[Xmca-l] Re: [commfac] Re: FW: femtechnet: DOCC 2013: top listed story on Inside Higher Ed

Mon Aug 26 03:18:31 PDT 2013

Dear All

I apologize for the late participation, but I would like to comment
Michael's perspective about CHAT Education. I think that Michael's
perspective about open *contents* and open *resources* is a fruitful option
for CHAT. We can create a wide diversity of learning environments that may
be used in different contexts and methodologies and mediated by different
local groups.
This may be a very interesting option of open educational resources;-)

In what concerns the issue “MOOCs”, the discussion “still goes in the
churchyard”. An interesting way to approach this issue, may be to
deconstruct the inherent intentions of this movement, as we are doing in
XMCA now.

Best wishes,
Luísa Aires

On 20 August 2013 19:53, mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:

> Precisely the right question, Andy.
> mike
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 5:58 AM, Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net> wrote:
>
> > What, in your opinion then, Michael, is the best thing a group or
> > university teachers, with technical support and access to a website, but
> no
> > appreciable amount of money, could do to offer education in CHAT free to
> > the world?
> >
> > Andy
> >
> >
> > Glassman, Michael wrote:
> >
> >> I think one of the things we really need to do is change the vocabulary
> >> and the way we talk about different initiatives in Internet infused
> >> education.  Massive Open Online Courses is a marketing scheme not a
> point
> >> of debate about education.  MOOC sounds kind of cute but it is so broad
> as
> >> to be completely meaningless, and the appropriation of it is an attempt
> of
> >> those with the largest megaphone and smallest intellectual memories to
> take
> >> control of the conversation (same thing that happened with the phrase
> >> educational reform I think).  Ironically when the phrase was first
> >> introduced it mean something completely different from what we
> >> automatically think it means now.  It was introduced to describe a
> >> twenty-five person online course with high levels of connectivity by
> George
> >> Siemans at the University of Manitoba.  It was appropriated by venture
> >> capital companies like Udacity and EdX I would surmise because it is
> kind
> >> of a cute way of describing things like Teletubbies.  The trou
> >>  ble is then we are constantly arguing against the way MOOCs are which
> >> creates an uncomfortable bifurcation - is the Internet good for
> education
> >> or bad for education.
> >>
> >> I think we would be much better off it we used the United Nations terms
> >> which are much more descriptive - Open Educational Content and Open
> >> Educational Resources.  Open Educational Content sort of describes
> Udacity
> >> while Open Educational Resources describes better Balsamo's project.
>  This
> >> gives us the opportunity to say which is better for educational
> purposes.
> >>  We can ask the question, "Why do you think Open Content" is enough for
> an
> >> educational experience?  Does OEC limit students more than OER?
>  Basically
> >> what those proposing OEC are doing is throwing out centuries of not only
> >> discussions of education but pretty much every argument since Des
> Cartes.
> >>  They should be called on this publicly and made to answer for it.
> >>
> >> Michael
> >> ______________________________**__________
> >> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.**edu <
> xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>[
> >> xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.**edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>] on
> >> behalf of mike cole [lchcmike@gmail.com]
> >> Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 7:44 PM
> >> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> >> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: [commfac] Re: FW: femtechnet: DOCC 2013: top
> listed
> >> story on Inside Higher Ed
> >>
> >> It is unthinkable from the perspective of any world view that values
> >> diversity.
> >> XMCA values diversity.
> >> Ergo....... or is that er.... go??
> >> mike
> >>
> >>
> >> On Mon, Aug 19, 2013 at 4:33 PM, Martin John Packer <
> >> mpacker@uniandes.edu.co
> >>
> >>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> I especially like the concluding paragraphs:
> >>>
> >>> Among the forms of MOOC hype that Balsamo said she hoped the DOCC would
> >>> combat is the idea that massive online courses allow some "best"
> >>> professor
> >>> to interact with students everywhere, so that all can learn from the
> >>> superstar. It's not that there aren't very talented professors out
> there,
> >>> she said, but the superstar emphasis is wrong ("Is there really a
> >>> 'best'?"
> >>> she asks) and doesn't encourage group learning.
> >>>
> >>> Said Balsamo: "The idea of the one best talking head, the best expert
> in
> >>> the world, that couldn't be more patriarchal. That displays a hubris
> that
> >>> is unthinkable from a feminist perspective."
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Read more:
> >>> http://www.insidehighered.com/**news/2013/08/19/feminist-**
> >>> professors-create-alternative-**moocs#ixzz2cSdlb7pt<
> http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/19/feminist-professors-create-alternative-moocs#ixzz2cSdlb7pt
> >
> >>> Inside Higher Ed
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Aug 19, 2013, at 6:24 PM, mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Dear Xmcaers-
> >>>>
> >>>> The following link to femnet mooc seems to me to offer a very
> >>>> interesting
> >>>> model for members of xmca to think of following. We here at UCSD have
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>> been
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> thinking along
> >>>> such lines, but this is a developed model that might actually provide
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>> some
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> kind of
> >>>> strategic guide to action. I can imagine any number of stimulating
> such
> >>>> efforts various
> >>>> congeries of xmca could cook up.
> >>>> mike
> >>>>
> >>>> Forwarded from Lisa Cartwright at ucsd.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> Hi everyone, the DOCC 2013 MOOC alternative course discussed today
> >>>>> today
> >>>>> in Inside Higher Ed had one of its pilots taught in our department
> last
> >>>>> spring by Liz Losh and me with Monika Sengul Jones, Cristina
> Visperas,
> >>>>> Lousie Hickman, Erika Cheng, Yelena Guzman and others leading the
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> effort to
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> produce innovative course design and materials and hosting a
> conference
> >>>>> dedicated to it--big shout-out to these graduate students for making
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> this
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> launch happen. We are one of the 17 colleges offering the class to
> >>>>> undergrads in this coming year. I thought some of you you might enjoy
> >>>>> reading this alternative effort given the pervasive of MOOC
> discussions
> >>>>> right now.  Best to everyone, Lisa
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I suggest you take a look.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> mike
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> ------------------------------
> >>>>>
> >>>>> http://www.insidehighered.com/
> >>>>>
> >>>>> ______________________________**_________________
> >>>>> femtechnet mailing list
> >>>>> femtechnet@lists.uoregon.edu
> >>>>> https://lists-prod.uoregon.**edu/mailman/listinfo/**femtechnet<
> https://lists-prod.uoregon.edu/mailman/listinfo/femtechnet>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > --
> > ------------------------------**------------------------------**
> > ------------
> > *Andy Blunden*
> > Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
> > Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts
> > http://marxists.academia.edu/**AndyBlunden<
> http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden>
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

-- 

Luísa Aires
Universidade Aberta, Porto
R.Amial, nº 752
4200-055 Porto
laires@uab.pt