Reflections on Week1 #edcmooc - Utopia & Dystopia

On my way home from work on Friday I opened my local newspaper to see the title "Dystopian vision for Scottish education 'to provoke debate.'" The article discusses various scenarios put forward by the Scotland's Futures Forum project which began in September 2011. Some people thought one of the scenarios of "gated communities, rising crime and social unrest" was already prevalent in our society today. The report said "most peope saw this world-view as a dystopia; a vision of a dysfunctional society and almost unimaginable in the time-scale." Sir Andrew Cubie, director of Scotland's Futures Forum wants people to think long-term about "Scotland being a world-leading learning nation by 2025."

I thought this article really tied in nicely with week one theme of Utopia and Dystopia.

Week One Films
Bendito Machine III (Dystopia)
This film reminded me of a shadow puppet show with its black silhouettes and coloured background. One of the characters ritually climbs up the hill to receive the next piece of technology. The community are exposed to the new technology until it breaks and the cycle begins again. Nothing gets fixed to prolong the life of the technology, its all about replacing old technology with the latest thing. I think we can all recognise that we live in a throw away society, days of getting your tv fixed when something went wrong are long gone. People queue up for the latest technology e.g ipads, iphone fans even though there is probably nothing wrong with what they have. Are we leading the way or is technology driving us forward?


Inbox (Utopia)
A charming film with likeable characters. Interesting how the girl had nothing in her Inbox on her laptop but through the magic of the red bag begins a conversation with a complete stranger. The post-it notes were short "tweet-like" messages that engaged both characters. The key thought for me with this film was engagement, technology is great but it requires human engagement to be effective.


Thursday (Utopia & Dystopia)
Like other Moocers I thought that Thursday offered the balance of Utopia and Dystopia. The bird adapting to the landscape trying to communicate with technology but not speaking the same language. The male character who's life is shaped by technology from the moment he gets up, dealing with the frustratiing aspect of technology when it doesn't work (hand scanner). Humans at a loss when technology breaks down in the office (we've all been there!). Couple going up to an outer space ride for their date instead of staying on the ground, walking in the park. 

New Media (Dystopia)
Like the film my comment is short, technology is sucking the life out of everything.

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Having seen "digital natives and digital immigrants" referred to in other articles I was interested to read this for myself. Despite my profession I would describe myself as a digital immigrant as I am guilty of using some of the language Prenksy talks about. I also recognise other digital immigrants, particularly instructors who are afraid that:

• technology will replace them. 
• technology will devalue their teaching. 
• their lack of digital skills will leave them feeling exposed. 

As for the digital natives, they may have grown up with technology and speak the language but they don't all have the necessary digital skills .Sure, Computing students will be savvy with technology but in a different way to a nursing student, its not necessarily across the board. I do agree that digital immigrants need to change their teaching to reflect the language the digital natives use if they want them to engage with course material.

To finish or not to finish...

...that is the question. Just read the New York Times Article that Chris Swift posted earlier (thanks Chris) The article mainly deals with the rise of Coursera and how Mooc's can make money but was interesting was the percentage of students who finish a Mooc, approximately 24,000 of us will finish this course. I will be one of those who complete this course even though I'm having to put in long hours to juggle work, family and other commitments but there is a lot of my fellow Moocers in the same situation so its a case of just getting on with it.

Unlike any other course I have ever done the pre-course activity on edcmooc has been most impressive. The collaboration via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to name but a few has created a community of like-minded life long learners who have shared their knowledge, resources and tools of their trade in the true sense of "online openness." I am grateful for the experience I have had so far. Time to study:-)

On your marks, get set...go!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55084317@N08/6909744081

 #edcmooc. I sat down at 6.15am this morning to just have a quick look at the edcmooc, one hour later I'm thinking crikey I better get ready for work. Its so easy to drown in the sea of information, to feel that you have to be the first person to watch all the videos and write a literary masterpiece everytime. I'm thankful for reminding myself that this isn't a race, I want to enjoy this online experience. So with a big deep breath I focus my thoughts on what will be my strategy for this course. I've read several blog entries that give top tips of how to get through a MOOC, my favourite tip which I think is essential is to choose your social networks and stick with them. So for me that is going to be Google+, blog and the discussion forums on edcmooc.

Week 1 is about Looking to the past  , in particular at the themes of Utopia and Dystopia. I'll write more about this later once I've had a chance to watch the videos and core reading.

Twas the night before....

Trying to get everything else around me "organised" so I will have time tomorrow after work to start this MOOC with the best intentions. Hopefully by the end of the first week I'll know exactly what is expected of me so I can plan my study time.

I'm liking Google+ so I'll probably continue using that throughout the course to stay connected to my fellow learners. Trying to read a wide selection of blogs when I can and using ScoopIT to collate information that might be useful at a later stage.

Watched Ary's Sliderocket presentation  which summed up our pre-course EdcMOOC experience so far and how quickly people can make connections through digital technology. When we make these connections and begin to feel part of a community the world somehow feels smaller but in the best possible way.

Good luck everyone!

PADLS

Very quick post, so quick I should have used Twitter:-) Will be offline for a few days need to finish some Digital Literacy slides for a couple of classes (Forensic students) and get my mid-year Pathways form completed.

Most importantly right now I need to go get the dishes done and make pancakes for my kids.

Tweet Tweet oh!

Of all the online accounts I've created recently for the EDCMooc course I'm finding I use Twitter the least. I'm still at the stage of thinking what's all the fuss about. Used correctly it's perhaps a useful tool as highlighted in Mark Scrimshire's Slideshare presentation but is it more than just gossip? Admittedly there is good gossip and bad gossip and my yoga training most certainly makes me steer away from the bad and the completely pointless gossip favoured by "celebrities".

What Is It About Twitter? from Mark Scrimshire

An interesting article from the Guardian.
How Twitter will revolutionise academic research and teaching

In true twitter style @mumtech2012 is cooking dinner for @neverhurryamurray and running a bath for @cameronimacaroni!

Pre-Course Classroom

There has been a tremendous amount of pre-course activity which sometimes has been difficult to keep track of so I wanted to have the link to the classroom Chris Swift et al created on my blog for quick reference. A great idea, loved the level of organisation:-)


Pre-EDCMooc Course Classroom