eLearning 07: an exemplary model of elearning practices
eLearning O7 was much more than just a 2-day conference, but an event that had engagement before, during and after it. The event was a total learning experience that generated a rich pool of resources.
This event was the culmination of shared experience from the 2007 LearnScope Projects. The NSW LearnScope team demonstrated how teaching and learning can be done through a myriad of innovative and simple networks and connections.
Leading up to the event
blogging, podcasting, tagging, aggregating, texting, creating
The NSW LearnScope Blog hosts lots of links to keep teams abreast of developments with other projects, and with current elearning issues and ideas.
Throughout the LearnScope projects, teams and individuals posted their key results into NSW LearnScope wiki. Robyn Jay and Alex Hayes took every opportunity to connect to teams, podcasting and blogging about what was happening out in the field.
All teams were encouraged to post photos to www.flickr.com and tag their photos with nswlearnscope07. On a recent check there were over 1280 photos of NSW LearnScope projects.
‘Jokaydia’, a learning space within Second Life, was built up for the online conference experience, with signs pointing to keynote activities and a display of posters that replicated those at the real life event.
it's worth checking out how the Learnscope team used Protopage to publicise the event. Postings, feeds and info all about guest presenters and relevant topics.
Leading into the event participants were sent text message welcomes to their mobile phones, with an encouragement to "check out www.protopage.com/elearning07"
Team members created slidecasts about their project or anything they learnt during their projects. A slidecast is an online presentation built in the SlideShare tool that HAS a sound track accompanying the visual presentation. Why not see and hear the wonderfully varied and informative NSWLearnScope07 Slide casts.
At The Event
Connections, Reflections, Presentations & Collaborations
I was really impressed by Jilda Simpson’s Welcome to Country. Jilda (Deputy Director of Nura Gili Indigenous Programs at UNSW) made such a strong connection with the past, the land and what we were doing. Jilda was happy for me to quote some of her Welcome.
"Between an 8000 year old campsite located on the grounds of the Prince of Wales Hospital, down to our oval, which was once a freshwater wetlands, the grounds you'll be walking on today are indeed well trodden by people who gathered here for the very purpose you all are - to benefit from the knowledge of others, impart your own experiences and ideas and to leave again on your own journey's back to your own homelands, communities and places of work"
"As visitors, of which I am one, I hope you can join with me today as I draw strength from the Cadigal people, as I work, learn and yarn on their Eora land".
Challenging the norm for Conference Format
In the quest for new and better strategies for engagement, this year’s event broke away, for the second year running, from past formats of static displays and talks. Instead the format combinined team posters, panel sessions, product launches, varied workshops and international guests online. It was a daring real life event, combined with networking opportunities online and via mobile messaging.
Team Posters
Static display goes mobile and into SecondLife
Teams shared their practice through A4 posters. These were compiled into books, which were distributed at the and blown up as wall posters. Posters displayed mobile phone details, enabling connection to network at the event and beyond. The posters were also on billboards in “Jokaydia” in Second Life.
Panels
Facilitated panels provided a series of informative and engaging conversations with varied perspectives and opinions.
I managed to get to three of the nine panel sessions and was impressed by the content. Panels consisted of members of 4 – 5 different LearnScope teams and guests, who all brought their experience and understanding to the table. To hear the podcasts visit the NSW LearnScope Blog
In Panel 8 ‘That’s Deep’ – “Can we achieve deep critical thinking in a torrid online landscape of bite sized and momentary interactions with others?” Dorothy Waterhouse from NSW AMES had the audience engaged in text messaging and sending images of the event directly to http://txtme007.tumblr.com/page/2 (As images change on this site, please scroll to November 1 to see the varying visual perspectives of this panel)
Framework Products Profiled
The Copyright Kitchen site has wonderful resources. Check it out here.
Vanessa Tuckfield from Copyright Kitchen explained much of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of copyright and intellectual property to a rapt audience.
ARED (Application for Rapid ELearning Development)
“AREDv2 is an elearning development tool designed to allow teachers and trainers, with little more than basic computer skills, easily build their own online resources.”
I spoke to various people who attended the workshop with very mixed responses to the product and what it can do. So best to check it out for yourself.
YOLA (Your Online Learning Assistant)
A team from Homesglen TAFE created this FREE 'Toolbox' which focuses on Numeracy support as its example. . From my understanding of the demonstration, it uses metadata to link to pop up resources to support key content in an e-learning resource, such as a Toolbox. The product needs technical expertise to embed in a learning resource, or it can downloaded and switched on to function when needed.
Immersing into Second Life
Open hands-on workshops Sean Fitzgerald supported an ongoing open workshop for conference participants to engage in this virtual world with a constant flow of participants throughout the two days walking, talking and flying through the virtual world.
Presentation - "the educational potential of virtual worlds" - This presentation by Sean Fitzgerald, was the most enlightening for me. Sean shared a variety of examples of how educators are using Second Life as a teaching tool. One fascinating example was of students studying immigration. After having interviewed parents and friends who had immigrated in real life, they were then immersed in Second Life where they experienced and explored their own feelings as ‘immigrants’ in a world where they couldn’t talk or move as they were used to.
Overseas guest speakers shared their experience as educators. Sean’s PowerPoint (within Second Life) gave a myriad of further examples – a Hair Salon with role playing of interactions, meetings, conflict resolution and more; Theatre design and simulations of seating and back stage with public performances. Virtual acting and recording; watching with others a live broadcast of rocket launches by NASA, to name but a few.
Presentation - Cooking up a storm
"Cooking up a storm in education and in Second Life" with Barbara Dieu (linking in from 
South America), was the culmination of the 2-day event and had mixed responses from the audience. It was a challenging and high-risk undertaking which involved international elearning gurus such as Barbara Dieu, Alan Levine, Nancy White, Dave Pollard and others presenting online to the live audience. Connections were made with the audience via Mobile phone messages containing provocative questions.
Did it work? Well for those online it would have been more engaging... as part of a static onlooking audience it was harder to feel so connected. There were drop-outs from the other end, so conversations were at times cut off or slow. Marg O’Connell had the very challenging job of linking the live audience with the Second Life attempting to link in with Barbara Dieu and other online participants and behind the scenes there were many workers determined to make this part of the event work.
Were the risks worth it? Definitely... all innovation means taking risks. It opened the eyes of participants to what is already possible, what lies ahead for us as technology in the virtual world grows, and what,for many, is already ‘old hat’, especially for many of the current youth already immersed in online gaming.
A mass of information to follow up
There is no excuse for missing a drop of what went on at the event! A huge effort by the Stephan Ridgeway and Robyn Jay who over the weekend following the event had every session and presentation podcast and up on the NSW Learnscope Blog. The blog site continues to grow with postings of slidecasts and educational tidbits.
Huge congratulations to the NSW Learnscope team for the mammoth effort to make this event such an innovative and engaging event. Make sure you engage with the elearning podcasts, links, mashups,and networks. It is ‘never too late’ to be part of the learning.