Hi all,

I'm feeling a bit hamstrung at the moment due to the fact that I cant access the 10 minute lectures from home or work. The first four were fine from my steam driven computer at home but the last three I cant open. The format seems to of changed which is frustrating for me. Does anyone have any reasons why.

Two communities

Back again. I've been back and forward to Australia the last three weeks for two reasons.

The first was to the Blackboard Asia Pacific conference in the Gold Coast. What a way to reignite my passion for online learning. The community of online facilitators and their areas of knowledge gives a real insight in to what can be achieved online. I presented at the conference showcasing what MIT are doing online within our trade departments. I have made new contacts with people in Tasmania, Darwin, and Canada and will be looking to keep in contact with these people to share knowledge in the use of online material to teach my students.
The best sessions I attended were presented by a couple from Alberta, Canada who use online games and alternative assessment strategies to engage their learners in their communities of learning, not just for fun but to learn as well. The games were used for Year 4 students in a post graduate programme at the University of Alberta. Once engaged the students were repeatedly going to the computer rooms between lectures to play against others within their community.
I guess it comes back to the simple task of engaging students online in an interactive and fun way to enjoy their learning and giving them a sense of belonging in their courses.

Secondly I spent time with my family community in Brisbane and on the South Coast of Sydney. My parents and sister have been in Oz for over 15 years and it was a good opportunity for my kids to catch upwith their aunty, uncle, and grandparents. A relaxing time for all. Now back to reality and Auckland weather. More to come regarding George Siemens lecture later today.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Another interesting listen last night. The enthusiasim of the speakers certainly motivates and gets the thinking cap on to see how I can get an online community started with my students.
I was taken back a little by her chat about the digital divide about those who know how to collaborate on line and those who don't. Perhaps they don't because they don't want to or don't have the need to. These virtual communities seem to be geared towards the academic streams, so I guess I need to think outside the square for practical training subjects. The advantage is obvious for these collaborations and it could be like having online penpals for networking about new innovations or trends. You can learn from anyone, anytime.
Online collaboration associated with practical subjects will only give knowledge information to the students. How they use this information on the work site could be video streamed onto the discussion boards for all to see.
I do have one concern though with all this online computer work:when do people get out in the real world and live? Second life and other online worlds put people into a virtual world that I assume can take over their lives. This may dissassociate themselves from their close F2F friends.

Nancy White

Interesting commentary by Nancy White. I liked the idea of Twitter(I think)where you can tell your thoughts or get answers to questions from a greater number of people than just those enrolled on your courses. This would work so well in my carpentry trade across the polytechs in New Zealand. There must be a wealth of building knowledge among tutors throughout NZ but getting everyone together physically is a major problem due to work schedules. Online colaboration has to be looked at for this purpose and I must catch up with Matt to talk about this. Encouraging students to show the strugglers how to do things works well for me online, especially those who have limited English and computer skills.
On a separate note, I can relate to the discussion about feeling inadequate online. I tend to struggle with all the word based commentary as I am definitely a visual learner. However I need to understand the rationale of these online processes so I can apply them practically in the online environment.

Back on board

Have been a bit distracted the last week or so, had the flu as well. Can't access Namcy Whites talk here at work so I'll listen at home later and comment tomorrow. And will start responding to other blogs too. My personal community of friends have been busy going to Auck vs Taranaki rugby and Warriors vs Manly league games.

Conrad Glogowski

Listened to Conrad's elluminate session yesterday which was very enlightening. The four parts that should be in place prior to any learning are just as relevant online as they are in f2f teaching. You need to be organised and prepared before you start so that your target audience have buy in to their potential learning.
I wasn't that interested in the persona being important to a community but Conrad's reasoning and discussion shows the importance of the need to have a sense of belonging in a group learning environment.
We need to sort ours out asap.

First Blog

Hi all,

I'm Kerry Brown, programme leader for MIT's Nat Cert Carpentry programme. Been teaching for over ten years after 20 or so years on the building site.

I have two wonderful kids, Todd(11), and Zoe(9) who keep me young when get to see them.
I enjoy alternative/punk rock music, keeping reasonably fit, playing the guitar(learning) and building still.
Looking forward to using this blog and reading others to share thoughts,etc on communities within the elearning sector.

Cheers
Kerry