Christyinsdesign's Favorite Links on learningcommunity from Diigo

In the Wild « Web2.0 in High School

Wed, 14 May 2008 08:12:02 -0000

Observations from the beginning of a high school project with Ning, Animoto, and Flickr. Most of the insight is around how Ning facilitates conversations between students and lets the teacher join the discussion. Students are engaged with Ning; they are personalizing their spaces and giving each other constructive feedback.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

I can’t think of another way in which teachers can get such immediate access to the ‘thinking’ process that is playing out in front of them.

The ability for teachers to understand and add value to the comment ‘back channel’ is a key skill for the ‘connected teacher’. Anyone can swap an writing pad for a blog, there is no value in that. The back channel is the conversation, and is the heartbeat of thought.

Tags: web2.0 k-12 education learningcommunity connection

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Working with online learning communities

Sat, 10 May 2008 13:12:56 -0000

Best practices for working with online learning communities, including how to work with lurkers who may still be learning even if they aren't actively participating.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

He gives a set of mantras for teacher/leaders in any online community:

all you need is love
control the environment, not the group
lead by example
let lurkers lurk
short leading questions get conversations going
be personally congratulatory and inquisitive
route information in all directions
care about the people in the community; this cannot be faked
understand consensus and how to build it, and sense when it's been built and just not recognised, and when you have to make a decision despite all the talking.

online learning communities are grown, not built
online learning communities need leaders
personal narrative is vital to online learning communities.

Tags: learningcommunity e-learning teaching leadership discussion

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Let Your Online Learning Community Grow (pdf)

Sat, 10 May 2008 13:09:53 -0000

3 Design Principles for Growing Successful Email Listservs and Online Forums in Educational Settings. Even though the technology discussed is a little dated (the paper was written in 1998), the principles for online learning communities are still relevant.

Tags: learningcommunity e-learning leadership discussion

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Diigo User Communities ~ Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:03:46 -0000

Stephen Downes linked to me twice in one post. W00t! This is a nice overview of the flurry of activity around Diigo over the weekend, with links to a number of posts from educators exploring the new version.

Tags: diigo groupthink learningcommunity socialbookmarking

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Learning Communities - Monograph

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:21:32 -0000

Overview and examples of learning communities, plus steps for getting started

Tags: education highered learningcommunity

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Dynamic Learning Communities: An Alternative to Designed Instructional Systems

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:19:05 -0000

Contrasts the idea of open, dynamic learning communities with closed courses developed through traditional instructional systems design processes. Examines the pros and cons of DLCs and when they would be most effective. Also looks at how the role of instructional designers is changing, and proposes different ways we might define our role.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Our own belief is that dynamic learning communities are proper objects of study. We should seek to understand how such communities function, how they grow, how they can be nurtured, and how they can be replicated across diverse settings. But nurturing is different than designing. We must respect the integrity of the community. In time, we may come to think of ourselves more as learning technologists than as instructional technologists, and learning support specialists more than instructional designers.

Heretofore, instructional designers have thought they were in the business of designing instructional systems to meet prespecified learning objectives. But first the constructivist movement--and now communication technologies themselves--seem to be thre atening this conception as the sole way to support learning. People are learning without help from designed instruction! In many settings, in fact, "natural" learning is more prevalent than "designed" learning (Resnick, 1987). We believe that the situation requires a reexaminination of our core roles. Are we in the business of designing instruction or are we in the business of supporting valuable learning, wherever it may happen? The answer to this question will result in either a narrow or broad interpretation of our role and its relationship to non-instructional forms of learning.

Tags: change constructivism instructionaldesign learningcommunity technology

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Creating Learning Communities

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:10:56 -0000

Resources, discussion lists, and an online book about creating learning communities, especially communities of "self-learners"

Tags: community education learningcommunity lifelonglearning

Posted by: christyinsdesign

SEDL Product: Creating a Professional Learning Community: Cottonwood Creek School: Issues About Change, Volume 6, Number 2

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:43:24 -0000

Creating professional learning communities in K-12 schools

Tags: change community education k-12 learningcommunity

Posted by: christyinsdesign

elearnspace: Community

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:41:44 -0000

Collection of resources for online learning communities and communities of practice from George Siemens

Tags: community e-learning education learningcommunity

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Professional Learning Communities, Leadership, and Student Learning

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:08:13 -0000

Research on professional learning communities in middle schools, both in urban and suburban areas. The research specifically looks at the organizational cultures of learning organizations, including team learning, trust, and shared vision.

Tags: k-12 leadership learningcommunity middleschool

Posted by: christyinsdesign

Sending Your Courses into the Blogosphere: An Introduction for “Old People”

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:09:07 -0000

An instructor explains how blogs improved the student ownership and depth of discussions over what they experienced with asynchronous discussion boards. Also includes how blog posts were managed and assessed for the course.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

The difference with blogs, and it is an important difference, is that students take possession of the class blog in ways they never did with these other products.

How might faculty members use blogs to help their students reach particular learning goals? I use blogs to accomplish two goals in my courses: to facilitate serious communication and cooperation between students on course–related topics and tasks, and to generate efficient and meaningful class discussions.

Tags: assessment asynchronous blog highered learningcommunity

Posted by: christyinsdesign

The Art of Building Virtual Communities (Techlearning blog)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:58:05 -0000

Two models for understanding roles in online communities: 4L (Linking, Lurking, Learning, Leading) and 4C (Consumer, Commentor, Contributor, Commentator). Also includes some questions and ideas about what makes healthy online communities.

Tags: community e-learning education learningcommunity socialnetworking

Posted by: christyinsdesign

The Bamboo Project Blog: Six Reasons People Aren't Commenting On Your Blog

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:57:35 -0000

If you're not getting comments on your blog, these might be some of the reasons. If you sound like a press release, infomercial, or know-it-all, people won't join the conversation. Create the right atmosphere, show people how to comment, and make it clear you want conversation, and you might get more comments.

Tags: blog conversation learningcommunity

Posted by: christyinsdesign