Let me propose meeting at the Union Jack Club, or a close by alternative if it doesn’t work out, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, February 17.

Please let me know if this works for you and if you might likely attend! Comments on the blog or on Twitter to @aeratcliffe and #phdchat would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Edmonton school encourages smartphones in classrooms

The story addresses one school that is encouraging the use of technology in the classroom, with students bringing their smartphone, iPads, Blackberries, and more. There are reasons why many people responded negatively to the poll about technology being in the classroom, but I’m going to stick with the positive use. It made me think of a video that I would like to share, “Pay Attention.” It is linked from a previous blog post, Pay Attention – Video. I think it is worthwhile to watch the news story and to view this video which was produced by a school district in the USA.

I’m using a MacBook Pro with the Lion OS. I was connecting to a webpage to hear the podcast, and I clearly had the URL showing the mp3 file. However, I was not sure how to download the file and listen to it offline. My thought of opening it in Audacity proved wrong (unless I’ve missed something). Some web searching indicated that I might need Quick Time Pro to do this, but that was not necessary! I opened Quick Time player. I then clicked on File/Open location and entered the URL for the file. Then clicking Open, the file is playing. From the Quick Time player menu, I chose File/Export to save it to my desktop. I then dragged it into iTunes and synched to the iPhone.

There are likely other ways to do this. Please share, so others can learn!

Edited: Okay, I should have known this was not so difficult. From the page listing all of the recordings, just right click on the link there and then on ‘Download Linked File As…’ I was looking for this in the first place, but my mistake was trying to do it from the link contained in an email message.

The latter is an e-learning conference for European company participants. Since my research relates to informal and self-directed work-based learning, with a particular interest in personal learning environments used in continuing professional development, it is a conference at which to look a little closer.

There is no doubt that abbreviations and acronyms are used in different contexts, so this confusion is not a surprise. However, relating to e-learning, it did catch me thinking they were one in the same!

#phdchat on Twitter has proven to be a great tool for networking with doctoral students and others worldwide. I look forward to the days when I meet some of these colleagues in person at conferences and other events. It is also nice to meet those whom are in the same community, and that has started to happen here in Edmonton.

Marguerite (@mkooleaday) and I have met previously through our respective affiliations with Athabasca University. She is studying through the University of Lancaster. Next to be added was Kari, studying at the University of Leicester. We were joined this time by Tristram (@pigironjoe), faculty at the University of Derby, and Sarah (@exigneresurgam) from the University of Alberta. I had the pleasure of meeting Tristram when I visited Leicester, and Sarah while attending the Teaching Development Week at the University of Alberta. Of course, I am from the University of Leicester.

What a lovely day it was, eating on the patio at Hudsons Canadian Tap House on 104 Avenue, also accessing their free wifi. Tristram is touring Canada on a study related visit, and others took time away from work, studies, and other activities to join.

Our meetings are being held every month or so, and we welcome others as our group grows. It is a chance to share what we are doing informally while building relationships in the academic community. I hesitate to use the terms ‘meetups’ or ‘tweetups,’ as we have not registered the group as of yet at meetup.com, and not all are necessary active on Twitter. Perhaps that is a topic for our next get-together.

When I referred to the “masses,” I wasn’t kidding. In the college environment where I primarily taught, 5o students was a large class. At the University of Alberta, some classes may be in the 100s, although not all are large–especially in grad school! Many of the participants were to be teaching Assistants (TAs), teaching and/or grading papers. Hearing about a course size of 800 to 1,000, with perhaps 20+ TAs, was eye opening. I need to clarify if those numbers are broken into smaller classes for the lectures.

In my PhD program, I am expected to continue my personal training and development in related areas. While teaching classes is not something I will need to do, there are always presentation opportunities, and teaching skills help make a well-rounded academic/educator. It is time to dust off some teaching related books from my shelf, such as Brookfield and Preskill’s 1999 book, “Discussion as a Way of Teaching” (from Jossey-Bass).

These are the sessions I attended so far:

Upcoming on September 6:

I’m looking forward to attending the final day in this series.

Grades 5 and 6 (ages 10-12, 1968-70) were in an enrichment program at an open concept school, Runningbrook Elementary in Mississauga, Ontario. My recollection is of assignments given at the beginning of the week, minimal instructional sessions, and the opportunity to spend Fridays reading in the library, on big cushions on the floor if we liked, if the assignments were complete. I am currently trying to identify research or reports that might exist, in addition to contacting the teacher.

At T.A. Blakelock High School in Oakville, Ontario, secondary education was grades 9 to 12, with an optional grade 13 for university admission. With the newly introduced semester systems, I was able to complete 4 years in 3 years and move on to full-time employment with the Metropolitan Toronto Police at the age of 17 in 1975. At that time, I was not interested in grade 13. Also, my recollection of grade 9 was studying at home for about 6 weeks due to injuries sustained when hit by a car. My grades went up in all subjects but one in which I recall little support from the teacher.

In 1977, I undertook pilot training. The Cessna Private Pilot Training Program ground school component was independent study using a text book, filmstrips, and audiocassettes. Fortunately, my flight instructor was new and had time to act in a tutorial role to support the ground school learning. My commercial pilot training followed in a traditional setting, but sadly I did not continue flying after about 1988.

Four years after leaving high school, encouraged and supported by my employer, the City of Edmonton Police, I entered the Bachelor of Administration degree program at Athabasca University. With open admission standards, the grade 13 deficiency played no role. Through distance learning, I was able to complete my studies without the need to attend classes, although I did complete about 4 at other institutions. Working shift-work in the early stages made this ideal. Hearing many stories about student procrastination, I empathise having taken from 1979 until 1992 to complete a 3-year degree.

In 1997, I commenced Master of Distance Education studies through Athabasca University’s Centre for Distance Education. With some background in training, a new part-time college teaching position, and encouragement from a mentor, I began studying about distance education through distance learning. My thesis, completed in 2002, looked at the perceptions of participants in a competency-based apprenticeship programme.

Despite assuring myself, after the undergraduate degree, and then after the master’s degree, that I was done with formal education, I made enquiries about doctoral studies on several occasions. By late 2010, I was committed to applying to my current programme. Despite looking at a number of options, including other subject areas, my preference was to build on the subject matter covered by my graduate studies in distance education.

I have had an opportunity to experience continuing professional development (CPD) toward professional designations and regulatory education requirements, including the field of life and health insurance where I am currently self-employed as a broker. Facets of this CPD create interest for me, and I find that further study may fit well in my stated subject area while building on past education. Of course, it will tie to elearning and a particular focus on collaborative learning.

More will follow, as the direction becomes clearer.

Many will continue to prefer opportunities to attend CPD in the physical presence of others. This may be for a variety of factors that include receiving a number of credit hours in a condensed period, and this is made even more appealing with socialization and a nice environment. Despite my extensive background as a distance learner, I took part in a face-to-face setting that I wrote about as Advocis Banff School 2011.Your may be interested in the blog post and photos. Yes, it was an enjoyable experience, but I still continue to research relating to eLearning opportunities.

I should be writing more toward my literature review right now, but I have returned to a book on my bookshelf, of which I have the newly updated edition: The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. In this book, Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2011) discuss the application of andragogical principles in adult learning. If I continue on this CPD/PLE path of interest, it is becoming obvious that adult learning is a necessary foundation for the reading in my literature review. A second book that is referenced and in my collection awaiting a return to it, is The Meaning of Adult Education. Lindeman (1961) is a classic (republished from original 1926 edition). It and other writings are going to inform my exploration of this area.

References

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Lindeman, E. (1961). The meaning of adult education. Montreal: Harvest House.

Based on the interest and feedback, here is the approach I am taking!

1. Develop an initial list of topics, questions, concerns from potential participants. This is where we are at now, and your input is needed. Please provide as comments to the blog, or email me at tony ‘at’ tonyratcliffe.com.

2. Identify and list short introductory videos on products that should be viewed in advance of a discussion. I also want to identify the instructional videos for more detailed help. I’m asking that reps provide this as a comment or by email.

3. I will ask product reps to provide a written blurb on how their products can help. In particular, I like the theme of ‘how do you play nicely with other products, or do a great job on your own?’ Once we have the topics, questions, and concerns from potential participants, these might help guide the reps.

4. Host a live ‘synchronous’ hour of short presentations, questions, and answers.

5. Continuing asynchronous discussion forum.

6. The development can be in stages, leading up to an online session in, perhaps, September.

Again, your input is requested and needed. The main guidance I want to give is that this is to be a ‘how to play nice’ seminar. There will be opinions, for sure, but let’s focus on the place that each product has for some of us. What works for one may not work for another!

With good intentions, of course, I had my laptop and a couple of books with me. Reading in the moving vehicle is not that comfortable, and little was done at the hotel. Many would suggest that was good, as I did take a needed break.

Photo selections (perhaps too many) appear on my Flickr page, including scenery and some animals.