Wayne, We are just on the third weekly "run" (to use an agile development term) and doing things largely by email and on a blog now. You can look at the first sketches of activities here: http://www.naturalmath.com/index.php?option=com_jd-wp&Itemid=88888917&cat=8
At the first run, families answered three questions about themselves and I put together a list of fourteen activity starters - enough for everybody. People wrote questions, answers and comments, and made up one more activity that week (and I added one more description). At the second run, five more activities came up from discussions; some of them are being tried and tested, one will be added to the collection today. The stories parents tell about their adaptation of activities make me emotional to tears. Here is the functionality list for the multiplication planet, being developed now: - "Blogo-wiki": For each activity, a separate wiki page, WISYWIG-editable by every study participant, accepting rich html, with wiki-style version control and a blog-like comment structure (with individual participant comments) with sevearl types of comments - implemented. - The ability for the admin to transfer comments from the google group and old blog, marking them by the participant's name (to move the content we have so far) - implemented, migrating the content now - Uploading pictures to go with activity story comments - A map of the planet, with each "site" linked to the blogo-wiki activity description (Google Maps would be swell for that, but well) - Each participant registering for the next week's run by selecting an activity from the map or leaving a "registration" type comment under the activity - The history of "visited sites" by participant - a trek on the map linking his or her blogo-wiki comments of the "report" type left by that participant. - The ability for every participant to send "activity recommendations" to another participant, and to see each participants' recommendation list (recommendations are a type of activity comments). I was considering using WE for it, but I don't think the list of features matches the funcionality. I may be wrong about that. So far, it calls for flash (the map metaphor component) and php and Joomla, because that's the site's platform. I think the structure, once developed, will be useful for others, and I will be happy to talk to people who'd like to adapt it to their needs and help them. This may involve pilots of something similar on WE, if I can figure out features. I have several other studies like that in mind for the future: math metaphors for families with toddlers, algebraic thinking for 4-7 year olds, and then algebra and calculus topics for teens and adults. I mentioned it here as an example of an educational system not based on textbook/curriculum/course metaphors. Sorry if it got too far off topic. MariaD On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:34 PM, Wayne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Maria, > > That's a fascinating project. > > Do you have any links to any examples of the activities families develop? > Do the families produce resources/handouts that are used in the learning > activities? What tools do families use to generate and share the activities? > > I quickly scanned the list on google groups -- but admit due to time > constraints, I could easily have missed references to the examples :-(. > > As you suggest -- a wiki is a powerful tool to combine community activity > and engagement with both the creation and use of activities. If you're > interested -- shall we try a pilot? > > Cheers > Wayne > > > On Sat, 2008-12-06 at 06:33 -0500, Maria Droujkova wrote: > > I'd like to describe a system we have started to develop in the family > multiplication study. The "reusable objects" there are "small" according to > "The reusability paradox": > http://web.archive.org/web/20041019162710/http://rclt.usu.edu/whitepapers/paradox.html<http://console.mxlogic.com/redir/?1pd7aqbPab9JBUQsLCzAQsCzBYS0305SNIjAp_w0e02NeZS4rECzB5Ncszv00sr7PVKzvuwTxwDavHqJYqoJItgG7Y3zt-KOUqemnD6rICXCOci5mUmYKOjAImcdXKW8M8PaAWAO3MuW7IMsc5FxUUUMHJyIEjHgCtqF_00gkhHkyvV6dmRGsKrjd7a9EVd79J5ddVZNBddUSUYrdbo2OaO6A6XreIjiWq80nWhEw6mV7Eiwhd46Cy2zt9Xa6A3_d402zhEw30Q2Ph02v3VAaRaCy2k9jBIV6vdPYfDyN-OwrhdLCSnzhO-qen7zhOrk0wQ_6a4>Each > object (or, to using the "discover the multiplication planet" metaphor > of the study - not a Lego metaphor, hehe - a "multiplication planet site") > is a very brief, skeletal description of a project or activity. The only > requirement of an activity design is that it should invite each participant > to create, build, invent and in general author their own mathematics. A few > examples of the current multiplication planet sites: spirolaterals > (sequences, order, rotation can be investigated and designed), snowflakes > (folding, reflection, rotation, contents of each segment), mirror books (an > art project about symmetry and 2d transformations), design your own > multiplication war game (coming up with buff cards and other game rules). > This is the study's mailing list: > http://www.groups.google.com/group/multiplicationstudy<http://console.mxlogic.com/redir/?mjhOCyYOyOrpud7bVEVd79EVvdw0ycqJHkUzmF4_-nMz6HqSaJDPAIvaSPBm59JE5zt-KOUqemnD6rICXCOci5mUmYKOjAImcdXKW8M8PaAWAO3MuW7IMsc5FxUUUMHJyIEjHgCtqF_00gkhHkyvV6dmRGsKrjd7a9EVd79J5ddVZNBddUSUYrdbo2OaO6A6XreIjiWq80nWhEw6mV7Eiwhd46Cy2zt9Xa6A3_d402zhEw30Q2Ph02v3VAaRaCy2k9jBIV6vdPYfDyN-OwrjdLCSnzhO-qen7zhOrk0wQ_6a4> > > Participating families select an activity per week, then describe how it > went for them. Some families design their own, throw in design ideas, or > request a design: "something about World War II" or "whatever we can do > without writing" or "something to help us memorize." Parents describe > themselves and their kids - as an aside, you'd be surprised how little age > correlates with requested level of activities. Technically, after the study > runs for a while, you can collect activity descriptions, edit comments that > go with them, and publish a sort of "multiplication text." However, even if > we exclude the idea that the community designs new activities every week, > one goal of the study is to help future participants plan their own travel > routes on the multiplication planet, based on how previous people selected > activity sequences. I can't see a book providing such a service, because it > involves software analyzing a database. I envision somebody following a > friends' path, for example, or finding a family with similar philosophy and > structure and following their steps, or going from the Snowflake activity to > the Mirror book activity because both deal with symmetry and there are > strong topic connections that a lot of people followed before. I'd like to > see something like Amazon's book suggestions: "people like you read these > books" - except on activity-to-activity basis. It's too early in the study > to tell, but intuitively, it feels like the social aspects of the system > won't be easy, or possible, to capture in a book format. A book may be a > nice souvenir of the past of the study, but it won't provide the services > participation in that community provides. > > This last paragraph is dreaming, brainstorming and wild speculation - > please take it as such. A claim: history and story (narrative) help us > understand and reify past activities for the purposes of planning the future > and dealing with the present. A constructivist claim: "In the beginning was > the deed" - to learn, do. A novice, in addition or instead of "catching up" > on the (dead, reified) past through narratives, can be active in creating > her own actions and adventures in active and adventurous current communities > of practice. This requires tools that support action directly - both > authoring action and social community action. A wiki can be such a tool, a > book - ? > > -- > Cheers, > MariaD > > Make math your own, to make your own math. > > naturalmath.com<http://console.mxlogic.com/redir/?ICzBd5VB5ASOYqenPhOqejhO-r01MSrstflSpfBPt-KOUqemnD6rICXCOci5mUmYKOjAImcdXKW8M8PaAWAO3MuW7IMsc5FxUUUMHJyIEjHgCtqF_00gkhHkyvV6dmRGsKrjd7a9EVd79J5ddVZNBddUSUYrdbo2OaO6A6XreIjiWq80nWhEw6mV7Eiwhd46Cy2zt9Xa6A3_d402zhEw30Q2Ph02v3VAaRaCy2k9jBIV6vdPYfDyN-OwrpdLCSnzhO-qen7zhOrk0wQ_6a4>: > a sketch of a social math site > groups.google.com/group/naturalmath<http://console.mxlogic.com/redir/?1pd7aqbPab9JBUQsLCzAQsCzBYS038NGSJjydqAj_Vv2cqJHp3pJNQZnpAPt-KOUqemnD6rICXCOci5mUmYKOjAImcdXKW8M8PaAWAO3MuW7IMsc5FxUUUMHJyIEjHgCtqF_00gkhHkyvV6dmRGsKrjd7a9EVd79J5ddVZNBddUSUYrdbo2OaO6A6XreIjiWq80nWhEw6mV7Eiwhd46Cy2zt9Xa6A3_d402zhEw30Q2Ph02v3VAaRaCy2k9jBIV6vdPYfDyN-OwrodLCSnzhO-qen7zhOrk0wQ_6a4>: > a mailing list about math maker activities > groups.google.com/group/multiplicationstudy<http://console.mxlogic.com/redir/?mjhOCyYOyOrpud7bVEVd79EVvdw0OcqJHkUzmF4_-nMz6HqSaJDPAIvaSPBm59JE5zt-KOUqemnD6rICXCOci5mUmYKOjAImcdXKW8M8PaAWAO3MuW7IMsc5FxUUUMHJyIEjHgCtqF_00gkhHkyvV6dmRGsKrjd7a9EVd79J5ddVZNBddUSUYrdbo2OaO6A6XreIjiWq80nWhEw6mV7Eiwhd46Cy2zt9Xa6A3_d402zhEw30Q2Ph02v3VAaRaCy2k9jBIV6vdPYfDyN-OwrvdLCSnzhO-qen7zhOrk0wQ_6a4>the > family multiplication study > > On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 10:48 PM, Wayne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Leigh > > In practical terms -- can you describe the teaching-learning system you > envisage in terms of the functions of teaching and elements of the system. > I'm not sure that I understand what you are talking about. > > Cheers > Wayne > > > > > > > On Sat, 2008-12-06 at 14:21 +1100, Leigh Blackall wrote: > > I'm not convinced we are pioneers at all. Illich is significant to me not > for hi Deschooling Society, but for his vision of learning webs. As he > describes it (in chapter 6 I think), Bolivia was rolling out OER in the form > of television. The cost of television back then meant that Bolivia could > afford 1 tv per 5000 Bolivians. Illich proposed a networked communication > through audio cassette recordings. At the time, he proposed that Bolivia > could afford 1 cassette recorder per 5 Bolivians > with enough money left over to set up a postal service to facilitate the > exchange of audio recordings being sent in by farmers and kids. He was > talking about audio blogging, where today the cost of achieving what Illich > envisioned is greatly reduced for us in the wealthy economies, but still > impossible for your average Bolivian I guess. Even with OLPCs the difficulty > of using a cassette recorder and postal service compared to an OLPC is > laughable. > > Illich was talking about networked learning, without the middle man. Our > OER efforts, and especially the production of text books with "learning > design" interwoven is more broadcast, middle man OER like Bolivia's TV idea, > distance learning, and to some extent the OLPCs.. nothing new at all. The > only thing "new" in it is the copyright and the technology.. and seeing your > historical reference predates modern history Wayne, even our new approach to > copyright is nothing new. > > Peter Rawsthorne and James Neill have been talking about student generated > content initiaties on Wikieducator for quite some time, and in many regards > this is similar to networked learning accept that it tends to focus on a > demographic we call students, that is typically made up in crude class > systems like K12 and everything in between - leaving out the contributions > that someone outside that class might have to offer - such as traditional, > subsistance, local even mystical. > > I'd hazard a guess that the funding is easily geared towards text books. > They are tangible and have established processes and protocols. But this > doesn't make it a good idea. A text book with "learning designed" in it, > over powers so much of what might be otherwise possible. A straight text > with a range of culturally appropriate "learning design" held seperately > would be far more scalable and versatile. Especially with strong learning > networks around each text. Strong networks like in Wikibooks and blogs for > example, or any number of offline networks > > Better would be a straight text with a learning network to go with it. In > the poorer countries this is obviously not through the Internet and > computers, but the ideas and models we have through the Internet could > inform new approaches to radio, newspaper, telephone, and postal services.. > even distance learning. > On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Wayne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Leigh > > > On Sat, 2008-12-06 at 08:57 +1300, Leigh Blackall wrote: > > Illich's Learning Webs idea for Bolivia, cited in his book Deschooling > Society - predating ODL, ignoring "instructional design", and predicting > post industrial society enabled by networked communications. Illich was > interested in networked communications empowering subsistance living. > > Illich's Deschooling Society is a seminal text and is a highly recommended > read for those dabbling in the future of OER. > > On a minor historical technicality ;-) Illich's Deschooling Society did > not predate the practice, research and publication in the field of DE/ODL. > I believe Deschooling Society was published in 1971. Their are published > references on DE dating back to 1728. However mainstream DE research as a > field of research endeavour started appearing in the literature in the early > 1950's. This followed the inception of the world's first single-mode > distance education university which began teaching in 1946 --- (The > University of South Africa). The detail of the actual dates is not too > relevant -- but rather the era in which these publications emerged. > > Deschooling Society was published shortly after the peak of > industrialisation after the second world war. DE/ODL is in fact a > consequence of the industrialisation of society. DE delivery was not > possible before the invention of the printing press and universal postal > services. It's also interesting to note that Illich's text was published > shortly after the student revolts of the 1960s and should be read within > this context. > > Illich was not the only author commenting or "predicting" on the emergence > of post-industrial society. For example, Daniel Bell's text on "The Coming > of Post-industrial Society" published around the same time. The notion of > "post-industrial" society was a pretty topical issue of the time. The > Fordist versus Post-Fordist debate has been well documented in the DE > literature (including for example: Raggart, Rumble, Farnes, Edwards etc.) > > Discontinuity theory is a contested concept in sociological terms --- Is > post-industrial society fundamentally different from industrial society, or > is it more of the same? Personally -- I buy into the theory of discontinuity > which would argue that the networked world is structurally different, but at > the same time I err on the side of caution with regards to how OER is > unfloding on our planet. I see many promising projects (WikiEducator > included) - but there is still lots of work for us to do before OER becomes > the default approach to education. > > Its going to be up to us to turn tommorrow's promise for OER into today's > reality! > > It's fun being a pioneer! > > > Cheers > Wayne > > > -- Cheers, MariaD Make math your own, to make your own math. naturalmath.com: a sketch of a social math site groups.google.com/group/naturalmath: a mailing list about math maker activities groups.google.com/group/multiplicationstudy the family multiplication study --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
