CCK08: Course Evaluation and Feedback

My experience with Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2008 has been tantamount to climbing Mount Everest. The amount of sustained energy required to maintain an upward assent has been extraordinary – with many colleagues turning back or stopping along the way – but in this lay one of the key sources of its engagement, and one that tied students together into a unique, shared experience. It’s been absolutely incredible.

Every week yielded a fascinating new topic to be explored, and with it an even greater amount of tangential discussion. Never was there a time when there weren’t more topics to be explored than time to explore them. I was constantly left wanting more; wanting to read more, write more, discuss more, experiment more, think more. Like so many capillary trails diverging from the primary path, there was no end to the new territory that could be explored from one day to the next.

A Diverse Cohort

Equally fascinating was the cohort of students drawn together in the course. I found the diversity of professional and educational backgrounds incredibly insightful in discussions, since everyone brought a different perspective to the table. This meant assumptions and beliefs were challenged constantly and the true complexities and intricacies of the educational landscape began to emerge.

Connectivism emphasises the importance and significance of diversity and depth in a network, and that it’s a critical component for healthy, holistic learning experiences. Within our midst we had teachers, trainers, educators, support staff, professionals, administrators, students; those who believe in the current educational system, and those who would see it wrecked asunder and built anew; behaviourists, cognitivists, constructivists; instructional designers, researchers, even radical unschoolers.

The social structures that emerged as a result of this cacophony of unique voices was truly amazing, with a cohort spanning 5 continents, a myriad different cultures and languages, and countless networks, groups and communities. So too was the depth of the toolset that was used to connect with others. In the 27 responses I received to my poll on what students used to engage, there were over 50 different tools covering a spectrum of uses. Tools for discussion, reading, syndicating, chatting; virtual worlds, video viewing and sharing; collaborative tools, reflective tools; visualisation tools and communicative tools.

Modes of Delivery and Engagement

The modes of delivery for the core coursework and their mixed format nature were just awesome. The wiki, the Moodle forum, The Daily, Blip.TV videos, SlideShare presentations, audio clips, Elluminate and Ustream.TV meetings all served to maintain continuity and tie together the disparate communities that evolved and emerged over the course of the session. The short videos done to camera were particularly appreciated, because they put a face to the facilitators and gave the course a greater sense of humanity.

If I have any criticism for the evolution of course, it was that, with a few notable exceptions, I never actually saw another student. In a purely online course like CCK08, seeing the faces of your peers is critical in tying together the cohort and establishing a sense of “us” as opposed to just “me”.

This is one of the key reasons I included Seesmic clips on my blog – both as posts and comments. It was my attempt to convey some of my humanity through a largely anonymous space – even if it meant bouncing my son on a birth ball, or revealing my guitar performances.

As a suggestion, perhaps next time students could be encouraged to post pieces to camera at specific stages of the course – maybe nothing more than checking in and talking about how things were going.  I think doing this at recurring intervals would be important because it could help capture the development of relationships and networks over the course of the session.

For example:

Use of video to connect online learnersThis post accompanies my feedback and evaluation of CCK08. Full post here: http://techticker.net/2008/11/24/cck08-course-evaluation-and-feedback

Social Dynamics and Open Learning

Researching the theoretical applications of educational technology, as I do as my primary role, is one thing; seeing it used in practice is entirely another. This too shed an entirely new light on the educational landscape for me, once again revealing how vast the range, scope and scale of unique opportunities and potential that exists, and emphasising the importance of flexibility and personal ownership of learning in education.

The course was a fascinating glimpse into the social dynamics, relationships and learning cohorts that evolve naturally in the absence of central interference. This, I think, is of critical significance to the wider educational landscape. With Open Education gaining increasing recognition, it is essential that Open Learning be included in this paradigm. Too often the focus is on content alone, and locating new ways of teaching the same way. What is equally important is casting off existing structures, constraints and conditions to learning, and instead recognising the uniqueness of each individual learner, and their inherent right and freedom to explore learning in their own way.

Connectivism as a model

As to the question of “whether you feel this course approach could be applied to other subject areas,” my response is a resounding yes, however as always there are caveats and conditions that will be realised in individual circumstances. For example, Sarah Stewart has discussed the legal implications of client privacy in midwifery, saying there are fairly clear regulations on what can or cannot be discussed in open forums and blogs. Just as learners are each unique, so too are courses and subjects.

Nonetheless I think Connectivism as a model offers a significant and equally valuable reference point for what is possible in online learning, and the freedoms that can be afforded to learners while still following a solid curricular framework. My experience in the course has been one of tremendous engagement and a sense of personal ownership over my learning journey, which will extend well past the end of the course.

Equally significant are the networks that developed and evolved over the course of the session. As a direct result of the fact I was freely able to explore and discuss the coursework in a manner of my choosing, engage with those I wanted to, and avoid those I didn’t, despite reaching the end of the course there is still a tremendous sense of continuity – as if this is just the beginning. Though the formal aspect of the course is coming to a close, the informal relationships within the network remains. Thus the learning continues.