Geoff Cain & Charlene GoreTacoma Community College

Students unprepared for the technological challenges of school and the workplace

Faculty unprepared for teaching in a connected world

Full online program with little community; students not connected to campus or one another

Faculty teaching technology while trying to teach content

Create an academic and professional network

Teach students how to use the technology early in the program

Teach the students how to create networks

Networks becoming increasingly complex.

No one person will know everything We can’t teach students for the jobs

they will have in five years The new skill is to create a smart

network

Graphic from The Opte Project

Learning and knowledge rests in a diversity of opinions

Learning is a process of making connections

The capacity to know is more important than what is currently known

The ability to see connections is a core skill

Decision making itself is a learning process

Detail from Matt Thorton’s Indra’s Web <http://www.straightblastgym.com/blog/web-indrasnet.jpg>

Students report a greater comfort with technology

Faculty spend less time teaching technology

Students using the tools in other classes

Students creating extensive networks

Graphic by Gail Atkins <http://www.angelfire.com/realm/bodhisattva/indras-net.html>

More student-led learning (Starfish and the Spider)

Roll course out to campusLarger classes

Brafman, Ori and Beckstrom, Rod A. (2007) The Starfish and the Spider. <http://www.starfishandspider.com>

Cain, Geoff. (2008). Brainstorm in Progress. <http://cain.blogspot.com> Includes link to syllabus and the resources below.Cormier, Dave. (2008). “Rhizomatic Education: Community as Curriculum”

<http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=550>Dron, J. & Anderson, T. (2007). Collectives, Networks and Groups in Social Software for

E-Learning. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2007 (pp. 2460-2467). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Siemens, George. (2004) “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age” <http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm>