Derek Chirnside

This is a challenge Sylvia.
I have a theory.
So, for some faculty events, the best option is overseas participants.
You then experieince things that open up these questions of how you come across, not just being told.

Like Gina I'll just be lurking. I don't do anything like this at the moment. All that I have done is conversations with emergent aspects . . I actually usually dislike online surveys but I am a fan of some of Janet's writing.

I did a survey last week. Online, But with someone sitting in my office helping me. A brilliant system, it was analysing trips I made in a week for a fuel usage, lifestyle project.

Picture a site, with a login, with a specialist set of questions, links to Google maps to assist, a memory (like remembering the same trip to work I made each day) and the ability to go back and forward in a semi random fashion to complete the activity. Took 45 minutes, and was a very surprisingly satisfying experience, and I think actually a nice, efficient way to capture data. Compared to the question mill of liket scales.

I have a little bit of uncertainty at work (like I will be finishing as soon as I can) so I'm not sure what by business card will say in the near future. At present I do course design, staff development and try to influence policy as an Educational Designer. Probably it will soon say "Consultant" which may include working in a catering business, Moodle development in High Schools, releif teaching and a trip to China.

-Derek

I also was at the Open Ed conference - one of the best conferences I have ever been to. I presented a fragment of some of the things that emerged in a number of conversations on work habits and sharing as we undergo some huge change at the College of Education at the University of Canterbury.
Here is a little finding: those who DO collaborate and share are in a much better place emotionally and feeling about their role, their work, their students . . .
Collaboration is a thing of the heart, and is a nurturing thing. Not so much emphasis on what you get back.'
And the dark side: certain factors in leadership and environment can KILL collaboration dead.

-Derel
http://lits.gen.nz

Oh No.
Homework. What shall I do!! The help requests waiting in my intray? Finish editing Edition 3 of my Moodle course design handbook? Finish the poster for tomorrows CARN conference? More work on the video classes project?

http://www.edupov.com/

Hey wait a minute. Video classes can do the homework. OK onto it.

[Too many questions to do all in one hit]
I'm just dabbling here. I've been off SCoPE for a year or so, and then when suddenly e-mails started again a month ago I decided I'd dip into the next topic, no matter what it was.

So Hi everybody.
In my brain you guys are mostly "in Canada". (and England, other parts of the US etc etc). I live in Christchurch, NZ. I'm actually planning on coming over to Vancouver for the Open Ed conference in August.
My role is staff development and course design. I wok a lot with people dabbling in video/audio clips. There are some huge barriers, but most people find it stimulating and of benefit to the teaching and learning process.

Camstasia (Screen capture + audio) is where some people start. In some cases, this includes still pics in a PowerPoint as a quick "Amateur" introduction, even pictures of the cat, the office, a favourite place . . . .
We also offer professional video services, but the interface with the often busy/unfocused lecturers can sometimes be fraught. "Here is this video of some kids interacting I took on my cellphone. Can you rotate it 90 degrees and improve the sound a little so I can use it please?"
The conflict is often around production values. :-) To storyboard or not.

We do a lot of recorded stuff like classroom extracts with commentary. Little video conference (but increasing) - often very pedestrian. Quite a few teleconference meetups. We have just got 40 Adobe Connect places.

---

Just a couple of questions at random.

How do you experience the learning moment as teacher or student within the context of online learning?

Online: I actually do feel 'connected' even when I never see my students, or those I interact with. Generally connected positively.
At times this equates to a sort of a rush. The latest course I am involved with has 16 students starting to teach online for a short time about now. I have a mental trajectory for each one and have regularly, constantly been asking the question "By Wednesday, will they be ready?". This is a very special course. In the moment - I feel like I am taking part in a personal world/classroom/learning experience they are creating, and I'm kind of there on the side, but involved . . . and it is suprisingly intimate, sometimes even angst ridden as these guys head towards being online for the first time in some cases.'

It has been extremely frustrating at times. There is a great need for linearity in the online world. "First do your plan - check your learning pathways, then do the implementation." Working with some of these guys who are global, non-sequential learners has been fun.

For these guys it is like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. I could have helped more, but force feeding them and 'telling them' would have meant less deep learning. They may have 'done better' with their two weeks online as 'teachers', but in the 15 weeks course on "Learning to teach" . . . well . . .

How to humanise this? I may ask the class how humanised they feel their online experience has been.

• The video annoyed me intensely. (Probably a reflection on me not the video)
  
• Personally I don't do too well onscreen, but with a decent camera person/direction, things are a lot better.
  
• The other questions are interesting, but that is enough for now.

Jesai, thanks for being here.