CIDER: You are invited to a CIDER Session with Dr. Jon Dron

In keeping with the listings of webinars and online presentations about social networking and this next generation of students, here's another.

Dear CIDER member:

We are currently building the 2008 schedule of free CIDER presentations, and we are looking for distance education researchers who are willing to share a recent project or research related work with our community. The CIDER sessions are scheduled for every second Friday from 11:00am-12:00pm MST. They usually consist of 30-40 minutes of presentation, followed by 20-30 minutes of questions and discussion. If you are interested in presenting your work in an upcoming CIDER presentation, please contact Lynn Anderson at lynnlo@cogeco.ca

We would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to the next presentation in our series of free CIDER sessions. This session will feature a presentation and discussion with Dr. Jon Dron, Associate Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems at Athabasca University.

Title: Designing the Undesignable: Social Software and Control

In this presentation, Dr. Jon Dron will discuss his recently published article, "Designing the Undesignable: Social Software and Control". In this article, Dr. Dron states that social software, such as blogs, wikis, tagging systems and collaborative filters, treats the group as a first-class object within the system. Drawing from theories of transactional distance and control, he proposes a model of e-learning that extends traditional concepts of learner-teacher-content interactions to include these emergent properties of the group. Some of the dangers and issues that need to be addressed in order for this new model to fulfill its promise will be explored, and a framework of principles to be used by designers of educationally-oriented social software will be discussed.

When: Friday, December 14, 2007, 11am-12pm MST (Alberta)

Where: Online via Elluminate at:
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.8B71B60F2931D029AC3837DC06B70D

Pre-Configuration
Please make sure your Mac or PC is equipped with a microphone and speakers, so that we can use the Voice over IP functionality built into the web conferencing software. Please note that it is extremely important that you get your system set up prior to the start of the event. Please don't wait until the day of the session to do this. Information on installing the necessary software and configuring your PC is available at http://www.elluminate.com/support/ in the "First Time Users" section. If necessary, Elluminate customer care technicians are available to assist you toll-free at 866-388-8674 option 2. International users can dial 703-956-3812.

The session will be recorded and available for future playback from http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

CIDER is a Community Partner of Elluminate - http://www.elluminate.com - who proudly sponsors our web conferencing needs. To sign up for a free, no obligation three-user version of Elluminate, please visit http://www.getvroom.com

Unlike the last two I posted, this one is free - and I heard Dr. Dron speak at e-Learn a few years ago and he is entertaining, so make sure you check it out.

Tags: CIDER, digital natives, generational differences, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

K-12 Online Professional Development Sessions

I'd love to attend if it didn't cost $25.

Below is the description of our next Wise & Witty Weekday session for this academic year.

Title: Tales from the Trenches: Distributed Learning in the K-12 World: The BC Experience
Solvig Norman and Eleanor Liddy
21 November 2007 at 1:00 P.M. (Eastern)
Mode: Elluminate Live!

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ABSTRACT
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K-12 distributed learning in British Columbia has a long established history dating back to the old correspondence school model that was established in 1919. Currently there are over 50 different K-12 distributed learning programs in BC (with 33,000 students). This session will explore current challenges and successes, including the use of content, technology, and standards for development & delivery within the K-12 distributed learning system. Open School BC’s role will be highlighted through its unique situation among the main players within BC. Highlights will include an overview of Open School BC’s content development model, online hosting service, and the Educators' Resource Centre, which is a popular online service focused on building a community of collaboration among BC teachers

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To register for this session, please contact Tim Howard of CNIE in Ottawa at cnie-rcie@cnie-rcie.ca, phone 613.241.0018 or fax 613.241.0019. You are welcome to collect your colleagues at your site.

You will receive instructions before the event.

Registrations rates are $25 per workshop per individual OR $100 per workshop per site. Please add the appropriate GST or HST.

We are fortunate in having a small committee to arrange for this and further sessions. The committee members are Krista Francis-Poscente, Bill Fricker, and Bev Pasian. We will announce details for other sessions planned for the year; watch the listserve or our Web site for developments. If you have ideas for future sessions, please let us know.

Also, don't forget that today we have another K-12 one from CIDER.

Dear CIDER Member:

We would like to invite you to the next presentation in our series of free CIDER sessions. This session will feature a presentation and discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Childs, Director of Professional Learning for BCEd Online, and Lara Jongedijk, Project Researcher for BCEd Online.

Title: Research Results from BC's Connected Learner's Technology Projects

What factors help to create effective online learning environments in K-12? In this session, Dr. Elizabeth Childs and Lara Jongedijk will report on the final data from nine provincial Connected Learner's Technology Grant Projects that ran across 18 months and involved 14 school districts in British Columbia. The technologies used in the projects included: webcasting, web-conferencing, synchronous courses using Elluminate Live, use of Smartboards, online tutoring and data archiving. Lessons learned will be discussed and recommendations for making informed decisions when planning and implementing similar technology projects will be shared.

When: Friday, November 16, 2007, 11am-12pm MST (Alberta)

Where: Online via Elluminate at:
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.8B71B60F2931D029AC3837DC06B70D

Pre-Configuration
Please make sure your Mac or PC is equipped with a microphone and speakers, so that we can use the Voice over IP functionality built into the web conferencing software. Please note that it is extremely important that you get your system set up prior to the start of the event. Please don't wait until the day of the session to do this. Information on installing the necessary software and configuring your PC is available at http://www.elluminate.com/support/ in the "First Time Users" section. If necessary, Elluminate customer care technicians are available to assist you toll-free at 866-388-8674 option 2. International users can dial 703-956-3812.

The session will be recorded and available for future playback from http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

CIDER is a Community Partner of Elluminate - http://www.elluminate.com - who proudly sponsors our web conferencing needs. To sign up for a free, no obligation three-user version of Elluminate, please visit http://www.getvroom.com

Hope to see you there for the CIDER one, and I'll try and post the free archive of the CNIE one after it goes up on their website.

Tags: CNIE, CIDER, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

CIDER Presentation - Research Results from BC¹s Connected Learner¹s Tec

Just a reminder about an up-coming CIDER presentation...

Research Results from BC¹s Connected Learner¹s Technology Projects
Institution: BCEd Online
Date and time: Nov 16, 2007 11:00 AM

What factors help to create effective online learning environments in K-12? In this session, Dr. Elizabeth Childs and Lara Jongedijk will report on the final data from nine provincial Connected Learner's Technology Grant Projects that ran across 18 months and involved 14 school districts in British Columbia. The technologies used in the projects included: webcasting, web-conferencing, synchronous courses using Elluminate Live, use of Smartboards, online tutoring and data archiving. Lessons learned will be discussed and recommendations for making informed decisions when planning and implementing similar technology projects will be shared.

See http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/.

Tags: CIDER, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Another Virtual Schooling CIDER Session

Well first of all, thanks to those who attended my own CIDER session a couple of Fridays ago. You can access the archived recording at:

Powerpoint presentation

Elluminate Recording of the Presentation

Now that I have that out of the way, I'd like to make mention of another virtual school session that CIDER has scheduled.

Research Results from BC’s Connected Learner’s Technology Projects

Institution: BCEd Online
Date and time: Nov 16, 2007 11:00 AM

What factors help to create effective online learning environments in K-12? In this session, Dr. Elizabeth Childs and Lara Jongedijk will report on the final data from nine provincial Connected Learner’s Technology Grant Projects that ran across 18 months and involved 14 school districts in British Columbia. The technologies used in the projects included: webcasting, web-conferencing, synchronous courses using Elluminate Live, use of Smartboards, online tutoring and data archiving. Lessons learned will be discussed and recommendations for making informed decisions when planning and implementing similar technology projects will be shared.

I'll post a reminder about it as the time gets closer, but I wanted to inform you now so you could get it on your calendars.

Tags: CIDER, CDLI, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Upcoming Virtual School CIDER Session

Okay, just one final reminder about my up-coming session of the Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research (CIDER).

Lessons learned in researching virtual schools: The Newfoundland and Labrador experience

Facilitator: Dr. Michael Barbour
Institution: Wayne State University
Date and time: Oct 05, 2007 11:00 AM

In this session, Dr. Michael Barbour will focus upon the lessons learned from researching the development and delivery of virtual school opportunities to secondary school students in Newfoundland and Labrador. Through qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies, he captures the experiences of students, teachers, course developers, and administrators in the formative years of a new virtual high school. Issues such as effective course design for this population of students, the benefits and challenges of online learning for secondary students, achievement differences based upon delivery model and geographic location, and what students are actually doing when engaged in virtual schooling are explored.

To join the session please click on the link below 30min prior to the start of the presentation (11:00am MST).

https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.8B71B60F2931D029AC3837DC06B70D

I hope that this session will be useful on a couple of fronts. The first is that you'll get to see how I got interested in virtual schools in the first place. The second is you'll get to see how I developed that interest from a beginning researcher to someone who I personally think asks better questions and is a better methodologist. The third is that I'll be discussing some of the findings from my various research studies with the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI - the virtual high school in Newfoundland).


Anyway, I'll post the link to the archive of the session some time next week, that way if you can't make the session you'll at least be able to see the recording. And thanks for indulging me as I do some self-promotion. :)


Tags: CIDER, CDLI, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Online Professional Development Sessions

I want to bring to your attention two online professional development sessions on the horizon this semester. The first is one offered by the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education through their Wise & Witty Wednesday series. Once they get it online, the complete schedule will be online at http://www.cade-aced.ca/cade_event_ww.php?i_nMode . The schedule that I got in the e-mail has the titles and presenter names for their monthly sessions beginning on 20 September. The one I wanted to point out is from the November session, which is their only K-12 one.

21 November - 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm, Eastern time
Solvig Norman & Eleanor Liddy
Tales from the Trenches: Distributed Learning in the K-12 World: The BC Experience

These sessions are delivered using Elluminate Live. To register for this session, please contact Tim Howard of CNIE in Ottawa at cnie-rcie@cnie-rcie.ca, phone 613.241.0018 or fax 613.241.0019. You are welcome to collect your colleagues at your site. You will receive a password and toll free phone number or instructions before the event. Registrations rates are $25 per workshop per individual OR $100 per workshop per site. Please add the appropriate GST or HST.

I should also note one other one from their archives that deals with a K-12 audience. It was entitled "Millenial Learners : Are We Ready?" and the complete description and abstract can be found here - http://www.cade-aced.ca/cade_event_ww_past.php?i_nEventId=6 .

The other one that I wanted to point out to you is one that I will be delivering through the Canadian Institute for Distance Education Research (CIDER). The complete schedule for this season, which begins on 21 September can be found at http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/upcomingsessions . My own session is in early October and the information is below.

Lessons learned in researching virtual schools: The Newfoundland and Labrador experience
Facilitator: Dr. Michael Barbour
Institution: Wayne State University
Date and time: Oct 05, 2007 11:00 AM (MST)

In this session, Dr. Michael Barbour will focus upon the lessons learned from researching the development and delivery of virtual school opportunities to secondary school students in Newfoundland and Labrador. Through qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies, he captures the experiences of students, teachers, course developers, and administrators in the formative years of a new virtual high school. Issues such as effective course design for this population of students, the benefits and challenges of online learning for secondary students, achievement differences based upon delivery model and geographic location, and what students are actually doing when engaged in virtual schooling are explored.

These sessions are also delivered through Elluminate, but unlike the CNIE sessions the CIDER sessions are free of charge. Also, I wanted to point out that I have posted about the other K-12 sessions that CIDER has offered in previous posts (see CIDER Session Archive and Invitation to CIDER session - 8 June 2007).

Personally, I won't be at the CNIE (as I don't want to spend the $25 plus tax) but I hope to see you all at the CIDER one.

Tags: CIDER, CNIE, CDLI, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

CIDER Session Archive

The session on the CDLI (Newfoundland's virtual high school) that was hosted by CIDER has been archived at:

http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

Using Third Generation Activity Theory and Contradictions to Analyse Qualitative Data
Facilitator: Dr. Elizabeth Murphy
Institution: Memorial University
Date and time: Jun 08, 2007 11:00 AM

In this session Elizabeth Murphy and Maria Rodriguez Manzanares will illustrate how they relied on Third Generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and the concept of contradictions to make sense of data from a case study of e-teaching in virtual high-school classrooms in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. They will provide a brief overview of Third Generation Activity Theory, outline their approach and protocol, provide actual coded examples and discuss the limitations and value of this approach in particular and Activity Theory in general to distance education research. Elizabeth and Maria will be assisted in this presentation by doctoral students Brian Kerr and Charlene Dodd, who will discuss the coding of contradictions.

Tags: CIDER, CDLI, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Invitation to CIDER session - 8 June 2007

Wow! Twice in one day... This came in my inbox and the focus is upon the virtual school in Newfoundland and Labrador.

***Messages are posted in the language received.***

Dear CADE/AMTEC Member,

We would like to invite you to the next presentation in our series of free CIDER sessions. The session features a presentation and discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Murphy and Maria Rodriguez-Manzanares. Dr. Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University. Maria Rodriquez-Manzanares, also from the Faculty of Education at Memorial University, is a doctoral candidate.

Title: Using Third Generation Activity Theory and Contradictions to Analyse Qualitative Data

In this CIDER session, Elizabeth Murphy and Maria Rodriguez-Manzanares will illustrate how they relied on Third Generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and the concept of contradictions to make sense of data from a case study of e-teaching in virtual high-school classrooms in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Elizabeth and Maria will be assisted in this presentation by doctoral students Brian Kerr and Charlene Dodd, who will discuss the coding of contradictions. For more details on this presentation go to: http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

When: Friday, June 8th, 2007, 11am – 12pm Mountain Standard Time

Where: Online via Elluminate at: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.8B71B60F2931D029AC3837DC06B70D

Pre-Configuration
Please make sure your Mac or PC is equipped with a microphone and speakers, so that we can use the Voice over IP functionality built into the web conferencing software.

Please note that it is extremely important that you get your system set up prior to the start of the event. Please don't wait until the day of the session to do this. Information on installing the necessary software and configuring your PC is available at http://www.elluminate.com/support/ in the “First Time Users” section.The session will be recorded and available for future playback from http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

**************************
CIDER is a Community Partner of Elluminate, who proudly sponsors our web conferencing needs. To sign up for a free, no obligation three-user version of Elluminate, please visit http://www.getvroom.com

Elluminate is currently conducting a higher education survey about eLearning. Your participation in this survey would be greatly appreciated. The survey can be accessed at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=265373346008

Tags: CIDER, CDLI, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education