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ttoole |
My Tutor
Oct 10 2008, 8:50 AM EDT
Hi Karl. Post a reply to this thread to announce that you are starting the module. I will then reply and begin the discussion about progressing with the module and what document you plan to produce.Tony Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
discussion
student
support
tutor
word processing
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Cymru_Karl |
1. RE: My Tutor
Oct 21 2008, 11:14 AM EDT
Hi, here is the reply Tony, Karl
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ttoole |
2. RE: My Tutor
Oct 21 2008, 2:57 PM EDT
Hi Karl, welcome to the module.The idea is that you choose a document to produce that will require word processing skills and then use the competence map to go through the design/create/edit/refine sequence to arrive at the finished document. Each of the nodes on the map is linked to a search engine that will provide a list of resources relating to the skills needed at each step. So. Choose a document (could be as simple as a letter) and then click on each link in the sequence and use the search results as the source of information to gain the word processing skills needed. Post responses here as you go through the process to let us know how well or otherwise the process works. Look forward to your comments! Tony Do you find this valuable? |
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Cymru_Karl |
3. RE: My Tutor
Nov 14 2008, 5:26 AM EST
I'm afraid I'll have to pull out. The few times I have had tried to follow the instructions and use the system I just gave up. I obviously didn't set aside enough time, because each time I did come in I found the interface to be a barrier, and was unclear on what I was meant to do, so that may be my fault. As a librarian I also questioned some of the basic assumptions made by the project, I will post them separately - I typed them in then was told by the system that there were too many characters...
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Cymru_Karl |
4. RE: My Tutor
Nov 14 2008, 5:27 AM EST
Assumptions of the project that I completely disagree with."Further assumptions in the model are that: 1. OER availability will eventually reach the critical mass necessary for the Web to become the dominant source of educational content across all sectors." But - what about all the quality, refereed, subscription-only resources? They often put the free resources to shame. High-quality education requires high-quality resources. We must also ask _why_ is a resource free? Is it because of bias; or advertising; or it is too low-quality to sell; or it isn't updated? Content is being bought up by big multimedia companies, a trend that is likely to continue, and many free things can't be expected to offer continuity of quality. "2. Educational content will be sourced mainly from outside the education sector. Current, high quality resources will be continuously created by industry, commerce and special interest groups for their own purposes. These will be available on the Web and able to be contextualised for educational purposes." Note that none of these sources stated are objective information sources - so how can education then be objective? If students are sent to biased sources and it is implied that these are suitable for education, then it would undermine the vital information literacy work done by teachers/librarians, at a time when those messages are more important than ever. "3. Educational content, created in this way, will be self-maintaining and free to use. There will be no need for local repositories as the Web itself will be the repository. Content interoperability standards will cease to have relevance." See above - if it is free, why is that? Do you find this valuable? |
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ttoole |
5. RE: My Tutor
Nov 16 2008, 5:47 AM EST
Karl,You make an number of very valid observations here. The issue you raise is the link between resource cost and resource quality and whether free resources can ever be expected to be as good as 'subscription only sources'. We can't ignore, however, the open courseware movement initiated by MIT and followed by hundreds of other major institutions globally, including the OU in the UK, all of whom are making their high quality educational resources available free online. The assumption in this exercise is that this is a trend that will continue and expand. Similarly, the major companies of the world are producing high quality documentation all the time about their goods and services that, in the future, are likely to be made available online and able to be contextualised for learning purposes. I agree that we're nowhere near that scenario yet, but I'd be interested in your thoughts on where we might end up. I've also felt that the role of the librarian as a 'knowledge manager' would become much more prominent in the learning support mix as a result. Tony Do you find this valuable? |
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ttoole |
6. RE: My Tutor
Nov 16 2008, 5:52 AM EST
Also Karl, your comment on the fact that the interface was a barrier is equally valid! Others have made similar observations and we will be reviewing the approach.Many thanks for your input to the exercise. Tony Do you find this valuable? |
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Cymru_Karl |
7. RE: My Tutor
Nov 16 2008, 7:17 AM EST
Best of luck with the future developments. We all make predictions as to where technology and society will be in x years time, and it is interesting to find out about other predictions. I am very aware of the battles being fought over DRM at present - the way it affects music, software, operating systems, e-books, video, games. The outcome of that battle is likely to affect how 'open' things will be. If Sony, Microsoft, EA, Take2Interactive and their ilk win then there is much less chance of content being reusable in creative ways.
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