Voyages of Discovery: some thoughts on #jiscel11
I have been enjoying the opening couple of days of the JISC online conference activity week (#jiscel11). Two of the presentations which really impressed me from the first couple of days were by Bex Ferriday (Cornwall College) and Richard Speight (Cartrefi Cymru). These two people have very different styles, but what they share is the courage to try new stuff, and the sensitivity to adjust their methods according to the needs of the learners. Bex started from the premise of a lovely inversion of the ‘Field of Dreams’ strapline: “If you build it, they won’t come”. (Having built one or two things that people haven’t come to over the years, I can really appreciate that thought.) Bex’s alternative to this ‘build it’ approach is to go into the space in which the learners are already operating, in this case Facebook. This means that they are already comfortable knowing what to do, and no training is needed. There are some familiar counter-arguments, of course. Don’t the learners resent the intrusion of a teachers into ‘their’ space? What happens to learners who are excluded by lack of skills or resources? And so on… However, what I learned from this discussion was these barriers can be show-stoppers if you let them, but they don’t need to be. However, to make this work you need to listen to the learners, and to understand the technology. For example, it is necessary to understand the uses of (and differences between) pages and groups on Facebook. It is also possible (and tolerated or even encouraged by Facebook) to set up separate identities for your teaching and your social life. Appropriate actions at these levels can take the sting out of the whole question of whether or not to ‘friend’ with learners. To find out more, you can download and view a recording of Bex’s presentation online here: http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/653673-facebook-in-teaching-and-learning
Richard Speight’s approach is a little different, but equally user- centred. He recognises the power of social media, and uses a whole range of tools for engagement, and this enables him to be entirely flexible regarding what suits any specific learner, or group. He stresses the idea of ‘playing’ with the ideas and the technology, and paying attention to the ‘rolling feedback’ of participants. These can be people who are already enrolled on courses, potential learners, or fellow professionals. For example he sees Prezi as not simply presentational software, but as a social tool. Prezi is not only visually engaging, but also has the potential to embed a host of other media. Still more powerfully, Prezi Meeting allows groups to work on presentations online. Richard’s agile and broad –based approach enables him to respond to the needs of diverse groups, including those for whom Facebook may be a closed book. Richard’s original presentation is available on Prezi here: http://bit.ly/you2point0. It is silent, I am afraid, but it’s still a great example of visually compelling use of the software, and contains some really useful links. Wouldn’t Prezi with audio be fantastic development, by the way?….
Richard and Bex are great examples of people who are working with all kinds of learners, including informal learners out there in the community.They are both constantly learning from their experience, and are willing to share what they are learning. I am looking forward to seeing where their voyages of discovery will be taking them next…
