E-Learning 2.

0
in development
Stephen Downes
September 25, 2007
 Overview
1. E-Learning in Development
2. The (Traditional) AI Approach
3. The Connectivist Alternative
4. Network Semantics
5. Web 2.0 - Core Technologies
6. E-learning 2.0
7. The Personal Learning Environment
1. E-Learning in Development
Online Learning

• Has been around since 1995 or so

• Really grew with the World Wide Web
• Has advanced tremendously

Many positive developments in the

last few years worth sharing…
 Open Source Applications

• Learning Management Systems

such as Moodle, Sakai, Bodington, ATutor

• Development and CommunityTools

such as LAMS, Connexions, ELGG, Drupal,
WordPress

• Supporting Software
such as Firefox, Thunderbird,
OpenOffice, Audacity
Open Educational Resources
• MIT’s OpenCourseWare project
and the OpenCourseWare Consortium

• Open University’s Open Courses

• OER initiatives
Hewlett, Wellcome, OECD, UNESCO

• Creative Commons and CC materials

in Flickr, Yahoo, Google, Wikipedia, Wikiversity, etc.
New Environments
• Multimedia explosion
podcasts, vodcasts, YouTube, Slideshare, more

• Mobile computing
mobile phones, PDAs, etc.

• The 3D web
Second Life is a start, we will see more of this
 Access…

• One-to-one computing
such as the Maine laptop project,
now spreading rapidly

• One Laptop per Child

has launched –
computers in Nigeria
• Wireless access
3G networks, WLAN…
2. The Traditional (AI) Approach
 Expert Systems
• Two major aspects:
– Representation
– Inference engine
• Analogy: the wizard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_system

http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/expert_systems.php
 Properties of Expert Systems
• Expert systems
are goal oriented
• Good expert
systems are
efficient
• Expert systems
should be
adaptive
http://www.expertise2go.com/webesie/tutorials/ESIntro/
 AI Requires…
• Knowledge Acquisition
– Subject matter expert
• Knowledge Representation
– Eg. creation of resources
• Knowledge Encoding
– Eg. creation of if-then structures

http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Norman/long.extra/Info.S98/Exp/intro.html
 Learning Design
• to automatically “run” the sequence of
student activities (facilitated by the
educator via computers
– James Dalziel

http://blog.worldcampus.psu.edu/index.php/2007/05/16/learning-design-and-open-source-te

http://zope.cetis.ac.uk/lib/media/WhatIsLD_web.pdf
 IMS Learning Design
• Based on Education Modelling
Language (Rob Koper)
• Examples…
– Programmed instruction
– Role play
– Competency-based learning
• Idea that LDs are “pedagogically
neutral”
http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign/ldv1p0/imsld_bestv1p0.html
Competency-Based Learning

http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign/ldv1p0/imsld_bestv1p0.html#1505452
 LD Tools
Nr.
Tool Name Link Author Levels
1
CopperAuthor www.copperauthor.org OUNL A
2
Reload LD www.reload.ac.uk/ldeditor.html
Reload A,B,C
Editor
3
ASK LDT www.ask.iti.gr University of A,B
Piraeus
4
Mot+ www.licef.teluq.uquebec. University of A
ca/gp/eng/productions/mot. Quebec
5 htm
Cosmos www.unfold-project.net:8085/UNFOLD/general_resources_fol
University of A,B
Duisburg

Berggren et.al. http://jime.open.ac.uk/2005/02/

 The Lego Metaphor

Berlanda & Garcia http://jime.open.ac.uk/2005/11/

 The Learning Refinery
• LD but one element of a larger picture
• Includes Learning Objects, repositories,
etc
• “LDs by themselves are of limited value
without a bundle of surrounding
documentation, metadata, and
taxonomies”
Greller http://jime.open.ac.uk/2005/12/
3. The Connectivist Alternative
 Connectionism

Minsky: Symbolic vs. Analogical Man: Top-Down vs. Bottom Up

http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/SymbolicVs.Connectionist.html
 Un…
As in, unorganized
As in not managed
Unconference
Messy vs. Neat
 User-Generated Content

http://www.linuxelectrons.com/news/general/user-generated-web-content-will-grow-r
 Flow
• IM and SMS expanded – Twitter
• Facebook ‘status’ updates – the now
• RSS, podcasting and other content
feeds
• Mode – the idea of flow – how do you
survive in a world of constant change?
Stop thinking of things as static
•
Resources are like
Patterns in the Mesh
the knowledge is in the network

Old: universals
– rules
– categories

New: patterns
– patterns
– similarities

the knowledge is the network

stands for?

Hopfield

Or is caused by?

Distributed Representation
= a pattern of connectivity
This…

Network Learning…

• Hebbian associationism
• based on concurrency

• Back propagation
• based on desired outcome

• Boltzman
• based on ‘settling’, annealing
4. Network Semantics
 Groups vs. Networks
• A group is a collection of entities or
members according to their nature;
what defines a group is the quality
members possess and number
• A network is an association of entities
or members via a set of connections;
what defines a network is the extent
and nature of this connectivity
Rethinking Learning

http://static.flickr.com/109/252157734_9e6c29433b_b.jpg
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4126240905912531540&hl=en
 Groups, Schools, Classes
• A group, in other words, is a school (of
thought, of fish…) or a class of some sort.
• Or: classes and schools are just groups. They
are defined as groups.
• Can we even think of schools – and of
learning – without thinking at the same time
of the attributes of groups?
 A Group…
• A group is elemental, defined by mass
and sameness – like an ingot of metal
(Aside: democracy is a group
phenomenon)
 A Network…
• A network is diverse and changing,
defined by interactions – like an
ecosystem

Can we achieve order, responsibility,

identity in an ecosystem? Do we need
the iron hand? (Aside: Solon, learning,
justice)
 The Semantic Principle
• Groups require unity, networks require diversity
• Groups require coherence, networks require
autonomy
• Groups require privacy or segregation, networks
require openness
• Groups require focus of voice, networks require
interaction

http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=35839
 Networks Connective
Peer-to-peer
Conversation
Distributive
Emergent
 Why Networks?
• Nature of the knower: humans are more
like networks
• Quality of the knowledge: groups are
limited by the capacity of the leader
• Nature of the knowledge: group
knowledge is transmitted and simple
(cause-effect, yes-no, etc) while network
knowledge is emergent and complex
5. Web 2.0 - Core Technologies
Social Networking

http://staffdev.henrico.k12.va.us/parents/socnetwork.htm
Tagging
Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX)

Jesse James Garrett in February 2005.

https://bpcatalog.dev.java.net/ajax/textfield-jsf/design.html
 Representational State Transfer (REST)

- principles that outline how resources are defined and addressed

- looser sense: domain-specific data over HTTP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer
http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/Watcher/20060315/232492/
Application Program Interface (API) and
Mash-Ups

http://scenariothinking.org/wiki/images/b/b6/MashUpSysDiagramV6.0.jpg
Javascript Object Notation (JSON)
• OpenID

http://gabinetedeinformatica.net/wp15/2007/03/09/openid-nuestra-identidad-virtual/
http://www.funnymonkey.com/openid-in-education
 Identity
• The idea: identity as personal, not
institutional
• You own your data
• Identity 2.0 – Dick Hardt
http://talk.talis.com/archives/2005/10/dick_hardt_on_i.html
http://identity20.com/media/OSCON2005/

• OpenID http://openid.net/
 No More Walled Gardens
• Social and content networks distributed
across services
• But also… importantly… the walls or
institutions and corporations are also
less important
6. E-Learning 2.0
 E-Learning 2.0
The idea is that learning is not based on
objects and contents that are stored, as
though in a library
Rather, the idea is that learning is like a
utility - like water or electricity - that flows
in a network or a grip, that we tap into
when we want
The way networks learn is the way people
learn…

• they are both complex systems

• the organization of each depends on connections

Connectivism (George Siemens)

• Learner centered

Learning is centered around

the interests of the learner

Learning is owned by the

learner

This implies learner

choice of subjects,
materials, learning styles
• Immersive learning

This learning is
immersive –
learning by doing
• 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
• Game-based learning

Types:
Branching, Spreadsheet,
Quiz Game, Simulation Lab…
• Workflow (Informal) Learning

Types: EPSS, Community of Practice,

Environment, Visualization…
http://metatime.blogspot.com/
• Mobile Learning

Examples:
Co-op learning, drill and flash-card,
instant mesaging, field trips,
resource capture (like this talk!)
http://www.pwlan.org.tw/ct.asp?xItem=200&CtNode=501&mp=5
Online Learning at the
Crossroads
• On the one hand – we have developed
tools and systems intended to support
traditional classroom based learning

• On the other hand – we could (should?)

be developing tools and systems to
support immersive learning. We should be
developing for dynamic, immersive, living
systems…
First Iteration:
User-Produced Media

• Blogs and Blogging

• Podcasting and
Vodcasting

• Game mods and other

multimedia
Web 2.0: The Learning Network

• The intersection between the worlds for

education, work, and home

• Key requirement is easy-to-use tools and

hosting services*

• *E.g. the “e-Portfolio-as-blog” approach

http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/scott/entries/20050523083528
7. Personal Learning Environment
Content as Vocabulary
http://icanhascheezburger.com/
 Content as Creation

Aggregate
Remix
Repurpose
Feed Forward
The Idea of the PLE…

http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/ple/resources/edf.ppt
Plex Personal Learning Environment Example

http://reload.ces.strath.ac.uk/plex/
Collecting and
Filtering RSS

http://www.downes.ca/mygluframe.htm
RSS Writr

http://www.downes.ca/editor/writr.htm
Edu_RSS Viewer

http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?action=viewer
Relations between Entities…
What is the PLE?
We can get an idea of what the PLE looks like
by drilling down into the pieces…
The question is – how to
transport and represent
Model models that are actually
- conceptual frameworks used?
- wiki (wiki API, RSS)
- concept maps (SVG, mapping format)
- gliffy (SVG?)
- reference frameworks
- Wikipedia
- video / 2L 3D representation – embedded
spaces
 The question is, how
can we connect the
Demonstrate learner with the
- reference examples community at work?
- code library
- image samples
- thought processes
- show experts at work (Chaos Manor)
- application
- case studies
- stories
 The question is, how can
we enable access to
Practice multiple environments
- scaffolded practice that support various
- game interfaces activities?
- sandboxes
- job aids
- flash cards
- cheat sheets
- games and simulations
- mod kits
- mmorpgs
 The question is, how can we
assist people to see
themselves, their practice, in
Reflection a mirror?
- guided reflection
- forms-based input
- presentations and seminars
- journaling
- blogs, wikis
- communities
- discussion, sharing
 People talk about ‘motivation’
– but the real issue here is
ownership

Choice – Identity - Creativity

- simulated or actual environments
that present tasks or problems
- OpenID, authentication, feature or
profile development
- Portfolios & creative libraries
Stephen Downes
http://www.downes.ca