The forgotten blog...

28 Dec 2008, 04:13

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I've gotten out of the habit of updating this blog. Main reasons are probably being busy with other stuff and finding this course so hard to relate to.

But for this last month I'm going to try to make an extra effort. (If I remember!!)

Reflections on TMA02 - and towards the ECA

28 Dec 2008, 04:10

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Part 1

Once I was able to write about an actual elearning professional in my "professional" context the exercise became easier to relate to and focus on. It became doable.

Part 2

A major pain was identifying all the evidence/forum messages. I had a pdf with 189 pages of largely repeated messages - i.e., new messages that included the rest of the thread. And I was to blame for a lot of that content! I hadn't systematically filed away the messages as they were produced or soon after. Lack of time and the benefit/need of hindsight in categorising the evidence were probably factors.

I think I would have found it easier (and would have used fewer words) if I had written in the 1st person. Emma asked about this and Robin replied positively but saying she should confirm with her group tutor. I thought it too late to go asking for and waiting for confirmation and simply needed to get on with it.

Overall, I need to stay on track and start preparing for the ECA from now. I definitely shouldn't leave writing till the last week.

Less than a month left...

26 Dec 2008, 02:25

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So I sent in TMA02 a couple of days ago. I was planning on writing "yesterday" but it seems that my blog took a day off for Christmas.

Just under a month left now. Good.

Mistakes

7 Dec 2008, 08:04

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 26 Dec 2008, 02:26

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I can see now that it was a mistake to enroll on H808.

I read the papers but I don't get the point... and I can see that others do.

I'm kind of going through the motions now, kind of waiting till this hole I've dug myself just disappears at the end of January.

Will I get at least 40%? I hope so...huge waste of money if I don't. Can I even see that what I'm reading - can't bring myself to call it learning - can be of use to me in the near future...not without further study...study for study's sake.

So why did I call this post "Mistakes" when I've only mentioned 1 mistake...?

Various definitions re elearning

24 Nov 2008, 12:40

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Nov 2008, 12:46

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Definitions of "profession"

- "a paid occupation, esp. one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification"
(Apple Dictionary Version 1.0.2 (1.0.2))

- “A profession is said to be an occupation with a crucial social function, requiring a high degree of skill and drawing on a systematic body of knowledge.” (Sockett, 1985:27 in Warrior 2002)

- "the teaching profession incorporates institutional and societal values, whilst a professional will add personal values" (Warrior 2002, p6)
- "quality and professionalism are inextricably linked" (Warrior 2002, p6)


My attempt at a definition of "profession"

- an occupation that requires formal education/training; is generally regarded as higher profile (white-collar?); the practice of which is, or can be, critical to the client at particular times in their life


Definitions of "professional"

- "professional"
- "a person engaged or qualified in a profession
- "a person engaged in a specified activity, esp. a sport or branch of the performing arts, as a main paid
occupation rather than as a pastime"
- "a person competent or skilled in a particular activity"
(Apple Dictionary Version 1.0.2 (1.0.2))
- "some form of regular employment which results in paid remuneration"
(Warrior 2002, p2)
- "Buncher and Stelling suggest that: “Professional identity can be defined as the perception of oneself as a professional and it is closely related to the knowledge and skills one has, the work one does and the work-related significant others or the reference group.”
(Buncher and Stelling, 1997, cited in Robson, 1998:586) " (Warrior 2002, p5)
- This implies that there is a degree of individual responsibility associated with being a professional.
(Warrior 2002, p6)
- "there is a degree of status and prestige associated with belonging to the education profession. There are generic features associated with the term professional."(Warrior 2002, p6)


My attempt at a definition of "professional" [so far I have:]

- a professional who has undertaken a successful, prolonged period of study/training and is recognised as being proficient to practice in their field. They will keep up to date in their field and advance the knowledge base of that field when possible. They act with "professionalism". [Yeah, and what's professionalism!]


My attempt at a definition of "elearning"

-

My attempt at a definition of "elearning professional"

-


- "learning"
- "the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught"
(Apple Dictionary Version 1.0.2 (1.0.2))


References;

Warrior, B. (2002) ‘Reflections of an educational professional’ [online], Journal of
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, vol. 1, no 2. Available from:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/johlste/0030_warrior_vol1no2.pdf
(accessed 28 July 2008).

Sockett, H. (1985) Towards a Professional Code in Teaching. In P. Gordon (1985) Is Teaching a
Profession? University of London, Institute of Education, 26-43.

Tags: learning e-learning professionalism elearning professional definitions profession warrior sockett

Why are professionals more highly valued than other workers?

24 Nov 2008, 12:18

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Nov 2008, 12:19

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[Unfinished but I'll add it here]

Why is it we value "professional" occupations (egs??) over farmers, refuse-collectors or hairdressers, when these workers have a far greater effect on our daily lives as concerns our continued ability to stay alive, our continued health and our continued sense of self-esteem and confidence.For most people, do doctors or lawyers or accountants have much of a direct influence on their daily lives?

We might state that professionals learn and train for years. But don't car mechanics as well. Why is the training a lawyer has more "professional" and therefore more important than that of a car mechanic? Doesn't the professionalism of our car mechanic have a direct and immediate effect on our own safety, that of our family and the safety of thousands of other people we might drive past every day? The continued professionalism of a lawyer, accountant, even a doctor rarely protects or affects our lives on a daily basis.

Professional occupations are the higher profile (white-collar?) jobs that are, or can be, critical to us at particular times in our lives. We take for granted the many other occupations, trades, work, labour upon which society relies to function. Why is this? Why is it we don't value the 70 hour weeks and professionalism that the office-cleaner, bus-driver, sandwich-maker puts in? Is it because "professionals" are the judge of the extraordinary value of "professional professionalism" and the commonplace/mediocre value of "unskilled/less skilled work"?

Tags: reflection professionalism professional unit 6 unskilled worker

Unit 6 woes...

24 Nov 2008, 12:02

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Nov 2008, 23:15

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Emma and Karen have put parts of this thread on their blog coz it contains some useful reflection on the course. I thought that was a good idea so I've done the same but copied the whole thread. (Italics are Keely, Emma or Karen's text.)

-----

From: Keely Laycock 22 November 2008 20:30:13
Subject: Course reading Unit 6
To: H808 08I Cafe

Hi All,
I've noticed it before, but having just finished wading through the reading for Unit 6, I wondered if anyone else is as fed up as I am with all the core reading and activities concentrating on elearning within the post 16/HE sector? If we can use the work in this Unit for TMA02 part 1, it would be more benficial for some of us to have a 'selection' of core reading rather than having to find all the resources for my own context, that of elearning within secondary schools.
Keely



---------------



From: Jose Martel Penate 23 November 2008 01:59:03
Subject: Re: Course reading Unit 6
To: H808 08I Cafe

Hi Keely and everyone else,

Well, I'll freely admit that I'm feeling bored and lost since starting Unit 5.
I don't seem to relate to what we're being asked to read, research, learn.
I'm not sure if this is due to the excesses of work/stress caused by TMA01. Or if the constant study over 8+ weeks is finally taking it's toll. Or simply if my personal, everyday context has little to do with what I'm being asked to do.
It is true that I'm no longer used to studying and this course is very intensive.

In an effort to try to get some kind of grasp on Unit 6 I've read what other students have produced and shared. I've looked at the forum for unit 6 - messages from Philippa, Maria, and Mitchell - and some blogs. So far I've looked at Emma's blog and Jim's blog (see below for links). Both have interesting and useful information that I'm going to take a closer look at.

I often find that by reading other student's messages/work I see completely different points of view to my own (that's if I actually have a point of view on the subject in the first place!). Often this will make me question my own abilities and leave me wondering if I have what it takes to be an elearning professional. But I do think I'll pass this course - I'm learning to give the answers that are expected of me. Does this make me more of a professional? Probably.

Jose



---------------



From: Emma Nugent 3 23 November 2008 16:30:40
Subject: Re(2): Course reading Unit 6
To: H808 08I Cafe


Jose Martel Penate writes:
Hi Keely and everyone else,

Well, I'll freely admit that I'm feeling bored and lost since starting Unit 5.
I don't seem to relate to what we're being asked to read, research, learn.
I'm not sure if this is due to the excesses of work/stress caused by TMA01. Or if the constant study over 8+ weeks is finally taking it's toll. Or simply if my personal, everyday context has little to do with what I'm being asked to do.
It is true that I'm no longer used to studying and this course is very intensive.

I think it is all of these, I note that very few people have engaged in Supp Activity 6.2... a sign of how we're all feeling perhaps anyway, if you keep to the schedule you can have a well earned break at Christmas. I'm even going to somewhere without internet access for a week so I ensure I take a break.

In an effort to try to get some kind of grasp on Unit 6 I've read what other students have produced and shared. I've looked at the forum for unit 6 - messages from Philippa, Maria, and Mitchell - and some blogs. So far I've looked at Emma's blog and Jim's blog (see below for links). Both have interesting and useful information that I'm going to take a closer look at.

I often find that by reading other student's messages/work I see completely different points of view to my own (that's if I actually have a point of view on the subject in the first place!). Often this will make me question my own abilities and leave me wondering if I have what it takes to be an elearning professional. But I do think I'll pass this course - I'm learning to give the answers that are expected of me. Does this make me more of a professional? Probably.

Thanks for the compliment Jose but I took this approach too as i found Unit 6 a little perplexing and it helped reading other people's comments but you have to be strict with yourself incase of accusations of collusion so don't read them too intently just in case you find yourself regurgitating what others write. What I am finding is that the course structure is sometimes confusing but also see that this is a good thin...read on.

6.1 is all about the academic side of the elearning prof, I got disgruntled by this being a non academic; but 6.2 is about the learning technologist, still not my background but close if you include the management side of things. Hopefully by the time we get to the end of the course it will all fit together nicely, a reflective model no doubt. The reading in unit 6.2 reminded of what we're read about reflection weeks ago, about allowed what you learn as you go on to change your beliefs, opinions etc which is working for me on this course. It's nice when you see the comments you make in one unit written in one of the core readings of the following section. I'd better copy and paste this into to my blog quick...

Jose


Keely Laycock writes:


>Hi All,
>I've noticed it before, but having just finished wading through the
>reading for Unit 6, I wondered if anyone else is as fed up as I am with
>all the core reading and activities concentrating on elearning within the
>post 16/HE sector? If we can use the work in this Unit for TMA02 part 1,
>it would be more benficial for some of us to have a 'selection' of core
>reading rather than having to find all the resources for my own context,
>that of elearning within secondary schools.
>Keely

That's a really interesting point and not one that was at the forefront of my mind being someone who works in HE; but you are right because I don't think my elearning career will remain in HE necessarily and it's important to learn about all sectors...perhaps one element of the TMA should be a comparision with a context you know nothing about too...it would encourage sharing amongst those of us working in different sectors. Maybe an idea for a future presentation of this course.I'd put this in the main course forum so it's alerted to Robin to see there is any pre-HE reading planned later on.

Good to "chat", is that the bell for the next article to read going off now...

Emma



---------------



From: Karen J. Ogilvie 23 November 2008 16:43:59
Subject: Re(2): Course reading Unit 6
To: H808 08I Cafe

Jose Martel Penate writes:
Hi Keely and everyone else,

Well, I'll freely admit that I'm feeling bored and lost since starting Unit 5.
I don't seem to relate to what we're being asked to read, research, learn.

I'm so glad its not just me!

I'm not sure if this is due to the excesses of work/stress caused by TMA01. Or if the constant study over 8+ weeks is finally taking it's toll.

I wondered that too - am I just tired?

It is true that I'm no longer used to studying and this course is very intensive.

This is intensive but i've done a couple of other OU courses recently aand still feel the same. I feel that its quite difficult to get motivated since I finished TMA01 - things seem to have lost theit focus for me.


In an effort to try to get some kind of grasp on Unit 6 I've read what other students have produced and shared. I've looked at the forum for unit 6 - messages from Philippa, Maria, and Mitchell - and some blogs. So far I've looked at Emma's blog and Jim's blog (see below for links). Both have interesting and useful information that I'm going to take a closer look at.

I've done that too and read some very useful stuff which has helped to focus my thoughts (thanks all) but I do feel as if I'm snooping

I often find that by reading other student's messages/work I see completely different points of view to my own (that's if I actually have a point of view on the subject in the first place!). Often this will make me question my own abilities and leave me wondering if I have what it takes to be an elearning professional. But I do think I'll pass this course - I'm learning to give the answers that are expected of me. Does this make me more of a professional? Probably.

Agree with this too, however, sometimes I'm just left feeling inadequate - why couldn't I have come up with this myself? The scary thing about the last couple of units for me is that I beleive I am an elearning prof... By doing this course, I hope to achieve some accreditation for years of work and experience in practice... Perhaps its because my background is science/IT and I've never had to do all this 'social analysing' before. I'm very hands-on and concerned about good poractice, fit for purpose and usability etc.... but I am struggling with here, particularly with unit 6 part 1.

Best wishes
Karen

Jose




---------------



From: Jose Martel Penate 24 November 2008 01:22:05
Subject: Reply to Emma and Karen
To: H808 08I Cafe

Thanks Emma and Karen,

It is good to know that others are or might be feeling the same way...and it's very good to get support on things that aren't strictly course related. It really does help.

Re reading fellow students work, I agree it's a tricky business and best if used as a guide for our own reading which can lead to the production of our own notes. Simply copying isn't great for deep learning and there's a danger you can find yourself regurgitating what others write. (Hmmm, the last bit of that sentence sounds strangely familiar...did I read it somewhere?...nah, must be mine...) But reading other people's work can also give us new ideas - and I think this can lead to even trickier problems of copying and collusion if we don't reference properly in our own notes. But I think the pros of reading fellow students' work outweigh the admittedly serious cons. I also get the feeling I'm snooping or even stealing other people's thoughts/ideas but as long as I acknowledge where the ideas came from I think it's fine. After all, if they want to avoid ppl using their notes they wouldn't put them in places where we have access to them.

I definitely feel inadequate on this course. I'm surrounded by ppl with often tens of years of experience in their field and tons of professionalism and confidence. But that's the way it is. I just have to get on with it. And after my weekend of self-indulgent stewing in my woes, your messages have helped me climb back up.

Ok, back to unit 6...

Jose

Tags: student reflection tma01 stress unit 5 professional unit 6 emma keely karen copying collusion

Re Perkin's "The Third Social Revolution"

24 Nov 2008, 11:38

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Nov 2008, 11:44

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Perkin in 1996 states that "The modern world is the world of the professional expert" (Perkins 1996, p1) as opposed to the industrial world dominated by capitalists. Perkin maintains that professionals' "power, prestige, influence, and
incomes stem from their possession of specialized knowledge, based on education, competitive merit, and experience on the job–in a word, on their human capital." (Perkins 1996, p1). Perkin states that "the key players are the professional managers of the great corporations and their counterparts ingovernment, the state bureaucrats" (Perkins 1996, p6). These professionals deal in "knowledge-based
services" (Perkins 1996, p6), "sophisticated services which have transformed human life" (Perkins 1996, p6). Perkins maintains that "As long as the particular expertise is scarce [...] the expert can command a rent as surely as the landlord or owner of industrial capital" (Perkins 1996, p7).

Stan (2008) points out that "Perkin’s view of society is closely related to the concept of the information society since an important part of being a professional is having information and being able to make use of it. This is one reason why the centrality of higher education is one of the major trends that Perkin attempts to explain."

Perkin warns that the more powerful professionals "are the elites who will make or break modern post-industrial society" by their "intelligence, enlightenment and integrity" though the unique cultural inheritance, social structure, and political ingenuity of each advanced country" is also a factor (Perkins 1996, p7).



References:

From: Philippa Perry 2 18 November 2008 19:00:26
Subject: Is this a professional society?
To: Alan Clarke
Cc: H808 ac6 Unit 6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_society


From: Mitchell Stan20 November 2008 13:51:53
Subject: Core Activity 6.1 on Perkins
To: H808 ac6 Unit 6

Perkin, H. (1996) Chapter 1 of The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern
World, London: Routledge. Available as a course resource.

Tags: student professional perkin unit 6 perry stan the third social revolution

Jose-H808 - The eLearning professional - PDP Form (MyStuff) at 25-10-08

30 Oct 2008, 12:48

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Saturday, October 25th, 2008, 5:17 AM

Jose-H808 - The eLearning professional - PDP Form (MyStuff) at 25-10-08
Training or development
Title for training or development Jose-H808 - The eLearning professional - PDP Form (MyStuff) at 25-10-08
Organisation or provider OU
Type training course
From date 06/09/2008
To date 25/01/2009
Ongoing Ongoing
Actions and dates to action
Action / Date
Outcomes
Learning objectives
• Familiarise self with debate about learning objects including respositories, metadata and IMS standards
• Gain insight into guiding online discussions and key factors for developing online communities
• Try out more audio-visual tools such as Skype (eg Netmeeting)
• Familiarise self with a variety of models for elearning
• Gain further ideas for online activities and an awareness for situations where they would be appropriate
• Look into how sensitive and critical comments are given to others (students and tutors) in an online environment, improve own techniques
• Familiarise self with some of the research behind elearning
• Try out a selection of common elearning platforms
• Familiarise self with methods for tackling plagiarism and digital copyright issues
• Look into ways online games are used in learning
• Develop working knowledge of, and ability to effectively use, key elearning technologies (e.g. eportfolios, wikis, blogs, learning journals, etc.)
• Improve, and document, own Critical Personal Reflection

Skills and/or expertise developed
• First experience with:
- (Skills) an eportfolio: MyStuff (Ongoing)
producing eportfolio items
tagging items
filling out first Training and Development Form
- (Skills) electronically annotating a pdf file (Unit 3)
- (Skills) creating a Local Area Network (LAN) (Unit 3)
- (Skills) editing a wiki (Unit 4)
- (Skills) making and publishing a podcast (Unit 4)
- (Skills) adding subtitles to video (Unit 4)
- (Skills) using a mind-mapping tool: FreeMind (Unit 4)
- (Skills/Proactivity) producing HowTo guides (Unit 4)
- (Proactivity) attempting to lead, inform or otherwise motivate others in an elearning context (Ongoing)

• Continuing experience with:
- (Skills) using and publishing a blog (Ongoing)
- (Skills/Proactivity) using/collaborating in online forums (Ongoing)
- (Skills) editing video (Unit 4)
- (Reflection) critical self-reflection (Ongoing)
- (Critique) analysis and critique of the practice of others (Ongoing)
- (Proactivity) attempting to lead, inform or otherwise motivate others (Ongoing)


General
Notes A lot of the above taken from:
- Barritt, O. (2008) "MOADE - H808 The Elearning professional", shared MyStuff item, (accessed 25th October 2008)
- Open University, (2008) "H808-Assignment guide 2008.pdf", (accessed 3rd October 2008)
- Open University, (2008) "H808-Course-guide-08.pdf", (accessed 3rd October 2008)
- Stan, M. (2008) "Personal development Objectives for H808", shared MyStuff item, accessed 25th October 2008
Tagged with H808 . PDP . training and development . reflection . skills . proactivity . critique .

1 comments
Alan Clarke on Sunday, October 26th, 2008, 11:29 PM says (privately)

Hi Jose

A well presented and detailed plan - it is clearly ambitous in the range and scale of the objectives - however, it demonstrates enthusiasm and motivation. You have tried to identify skills and knowledge already acquired through the course amd acknowledge sources. A very good effort

Cheers

Alan

And today she's 100 days old!

30 Oct 2008, 12:40

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My daughter's 100 days old today
Which in China is quite important
I'm told
She's growing so fast
Learning so fast
Changing so fast
Almost every day she seems to do something new
She has natural highlights in her hair
Gorgeous eyes
A wonderful smile
And she loves to walk
She made that clear almost from day 1
And she has to be talked to
Because she is the centre of attention
She has us know
A huge personality
For such a little thing

My daughter's now 3 months old

24 Oct 2008, 11:13

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Oct 2008, 11:14

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I've just been looking through my blog searching for stuff for the TMA01 essays, and I reread my first post. In that post I mention that my daughter is 2 months old. It suddenly struck me that I've been keeping this blog for only a month! It seems so much longer...

I think I've lost much of the energy I had when I started - or perhaps I should say that the energy has changed. There was a kind of fun naivety in some of my posts, and now I tend to doggedly stick to the topic; a curious, inquisitive step has turned into a determined trudge.

Am I learning to act my age? In some ways I hope not. But I do think I'm learning to give the answers that are expected of me - instead of the ones I'd want to give. Does this mean I'm becoming more of a professional??

(New) CA3.1-My strengths and weaknesses as an elearning professional (from 12-10-08)

24 Oct 2008, 09:10

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 24 Oct 2008, 09:12

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From: Jose Martel Penate 12 October 2008 08:50:18
Subject: (New) CA3.1-My strengths and weaknesses as an elearning professional
To: H808 ac6 08 Unit 3

Alan asked me to try to use my face-to-face teaching experience in this activity.

So I made a combined PDP needs analysis grid (please see "Jose-CA3.1-PDP combined needs analysis grid.pdf" that was shared with everyone in Alan's tutor group on 11/10/08).

Strengths

I tend to be good at analysing situations and providing solutions.
I'm not really a people-person, but I see the value of getting along and much prefer to.
Given the choice, I prefer not to lead, but if I have to, I will.
I'm comfortable with reflection, however, I sometimes forget that other people aren't.
I'm willing to put in the time to pass this course and my wife supports me.
I believe I have the reflective ability, language skills, mental agility...and...uhmm?...to pass this course.
I value a professional attitude and prefer to strive toward professionalism.
I prefer to do things well.
Pressure can often help me excel.
I'm comfortable using computers, and having used and owned macs and pcs over a number of years has helped me be, and feel, more proficient.
I'm good at abstract thought; I'm a good listener; I can be good at seeing things from other people's point of view.
I enjoy learning and thinking.
If I know what I'm talking about then I'm usually ok at meetings, discussions, etc.
Being bilingual and having lived in a number of different societies/cultures helps me relate more easily to people.
For such a negative person at heart, I can be surprisingly positive.
I have theoretical and practical knowledge of teaching techniques, methods, approaches, etc.
I have face-to-face teaching experience with up to 65 students per class.


Weaknesses

I can be a bit of a perfectionist: given 8 hours to finish, I will finish in 8 hours. But given 2 hours, I will finish in 2 hours and possibly more creatively.
I'm currently living in a society that values appearance, networking and bureaucracy. I'm not sure that the Western concept of professionalism is understood here. This means that I have little external motivation to work toward professionalism here.
A lot of what I'm learning on this course is new to me, and I've never studied at this level before.
Sometimes I seem to have a kind of mental block when learning something new. I can talk about the thing, I can have the idea in my head, but I feel no connection to it. I sometimes think I need to experience in order to learn.


Well, a bit of a mixed bag (is that a strength or a weakness?).
And was that reflection or just description?

Jose



---------------


From: Alan Clarke 12 October 2008 23:59:24
Subject: Re: (New) CA3.1-My strengths and weaknesses as an elearning professional
To: H808 ac6 08 Unit 3

Hi Jose

I would judge the paper as overall reflective in character rather than simple description

Cheers

Alan

Email to my tutor

23 Nov 2008, 03:32

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 26 Dec 2008, 02:33

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Hello Alan,

The guide for unit 6 says: (http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?a=25887)


The learning outcomes we hope you will achieve in Unit 6 are to:

- understand and engage with current debates about elearning practitioners as an
emergent professional group

- understand how systems of professional certification might apply to your own
development as an elearning practitioner.


I really have no interest in these outcomes. I accept that elearning practitioners are/should be professionals. It's obvious from the reading and from the existence of H808 that many other people believe this also. I have virtually no prior development as an elearning practitioner.

Will not going into depth on unit 6 be harmful to my understanding of H808 as a whole?

I've read the papers and looked at the websites but feel little interest in doing the activities. I've compiled some of the other students' work and will make summaries of it. But I can't bring myself to do my own from the original texts. Is this somehow cheating, or is this working smart?

Hopefully I'll find the next units interesting/relevant to me. I certainly don't plan on simply using other students' notes.

The FCC crashes don't help. Helen says they may not be the OU's fault. I only know the crashes are happening and are negatively affecting my ability to communicate with the other students. Btw, Jianfan, on his blog, says that he has problems

If busy, don't read this. But if you're busy, why are you in the cafe?

19 Oct 2008, 14:57

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From: Jose Martel Penate 19 October 2008 14:42:38
Subject: If busy, don't read this. But if you're busy, why are you in the cafe?
To: H808 08I Cafe

Some unpolished reflections

Some of the altercations/troubles/run ins that I have experienced on the forums could be attributed to my lack of a professional attitude. Though some people might say it boils down to a lack of consideration of other people's time. I sometimes favour a relaxed getting-to-know-people attitude, but others on the forums prefer to just get on with their lives, and don't want to have to waste time reading stuff they don't need to know.

When I first started H808 - seems like a very long time ago, but only about 5 weeks - I was expecting (at least hoping) for there to be lively debate and a strong sense of community. Today, I simply doggedly carry on with that ideal, but without the expectation. I've accepted that most students on H808 don't have time for "chitchat" and don't seem amused by my attempts at lightheartedness. In fact, I think that most of the 67 students that are enrolled on the course don't even log onto the forums at all! (And OU, is that really 67?? Are you sure you didn't mean to say 6 or 7?!)

I see the same few names again and again. And when the names do change it's only to say that they're too busy to participate any further. Surely this must happen with every presentation of this and other intensive course geared toward professionals. Why don't the OU build in a greater element of collaboration? Maybe the OU knows that more pressure to collaborate would simply result in fewer people enrolling on the course. People are busy, they have just enough time to study and prepare a paper or two, and that's it. Optional collaboration, though it has many educational benefits just isn't going to be achieved or even attempted by most people. Those who lose out are not those that choose not to collaborate, it's the ones who want to build a lively community and can't.

Another issue is that of the range of personalities, backgrounds, intelligences, even time zones. People who are very different quite simply don't want to bother getting to know each other. But are they confusing the issue of getting to know each other with that of academic debate? Still, I get the distinct impression that professionals on this course don't want to mix with the less professional. Maybe it's because the professionals can't think down to my level and I can't operate on theirs.

Jose

More evidence for SA4.2 - HowTo access/use OU resources when using a Mac

19 Oct 2008, 13:16

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 19 Oct 2008, 13:17

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HowTo access/use OU resources when using a Mac
By Jose Martel Penate H808 081

I'll be giving my personal experiences as an OU student in Shanghai who uses mac computers to access and use OU resources.

First, a bit about my mac setup. When at home, I typically use a Mac Mini bought in 2007, with 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and upgraded to 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, running OSX Leopard 10.5.5. On my commute to and from work I use an iBook bought in 2002, with a 600MHz PowerPC G3 processor, and upgraded to 640MB SDRAM, running OSX Tiger 10.4.11.

I've designated the iBook as the principal machine where OU work is concerned; it holds the OU working files and folders. When at home I connect the iBook to my ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) via a TL-R402 DSL router. The use of Bonjour simplifies my mac to mac connections and I can then use my Mac Mini to work on the files stored on the iBook - so both machines use the same files. This effectively avoids having to synchronise data (I'm refusing to spend money on a synchronisation solution).

I hold current backup files on both machines in locked folders that I've set Spotlight to ignore. This means that when I do OU related searches the only file/folders searched are the current working OU file/folders on the iBook. I also keep a backup folder of all my OU backups on an external hard drive. When I remember, I also replace the current OU backup folder I keep on my mp4 player (an Archos 604).

I typically use Safari (3.1.2) as my web browser of choice for most things, but for the OU I need to share the workload with Firefox (3.0.3). For simply accessing/reading OU webpages, I'll use Safari, but for editing I'll typically use Firefox. For the blogs - posts and comments - I need to use Firefox or formatting will be ignored. For editing "notes" in MyStuff, I again need to use Firefox because of formatting issues, but to upload files, Safari seems to work better and I recently found out I can write comments while using Safari and formatting is kept intact. For the wiki, it seems that editing can be done from Safari but can't while in Firefox or at least is inconsistent from Firefox. I'm new to the wiki so I haven't had a chance to investigate this further.

Regarding FirstClass, I haven't used their web version since I installed the Mac FirstClass Client (9.106) application in my first week of study. I can't remember much about FC web version, but I know I really didn't like it; it was slow and simply didn't work properly. The desktop version is clearly the superior product and, while not perfect, it is perfectly stable, useful and even has some nice (far more Mac-like than Window-ly) graphics.

Another word about the blogs. I want to browse my fellow students' blogs from time to time, but it's tedious and can be very time consuming having to go to each blog to find out if there have been new postings. So I subscribed to the RSS feeds for each blog. Each blog has a feed for posts and another feed for comments. You need to open the blogs from Safari and click directly on "RSS" (not "Atom" right next to it) - I prefer to right-click to open links in a new tab, but sometimes it seems that these RSS pages only open properly when you left-click directly. When the RSS page opens, left-click on the "Subscribe in Mail" link. If you then go to Mail you'll find an RSS feed that you can rename and that contains the posts or comments of the blog you subscribed to. The blog posts will have the blog poster's name - under the title - when you open each post, but the comments won't tell you where they come from. To find out whose blog the comments belong to you need to click on "Read more..." to be taken to the blog itself, and then rename the feed in Mail. If there is no feed in Mail, check your Mail preferences.

By the way, there is a Mac help website (that I didn't find very helpful). It's at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.mcgann/index.html . It seems to be more geared toward helping potential students identify which OU courses are mac-compatible. Apart from that, it limits itself to briefly commenting on the mac-compatiblity of various pieces of software that students may or may not need to use. I think the site will only be of any use to someone with little practical experience of using macs. The site doesn't actually give current students of OU courses any advice on day to day issues that arise while doing an OU course using a mac.

Evidence for SA4.2 - A podcast about: HowTo - use iMovie to make a podcast

18 Oct 2008, 10:35

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 18 Oct 2008, 10:59

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A podcast about: HowTo - use iMovie to make a podcast
(Or simply how to edit video simply!) - By Jose Martel Penate

http://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/feed.xml

Why do a HowTo use a Mac application when everyone is using pcs/Windows?
Well, I don't have a pc to hand right now, and you can get an idea of the simplicity that characterises Macs.

About the podcast

My voice is quite low in the voiceover, you may need to turn the volume up. I was trying not to wake my daughter who was sleeping in the same room. I also muttered a bit and was a bit nasally - I'm getting a cold. And the blurry image quality, it's not great, but it's good enough to see what I'm getting at.

I'm going to try to upload the 2 minute 7 second video as an MPEG4 ("mp4") .m4v file (24.9), as a QuickTime .mov file (73MB), and as a DivX .divx file (17.4MB) [nope, Switchpod won't upload divx files]. Despite the difference in file sizes, and even with a less blurred image, image quality is comparable (I think).

Notes/corrections to the voiceover (Nope, not doing that voiceover again!)

- Aspect ratio is not the "shape of the screen", it's the shape of the video's viewable area and defines the proportions of people and things in the video - "the ratio of the width to the height of the image", (my computer's Dictionary, Version 2.0.2 (51.4).

- You choose bits of video clips using the mouse to move the cursor/arrow/pointer, and left click (and hold, i.e. keep button pressed) to indicate the start of your selection and drag the cursor to the end of your selected (bit of) clip where you indicate the end by lifting your finger off the left mouse button. The yellow outline shows what you've selected. You then left click and hold anywhere within the yellow area and drag the clip to the Project area.

You may notice that while dragging the 2nd clip I dropped it before getting to the project area, and the Source Video area scrolled up. This didn't matter because all I had to do was scroll down again and grab the clip where it was waiting for me (in it's place) exactly as I had selected it.

A point to note here is that you don't actually do anything to the original video; iMovie uses metadata to remember your selections and compile your finished "movie". Your original video always stays safe - unless you choose to delete it.

- As you move the cursor over the thumbnails the Viewer (in the top right-hand corner) shows what the cursor is moving over, at the speed the cursor is moving and in the direction the cursor is moving. As this happens you can listen to the soundtrack as well or have it turned off if you prefer. This is a great feature that lets you quickly search through your video at the speed you want, in the direction you want, stopping whenever and skipping huge sections if you like, with the Viewer always showing the bit/instant of video that the cursor is over.

http://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/feed.xml

CA4.1 - notes for my initial group input

17 Oct 2008, 10:40

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 17 Oct 2008, 10:52

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Point 1 of the CA4.1 instructions/brief states, "Form small groups of about four to six students. Use the course forum or the course wiki to compare multimedia skills amongst the group members, and to find out who is in a position to offer help."

- In two forum messages (see highlighted text in messages below) I pointed out that I have a limited amount of experience creating and manipulating audio and video. I have mainly used Apple/Mac computers and free (Mac) compatible software. This means that my experiences may not be of direct use to others who are pc/Windows users. I did try (and will continue to endeavor) to give general advice and suggestions in any areas I can help. And by the way, I think all - or nearly all - of the free software I mention has Windows versions.

Point 3 of the CA4.1 instructions/brief states, "Read the Penn State material on what constitutes evidence of learning and contribute to a discussion in your tutor group about this, both your own learning and that of your students (if you have them)."

- I read the Penn State material. It gives basic, though (still) useful, advice on what type of files to use in a (Penn state) eportfolio:

.pdf files
- Portable Document File (PDF - not to be confused with Personal Development File, also shortened to PDF in some papers). Using a pdf helps ensure that the viewer of a document will see it as the creator of the document intended; e.g. formatting issues will not arise. The Penn State material seems to suggest that in order to create, read/view, print or store pdfs one needs Adobe software. Though Adobe continues to be a (the?) leading pdf developer, there are many software developers that offer pdf tools. Adobe and others offer free basic versions of pdf software. However the ideal pdf tool for each individual can only be found after trailing various options. I normally use Mac's own pdf solution, Preview, to read most pdfs, although I do have the latest Adobe reader installed. I also have the free pdf annotator, Skim, installed and use it as a very flexible solution for adding notes to/highlight/underline/etc pdfs.

Publishing images to the web
- The Penn State paper notes that web browsers handle GIF and JPEG images well (this information may be outdated - are there other equally good/better file formats?) and details the main differences between GIF and JPEG image files. I've never published images to the web but I have edited images, again, mainly on my Mac (using iPhoto). Usually I have never done more than crop images or perform some basic enhancement (straighten, adjust brightness or contrast, etc.). Also, I've always worked with jpg files (on my Mac "JPEG" is called "jpg"), or converted files to jpg for ease of use/compatiblity with Windows users, e.g. my screen grab/screen dump/screenshot application/software produces TIFF files. I've never really worked with image metadata (e.g. the date a photo was taken; the camera used; the settings used) - largely because importing images (e.g. my digital photos) directly into iPhoto causes iPhoto to handle metadata in the background and display more-user-friendly "tags" - and as long as I can view a photo I'm not that fussed about the image quality.
- I've used iPhoto to create digital photo-books of still images that can be presented as a slide-show with the optional incorporation of the optical sensation of movement (i.e. a video compilation of still images that uses the Ken Burns Effect to give the sensation of movement/video - "give life to still photographs by slowly zooming in on subjects of interest and panning from one subject to another", Wikipedia).

Sound as evidence
- The Penn State paper gives ideas for using sound as evidence, from simply recording an event, to linking to an audio file, to embedding sound into a webpage. Using Mac's GarageBand software - according to the blurb, Mac's "personal recording studio" application - I could record/compose/compile music, podcasts or sound effects. I've never really used it for more than an hour or two when getting my hands on a new mac (I have 3 now), and then I hide the application away never to be seen again. I could dig it out but I seem to remember that it looked quite complicated (though it's probably not if I understood a little about making music) and I think I'd prefer to use my video application, iMovie, to replace the sound track to videos or superimpose sounds or add a voiceover.
- Linking the H808 podcast was the first audio linking I've ever done, and I've never embedded anything into a webpage.
- There's free audio conversion software called Switch that I've used in the past to convert music videos (mp4 and WMV (Windows Media Video file)) to mp3. It can convert loads of other file types as well.

Video as evidence
- The paper gives basic information on making video clips. It actually mentions iMovie as an application to use. I have used iMovie to edit video and extract still images from video. Some months ago I imported AVI video taken by my father's JVC cam into iMovie, but for some reason the sound was lost. Later I learnt to strip the audio from a copy of the original video clip using Switch and added the sound track to the video using iMovie. Currently I use iMovie to edit short video clips of my baby daughter, captured using a Canon digital camera with SD card storage. The camera produces .MOD files which I used to convert to .AVI files by simply replacing the file extension (i.e. delete "MOD" in the file name and write "AVI" in its place), then I could view the files using VLC, but with no sound. I later learned to upload the MOD files directly into iMovie which converts the video into a QuickTime Movie (.MOV file). The problem with the MOV file is that it's quite large, and I can't view MOV files on my mp4 player. So I learnt to use DivX Converter to make smaller files that are viewable on my mp4 player. By "learning to use DivX Converter" I mean that I "dropped" a MOV file in the DivX Converter window and sometime later out popped the converted file.



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From: Jose Martel Penate 16 October 2008 15:22:26
Subject: My podcast
To: H808 08I Tech and Skills

Hi all,

I've shared 24 seconds of video (a podcast) of my little baby daughter. The video should be viewable on Windows iTunes. If you don't have iTunes then you could try downloading a great free media player called VLC. It will play most formats you're likely to come across (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/).

By the way, it took me 10 minutes to put together the video. That includes selecting the material, editing it and uploading it.

My podcast url: http://media.switchpod.com//users/jm4298/forH808podcast.m4v
Or the "feed" : http://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/feed.xml

Jose



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From: Jose Martel Penate 17 October 2008 02:59:51
Subject: Reply to Keely & Nigel S re my podcast
To: H808 08I Tech and Skills

Hi Keely and Nigel,

Thanks, my little baby daughter is lovely!

Yes, there is sound Nigel, you may have to turn the volume up on your player/computer - though you don't hear my daughter laugh (and she squeals or shrieks more than laughs at the moment), you'll only her mother making silly sounds for our daughter's amusement.

I would love to be able to offer you (all) some advice with this but I'm little more than a semi-experienced user myself. The great benefit that I have is that I'm using a Mac computer. Part of the basic software package that come with a Mac are sound and video editing programs. These programs are very intuitive for basic functions, and with the more advanced functions users can put together a music album or a full-length feature film.

All I can say is that Weller's instructions ("Create a podcast" at http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=90977&direct=1) for making an audio-podcast seem overly complex - of course this in order to try to help the very inexperienced student. But in essence - and while still holding out for confirmation from Helen - (I think) all you need to do is make an mp3 sound file.

This would mean that you make a recording and if it's not an mp3 file you convert it to mp3 using one of the many popular and free audio conversion programs. I often use Softpedia to find free software (http://www.softpedia.com/). Softpedia have different areas for Mac, Windows and Linux. I tend to go for software that has been downloaded by many people over a number of months - I also might do a google search to see what user reviews I might find - these steps are intended to try to filter out buggy software and select something that works and is useful. Once you have the mp3 file you upload it to Switchpod.

For the video-podcast, I used my Mac's iMovie application/software. I clicked to start a New Project and selected the 4:3 aspect ratio for the finished video (other viewing ratios are mobile phone (3:2) and widescreen (16:9)). I selected 1 clip from video I already had and put it into the New Project area. I selected another clip and placed it next to the 1st clip. I named my project and exported it (made it into a file I could email) as a medium sized video (viewing area of 640x480 pixel resolution) suitable for viewing on computers and that still has a smaller file size (4.8MB). I then I uploaded the file to Switchpod.

On the Mac it's all very easy, but you're using pcs with Windows.

If you do try to experiment with video, I'd suggest:

- never use an original valuable source/file, always use copies to play around on

- don't worry about content, just try to learn how to do it

- keep file sizes small! ("Small means quick": quicker response from your computer - less time waiting for processes to get done; shorter upload/download times; etc) Especially for experimenting, make short videos that have a small viewing area (see above), and opt for lower quality resolution if you know how (the lower the resolution, the smaller the file size)

- if you don't have a video camera (remember that digital (still photo) cameras can often take short videos) but do have editing software you could try experimenting with the demo video that the software may have. Or you could try downloading video from the web to mess around with (remember to scan with up to date anti-virus protection) - that video may be copy/edit protected though so perhaps search for/google non-comercial, everyday people's home videos (but remember copyright issues when linking to the OU). Your mobile phone might also have a video camera, but unless you already know how to download the movie files to your pc (and can convert the files if necessary) this option may not be worth the bother.

- I've used DivX in the past. It's a set of popular editing/conversion/player tools (http://www.divx.com/divx/windows/). Basic functionality is free: you can convert various video formats to DivX - a good quality but (relatively very) small file size. The DivX developers agree that software should be easy to use, so check it out if you have no editing solution that you're happy with at the moment.

Jose

My H808 podcast [CA4.1]

17 Oct 2008, 10:33

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Jose's podcast

I've shared 24 seconds of video (a podcast) of my little baby daughter. The video should be viewable on Windows iTunes. If you don't have iTunes then you could try downloading a great free media player called VLC. It will play most formats you're likely to come across (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/).

http://media.switchpod.com//users/jm4298/forH808podcast.m4v

http://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/feed.xml

-----------------------------------------------------------

Some initial thoughts on tutor blogs...

16 Oct 2008, 01:01

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I was starting to look though the blogs again (I haven't for a while) when I came across a post by Nigel S that caught my eye, Tutor perspectives - Interesting!, available from: http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=2886

Below is my reply to his post:

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for posting this, it hadn't occurred to me to peek into our tutors blogs, though I had noticed the links on the blog index page - I think I'll take a look after posting you this.

A thought that comes to mind is, does it help a student to see that their tutor is questioning their own actions/reactions/thoughts/etc? Would a student prefer to feel they have an "expert" tutor, omniscient, infallible?

I suppose being able to view a tutor's ponderings and perceived flounderings can be educational for the student as a "walk the walk" role model. But would this still be the case if the tutor was doing some serious professional-self-questioning/doubting and didn't find a suitable solution? In this case, I assume the student would not be allowed to see the tutor's musings, as, though they may be educational, they would also (perhaps) undermine the student's confidence in their tutor's professional ability.

And following on from that thought, if the tutor does censor their reflections (for student-viewable posts), would their reflections continue to be good role-model material? The student would only be seeing the tutor's Hollywood-happy-ending posts, and the student may be always feel only 60 minutes in - stuck in unfortunate plot twist, with no happy ending in sight.

Of course, maybe a good tutor will always find the right solution...

Jose

Blog list @ 16/10/08

14 Oct 2008, 11:49

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 16 Oct 2008, 00:44

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Robin Goodfellow blog ( Course Chair)

Helen Chappel-Hayios ( Online moderator)

Emma Nugent's blog

Jianfan Xie's blog

Jim Buckingham's blog

Jose Martel's blog

Jude Dunkwu's blog

Julie Carle's Blog (TOB)

Karen Ogilvie's blog:

Keely Laycock's blog:

Nicola Robinson's blog

Nigel D K Roper's blog

Nigel S's blog

Peter Cheer's blog

Tanya McEvoy's Blog:

[[Carole Kane's' Blog]]

Ed's reflectorium

Owen Barritt's blog

Bernard Nkuyubwatsi' Blog

Hmmmmmmm...? Thought to follow up later...

14 Oct 2008, 01:51

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 14 Oct 2008, 01:52

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Jim left me a comment on the preceding post (Reflections on my strengths and weaknesses as an elearning practitioner), which led me to thinking about whether professionals find it harder to be sincere and reflective. Jim said that the way I write (using an "honest" and "humble" tone) invites others to reciprocate. In the past, I have found this to be true.

A couple of years ago I had a blog and I wrote in the sincere, unpretentious, friendly style that I tend to favour. In a very short time people were reciprocating. However, that community was very different to this OU VLE. There, the environment encouraged risk taking: no-one's "real-life" identity was readily available; people were not being urged to reply; people's comments/feedback were not going to be analysed; etc.

To be continued...if I have time and remember.

Reflections on my strengths and weaknesses as an elearning practitioner

10 Oct 2008, 14:20

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 10 Oct 2008, 14:24

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Well, I'm not an elearning practitioner.


But let me trudge on anyway...


Strengths:

NONE - I have everything to learn
ALL - I will learn everything from my grounding in professionalism gained from H808

Weaknesses:

I have everything to learn



Notes written as I prepared the PDP grid:

Yourself compared with other "teachers"(?). Or should I compare myself with (what I perceive to be the abilities of) the other students?
Might it be better to compare myself with where I should be when I'm an elearning professional?
I may as well compare myself to an ideal standard.
I suppose I should be comparing myself to elearning professionals - the ideal elearning professional.

*************************

I have had big problems doing this grid. I think it's because I have no (clear) frame of reference.
I'm doing this course (and the rest of the MAODE) because I hope it will be useful for me in the future.
But I'm not sure what exactly I will learn on this course, and I'm not sure what exactly I will need to know to be an elearning professional.
I also assume that I will learn as I go along. Of course knowing is better than assuming.
I have no-one to compare myself with - my fellow students are words on a screen, and my colleagues are happy ambling along.

My reply to Mitchell re his CA2.4 Critique Penn State

4 Oct 2008, 23:03

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From: Jose Martel Penate 4 October 2008 22:50:25
Subject: Re: CA 2.4 Critique of Penn State Advice
To: H808 ac6 UNIT 2

Hi Mitchell,

In reply to your Critique of Penn State Advice (Stan, 2008), both Hurren (2008) and this writer (Martel, 2008) would agree with your affirmation that the Penn State documents (PSU, 2006) leave room for improvement, especially given the target reader, as you point out.

You suggest incorporating "more fully developed samples of ineffective and effective writing", as in Moon 2001. However, in Martel 2008, I question the effectiveness of including too much information. The Advice Penn State offers is already spread across at least 5 pages. I suggest that extending the advice much further - or incorporating much more information - may adversely affect the probability that students will try to fully assimilate that advice. Might not many pages of detailed information and more lengthy extracts of reflective writing simply scare, bore or even confuse these young, inexperienced and possibly unenthusiastic students?

Jose



References

Hurren, C.A. (02 October 2008 22:53:44); "Core activity 2.4: Criteria for reflective writing"; Message to Forum H808 ac6 UNIT 2 (accessed 03 October 2008)

Martel Penate, J (04 October 2008 08:53:30) "CA2.4-Critique Penn State Approach" Message to Forum H808 ac6 UNIT 2 (accessed 05 October 2008)

Moon, J. (2001) ‘PDP working paper 4: reflection in higher education learning’ [online], The Higher Education Academy. Available from: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id72_Reflection_in_Higher_Education_Learning.rtf (accessed 29 June 2007)

Penn State University (PSU) (2006) REFLECT: providing insight, http://portfolio.psu.edu/reflect (accessed 1 July 2008)

Stan, M. (04 October 2008 18:51:45),CA 2.4 Critique of Penn State Advice", Message to Forum H808 ac6 UNIT 2 (Accessed 05 October 2008)


Mitchell Stan writes:
While the Penn State advice on reflective writing is a workable introduction to the topic, in my view there is room for improvement. Given that the target audience would largely consist of young adults with very little experience in carrying out this type of task, more fully developed samples of ineffective and effective writing would be beneficial. As Moon (2001) points out “not all students find reflection easy” and Appendix 2 of her article is an excellent example of the type of demonstration of reflective writing that would greatly assist students. Linking the reflective writing steps provided by Penn State to the process undertaken to write this type of example would definitely make them more concrete to students.

Reference
Moon, J. (2001) ‘PDP working paper 4: reflection in higher education learning’ [online], The Higher Education Academy. Available from: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/
id72_Reflection_in_Higher_Education_Learning.rtf (accessed 29 June 2007).





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:) :) :) I'm up to date !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 Oct 2008, 12:14

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:) :) :) I'm up to date !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm finally up to date!!!
I've been pushing myself really hard and finally I got there!

My only concern is that my retention and reflection is poor (and thus the execution of the CAs). I'll see if I can review the material again soon to try to remedy that.

But,...I'M UP TO DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very happy I've got here. Maybe tomorrow I can rest a bit... :)

CA2.4-Criteria for reflective writing

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4 Oct 2008, 11:54

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Jose Martel-H808-CA2.4-Criteria for reflective writing

-In good reflective writing you need to describe what happened/what the issue was AND THEN write down HOW that made you feel (i.e. your reflections):

- Description provides context

- Reflections share meaning (PSU, 2006).

- Try to work systematically:

- chose what you want to reflect on

- write:

- what happened, try to keep to the facts, be precise (include enough detail)

- how you felt about this

- about the various things this could mean, to you, and to others

- what the consequences are, immediate and future

- as you write:

- ask yourself questions

- answer those questions

- try to see things from

- a different point of view

- the point of view of other people involved

- think about how past events may have influenced

- what happened

- your reactions to it

- other peoples' reactions to it

- compare these with your own reactions

- perhaps

- initially

- consider the details, the "small picture"

- then

- stand back, consider the "big picture"

- think about

- what you can learn from

- what happened

- your ongoing reflections

- what conclusions you can draw

- and the reasons why

- specific evidence

- to validate your conclusions

- already in your eportfolio (or that could be included)

- be honest

- tell the truth as you

- see it

- feel it

- try not to censor yourself

- be creative when looking for alternative solutions

- brainstorm; mind-map, etc.

- but don't be too fanciful with the results

- use

- an honest, upbeat, sincere tone

- short paragraphs starting with

- topic sentences, e.g.

- "From Jack's point of view nothing had changed."

- "The next day, I tried again."

- "Despite their assurances, nothing was the same any more."

- transition words, e.g.

- Besides; For example; Since; Thus; In order to; However; Overall (Moon, 2001; PSU, 2006)

References

Moon, J. (2001) ‘PDP working paper 4: reflection in higher education learning’ [online], The Higher Education Academy. Available from: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id72_Reflection_in_Higher_Education_Learning.rtf (accessed 29 June 2007).

Penn State University (PSU) (2006) REFLECT: providing insight, http://portfolio.psu.edu/reflect (accessed 1 July 2008).

Jose Martel-H808-CA2.3-Reflection and learning-FINAL DRAFT

4 Oct 2008, 07:00

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Jose Martel-H808-CA2.3-Reflection and learning

Oh dear, I have been pushing myself quite hard in an effort to catch up and be in a position to interact (in a timely manner) on the forums. But that has meant - as Agatha Christie's well known Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot, may have put it, "Mon amie, ze leetel graie cells, zay are in need of ze taim to cogitet!". Reflection benefits greatly from time (Moon, 2001); are we - paradoxically - learning quick time the virtues of careful reflection?

- Moon (2001) affirms that when it is assumed "that reflection has a valuable role to play in higher education", the curriculum designer should have a clear understanding of the desired reflective outcomes and how those outcomes should be brought about; this is especially so if the reflective activity is to be assessed. Moon comments that reflective learning has found particularly strong support in professional-education and development.

- I think it is common knowledge that some people (e.g. both teachers and students) are better at reflection than others (Moon, 2001). I take this to mean that the perception of a problem (on which to reflect) can be different from person to person. Some people perceive a particular problem and immediately "see" the solution - with no laboured reflection - while other people - with reference to the same problem - may need guidance and time to reflect. Moon (2001) points out that there are different types of reflection that may be more or less effective when applied to different situations. Within our learning context an "academic" reflective style - characterised by a higher level of structure, formality and depth - is the most suitable. This depth of reflection is enhanced when reflective dialogue and feedback is maintained between students, and students and teachers.

After reading Moon (2001) I now have a greater store of reflective techniques I can apply to situations or problems that arise. Both in a learning or a professional context, I would imagine that I would try to use techniques that seem/are most suitable. As to whether there is a qualitative difference between reflecting on professional practice and reflecting on learning, perhaps a difference could stem from the importance one ascribes to each reflective event.

- At the moment I type this, I think that writing may be the most practical way to reflect (and communicate reflection) on this course. Unless one is proficient in the use of the various electronic media that could be used (recording/editing/conversion/storage devices and types of image/sound/data files) then valuable time could be wasted in trying to produce reflections of a similar calibre to that which could be more immediately/readily produced via a pen and paper or keyboard. Of course, as already mentioned above, Moon (2001) indicates, that the time spent on the reflective activity is, itself, of great value, and so using unfamiliar media/devices can help provide the time factor - and also a new range of tools - with which to interact with/tackle the subject of our reflection. New/different tools can provide new/different approaches and insights, furthering and deepening our reflection. However, when time is a major constraint, one may opt for the familiarity and immediacy of text, eschewing the uncertainty of learning to use a new media sufficiently well (in the given time) to develop reflections of worth. Another concern that comes to mind is that other possible forms of recording reflection (camera, video, sound) are so, or too, immediate and perhaps not expressive or precise enough or lack a common language with which to guarantee communication of a particular reflection. The saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words", but can that apply to our postgraduate learning context where lack of time for reflection (and to prepare for reflection) is an important factor? The "picture" in question would need to be loaded with so much (viewer-perceptable) value that its conception and realisation could take substantially more time than simply sitting down at one's table to write. In an ideal world would I prefer to experiment with multimedia?...Yes. But the realities of my world are such that I think I may not venture far from the tried and trusted.

The above notwithstanding, I hope that the Open University (OU) eportfolio "MyStuff" will prove to be a valuable resource for providing structure to the powers of reflection I have developed over the years, as well as to help produce alternative reflections to those that I may now take for granted.

In my opinion, the OU's Blog and Wiki could be valuable community platforms and resources, but I think the nature of study in the OU may limit their effectiveness beyond the minimum course requirement for use and interaction. At the moment I feel that the OU Forums are the only place with the sufficient sense of community for effective, reflective interaction to occur.


References:

Moon, J. (2001) ‘PDP working paper 4: reflection in higher education learning’ [online], The Higher Education Academy. Available from:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id72_Reflection_in_Higher_Education_Learning.rtf (accessed 29 June 2007).

CA2.3 Reflection and learning-FIRST DRAFT

3 Oct 2008, 16:44

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 4 Oct 2008, 00:59

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The following has turned out to be a very brief, personal impression - together with hearsay - of what I perceive as the present general state of conversational-English teaching in China, education in China and Chinese students. I am certain there are many foreign teachers in China who would have very different things to say:

As many of you will already know, I work as an oral English teacher at a university in Shanghai. This is the beginning of my 3rd academic year in China.

When I first arrived here I had high hopes of making a difference and of developing my teaching practice. However, a crude reality for many foreign oral English teachers in China is that they are employed by schools as the foreign-passport holder that helps ensure parents will pay higher school fees. The foreign teacher's job is to be the English expert for classes once a week. Ostensibly, this 90 minute class, 16 times a semester, will redress years of teacher-centred, grammar-translation English lessons and even more years of systematic obliteration of students' self-confidence, individuality and creativity. In practice however, course leaders and the school administration will probably have little or no interest in the foreign teacher's activities in class, provided s/he actually does turn up for class; does not offend China's honour; or bore the students too much. The teacher may be asked back for a second term if the students actually enjoy the class. Students' enjoyment of class may involve playing games; listening to amusing anecdotes or popular music; watching DVDs, being allowed to talk in Chinese, do other course work, play with their mobile phones, sleep, or skip class - every class. Despite this apparent lack of oral english learning or practice, students typically do not fail oral English exams; once school fees have been paid, parents can expect certain returns on their money.

But, even within this climate, there are those Western teachers who do try to improve their students' level of English. A problem they find though, is that Western methods often don't translate well. Student-centred lessons with task based and communicative activities that foster self-confidence, individuality and creativity regularly fail in China and Asia. New foreign teachers can often be heard to complain about the "unwillingness" of their students to participate in class or to even answer the simplest of questions. Why? Students are taught to conform not stand out, and the Chinese have an acute sense of "saving face"; students prefer to say nothing in class than to risk embarrassment by making a mistake. Other factors are that the teacher is seen as the expert that will tell students what they should know; students are passive "sponges" in a learning environment that is largely memoristic in nature (students here do have amazing powers of recall). Students on the whole have little to no sense of ownership of their learning; little initiative, and (seemingly) little desire to reflect on their learning, personal development or life. I would guess that the average 20 year old Chinese student has the mental age of a 14 year old British student. English is taught as 4 unconnected subjects: reading, writing, listening, and speaking (oral/conversation). Typically, only speaking class has a foreign teacher (who may or may not be a native-level English speaker, qualified, proficient, or conscientious). The other classes have a Chinese teacher who will probably give the class in Chinese. The focus of (Chinese) teacher and students is on learning (just enough) to pass the exams. Little, if any, attention is paid to effective communicative ability in English. Students who are good at speaking English are generally those who have a personal interest in the language. I think many Chinese English teachers see the need for a change in methodology/policy, but change seems to be very slow and implemented from the top down. Those with power to decide and effect changes at schools may not be the most suited for the job (of implementing effective educational reform). Those with the power are (Communist) Party members who are often/usually aged, with Party agenda to promote and protect and perhaps no knowledge or understanding of, or concern for, the educational issues at stake.

How does all that fit in with what I'm learning on this course? How can I possibly change my students' learning behaviours?! And how could I try to encourage a cohort of slightly above average Shanghainese students to use an eportfolio system when only 2 weeks ago I gave up trying to get them to even use email? These students/classes are actually the best I have had here though. Students do not sleep in class, many are eager and willing to participate/learn, most bring pen and paper to class, the class sizes are small (about 20 students, not 60), each of my classrooms is large enough with furniture that can be moved; a pc I can use, with internet connection, projector, dvd player,...But the 90 minutes of class a week is all the English practice most students will get, despite a general consensus that English speaking skills are an important factor influencing a student's future employability.

Well, I'd better go to sleep so that tomorrow I can write a more relevant attempt at the CA2.3 Reflection and learning.

H808 bloglist @ 03/10/08

3 Oct 2008, 05:54

Visible to all Open University users

Jianfan Xie's blog

Jim Buckingham's blog

Jose Martel's blog

Jude Dunkwu's blog

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=157255

Julie Carle's Blog

Karen's blog:

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=349663
  

Keely Laycock's blog:

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=440915

Nicola Robinson's blog

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=35245

Nigel D K Roper's blog

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=29255

Nigel S's blog link (is that a "blink")

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=476982

Peter Cheer's blog

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=44071

Tanya McEvoy's Blog:

• http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/view.php?user=474428

CA2.1-Applications of eportfolios

2 Oct 2008, 23:33

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Page 1 of 3http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=90944

1. Read at least three of the papers listed in the resources section below.
Alternatively, find other case studies on the web that reflect your particular
interests. Consider the following issues:
a. Are eportfolios fulfilling a genuine need or are they just the latest fad?
b. Is personal development planning (PDP) different for students than for staff?
c. Of the various aspects of eportfolio use (e.g. collecting material,
providing evidence for learning, reflection on learning, presentation of
learning), which do the case studies exemplify?

-After (finally) finishing the essay, I reread the brief and noticed I hadn't really addressed b, or c at all. In fact I find it hard to answer c coz don't all eoportfolios have all those aspects? Though I suppose some acounts may emphasise some aspects more than others.

-Btw, I use "eportfolio" in the sense that it's an electronic portfolio, used for PDP/CPD, that is web based.

-Yes, I didn't put the ref list at the end...

-------------------------

Jose Martel-CA2.1-Applications of eportfolios
542 words (below)

If eportfolios are to be used for life-long learning and not be more than an expensive fad - expensive financially and, I think more importantly, costly in terms of wasted opportunity for all stakeholders - then a number of critical issues must be addressed.

There are technological issues. Effective implementation and integration of the eportfolio project within existing systems must be ensured. The various eportfolio platforms that arise must be interoperable, with data file technology used in current eportfolios not becoming obsolete. The ease and range of manipulation of this data (and meta data) is essential for enduser acceptance and institutional or corporate assessment and developmental needs (Batson, 2002; Jafari 2004).

Whether the costly technological issues can be addressed may be related to the implementation of a sound business plan to safeguard the continued existence, maintenance and development of the eportfolio platform. This business plan and platform may envisage, promote and depend on the enduser's desire for, and ability to easily and cost effectively maintain, lifelong affiliation with a particular eportfolio/institution. In return for lifelong endorsement, the enduser must receive an attractive package of benefits which could include (the benefits derived from the) use of the institution's name and artifact authentication (Jafari, 2004).

Aside from technological and business related issues, there are academic or pedagogic concerns. There are signs that a cultural change is needed in teachers' rather negative attitudes towards the concept of reflection, and their current unwillingness to reflect on their own practice and develop it - an issue related to excellence in teaching and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). A teacher's self-reflection and professional development (through the use of CPD and Teaching ePortfolios) can form a crucial model of good practice for a student's own reflective and developmental behaviour, greatly influencing the student's Personal Development Planing (PDP) (Stefani, 2005). The cultural shift in teachers' attitudes to reflection can be accomplished over a number of years as the 5 levels of maturation required for effective implementation of eportfolios are gradually achieved, maintained and surpassed until the final level is attained. This final level would be marked by the use of "authentic evidence as authoritative evidence for assessment, evaluation, and reporting" within the eportfolio, which is largely constructed employing the student's heuristic processes, and which would be "of high value for students, educators, and employers" (Love, et al. 2004).

Despite the apparent overwhelming acceptance of the need for PDP, CPD and eportfolios, concerns have been raised that there is a lack of evidence to support the claims that eportfolios support and enhance student learning and promote reflection on learning (Stefani, 2005). Further, appropriately documented studies, and time will tell.


As to eportfolio aspects that the case studies I looked at exemplify, the account of the University of Auckland's eportfolio project (Stefani, 2005) seems to stress the initial importance of the eportfolio as repository, while emphasizing that manipulation of the data/succesive versions of (the same) artifacts can demonstrate reflection and improvement over time.

The account of the California Lutheran University’s School of Education's eportfolio project (Love, et al. 2004) seemed to stress the effectiveness of working through the levels of maturation, and comments on how that gradual implementation aided its implementation by permitting the qualitative changes in faculty reflection so necessary for student progress.

CA2.1-eportfolios-my interest

1 Oct 2008, 20:29

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 1 Oct 2008, 20:34

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As already stated elsewhere, my reasons for learning about eportfolios are career related - in that this knowledge/skill will, hopefully, further and broaden my future employability. However, I have no immediate need, requirement, or real opportunity to put my new expertise to any practical use. This means that my interest in eportfolios is purely academic at the moment (no pun intended...but left in).

This, at times, rather laboured intrinsic interest is in stark contrast to the healthier extrinsic motivation that pushes some of my fellow students to enthuse about, delight in, and, more importantly, relate to their studies. Vague, general interest cannot match actual need. But I plod on.

I have hardly started experimenting with our eportfolio, Mystuff. This is mainly because I find it so annoying to use. I keep reading about how it is vital for the individual to feel in control of the eportfolio environment and be able to individualise it, or else they will quickly lose interest. Is Mystuff the OU's attempt to help us deep-learn by doing? Oh, we can intellectualise, we can assimilate the theory, but one learns so much more profoundly if one emotionalises - is there anything quite as effective as actually experiencing the frustration!?

But now that I am reading Stefani (2005) discuss CPD in a higher education context, I do feel that I could use an eportfolio (that does not annoy me) to help motivate myself; help me reflect, perhaps, more effectively; and help counteract the apathy that sets in when working in an education system where, though excellence in teaching is paid lip service, entertainment value rules.

Jose

Attempted focused musing and rumination 2

29 Sep 2008, 22:51

Edited by Jose Martel Penate, 29 Sep 2008, 23:19

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- ePortfolios:
___- are they information overload?
______- who (really) needs all that info (for their entire life)?
_________- anyone
____________- to keep life-events organised and searchable
____________- to help plan life-options
_________- only some people
____________- life is messy, not organised
___- positive for people who are successful
______- eportfolio as celebration
___- negative (?) for people who are not successful
______- constant and focused reminder of their failings
______- future headline?: eportfolio use linked to surge in suicides
___- what are they a true reflection of;
______- who we are?
______- who we want to appear to be?
______- who we want to be?
______- who someone else wants us to (appear to) be?
______- all of the above?
______- the state of our mental health??
___- is it safe to have all that personal data in one place and online?
______- but not only in 1 place
_________- platform management will have backup copies elsewhere geographically
_________- individuals will keep their own backup copies
______- identity theft (see below)
______- Big Brother (aspects in Orwell not Ch4)
_________- civil rights conspiracy theorists
____________- government could have too much access to too much personal data
_______________- but the usual responses
__________________- why would they bother?
__________________- data will be password protected and super-duper encrypted
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(Have I mentioned how much I hate that this blog messes up my formatting?!)