Connecting 131006

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Earlier this month, Katherine Schulten asked What might “connected teaching” or “connected learning” — that is, using technology to build communities and share knowledge — look like in practice?
She shares twenty-eight examples of connections in her blog post.
I was thinking about Seth Godin and his Krypton course initiative as I read her post.
The logistics of the Krypton courses include:

  • Every week for four weeks, a course meets.
  • A course is a group of people learning together.
  • You can host each of the four classes of the course in your office, your home or a coffee shop.
  • The ideal size is 6 to 15 people, but you might want to invite a few extra folks as insurance.
  • We call the person who organizes the classes within a course (that’s you) an organizer. No credentials required, other than a generous desire to lead and share.
  • Every four weeks there will be a new course.

#KryptonTuesday shares news of some of these emerging courses.
Given the expertise that is used to facilitate these Krypton courses, I have been thinking even more about ePortfolios as records of participation and engagement. I like the idea of blending physical presence in convivial meetings with reflection and research in a transparent way.
I think the four-week scale of the courses raises some important issues about intensity and learning. Increasingly, I see remarkable opportunities for self-paced and self-directed learning that can be aggregated and shared through tools like Accredible.
I think this leads inevitably to important debates about equivalence with formal award qualifications. I can see the ability to connect and demonstrate this connection having fundamental implications for accreditation processes too.
I hope that the articulation of formal and informal learning opportunities and the transparent sharing of this articulation might be a worthy topic for a Berkman Center for Internet & Society fellowship application.

Photo Credit

Elliot bay: Seattle’s legendary independent bookstore (Nicola, CC BY 2.0)

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