Very interested to discuss the 'Hawthorne effect' on the discussion boards today. That in itself could be a fascinating subject for research, vis-a-vis language learning online.

As part of the "Introduction to Digital Game-based Learning", this semester's cohort have been made up of 4 teams of 6 people who will work together as a team to either construct game-based tasks (for others to participate in) or take part in game-based tasks that have been given to us, as well as giving presentations to the other teams.

I am part of "Team 2" who consist of:

• Bill Babouris
• Myself
• Chris Hambley
• Eleisha John
• Marie Leadbetter
• Nicholas Palmer

I am very excited about the potential of group-based activities where the participants are at a distance and working remotely using a range of technologies like discussion boards, Skype and Second Life. It would be good to try a develop some kind of "good practice" guide that can be passed on to others who are also planning on this "virtual" approach to group work.

I feel as though I'm getting my places sorted out - I had something I wanted to say this morning but I felt it "belonged" to my other blog. It's interesting how they feel like different places.  But I've a little niggle; I'm asking myself if I'm being self-indulgent.  The answer is no, not really - there's plenty of space in these places, and my blogs don't displace any other things.  And people don't have to read them.  But I'll find it useful later to see how I write differently in different places.

Today's blogging may be displacement activity (like housework can be - though in my case obviously hasn't been recently).  We have a task to do in response to reading about research design approaches.  Fortunately, this relates to some of the stuff I was reading at the weekend when I was away from internet access.  However, I haven't read it all, just the stuff on ethnography and grounded theory which are probably the most likely to influence me. 

It would be interesting to try to think of different types of design in relation to the same research question and I think I'll tackle the task in this way.  I could perhaps try two research questions: a simple "obvious" one and one that I'm likely to want to consider for myself.  I'm now asking myself whether a tendency towards an interest in ethnography – combined with a resistance to "measuring" complex human things – is likely to determine the kind of research question I'm prepared to pursue.  I am conscious that I need to be more open to the range of approaches.

Currently favouring the idea of researching the impact of cultural factors on online language learning by Japanese. This is influenced by my experiences teaching in Japan and also by Robson Appendix A, which argues for a useful and timely research topic that moves the field forward.

Hamish's reaction to this topic was to focus on "some specific hypotheses of just what factors might be expected to be influential."

Prior to the "Understanding Learning in the Online Environment" module that I undertook last semester, I had used Delicious and Connotea as my principle web services for collecting, storing and sharing bookmarks, news articles and journal articles with my colleagues and interested parties.

On the module, Hamish Macleod suggested that we might like to create a Diigo account to share any bookmarks and resources around how learning could be facilitated through an online environment. The tool is very easy to use and allows you to create lists and groups. I had created a list for the learning challenge that I was undertaking at the time. I am now using Diigo to collect, store, compile and share on anything pertaining with gaming and, in particular, game-based learning - this collection can be found at the following address: http://www.diigo.com/list/heywayne/gaming

This is the first day of this blog and the Research Methods Course and I've also decided to keep a private journal just in relation to the dissertation.  I'll start that today too.  I think this means that my other blog (in Blogger) has to go for now! I don't want to spend so much time reflecting on what I'm doing that I'm not actually doing anything.

But the proliferation of reflection and discussion places is getting me to think about readership/audience.  I like the idea that one (possibly the main) reader is my future self - and that's easier when the blog isn't assessed. So I want to record what's uppermost on my mind in relation to being a student and how that affects what I do as well as who I feel I am.  But this isn't in isolation - the concurrent readership forms the community and context and I am likely to be their readers too.  This is where it differs from my public blog on Blogger, at least as it is to date.

And I want to make my blogs more stimulating for a reader too - so I need to work on that, in particular with more links and visuals.  Perhaps I'll start with a new photo; people will start to see I've been using the same photo for two years.

But for this first day, I'm just checking that it works and I can edit on it etc.  A bit like the digital equivalent of sharpening pencils and smoothing out page 1 of the notebook.  As far as research is concerned, I'm thinking about the online use of language shaping courses in a different way - and that does include non-use of language too.  But it's still very open.

It all started with rats in space but led to the emergence of natural born cyborgs, at least in Clark's eyes (2003).

I have just finished reading his article 'Cyborgs Unplugged' where a Cyborg, acronym for Cybernetic Organism or Cybernetically Controlled Organism, is described as being an 'entity' which captures the 'notion of human-machine merging' or 'human-machine symbiosis'.

Clark's perspective is that these sort of man-machine link ups exist already without the need for puncture, surgery and implants and that they evolve with such a natural form of integration that most happen invisibly and beneath our level of conscious awareness.

This has generated a little debate on our discussion board about machines which can find cars in car-parks and 'man' and 'specticles' working together to 'extend the brain' - it certainly leads to an interesting perspective and one which I feel we seem more attune with 'socially' or in 'everyday digital life' than 'educationally' at present.

Clark already mentions 'Amazon' (or similar services) and how it tracks an individual's reading habits... 'other people who bought the same book you are looking at have also bought the following.....'

and 'Ebay' like services which track an individual's purchasing habits..... 'you might also be interested in......' or 'do you want to see what other things the seller is selling...'

IPODs and mobile phones allow you to take photos, download personalised music and video choices and transfer treasured possesions like this via blue tooth technology (which I have not quite mastered yet but my kids have!) between friends.

We also see this man-machine integration with FACEBOOK.

Have you noticed the flags for 'mutual friends'? The ones you have 'in common' with those you have listed as friends. Or have you noticed the adverts appearing when you log in? I have skiing as an interest in my profile and I get skiing holidays advertised...... ummmmmm!

At work, the portal I log into recognises my login as staff not student and I get access to information students don't see whilst they get access to information on the courses/modules they are registered on and the faculty they reside in. We all get information on our own library borrowing accounts and records.

I can set up alerts on databases to help me keep track of new material published on areas that interest me or subscribe to RSS feeds to help me keep track of new posts to blogs or websites of interest.

Also cookies on machines also act in the same way I guess, shortening processes or recognising you when you login and therefore you do not have to remember your login .......

As Clark says....

'The more closely the smart world becomes tailored to an individual's specific needs, habits and preferences the harder it will become to tell where a person stops and this tailor-made, co-evolving smart world begins.'

This too, I think will be invisible... not so much for others to see, but how we see ourselves..........

A member of our discussion board recently flagged that they do not like changing computer - as the keyboard and set ups are often different. I don't like it because my cookies are not present or my favourites to hand (unless you use delicious). These are 'intimate' feelings and highlight perhaps the 'functioning of the smart world in intimate harmony with the biological brain' that Clark (2003) is talking about?

Bringing it back educationally - spotted the following.... although this appendage is not terribly invisible......... :~) 'Robodoc'

 

Clark, A. (2003) Natural born cyborgs: minds, technologies and the future of human intelligence, Oxford: OUP chapter 1, 'Cyborgs unplugged' pp.13-34.

Robodoc. http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/ [accessed November 2008]

This is now Week 4 of the Learning Challenge (LC) and I've been a little naughty in that I have allowed the "Learner Analysis" assignment to interfere with the LC. The "Learner Analysis" assignment is due to be submitted on Sunday 26th October and I have probably spent more than is actually necessary on it.

I am back on the "I Will Knot" website to refamiliarise myself with the knots that I was practicing before the assignment got in the way. It's amazing how much you quickly forget because you haven't been practicing to the point where it "sticks" or "clicks" into place. At the moment, I am practicing once with the knot with the aid of the step-by-step video and then a further three times without the aid of the video - the trick is to try and repeat this tomorrow without the aid of the video at all!

On the subject of the "I Will Knot" website, I mentioned to a colleague of mine who teaches Chemistry at my University and has just been appointed a Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator for my Faculty that I was doing this learning challenge as part of my MSc and showed her the website I was using. She was most impressed by it - NOT because it showed you how to tie knots in easy step-by-step videos BUT how the idea behind the easy step-by-step videos could be used to show a particular Science experiment / practical to a group of students.

This visual aspect to learning is indeed a powerful motivator, and if done properly it could instruct students better than just reading it out of a textbook.

It's Week 1 of the Learning Challenge (LC) and I have set aside 30 minutes to practice the art of knotcraft. The first website I went to was "Knots: How to Tie Knots"; I was not impressed with the rather short but pedestrian instructions with the naff looking illustrations - if I was having trouble understanding how to tie easy knots, what was it going to be like with the more complex ones?

The next website, "Ropers Knot Page", has slightly longer, but equally, pedestrian instructions with rather confusing looking illustrations that don't do anything to enlighten me as to what I am suppose to be doing. I am beginning to wonder if I have chosen an appropriate learning challenge - certainly the free resources I am using are not explaining themselves very well.

My next resource, "I Will Knot", is something of a revelation to me. It uses a mixture of short, sharp videos and short, but still, pedestrian instructions. But it is the videos that work for me. When it comes to something that involves a motor skill, I am someone who likes to be shown so that I can mimic and keep practicing that skill. In that sense I could be considered as a kinesthetic learner.

This also suggests to me that if you want someone to learn something online, the materials / resources you create will be dependent upon the task / skills / knowledge / information that you wish to convey to your students.

So, do you use drawings, photographs, videos, audio recordings or text to put across something that needs to be learnt? Should this resource be passive or interactive? Can the learner work in isolation or does this require a collaborative / community dimension?

Interesting questions indeed!

I am a little bit a late comer, as just today I have a proper connection... and accessing for the first time the blog. 

My name is Iris Bosa and I am a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. I decided to join the program as I wanted to learn to use the new technology aware that Uni has to provide innovative practice in its education and research dissemination.

Scrolling through the public page I am amazed by our different backgrounds, which makes more exiting the program. I found very interesting the presentation style by Klaus and did not expected to have to thank you for showing your city, Edmonton . Indeed, I will be visiting the Univ. of Alberta in one week and half. Thought this a bizarre coincidence and nice to share with all of you. Wishing to all of us a wonderful fruitful and enjoying course/program!

Best wishes,

Iris