portfolio: Comments

Comment on "Multimedia Literacy Across the Curriculum"

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:29:26 -0500

IMO, we need to leverage the process we've developed for the TWT Certificate with the tangible products we'd expect someone earning the cert to develop. Coming up with a list of deliverables would not be too difficult; the tough part would be identifying where individuals could receive the instruction needed to develop materials and where they would have access to development resources. The Digital Commons is a strong possibility, and we know certain colleges have other resources available to tap.

We should start by nailing down the purpose of the cert and the list of deliverables. Again, pretty easy to do and not much time to invest. We can benchmark against others to round that all out. Then we step back and assess if we proceed or not.

The long-term benefits here are exciting. We'll have some students and hopefully some staff and faculty that earn the cert. The students have a bump on their portfolio, something they can share on an e-Portfolio. Staff will be better equipped to help in decisions for teaching, learning, and administrative efforts. I doubt we'll get many tenure-track faculty, but the tenured and adjunct market may surprise us.

- BRETT ALAN BIXLER

Comment on "Multimedia Literacy Across the Curriculum"

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:52:40 -0500

It is a really interesting idea. I've not read the article yet, but I am intrigued by the sound of a MM Literacy certificate that could be offered alongside the TWT. How would that take shape? I know we are looking to expand the TWT in new directions and this could be something that could be a part of it.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Learning Design Summer Camp 2009 - Musings"

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:58:19 -0500

Hey Brett,

Thanks for the summary. I agree with your observations. Regarding observation #1 I believe we have a golden opportunity to work with these faculty. During the faculty panel on literacy they were asking for our help with defining, measuring, and implementing new types of literacy.

We regards to your second observation, I think we're all feeling your frustration. I'd love to be part of a broad-based group (I'm thinking a representation of the camp attendees) that comes together and tries to figure out how we can keep the energy and momentum going.

- Jeff Swain

Comment on "Weekly Reflection 03-6-2009 - Cloud Computing"

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:56:33 -0500

You couldn't get me to give up my Mac for a Windows machine. No matter the fact that I live in a browser or not (I do for the most part) I just can't see myself dealing with what I perceive to be the pain and suffering of the Windows world. Maybe sometime in the future I'll feel differently, but at the moment the overall experience still matters way too much for me.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Weekly Reflection 03-6-2009 - Cloud Computing"

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:56:14 -0500

Actually I think Mac has BENEFITED from the new convergence. People who've heard about the benefits of Mac (e.g. iMovie, lack of viruses) are less afraid to switch.

And the foreign language gurus who switched to PC in the 90s are switching back to Mac... because it's worth it again.

My .02 €

- ELIZABETH J PYATT

Comment on "Building the Learning Design Community at Penn State"

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:20:11 -0500

I think you've come across the right question about LD -- not what it is, but what it takes to step back and look at a larger set of questions when thinking about design. I know as an instructional designer I was asked to think in a very focused way about a very specific set of problems ... I was never really all that comfortable with that. I was always trying to see beyond the immediate set of goals ... I always wanted to push and explore more about what I was doing. I'm not sure that made me a good ID, but I know its pushed me to look more closely at discovering affordances across the board. What does LD really mean? I think the definition you provide is a great starting point. I see it as a broader view of the design space -- that there are many people living within the design space and they can/should all contribute to a given teaching or learning environment. I am convinced that if we think in these broader terms we'll make more impact over the long haul.

I am hoping we keep pushing towards recognizing design is something really important and that it cuts a really wide path. I see the work we do in ETS as an example of learning design in practice -- we bring multiple perspectives to a challenge and fight to find the best solution in the moment to address it. I think the ID community is at the center of this progressive approach to problem solving. That to me is really exciting!

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Weekly Reflection 02-3-2009 - Leading by Unwitting Doing"

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:13:19 -0500

In my opinion, that's what we've been doing with projects like the faculty success stories (promote the heck out of the faculty) and Carla's faculty fellowship (more research oriented).

As to your question "Will the new generation of techno-savvy leaders that use these tools actively bend them to promote their leadership visions, or will they not think about it before they unwittingly share their leadership in this arena?" A fundamental part of being a leader is being able to share a vision. That can be done through a blog, YouTube, televised speech, fireside chat, or a well-written book. A really good communicator and strategist will know how to use all of the above.

- ALLAN SHAWN GYORKE

Comment on "Weekly Reflection 02-3-2009 - Leading by Unwitting Doing"

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:12:51 -0500

About levels - will the leader of the future's (perhaps the present!) correspondence exist on multiple channels of communication, each giving us a piece of the individual's thoughts? Perhaps the "traditional" channels - peer-reviewed publishes articles, white papers, etc. will be forced to share space with Web 2 channels.

In business and industry, I can see this as a great way to open communication across an organization. In academia, especially research-oriented institutions, I believe it will not be initially embraced by many - unless organizations like ETS can sponsor innovative faculty to conduct research that demonstrates value here. Then we need to promote the heck out these faculty, their findings, and the leaders they've researched.

As a start, it would be great to survey faculty and administrative leaders in academia to see if/how they are using Web2 communication tools to reach out.

- BRETT ALAN BIXLER

Comment on "Weekly Reflection 02-3-2009 - Leading by Unwitting Doing"

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:35:17 -0500

Wow, that is a really great observation Brett. Are we getting a more (and possibly more valuable) holistic view of the leaders in our space? I think being able to reach so many so quickly is a great thing to establish leadership in a given field -- maintaining it can be exhaustive. I also wonder if we are building levels of leadership by providing easy ways to share vs. more traditional ways. As an example, is someone who spends their time publishing blog posts that anyone can read less of a leader than say someone who publishes more lengthy pieces in journals that only a few have access to? Both have intense value and while one may be more aligned to the notion of pop culture celebrity I think we need to find ways to value both.

Even with that said I return to your example of the Twitter stream ... does knowing that someone you think a lot about spends a bunch of time grumbling about the quality of a steak lunch help or hurt their identity. To me that is the really interesting question.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Weekly Reflections 12-22-08 - Where's Mr. Nice Guy?"

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:57:54 -0500

The first sign of a good leader is someone who recognizes his limitations and works to correct them. Seems to me you are doing this. Remember, you are talking about changing a part of you that has been a certain way (mammal) for most of your life. As an ID you know how long it takes to change a pattern as ingrained as that. It is only natural that in trying to change a pattern of behavior that is so ingrained you would swing to the other side of the pendulum (reptile). Keep at it, you'll find the right balance for you.

- Jeff Swain

Comment on "Weekly Reflections 12-22-08 - Where's Mr. Nice Guy?"

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:44:28 -0500

So, you need to be less Darth Vader and less Obi Wan, and more like Luke?

- MARK THOMAS HECKEL

Comment on "Visit to New Mexico State University Learning Games Lab"

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:32:40 -0500

That's the idea for RFPs - don't forget to look at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd6q8n6t_94hskgzq8p&hl=en for our suggested round starting this spring - still need your feedback on all that.

We need to build the affiliate program & Facebook group up somehow & leverage that for the culture. Not sure how to do that except brute force - enrolling people (with their permission) in the AP, making lots of presentations to faculty groups, etc.

- BRETT ALAN BIXLER

Comment on "Visit to New Mexico State University Learning Games Lab"

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:47:27 -0500

Sounds like a great trip!

Could you establish an environment where you were taking RFPs from faculty (or outside funders) to build games with Jason Wolfe? Essentially starting a small game development space? How many engagements like that could a group that small manage? Two or three?

If you did want to go that direction, would there also be time to help create a culture of games in learning -- in other words, continue to work with faculty to help them understand how games work in learning. I would think in addition to a few games being developed you could work with a few faculty to integrate existing games into courses. What do you think?

- Cole W. Camplese