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1 October 2009

MirandaNet Newsletter October 2009

MirandaNet Newsletter October 2009

Editorial

Our new programme of MirandaMods for 2009/10 is the main item in this newsletter. Some of you may still be asking what a MirandaMod is. It is our name for an informal, loosely structured unconference of like-minded educators to share ideas about the use of technology to inspire others. Drew Buddy took the word ‘Mod’ from an old Scottish name for meeting. For those who cannot attend in person or online you will find videos, maps and blog entries to keep you in touch and giving every scholar and Fellow a chance to air their views.

We already have a MirandaNet website roundup about the MirandaMod on Communities of Practice (CoP) in September led by Etienne Wenger: blogs, a video and the collaborative map offer some key insights into what was observed by the participants.

The next MirandaMod to be held at the Handheld Learning Conference at the Barbican, London on October 5th is an opportunity to stay for the whole session or just ‘drop in’ to raise issues and discuss theory and practice about the use of ubiquitous handheld or mobile technologies in informal learning, and the ways in which they can impact formal education. This discussion will be continued on Tuesday December 8th at the WLE Centre, Institute of Education, London, when Norbert Pachler, Graham Brown-Martin, John Traxler and Elizabeth Hartnell-Young debate the characteristics of Handheld and Mobile Learning.

Other MirandaMods at the WLE Centre, Institute of Education, London, cover a range of subjects that members have expressed a keen interest in: 22nd October is about balancing digital literacy with digital safety: a growing dilemma for schools. We also have two MirandaMods about Special Needs issues on Tuesday 24th November (TBC) and Wednesday 9th December (TBC). We shall be running MirandaMods at BETT10 and also planned for next term are MirandaMods on assessment of ICT CPD and the value of computer games in learning.

We have also had some interesting debates already on MirandaLink about blocking sites, YouTube and one on sea safety media kicked off by Stephen Heppell. The new design of our website allows all members to see the messages in the archive when you log into the members’ area on MirandaNet.

Also in this edition is the review of Developing Professional Practice 0 -7, an exciting new publication for practitioners engaged with babies, toddlers and children aged 0-7 by Sonia Blandford. I’m also reviewing members’ blogs in each newsletter. Leon Cych’s Learn4Life this month.

This newsletter is another channel where members can share news and knowledge. If you want any issues aired or any products and publications covered in the newsletter let me know.

Hoping to hear from you at one or other of our activities, online or face to face,

Yours sincerely,

Christina Preston

MirandaMod Round up

Etienne Wenger at the CoPs MirandaNet

There were 28 members at the WLE centre in London and more than 30 members logged in at different points in this MirandaMod.

Etienne Wenger (http://www.ewenger.com) gave generously of his time both by talking about the learning theories underpinning his CoP’s concept and by commenting on the observations of the MirandaMod participants. His first main book refers to the interaction between Learning, Meaning, and Identity amongst the members. A striking observation about young learners that gave us more insight into their behaviour was the suggestion that they are seeking multiple identities in learning today rather than the information which used to be the goal of older learners. By the end of the session the participants formed a consensus about the need for schools to examine this phenomenon carefully. It also helps to explain young peoples’ fixation with celebrities. This may not be a vacuous attraction to fame, we thought, but an interest in one of the many identities they might present to the world.

The video is well worth watching. It features the seminar and round table discussion first where Ingemar Svensson talked about a CoP in Sweden, Ove Jobring covered CoPs theories of learning and then Etienne Wenger talked about his view of CoPs as they have developed since 1989. After that we have the MirandaMod with members’ explaining what CoPs mean to them and Etienne Wenger commenting on what he heard. Would Etienne have been so expressive if we had tied his hands to his sides. We suspect not!

We also have the collaborative map that participants collaborated on and Miles Berry’s presentation about open source projects as CoPs.

Many, many thanks to our MirandaMod team: Leon Cych, Theo Kuechel, Terry Freedman and John Cuthell. and the funders, the WLE Centre, Institute of Education, University of London, Becta and the TDA.

Here are the artefacts that have emerged so far:

MirandaMod programme 2009/2010

5.09.09 Handheld Learning: MirandaMod; Monday 5th October

If you're going to the Handheld Learning Conference for the free day on Monday, don't forget to join us between 1100 and 1300 for the MirandaMod we're running.
Participants in this MirandaMod are invited to raise issues and discuss theory and practice about the use of ubiquitous handheld technologies in informal learning, and the ways in which they can impact formal education. I'm chairing the sessions that address these questions:

Participants at the conference can drop into this session face to face on the first day, which is free to attend, and/or engage online for the full three days of the conference, when participants are invited to contribute to an online concept map that will represent the collaborative knowledge built up by delegates at the Handheld Learning conference, as well as their colleagues who have participated online.

Can't attend? Don't worry - you can contribute ideas, reflections, examples and so on through MindMeister, the collaborative online concept map that we're using.

Sharing and collaborating on the map

All participants are invited to contribute to an online concept map that will represent the collaborative knowledge built up by delegates at the Handheld Learning conference, as well as their colleagues who have participated online. This open, wiki-type map that everyone may view and edit can be found on:

Participants can view the progress of, and build, the concept map throughout the session and during the rest of the conference. Everyone can contribute to the map.

Venue details:
Handheld Learning Conference
11:00 - 13:00
5th October 2009
The Brewery, Chiswell Street, Barbican, London EC1

22.10.09 Balancing digital literacy with digital safety: a growing dilemma for schools

1600 – 1745 – Seminar- e-Safety in Schools- A new Becta report

1630 – 2100 MirandaMod. Balancing digital Literacy and digital safety; a dilemma for schools

08: 12.09: ‘Mobile learning; handheld learning?’ What do we mean?

Seminar and round table: 1600 – 1800

MirandaMod 1830 – 2100

23.02.10: Multimodal? Digital? Visual? New literacy? What are the CPD and assessment issues?

29.03.10: Computer games, learning and the curriculum: uneasy bedfellows? Engaging underachieving learners and NEETs

Books Live!

Free Web 2.0 Projects Book

As you may have seen on MirandaLink, Terry Freedman is compiling a new edition of the free Web 2.0 Projects Book published last year. The e-book featured details of educational projects based on Web 2.0 applications, and has been downloaded around 11,500 times. But a year has passed and some of the links no longer work, so it’s time for an update. If you have been doing anything interesting with Web 2.0, please share! So far Terry has received just over 50 projects, plus an indication that at least one more will be submitted a bit later in the year, when some data from the project will be available. With this in mind, if you have recently started a great project, but don't have much data yet, or if you missed the deadline of 30 September, please get in touch with Terry, who will try to be as flexible possible.

The original article about this book is here: Web 2.0 Projects Book.
To submit your project, Terry has set up an online form for that purpose. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete, and you can submit more than one project if you like.

Web 2 Tools for Teachers

Nick Peachy has just finished a 53page booklet on Web2.0 Tools for Teachers (aimed at language teachers).You can read it online or download a copy. There's also a recording of an online training session which was delivered on Adobe Connect Pro and built around some of the ideas in the booklet

Developing Professional Practice 0 - 7

Developing Professional Practice 0 -7 is an exciting new publication by Professor Sonia Blandford for practitioners engaged with babies, toddlers or children aged 0-7 including; children's centre leaders and staff, foster carers, nursery carers and managers, children's trusts, social workers, support teachers, teachers, teacher trainers, child care students and tutors, policy makers and parents.

Details can be found on: www.pearsoned.co.uk/dpp

Digital resources

A free mapping tool: South Beach

Chris Yapp came across a free mapping tool on the web a few months ago, which he thinks might interest a number of people within MirandaNet. It is in early development but is a very flexible tool for the visualisation of knowledge and situations seeking improvement. Chris has been speaking to its author and found that it is already being used by school children for problem solving but also in organisations for strategic decision making among other applications.

The tool is called Southbeach and it can be downloaded onto a windows platform from www.southbeachinc.com. You can find more of Chris’s observations on this URL.

Blogspot

Leon Cych: Learn4Life

http://www.l4l.co.uk

Leon is one of the leading bloggers who uses video to capture events he is commenting on. His quick turn round on MirandaMod videos is much respected. I interviewed Leon for his views of blogging that he began in 1994- the same year as MirandaNet developed a website:

“I see my role as finding and disseminating new innovative practice in education. I do this mainly through video blogging at the moment. My blog is a lifelong research project into learning - it documents and reflects on learning in the UK and beyond. I began blogging way back in 1994 ...although it wasn't called that then. I use the blog to show the progress of innovation in education ICT and the possibilities for the future. I'm never tempted to stop because it is a lifelong concern - I will never stop blogging until the day I die. The best way to search my blog is by the key words listed in the sidebar - you should find plenty of content there - be warned there are thousands of hours of video - these films are all archived at http://www.archive.org as well and are all made available under a Creative Commons licence and are free for anyone to download or embed as they wish. An attribution would be nice but not really mandatory.

“If people could read one post I'd recommend my latest one at : http://www.l4l.co.uk/?p=835 which has had over a 1000 views in the last few days - I consider it to be my best film - shot and edited in under 12 hours from the event happening to being uploaded to the web. I can work faster and more intimately with classes than bigger organisations like the BBC or Teachers' TV because I have a wealth of contacts and I understand the classroom having had 25 years experience of teaching. I try to film children in as natural and authentic setting as possible and will give the class a talk beforehand about the technology I am going to use and what will happen during filming - they often forget I'm there. This rapid turn-around helps speed up the dissemination of best practice in this area and provides a dynamic record of the progress of technology in education that's current and vital.

“If people are thinking of blogging I would recommend that they think very carefully about their audience and how they wish to engage with them. Start small and don't be afraid of making mistakes. I would recommend using Posterous.com as it is easy and simple and you can upload blogposts by mailing them to the site. I think blogs are wonderful for reflection and community building I doubt they will be overtaken anytime soon by other forms of media. There are so many blogs I could recommend, some of the best are those by

“but there are literally hundreds I could list.”

I’d like to publish the views of more bloggers. Please get in touch.

Christina Preston

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