The shallows

I have not yet read "The Shallows" but I definitely will! I have heard the premise is that the Internet has made us consumers of shallow but broad information. Jack of all trades, master of none?

I studied English literature as an undergraduate and part of the program was learning to appreciate how much the actual spoken and written language changed over time. Chaucerian English (spoken and written) is totally different to Shakespearean/Elizabethan to 18th Century, etc. What we have witnessed is that speech patterns became less complex, and reading and writing became more accessible to the ‘masses’. As such the transfer of information, theoretically, became more accessible. Is not the Internet just the continuation of that process? A new lexicon is developing (shorter, quicker) because we type it not speak it? The shallowness did not start with the Internet; it is just its latest iteration.

We live in a culture of multi-tasking and whether it is the internet, a report for work, a tv show, or a book, we just don’t have the time to focus on ANYTHING in great depth. So are we shallow because of the internet? Was the Internet just in time to address our need for shallow but broad knowledge? Or is it like the great vowel shift that took place somewhere between the 13 and 15th centuries in England…No one really knows but it is alive and embedded in our speech.

G.

Year 2 - Day 1...Public vs Private

OK-So it is the first day of classes and even though I am a second year student I am feeling just as overwhelmed as I did at this time last year. On the positive side, it has been great to re-connect with many of the colleagues from last year and to meet the new cohort. One funny thing is how much everyone's area of interest is becoming more refined.

In class today we had an interesting discussion of the public versus private environments. I am conflicted to some degree between the benefits of an open and accessible environment and a closed, secure one. On the one hand, why am I paying such high fees if all the technology I am using in the program is open source and free to the university as well as, in many cases, open to the public. Yes, I realise I will get credit for participation while the general public who have interest in the area won't.

I also do not fear the loss of my 'intellectual property' but rather I wonder if people will be more likely to take chances and put ideas out there if they are operating in a secure, supportive environment. Maybe it is a confidence issue? Perhaps one becomes more of an authority and have a discipline-specific rubric/standard by which to evaluate our musings better we may be more likely to embrace a completely open environment.

I am not 100% sure of how the next two weeks will evolve but I am confident that all things will fall into place.

eLearning Africa experience

Being between semesters I am supposed to be reading material related to my thesis topic/candidacy paper. I did start with good intentions but I have been side tracked a little preparing for and attending the 5th eLearning Africa conference. in Zambia Africa. I conducted a 1/2 day workshop there and also did a presentation on ePortfolios. While not related directly to my doctoral work the preparation and attendance was informative and has reinforced for me that I need to get my doctoral credential in order to more fully participate in these kinds of initiatives in the future.

My workshop was on Open Source tools that can be easily incorporated into a course or used by an instructor to improve communication with their students. It was a good experience just preparing for the workshop and I met some great people that afternoon.

The conference was largely focused on mobile technologies and Open Educational Resources--both topics will be covered more this coming summer in the two classes I am signed up for. So ultimately while I am not working specifically on doctoral readings it is all converging on one level or another.

Now that I am back I am reading Curtis Bonk's The World is Open. A fitting transition to the world of being a student again.

Gerona

Looking forward to summer 2010's courses

I am supposed to be doing some reading related to my dissertation this month. Actually I have done some reading but mostly related to the summer courses for 2010. I am enjoying having a break and need some time to get mentally prepared for year 2 of the Journey.

These past couple of weeks I have been working on getting prepared for a workshop and presentation I have to do at eLearning Africa. I have the workbook prepared for the workshop, the eP presentation ready and am just finalizing details. How does this relate to my doctoral studies? Directly it does not since it is not contributing to my proposal or my dissertation but it is contributing to my professional development and giving me the opportunity to leverage some of the knowledge I have gained in the program. Another aspect of this month is that it has me thinking about my future and what I want to do with a doctorate. Here is where my love of travel, education and technology can come together! Ah, but first things first...do my two courses this summer and the final one next fall and then focus on the next phase.

G.

End of year 1 (just about)

I am at a loss this week. For the first time in 10 months I have nothing pressing to do. The work for the doctoral seminar course has concluded with each of us developing a mock proposal with a focus on the theoretical framework and worldview and the design being only thoughts at this point. The comments from classmates and the exercise of reading and asking questions to our peers was very informative. I then took a chance and sent the mock proposal to my supervisor who indicated he liked what he saw. I am working on a reading list now to help develop my thinking.

The quantitative methods course is also at an end. It was a valuable experience as well since the focus was on understanding the material and not on actually doing the calculations. I have finished my paper for the course and we have our final elluminate Live session tomorrow evening.

For the rest of April and then May and June I can read, rest and refresh. This summer I will be taking two courses again. With some luck I will be done my courses by Christmas and can then work on my proposal. I am looking forward to the qualitative methods course in the fall because that is really the final piece that I will need prior to developing my own study.

G.

March 1

The critique has been handed in and now we are doing our mock proposals. This is probably the most difficult thing I have done! The ideas are just not flowing. I have a sample proposal that I just read but in order to find something unique I feel like I have to read a lot more. The interesting thing here is that this is the first work in this course that we are doing individually. The rest of the work was group/team based, so it is different and a bit lonely.

I am not going to do a course in the spring and will use that time to read. Two courses this summer, so that will be busy but good. Am eager to get into the research side of the process.

G.

Snow Day?

A winter blizzard has just started outside but I suspect it will end over night so no chance of a snow day!

Jean, Bob and I have prepared out quantitative analysis presentation and sent it in. The first part of the quantitative course went well I believe. It is really helping me in terms of setting the context of 'numbers'. It is also making me very critical and skeptical about statistics that are reported in various studies.

The doctoral seminar course is also going well. We are currently each reviewing a dissertation and will meet online at the end of the month to share our thoughts. Reading the dissertation has brought all of the items together. I see how the framework informs the methods and methodology and the linkages through the study.

Gerona