Living and Learning in a
Global Community
Innovative Schools Virtual
University
Housekeeping
Paperless handouts- coming
http://bit.ly/fODNEn
Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
Co-Founder & CEO
Powerful Learning Practice, LLC
http://plpnetwork.com
sheryl@plpnetwork.com
President
21st Century Collaborative, LLC
http://21stcenturycollabrative.com
Driving Questions
What are you doing to
contextualize and mobilize
what you are learning?
How will you leverage, how will
you enable your teachers or
your students to leveragecollective intelligence?
.
Lead Learner
Native American Proverb
“He who learns from one who is learning,
drinks from a flowing river.”
Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010
National Teacher of the Year
Describes her classroom as a place
where the teacher is the “lead
learner” and “the classroom walls
are boundless.”
6 Trends for the digital age
Analogue
Tethered
Closed
Isolated
Generic
Consuming
Digital
Mobile
Open
Connected
Personal
Creating
Source: David Wiley: Openness and the disaggregated
future of higher education
Shifting From
Shifting To
Learning at school
Learning anytime/anywhere
Teaching as a private event
Teaching as a public
collaborative practice
Learning as passive
participant
Learning in a participatory
culture
Learning as individuals
Learning in a networked
community
Linear knowledge
Distributed knowledge
Connected Learning
The computer connects the student to the rest of the world
Learning occurs through connections with other learners
Learning is based on conversation and interaction
Stephen Downes
What does it mean
to be a connected
learner with a well
developed network?
What are the
advantages or
drawbacks?
How is it a game
changer?
Photo credit: Alec Couros
Dispositions and Values
Commitment to understanding
gained through listening and asking
good questions related to practice
Perseverance toward deep thought
by exploring ideas and concepts,
rethinking, revising, and continual
repacking and unpacking, resisting
urges to finish prematurely
Courage and initiative to engage in
discussions on difficult topics
Alacrity to share and contribute
Desire to be transparent in thinking
Inclination toward
being open minded
Dedication to the
ongoing development
of expertise
Creation of a culture of collegialitybelieving that "None of us is as good as
all of us" and that the contributions of
all can lead to improved individual
practice
Willingness to be a co-learner, cocreator, and co-leader
Willingness to leaving one's comfort
zone to experiment with new strategies
and taking on new responsibilities
Define
Community
Define
Networks
A Definition of Community
Communities are quite simply, collections of
individuals who are bound together by natural
will and a set of shared ideas and ideals.
“A system in which people can enter into relations
that are determined by problems or shared
ambitions rather than by rules or structure.”
(Heckscher, 1994, p. 24).
The process of social learning that occurs when people who have a
common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an
extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
(Wikipedia)
...has been defined as a group of interacting
people living in a common location.
What are the characteristics of
distributed learning
communities?
In the digital age, common
location is not as important as
common interest.
http://www.psfk.com
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Community...
A Definition of Networks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Networks are created through publishing and sharing ideas and
connecting with others who share passions around those ideas who
learn from each other.
Networked learning is a process of developing and maintaining
connections with people and information, and communicating in
such a way so as to support one another's learning.
Connectivism (theory of learning in networks) is the use of a
network with nodes and connections as a central metaphor for
learning. In this metaphor, a node is anything that can be connected
to another node: information, data, feelings, images. Learning is the
process of creating connections and developing a network.
In connectivism, learning involves creating
connections and developing a network. It is a
theory for the digital age drawing upon
chaos, emergent properties, and self
organised learning.
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2009
Making connections
(It’s not what you know, or who you
know- but do you know what who
you know- knows? )
Source: Wikipedia
http://www.pestproducts.com
“Understanding how
networks work is one of
the most important
literacies of the 21st
Century.”
- Howard Rheingold
http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu
Open Networks
If ... information is
recognized as useful to
the community ... it can
be counted as
knowledge.
The community, then,
has the power to create
knowledge within a
given context and leave
that knowledge as a new
node connected to the
rest of the network’.
– Dave Cormier (2008)
Practitioners’ knowledge = content &
context
Professional Learning
Communities
The driving engine of the collaborative culture of a PLC is
the team. They work together in an ongoing effort to
discover best practices and to expand their professional
expertise.
PLCs are our best hope for reculturing schools. We want
to focus on shifting from a culture of teacher isolation to
a culture of deep and meaningful collaboration.
FOCUS: Local , F2F, Job-embeddedin Real Time
Communities of Practice
FOCUS: Situated, Synchronous,
Asynchronous- Online and Walled Garden
Personal Learning
Networks
FOCUS: Individual, Connecting to Learning Objects, Resources
and People – Social Network Driven
Do it Yourself PD as
Self Directed
Connected Learners
Communities
Of Practice
DIY-PD
Personal
Learning
Networks
F2F Teams
"Rather than belittling or showing disdain for knowledge or expertise,
DIY champions the average individual seeking knowledge and
expertise for him/herself. Instead of using the services of others who
have expertise, a DIY oriented person would seek out the knowledge
for him/herself." (Wikipedia, n.d.)
Community is the New Professional Development
Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999a) describe three ways of knowing and constructing
knowledge that align closely with PLP's philosophy and are worth mentioning here.
Knowledge for Practice is often reflected in traditional PD efforts when a trainer shares
with teachers information produced by educational researchers. This knowledge presumes
a commonly accepted degree of correctness about what is being shared. The learner is
typically passive in this kind of "sit and get" experience. This kind of knowledge is
difficult for teachers to transfer to classrooms without support and follow through. After a
workshop, much of what was useful gets lost in the daily grind, pressures and isolation of
teaching.
Knowledge in Practice recognizes the importance of teacher experience and practical
knowledge in improving classroom practice. As a teacher tests out new strategies and
assimilates them into teaching routines they construct knowledge in practice. They learn
by doing. This knowledge is strengthened when teachers reflect and share with one
another lessons learned during specific teaching sessions and describe the tacit
knowledge embedded in their experiences.
Community is the New Professional Development
Knowledge of Practice believes that systematic inquiry where teachers create
knowledge as they focus on raising questions about and systematically studying
their own classroom teaching practices collaboratively, allows educators to
construct knowledge of practice in ways that move beyond the basics of
classroom practice to a more systemic view of learning.
I believe that by attending to the development of knowledge for, in and of
practice, we can enhance professional growth that leads to real change.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S.L. (1999a). Relationships of knowledge and
practice: Teaching learning in communities. Review of Research in Education,
24, 249-305.
Passive, active, and reflective knowledge
building in local (PLC), global (CoP) and
contextual (PLN) learning spaces.
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/google_whitepaper.pdf
Virtual Community
A virtual space supported by
computer-based information
technology, centered upon
communication and interaction
of participants to generate
member-driven content,
resulting in relationships being
built up. (Lee & Vogel, 2003)
Dynamics of Different Network Types
Community of
Practice
Project Teams
Informal networks
Purpose
Learning
Sharing
Creating Knowledge
Accomplish specific
task
Communication
flows
Boundary
Knowledge domain
Assigned projector
task
Networking,
resource building
and establishing
relationships
Connections
Common application Commitment to goal Interpersonal
or discoveryacquaintances
innovation
Membership
Semi - permanent
Constant for a fixed
period
Links made based
on needs of the
individual
Time scale
As long as it adds
value to the its
members
Fixed ends when
project deliverables
have been
No pre-engineered
end
Looking Closely at Learning Community Design
4L Model (Linking, Lurking, Learning, and Leading)
inspired by John Seeley Brown
http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/2006/06/roles-in-cops.html
This model is developed
around the roles and
interactions members of a
community have as
participants in that
community.
Kollock’s 4 Motivations for Contributing
1.
2.
3.
4.
Reciprocity
Reputation
Increased sense of efficacy
Attachment to and need of a group
Reputation
What's the motivation of behind these people
actually interacting and participating? …
people want to share with the
community what they believe to
be important …. and they want
to see their name in lights. They
want to see their little icon on the front page,
their username on the front page, so other
people can see it.
Celebration
Celebration
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Connection
http://i.imwx.com
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Communication
Collaboration
http://idirekt.cz/soubory/t-mobile_dance2.png
Connection Collaboration
Communication
User
Generated
Content
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Celebration
“Twitter and blogs ...
contribute an entirely
new dimension of
what it means to be a
part of a tribe. The
real power of tribes
has nothing to do with
the Internet and
everything to do with
people.”
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Internet tribes
“A tribe needs a
shared interest and a
way to communicate.”
“The internet
eliminates geography.
This means that there
are now more tribes:
smaller tribes,
influential tribes, and
tribes that could never
have existed before.”
~ Seth Godin
http://nedgrace.files.wordpress.com
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Tribes
www.newmediamusings.com
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Is learning
simply about
gaining
knowledge...?
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
... or making
connections?
The New Third Place?
“All great societies provide informal meeting
places, like the Forum in ancient Rome or a
contemporary English pub. But since World War
II, America has ceased doing so. The
neighborhood tavern hasn't followed the middle
class out to the suburbs...” -- Ray Oldenburg
Motivations
• Social
connectedness
• Psychological
well-being
• Gratification
• Collective
Efficacy
The Social
Web is built
here, from
love and
esteem
Connected Learning Communities provide the personal
learning environment (PLE) to do the nudging
Level of engagement
Levels of engagement
Become an expert
Become a mentor
Write a blog
Ask a question
(with attribution)
Comment
(with attribution)
Register
Comment
(Anonymously)
Browse, search, learn
(Anonymously)
Type of engagement
Strategize
a community
exercise
Presence
Sharing
Reputation
Identity
Conversations
Relationships
Groups
“Strategy is
knowing what not
to do”
Michael Porter
Self
Presence
Sharing
Publish?
Reputation
Activity
Purpose/
Passion?
Identity
Groups
Planning?
Collectively
Rate?
Relationships
Co-Creation?
Caretakers?
Rules &
Repercussions
Conversations
Community
Degrees of Transparency
and Trust
Join our list
Join our forum
Join our community
Increasing collaboration and transparency of process
Groups
Norms
Conversations
You have to find a
way to spare the
group from scale.
Scale alone kills
conversations,
because
conversations
require dense twoway conversations.
[Dunbar] found that the MAXIMUM
number of people that a person could
keep up with socially at any given
time, gossip maintenance, was 150.
This doesn't mean that people don't
have 150 people in their social
network, but that they only keep tabs
on 150 people max at any given point.
Simple (hard) Steps
• Have a compelling idea
• Seed
• Someone must live on the site
– Community manager or you
• Make the rules clear (and short)
– Tools not rules
•
•
•
•
•
•
Punish swiftly and nicely
Reward contributions- celebrate often
Spread the work out
Collective Norms
Apologize publicly, swiftly and frequently
Community platform and Web 2.0 spaces
A Good Facilitator/Coordinator?
Community Leader
Facilitation and Coordination of a CoP includes:
• monitoring activity
• encouraging participation (facilitation techniques)
• felxible action plan
• reporting CoP activity – metrics, evaluations
• monitoring success criteria and impact
• behind the scenes
• managing CoP events
A Facilitator/Coordinator
cultivates the community
Metrics
Building an environment to support
collaborative working
Find and connect with experts
Find and connect with your peers
Threaded discussion forums, wikis, blogs, document repository
News feeds
Event calendar
News and Newsletters
Tech Enhanced Learning
http://techenhancedlearning.wikispaces.com/
21st Century Teaching and Learning
http://abpc.wikispaces.com/
Your community’s life-cycle
Level of energy
and visibility
Sustain/Renew
Grow
Start-up
Close
Plan
Discover/
imagine
Incubate/
deliver
value
Focus/
expand
Ownership/
openness
From: Cultivating Communities of Practice by Wenger, McDermot and Snyder
Let go/
remember
Time
Characteristics
of a healthy
community
Our basic experimental design…
 Seek out 20 schools/districts
willing to invest some time in
exploring the challenge of 21st
Century Learning.
 Ask the schools to identify small
teams of 5-6 educators who are
ready for this exploration.
 With the support of our PLP
Community Founders, Directors
of Community Development,
Cohort Community Leaders,
Cognitive Coaches, PLP
Fellows, Experienced Voices,
and team leaders we begin that
exploration together.
Powerful Learning Practice Delivery Model
Workshops
Two all day
workshops that
build capacity,
community and
develop 21st
Century skills.
Elluminate
Live meetings
where teams
meet, listen
and then
reflect in small
groups.
Professional Learning Teams
Job embedded teams who
meet f2f and work towards
scale and alignment of 21st C
skills with school
improvement goals
VLC
Where we
deepen
understanding,
network, share
resources and
grow as a
community of
practice.
Collaborative Tools
 Wikispaces
 Del.icio.us and Diigo
 Twitter
 Elluminate
 NING
 Facebook
 Slideshare
 Flickr
 YouTube
 Evernote
“Collaboration with others
in my district and learning
new tools was the best part
of PLP. Connecting with
other teachers in my district
for new ideas and
connecting with other
schools for new ideas
made PLP the best PD
ever!”
~ Science teacher in WNY
Organic Collaboration
 School Teams meet
face-to-face
 Experienced Voices
from around the globe
 Virtual Academiescross cohort
 Leadership Boot
Camps
 Critical Friends
 Legacy Projects
“I enjoyed meeting with
other schools from around
the world, hearing and
sharing what they are
doing in their districts and
regions. It opened my
eyes to what we are not
doing in my buildings and
what needs to be done in
the future.”
~Garry Stone,
WNY Superintendent
Team Action Research Projects
Your team will work as a Professional
Learning Team to co-create a project:
Develop a creative PD plan to share
what you have learned over the past year
with the rest of your school or district.
Develop a 21st Century curriculum
project that is constructivist in nature
and leverages the potential of emerging
technologies.
Action Research
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
"The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not
the turbulence. It is to act with yesterday's logic."
- Peter Drucker
http://pixdaus.com