NLII Ruminations | EDUCAUSE

Submitted by Diana G. Oblinger (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 9:54pm.

I'm pleased that you enjoyed the focus session. These are designed to be very different events so its great when they succeed. We did something a bit unusual with the homework, however. While it ensured everyone tried a wiki and/or chat, part of the point of the exercise was that the technology wasn't really appropriate for the learning activity we were using.

You raise a good point about merging the physical and virtual interactions. That is something we'll consider the next time we try this program. After doing a program, there are always things you see that could be done better. We also felt we needed to give people more time to interact.

We're already talking about next January's hands-on sessions at the annual meeting, so we'll keep your suggestion about Croquet in mind. Julian and Mark have been very generous in presenting Croquet when ever we've asked.

You may want to be an on-site podcaster for the next event. What about growing our own reporters within the organization?

Re: NLII Ruminations

Submitted by Malcolm B. Brown (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 10:42pm.

These are very useful suggestions. I interpret their jist as: we should try to model the learning environment in the focus session, using tools, technology, etc. to do so. The focus session this spring tried to move in this direction, so it helps to receive this kind of encouragement. It's feedback that planners of future sessions dealing with this topic should keep in mind.

That being said, there should obviously be a balance so that it doesn't become a session of technology for its own sake. The model should be to use "avant garde" technology woven into activities that enable participants to apply it in ways that learners might do. Technology thresholds are a key factor in the adoption and feasability of technology in the learning environment.

Again, just my $.02.

Re: NLII Ruminations

Submitted by Carl F. Berger (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) on March 21, 2005 - 11:16pm.

Great Ruminations! I'm pleased to see that you struggled with the same dilemma we did as we tried preparing for the Focus Session. You might be interested to know that we made ourselves do the home work before the session and came away with some of the same excitement and struggle of technology and pedagogy. Often 'strange bedfellows.'

I was quite surprised to see the energy level of the group not flag but respond to the enormous wealth of expertise around the room as well as the packed schedule. After reflecting on asking you all to blog, use the web, watch presentations, participate in lively discussions, I came away with the same feeling.... I needed some 'down time' to reflect and use some of the neat tools to help organize my thoughts and perhaps present and involve others 'on-line...off-conference.'

We'll take the suggestions here to heart not only as they fit well with ours but also because we're doing here what we so wanted to see from the sessions, that technology can serve learning and not be separated from it!

Real Cheers

Re: NLII Ruminations

Submitted by Jarret S. Cummings (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 11:23pm.

It was great to meet you at the focus session, Vidya, and I'm glad the experience motivated you to help us improve the process further. You hit on one of the key questions we're trying to address for future focus sessions: How do we make the value generated by the sessions more widely available while ensuring that we maximize the learning experience for those directly involved?

In that regard, I appreciate your thoughts about trying to use technology to include some offsite observers in the process, which in essence would make them direct participants. Thinking through the details of how to integrate such participation with onsite activities will take some time, but the possibilities are definitely worth considering.

Regarding your point about providing time in the program for interaction, both in person and online, that is a persistent challenge for any of our events. However, that's not to say it isn't worthwhile to get a reminder that we may not have balanced those considerations effectively. In wanting to maximize the opportunities the session has to offer, it's easy to develop a program that's too packed to allow for the conversations that extend and reinforce the program's themes. We always want to keep this issue in the forefront of our planning efforts, and your continued feedback on how close or far we may be from achieving an effective balance is certainly appreciated.

		NLII Ruminations Created by Vidya Ananthanarayanan (Trinity University) on March 21, 2005 My first taste of NLII was at this past Spring 2005 Focus Session. Not having attended any of their sessions before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Certainly not the presession homework or the intensity of the breakout sessions. It was a refreshing change from the "conference format" and I for one, certainly relished the opportunity to engage and interact with peers and colleagues from the length and breadth of the country and beyond. As to the presession homework, while I'm not sure what the original intent of it was, I appreciated the fact that it enabled me to acquaint myself with some of the participants. It was certainly a lot easier to track down a group green member than to scan the room for a friendly smile or face. I look forward to building these new relationships further, to future NLII sessions, and work products of this session. The only discord I felt was that the technology seemed to exist apart from the conference proceedings. As Nick Noakes comments in his blog, active interaction between onsite and offsite participants would give these sessions greater depth and value, as also the opportunity to interact with a wider group, perhaps even a global one! So perhaps there could be some offtime next time during which we could blog (I was completely unable to blog and listen to a presentation simultaneously), chat with offsite participants, or even listen to the podcasts during the session itself! In a similar vein, I for one, would love the opportunity to test drive some of the new technologies that we got a sneak peek at. How about computers pre-loaded with Croquet so we could get a feel for it, and then a breakout session to discuss its pedagogical opportunities? Or one to discuss the learning outcomes that could be derived from podcasting? All in all, I'm looking forward to the next set of focus session, though I might just be one of those offsite participants listening to the podcasts ;-) Blog (WebLog) \| Events \| Podcasting \| Teaching and Learning Vidya's blog Login or register to post comments 3727 reads Re: NLII Ruminations Submitted by Diana G. Oblinger (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 9:54pm. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the focus session. These are designed to be very different events so its great when they succeed. We did something a bit unusual with the homework, however. While it ensured everyone tried a wiki and/or chat, part of the point of the exercise was that the technology wasn't really appropriate for the learning activity we were using. You raise a good point about merging the physical and virtual interactions. That is something we'll consider the next time we try this program. After doing a program, there are always things you see that could be done better. We also felt we needed to give people more time to interact. We're already talking about next January's hands-on sessions at the annual meeting, so we'll keep your suggestion about Croquet in mind. Julian and Mark have been very generous in presenting Croquet when ever we've asked. You may want to be an on-site podcaster for the next event. What about growing our own reporters within the organization? Login or register to post comments Re: NLII Ruminations Submitted by Malcolm B. Brown (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 10:42pm. These are very useful suggestions. I interpret their jist as: we should try to model the learning environment in the focus session, using tools, technology, etc. to do so. The focus session this spring tried to move in this direction, so it helps to receive this kind of encouragement. It's feedback that planners of future sessions dealing with this topic should keep in mind. That being said, there should obviously be a balance so that it doesn't become a session of technology for its own sake. The model should be to use "avant garde" technology woven into activities that enable participants to apply it in ways that learners might do. Technology thresholds are a key factor in the adoption and feasability of technology in the learning environment. Again, just my $.02. Login or register to post comments Re: NLII Ruminations Submitted by Carl F. Berger (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) on March 21, 2005 - 11:16pm. Great Ruminations! I'm pleased to see that you struggled with the same dilemma we did as we tried preparing for the Focus Session. You might be interested to know that we made ourselves do the home work before the session and came away with some of the same excitement and struggle of technology and pedagogy. Often 'strange bedfellows.' I was quite surprised to see the energy level of the group not flag but respond to the enormous wealth of expertise around the room as well as the packed schedule. After reflecting on asking you all to blog, use the web, watch presentations, participate in lively discussions, I came away with the same feeling.... I needed some 'down time' to reflect and use some of the neat tools to help organize my thoughts and perhaps present and involve others 'on-line...off-conference.' We'll take the suggestions here to heart not only as they fit well with ours but also because we're doing here what we so wanted to see from the sessions, that technology can serve learning and not be separated from it! Real Cheers Login or register to post comments Re: NLII Ruminations Submitted by Jarret S. Cummings (EDUCAUSE) on March 21, 2005 - 11:23pm. It was great to meet you at the focus session, Vidya, and I'm glad the experience motivated you to help us improve the process further. You hit on one of the key questions we're trying to address for future focus sessions: How do we make the value generated by the sessions more widely available while ensuring that we maximize the learning experience for those directly involved? In that regard, I appreciate your thoughts about trying to use technology to include some offsite observers in the process, which in essence would make them direct participants. Thinking through the details of how to integrate such participation with onsite activities will take some time, but the possibilities are definitely worth considering. Regarding your point about providing time in the program for interaction, both in person and online, that is a persistent challenge for any of our events. However, that's not to say it isn't worthwhile to get a reminder that we may not have balanced those considerations effectively. In wanting to maximize the opportunities the session has to offer, it's easy to develop a program that's too packed to allow for the conversations that extend and reinforce the program's themes. We always want to keep this issue in the forefront of our planning efforts, and your continued feedback on how close or far we may be from achieving an effective balance is certainly appreciated. Login or register to post comments
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