Comments on: The learning now arriving at platform… http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/ a blog hosted by Futurelab Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:48:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: chris bradley http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-25937 chris bradley Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:44:04 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-25937 I am sorry but that won't do. We have been using Moodle at my school over a year and it allows us to have a class where 24 students are following 5 units and up to 6 units in each one plus working on a wide array of documents. An ordinary class all do the same thing at the same time. It cripples the cleverest and leaves the weakest with a permanent sense of defeat, now that is a sausage factory or a procrustean bed to be precise. The VLEs offer the beginnings of personalisation, there is much more to do but for those of us who make our living teaching the young they are the beginnings of a positive change. I am sorry but that won’t do. We have been using Moodle at my school over a year and it allows us to have a class where 24 students are following 5 units and up to 6 units in each one plus working on a wide array of documents. An ordinary class all do the same thing at the same time. It cripples the cleverest and leaves the weakest with a permanent sense of defeat, now that is a sausage factory or a procrustean bed to be precise.
The VLEs offer the beginnings of personalisation, there is much more to do but for those of us who make our living teaching the young they are the beginnings of a positive change.

]]> By: Most VLEs Are Sausage Factories at Omnium Blog http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-396 Most VLEs Are Sausage Factories at Omnium Blog Sat, 24 Feb 2007 09:47:04 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-396 [...] There’s a thoughtful article about learning platforms by Martin Owen over at Futurelab’s Flux blog. [...] [...] There’s a thoughtful article about learning platforms by Martin Owen over at Futurelab’s Flux blog. [...]

]]> By: Tony Parkin http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-274 Tony Parkin Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:54:27 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-274 Nice contribution, Martin. Platform, content, delivery - these are a few of my least-favourite things.... BUT... £41 million of learning platforms are going to be with us - or rather the schools we work with. So the question should now be how are we going to ensure that they incorporate 21st century web 2.0 thinking alongside the 19th century industrial metaphor? I think there are enough of us with this perspective to make a difference - and a number of them feature in your august panel... or are in their social networks....! Nice contribution, Martin. Platform, content, delivery – these are a few of my least-favourite things…. BUT…

£41 million of learning platforms are going to be with us – or rather the schools we work with. So the question should now be how are we going to ensure that they incorporate 21st century web 2.0 thinking alongside the 19th century industrial metaphor?

I think there are enough of us with this perspective to make a difference – and a number of them feature in your august panel… or are in their social networks….!

]]> By: Richard Treves http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-272 Richard Treves Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:50:57 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-272 Whilst I agree that commercial VLEs at present are designed for, and are often used by teachers as, sausage machines for pushing students through I think the 'distributed' model is also flawed. I work at the bleeding edge of elearning (or TEL if such things as buzz word acronyms are important to you :) ) and I'm constantly mixing together tools to produce educational experiences. However, I don't find a VLE a constraint, especially Moodle where I can get under the hood. I use it for forums or seeing what students seem to have disappeared off the planet and link from the VLE to all the other course elements out on the native web. Meanwhile, for those of medium or low elearning skill and needs, the VLE is a God send. If you use Moodle it manages forums, content, tracking and has lots of support documents and contextual help to support those of low IT literacy with putting together and running a course. You can support and train users at an institutional level as they are all using the same tool. I think we should move to modular, OS VLEs like Moodle and avoid throw the baby out with the bathwater by thinking VLEs are necessarily evil. Whilst I agree that commercial VLEs at present are designed for, and are often used by teachers as, sausage machines for pushing students through I think the ‘distributed’ model is also flawed.

I work at the bleeding edge of elearning (or TEL if such things as buzz word acronyms are important to you :) ) and I’m constantly mixing together tools to produce educational experiences. However, I don’t find a VLE a constraint, especially Moodle where I can get under the hood. I use it for forums or seeing what students seem to have disappeared off the planet and link from the VLE to all the other course elements out on the native web.

Meanwhile, for those of medium or low elearning skill and needs, the VLE is a God send. If you use Moodle it manages forums, content, tracking and has lots of support documents and contextual help to support those of low IT literacy with putting together and running a course. You can support and train users at an institutional level as they are all using the same tool.

I think we should move to modular, OS VLEs like Moodle and avoid throw the baby out with the bathwater by thinking VLEs are necessarily evil.

]]> By: Peter Gray http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-95 Peter Gray Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:39:30 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-95 I was pleasantly surprised at seeing the thin end of the wedge which will undoubtedly split the idea of the 'Platform' wide open. I work in educational research and have observed endless attempts to launch 'platforms of one kind and another, all of which fail due to lack of the essential commodity - attention (an insight which I owe to Riel Miller). Simple arithmetic dictates that a proliferation of channels or websites amongst a limited target audience will lead to a reduction in attention to any individual site. We have just started educating our son at home due to the limitations of the French 'platform' (sorry education system). All you need for this is a powerbook and an internet connection. Everything else is already out there and the learning occurs precisely in the 'bricolage' necessary to search out and cobble together what you need. Packaging or platforming is simply a waste of resources and I'm glad to see someone saying so! I was pleasantly surprised at seeing the thin end of the wedge which will undoubtedly split the idea of the ‘Platform’ wide open. I work in educational research and have observed endless attempts to launch ‘platforms of one kind and another, all of which fail due to lack of the essential commodity – attention (an insight which I owe to Riel Miller). Simple arithmetic dictates that a proliferation of channels or websites amongst a limited target audience will lead to a reduction in attention to any individual site. We have just started educating our son at home due to the limitations of the French ‘platform’ (sorry education system). All you need for this is a powerbook and an internet connection. Everything else is already out there and the learning occurs precisely in the ‘bricolage’ necessary to search out and cobble together what you need. Packaging or platforming is simply a waste of resources and I’m glad to see someone saying so!

]]> By: DARnet » Futurelab - Flux blog » learning platform http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-66 DARnet » Futurelab - Flux blog » learning platform Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:08:38 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-66 [...] Flux » Articles » The learning now arriving at platform… [...] [...] Flux » Articles » The learning now arriving at platform… [...]

]]> By: Gareth Morgan http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-64 Gareth Morgan Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:43:39 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-64 Many thanks for the article Martin. I have many of the same feelings and reservations about some platforms that are commercially available. I think many schools would be far better off spending the many thousands of pounds these platforms cost on investing on the ICT infrastructure they have in schools, and on training their teachers to use their present network effectively. Training teachers how to create their own teaching resources, would be far more effective than using expensive platforms to deliver 'ready made' content that might not be suitable to the way that teacher teaches. I'm beginning to understand why Becta picked that particular list of approved suppliers, and not include a product such as Moodle. Could it be that Moodle doesn't fit into the secondary school model of teaching, whereas the other products do? Moodle is about social constructivism, where students gain a deeper form learning by discussing, debating, bouncing ideas amongst a group of fellow learners, during a time that suits them. Whereas the other platforms are about delivering content, in the class and then testing to see what they remembered. I know which method I would rather use to gain a deeper understanding of a subject and it doesn’t cost thousands of pounds. Many thanks for the article Martin. I have many of the same feelings and reservations about some platforms that are commercially available. I think many schools would be far better off spending the many thousands of pounds these platforms cost on investing on the ICT infrastructure they have in schools, and on training their teachers to use their present network effectively. Training teachers how to create their own teaching resources, would be far more effective than using expensive platforms to deliver ‘ready made’ content that might not be suitable to the way that teacher teaches. I’m beginning to understand why Becta picked that particular list of approved suppliers, and not include a product such as Moodle. Could it be that Moodle doesn’t fit into the secondary school model of teaching, whereas the other products do? Moodle is about social constructivism, where students gain a deeper form learning by discussing, debating, bouncing ideas amongst a group of fellow learners, during a time that suits them. Whereas the other platforms are about delivering content, in the class and then testing to see what they remembered. I know which method I would rather use to gain a deeper understanding of a subject and it doesn’t cost thousands of pounds.

]]> By: Noel Jenkins http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-63 Noel Jenkins Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:10:43 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-63 Thanks for this article which I'll share at school. The sausage factory anology is given further credence by the requirement that the VLE needs to link to the school's database, thus precluding in our case the use of Moodle. Probably the most depressing teaching experience last year was an INSET at which one of the VLE companies pitched their product. The language used was precisely as your article describes. The salesman made a point of demonstrating a little icon to tell the student how far through the course they had progressed. (Or maybe how far the teacher had progressed) The platform was clearly designed to host content from a learning provider and I left feeling totally disillusioned and determined to try and evangelize the alternatives. Thanks for this article which I’ll share at school.

The sausage factory anology is given further credence by the requirement that the VLE needs to link to the school’s database, thus precluding in our case the use of Moodle.

Probably the most depressing teaching experience last year was an INSET at which one of the VLE companies pitched their product. The language used was precisely as your article describes. The salesman made a point of demonstrating a little icon to tell the student how far through the course they had progressed. (Or maybe how far the teacher had progressed) The platform was clearly designed to host content from a learning provider and I left feeling totally disillusioned and determined to try and evangelize the alternatives.

]]> By: Chris Ryall http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-62 Chris Ryall Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:07:26 +0000 http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/2007/01/15/the-learning-now-arriving-at-platform/#comment-62 Fantastic contribution Martin, I'm glad that someone has the balls to stand up and say that the learning platforms approved by BECTA are all very "sausage factory"! The only learning platform I have used which manages to put the learner towards the centre of the learning experience is Moodle. While of course Moodle does not take a completely personalised approach (it relies on pre-organised courses) it is flexible enough for us to present learners with a variety of options and activities to achieve their own outcomes. ELGG seems to be the only truly non-linear approach to building a collaborative learning environment with an emphasis on community and self direction. Neither ELGG or Moodle are utilised by any of the approved companies. What advice would you give schools wishing to utilise small pieces of loosely joined technology? The most useful research I've read (http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2007/01/01/ephemeral_profi.html )shows that teenagers are quite comfortable with using disposable identities for websites. If they forget a password they often just create a new account and start afresh, they often recreate information rather than share it between sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook etc. I realise the failings of the terms digital imigrant and native but young poeple do display nomadic traits, visiting a website frequently for a short time - using it's resources & experiences then moving on to another engaging site. We are currently looking at ways to integrate these smaller, time limited, free experiences into our teaching programmes - rather than building large, permanent, online structures for students. For example a single lesson (or experience) using PBWiki or MapWing instead of investing time building lasting web applications. Flux is proving to be fresh, insightful & timely. Thanks. Fantastic contribution Martin, I’m glad that someone has the balls to stand up and say that the learning platforms approved by BECTA are all very “sausage factory”! The only learning platform I have used which manages to put the learner towards the centre of the learning experience is Moodle. While of course Moodle does not take a completely personalised approach (it relies on pre-organised courses) it is flexible enough for us to present learners with a variety of options and activities to achieve their own outcomes. ELGG seems to be the only truly non-linear approach to building a collaborative learning environment with an emphasis on community and self direction. Neither ELGG or Moodle are utilised by any of the approved companies.

What advice would you give schools wishing to utilise small pieces of loosely joined technology?

The most useful research I’ve read (http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2007/01/01/ephemeral_profi.html )shows that teenagers are quite comfortable with using disposable identities for websites. If they forget a password they often just create a new account and start afresh, they often recreate information rather than share it between sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook etc. I realise the failings of the terms digital imigrant and native but young poeple do display nomadic traits, visiting a website frequently for a short time – using it’s resources & experiences then moving on to another engaging site.

We are currently looking at ways to integrate these smaller, time limited, free experiences into our teaching programmes – rather than building large, permanent, online structures for students. For example a single lesson (or experience) using PBWiki or MapWing instead of investing time building lasting web applications.

Flux is proving to be fresh, insightful & timely. Thanks.

]]>