ongoing unrest in the wake of Iran’s Presidental Elections has captured a great deal of the world’s attention in several key ways that I’d like to reflect on.
Foremost, these events are a [...]

I’m in the midst of a serious nostalgia trip this afternoon thanks to a variety of sites that have enabled me to watch The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby Doo, and a slew of other classic cartoons from the 70s, 80s and earlier. It’s a really nice way to revisit elements of my youth, when [...]

I’m still pretty sick at the moment and seriously weak in my intellectual capacity, so I don’t have much to offer today. Instead I’d like to offer the video embedded above, which captures Brian Lamb’s “The Urgency of Open Education” from the 2009 Teaching w/ Technology Idea Exchange (TTIX).
It is always a pleasure to [...]

I just discovered a really handy way of creating (very) basic video tutorials and slideshows that I wanted to pass along.
Lisa Lane recently indicated she couldn’t figure out how I’d configured Facebook to import my Delicious bookmarks and I decided to put something together quickly to show her what I’d done. The problem is [...]

It’s a very interesting time to work in educational technology. The explosion of diversity in cloud computing services and other freely available social media tools, such as blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking, virtual worlds, communication and media frameworks, is so extensive that individuals now have at their disposal an incredible degree of flexibility [...]

Making SlideShare Slidecasts
View more presentations from Mike Bogle.

This presentation is a demonstration and overview of SlideShare Slidecasts. Please press the green play button to start the audio.

Believe it or not, one of the primary tasks I’ve been assigned at the moment is to investigate the functionality in Blackboard Learn, evaluate how it works and how it can be harnessed to support learning and teaching. You can imagine my excitement. At the same time I recognise the opportunities in this to expose users to 3rd party tools located outside the walled garden. So I’m looking at this as a challenge to see how many holes I can pierce in the bubble, and actually enable the light of day to shine through.
The inspiration for this clip was the discovery that - at least based on what we’ve seen so far - system administrators seem to be the only people who can create new RSS feeds in a Blackboard course. Instructors seem to have access to only those feeds that already exist. I really, really hope we’re wrong about this, because if we’re not it’s a really dumb limitation. Anyone who can assist or point out where I’m wrong, please speak up. Fortunately there are workarounds, and this video demonstrates one of them.
The video covers use of Netvibes to create course portals that aggregate disparate pieces of data and content streams. The Netvibes page (such as this one) can then be added as an external link to a Blackboard course, whereby it is loaded in a frame within the course. This is intended to be a demonstration more than a training video, so I cover a fair amount of territory and at quite fast pace, so if you have questions or want me to go back through specific aspects more slowly please let me know.

Believe it or not, one of the primary tasks I’ve been assigned at the moment is to investigate the functionality in Blackboard Learn, evaluate how it works and how it can be harnessed to support learning and teaching. You can imagine my excitement. At the same time I recognise the opportunities in this to expose users to 3rd party tools located outside the walled garden. So I’m looking at this as a challenge to see how many holes I can pierce in the bubble, and actually enable the light of day to shine through.
The inspiration for this clip was the discovery that - at least based on what we’ve seen so far - system administrators seem to be the only people who can create new RSS feeds in a Blackboard course. Instructors seem to have access to only those feeds that already exist. I really, really hope we’re wrong about this, because if we’re not it’s a really dumb limitation. Anyone who can assist or point out where I’m wrong, please speak up. Fortunately there are workarounds, and this video demonstrates one of them.
The video covers use of Netvibes to create course portals that aggregate disparate pieces of data and content streams. The Netvibes page (such as this one) can then be added as an external link to a Blackboard course, whereby it is loaded in a frame within the course. This is intended to be a demonstration more than a training video, so I cover a fair amount of territory and at quite fast pace, so if you have questions or want me to go back through specific aspects more slowly please let me know.

Policy makers, this video deserves your undivided attention for several critical reasons.
First, and foremost it is a clear example of how technically savvy some students are today, and how comfortable they are working with different technologies. While contemporary research literature increasingly suggests the notion of “the digital native” is an incorrect label for an entire generation, and there is in fact a wide spectrum of comfort and experience levels with technology, the fact remains that a distinct sample of the population - epitomized by the creator video, iBellix - knows more about technology and how to work with it than you do.
For this sample, as demonstrated in this clip, your precious internet filters are little more than an inconvenient hurdle that is easily overcome by some creative and innovative thinking. Think about it. This is just ONE example of a work-around. I would hazard to say that there are many more where this came from.
I encourage you to think long and hard about why you are resorting to these filters. What is the logic? To keep them safe? To mitigate institutional liability? To maintain their attention on the archaic instructivist models that see them sitting passively in rows memorising and regurgitating facts that are completely irrelevant to them outside the classroom, and quickly forgotten after assessments and exams?
I say to you that students are learning in schools, but perhaps not what you expect or desire them to be learning. They’re learning to game the system, to determine how to predict what’s on the test so they can ignore everything else; how to stack the deck in their favor. They’re learning that obtaining high marks is the reason you go to school; that it’s about having the certification or the diploma, rather than an exploration of the learning experiences and cultivation of expertise these symbols are supposed to represent. They’re learning that school is something that you endure, and th

Given my role in the TELT project as an eLearning Researcher and Educational Technologist, I should probably preempt this post by saying the opinions and perspectives contained here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of UNSW, or the individuals in the video. Basically this isn’t a formal media release; they’re just my thoughts and experiences.
This video was posted just this evening on the UNSW eLearning Channel at YouTube and I thought it was worth sharing. This is primarily to establish a point of reference regarding the landscape I work in at UNSW, but also as an indication of some evolving perceptual changes in educational technology with regard to distributed frameworks and freedom of choice; and equally significant, the fundamental relationships these factors share with the learning and teaching processes.
The clip features Robyn Jay (@robynjay on Twitter) and Director of my unit, Learning & Teaching @ UNSW, Professor Stephen Marshall and provides an overview of the Technology Enabled Learning & Teaching (TELT) Platform at the University of New South Wales.
In light of the discussions that emerged during last week’s SENG meeting (formal name STILL pending), it would appear that the trend at least at many local institutions is for a reduction in available technologies, rather than the increase we’re exploring at UNSW.
Importantly, this video discusses only the technologies that are expected to be formally supported at an institutional level. There is also the expectation that usage of cloud services will emerge as well - and this is recognised as a valid activity. The main distinction here lay between what is expected to be centrally supported, and what is not. Indeed it is also assumed that schools and faculties - even individual academics - will be exploring additional frameworks on their own, or at the local level. This too is seen as as completely reasonable activity.
The ultimate importance is how these frameworks can empower a

I just finished watching this inspiring presentation by Seth Godin from TED 2009 and wanted to briefly reflect on the implications of it all. So much of this presentation resonated with me that I can’t discuss every single point in detail, so instead I might expand on the overall feeling I leave this presentation with. I recommend spending the next 17:23 minutes watching this video - it’s well worth it.
What I find so inspiring about this presentation is the notion that every contribution is valuable; every action that seeks to affect change and resolve a matter of concern is a worthwhile endeavor - no matter how small, no matter how many or few people who engage in the quest as well. It’s only through action that change can occur, and according to Godin, the vehicle for change is now the tribe.
Godin argues that this pursuit of change is fundamental to who we are, saying “…what we do is we try to do is change everything. We try to find a piece of the status quo, something that bothers us, something that needs to be improved, something that’s itching to be changed and we change it. And we try to make big, permanent, important change.”
Further, he argues that change is most effectively pursued and achieved through the efforts of tribe.
“It turns out that it’s tribes, not money, not factories that can change our world; that can change politics; that can change large numbers of people. Not because you force them to do something against their will, but because they want to connect.”
He continues that we first find something that needs to be improved or changed: “what we do for a living now…is find something worth changing, and then assemble tribes….It becomes far bigger than ourselves; it becomes a movement.”
Significantly, Godin argues that you don’t need everyone to affect this change and mobilise movements, you only need a core group of dedicate, passionate people who tirelessly keep the momentum going and over time the movement

In light of the innaugural meeting of the SENG network (formal name STILL being discussed) yesterday, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to reflect on what took place, what was discussed, and throw in a few words on my interpretations and opinions .
We dropped the ball on recording the event
I’m very sorry to say that we largely dropped the ball on recording and broadcasting the event. I’m hoping to catch up with Robyn (and anyone else who’s interested) to determine the most effective ways of capturing and distributing the discussion more widely, and thus making it more accessible.
In my view this network should be open to anyone interested in participating - regardless of their location. My hope is the fairly comprehensive notes outlined in this post will help provide an overview of what took place. We’ll try to having something set-up next time that will cater to remote participants. My apologies for anyone affected by this.
A fairly diverse turnout
Despite some last minute changes in the list of attendees we still had a fairly strong turn out of 14 to 15 people. Near as I can tell the sectors we represented included TAFE, university, and one or two people who work across all levels of formal education. So all things considered the range was fairly broad.
That said, UNSW had the highest percentage of participants - there were 7 of us, including 3 from Learning & Teaching (Belinda, Giedre, myself), 3 from the faculties (Andrew, John Paul and Emma), and 1 from the L&T portfolio in central IT (Robyn).
It was expressed and fairly unanimously agreed that the group’s planning spaces should sit outside the domain (DNS) of any one institution - thus encouraging a feeling of independence, equity and equal opportunity & representation. So the current planning page on the UNSW TELT Wiki is seen as temporary only, pending the finalisation of the group name, which perhaps not surprisingly hasn’t yet been agreed upon.
What’s in a name?
The topic of naming th

Dean Groom is currently streaming the SICTAS Symposium in Sydney via Ustream.TV (or at least he was - the feed seems to have gone down) via http://www.ustream.tv/channel/edtechshedtech
This is a very interesting use case of how a collection of different technologies can be combined to present a fairly cohesive view of a live event. We are (or at least were) able to watch the even live via Ustream, read up on the background and planning via the wiki, hold discussions via Twitter with both local participants (such as Dean) as well as others no present, aggregate and syndicate the Twitter conversations using an RSS feed for the hashtag #sictassy, collaborate on a live document via an EtherPad document and ultimately reflect on what was discussed on blogs, tying them together via a common tag.
For a semi-live feed of the Twitter discussion you can also go to the Tweetchat room (Twitter account required). Tweetchat aggregates all tweets based on a designated hashtag, and filters out everything that isn’t tagged with the same term - much like the Twitter Search Results. It also, however updates and refreshes every few seconds so you are shown the most recent tweets automatically. The room’s hashtag is also added automatically to anything you post from within the room.
Events still going though, so I’d better get back to the action.
UStream.TV feed

Flickr Set by Education.au

Screencast of Interactivity
I just recorded a quick and dirty screencast of the different elements/tools currently being used to engage in the discussion. The video is available on YouTube, Blip.TV (embedded below), or as a download.
If you would like to download it please see the podcast feed.

Purdue Tlt 09 Robbins
View more presentations from Sarah Robbins.

This is by far the best presentation I’ve viewed in l don’t know how long. The use of pop-culture references to Lego and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as well as historical accounts of a real battle is incredibly effective in articulating the author’s argument and contrast between the inclusive, people-driven new media landscape and the heirarchical, authority conscious realm of academia.
97 slides is normally an unbearable amount to get through, but the multi-dimensional, highly visual nature of the content and how incredibly relevant and hysterical it’s presented makes this a brilliant presentation.

This clip appeared in the “Recommended for You” category on the default YouTube page and I’ve just spent the last 15-minutes watching it. It’s a truly fascinating clip - in part due to its snapshot of the sociology and emphasis on gender roles of the era in which it was made (1947), but most significantly due to the similarities the “don’t” section (beginning to 8:00) bears to contemporary teaching practices.
In my view, given this video was produced in 1947 - that’s 62 years ago - the fact the same classroom dynamic remains largely intact to this day is a travesty for learning and is a clear indication of how firmly rooted the industrial model has become in education. The degree to which control and discipline overshadows a nurturing learning environment; the power struggles between an apathetic, largely unified student cohort with a single instructor; the singular flow of information from one to many; the threats and detention as a perverse, yet unsuccessful, means of maintaining student attention; the lack of personal relevance to the student - all of these struck a familiar chord.
Sociology, educational culture and technology
In terms of the significance that overarching social elements and culture play in the success or failure of the introduction of technologies or new ways of working to the classroom, this clip provides several significant implications. In the context of elearning, it highlights the idea that throwing a collaborative or reflective technologies into a classroom environment such as this is to virtually ensure its failure. The prevailing atmosphere, mood and social dynamic is diametrically opposed to open discussion and mutual respect; and a nurturing ecosystem where students feel empowered to stretch their own comfort levels or areas of understanding simply does not exist.
Upon what basis, then, can we expect that a medium that operates in a paradigm of free-flowing dialogue, interactivity and networked learning will succee

I ran across an interesting conversation on Facebook earlier today that’s lead me to reflect on the current debate about laptops and portable devices in the classroom, their effectiveness, and criticism by some of how much of a “distraction” they are to learning.

“Dude this guy is painful!”
Someone I follow on Facebook posted a pair of extremely insightful statements in which she confessed to being:
“…totally on facebook during class right now. hey, anything to stay awake and survive this pharm lecture.”
Shortly thereafter she received several comments of affirmation and agreement from people who have obviously had similar experiences.  To these she responded “Dude this guy is painful!”
I was immediately struck by the question: “Is this use of Facebook and laptops during a lecture the cause of the students distraction and their apparent lack of interest, or it is it instead a symptom or effect of a much larger issue.”
An Escape
It seems clear in this instance that the student resorted to Facebook as a means of passing the time during a lecture that was completely uninteresting to her.  And based on her final statement - “Dude this guy is painful” - the source of her disengagement can be clearly attributed to one element: the instructor.
Now I won’t go so far as saying that all student disengagement and browsing of websites during class time can be blamed on “painful” instructors, however I would argue that the presence of an engaging instructor is an extraordinary motivators for participation.
Richard Buckland
Moreover as the example of UNSW Computer Science Lecture Richard Buckland illustrates, the combination of an engaging instructor and empowering technology can have incredible results for student participation.
In the following YouTube video (55 minutes), Buckland discusses the motives and logic behind his decision to implement wikis in the classroom, their nature and use, and the results that have been re...