CCK08: 69 Learning Adventures in 6 Galaxies

This week in CCK08 the discussions have revolved around aspects of knowledge. Some people have engaged in discussion around definition knowledge, others have tried to explore how knowledge is stored in the brain. Some have extended the discussion to the concept of understanding and there was a very interesting discussion on how knowledge or learning can take place in a ‘non-human appliance’ – be it social software or a robot! The topics that appeared made for quite a philosophical week in the course.

Now I’m not much of a philosopher – I’m a scientist. So I didn’t quite know what to contribute. I do know that knowledge, understanding and learning has been the cornerstone of my life as young adult all the way into adulthood. I’m a very inquisitive person always looking to learn new things. Consequently, I am a good “knowledge seeker” - a good researcher. So in the spirit of information gathering, I thought I would share with the readers of this blog a very nice resource.

69 Learning Adventures in 6 Galaxies.

Sounds like a bit of a gimmick title right? Well, it’s not. It’s a free eBook by Zaid Ali Alsagoff, the e-Learning Manager for The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He’s assembled a very easily readable eBook that covers six major topics (aka Galaxies!): Learning, Teaching, Stories, Free e-Learning Tools, Free Learning Content and Free EduGames. In conjunction with his blog called Zaidlearn, it provides a nice set of resources for the practitioner who is in "knowledge seeker" mode.

Enjoy.

Note: image attribution here.

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CCK08: Connectivism Concept Map

This week I read a few things circulating in the blogosphere about Connectivism. Most of it is interesting. The readings provoked me to give some thought to the concept of exactly how I am connected to the message pipelines and communication networks around me. I noticed that there are some message pipelines that I exclusively make a conscious effort to take from at a time point which is convenient to me. Such as television. I do not routinely watch television. In fact, I have not been in the presence of a television (turned on) in the last four days. So how does the message pipeline of a television influence me - well, I simply take from it once in awhile. On occasion I make a conscious choice to turn on a TV and watch it. I never give to that message pipeline - I only take from it.

In contrast, I gave some thought to how I use the phone. The phone pushes information to me automatically (i.e. phone calls come to me directly on a routine basis) and I routinely push information to the phone (i.e. I call people through the day). So clearly the way television keeps me connected is different than the way a phone keeps me connected. However, both are part of my 'Personal Connectivism' map.

I tried to visually represent this phenomenon of my 'Personal Connectivism Map' visually. I used CMAP Tools. If you are new to CMAP tools then you might find this post useful.

Take a look at my 'Personal Connectivism Map' and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Click the image below to go to Flickr where you will have the ability to choose from a variety of image sizes, if necessary (see the 'All Sizes' button).

Tremblay-ConnectivismMap-Sept2008
Originally uploaded by actionhamster

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Blogroll in Pageflakes

"Blogroll in Pageflakes" ... hmmm ... what the heck does that mean? It kind of gives me a visual of someone dunking a yummmy snack into a bowl of sugar-coated cereal! But I digress *hahaha!

Anyway, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you will enjoy what I have put together for you this morning. It's a pageflakes webpage that aggregates the blogroll found on this blog together into one spot. It's one stop browsing for eLearning stuff. Enjoy!

PS: If you are new to pageFlakes and want to learn more, then see this post.

Note: photo attribution to Darwin Bell.

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Free Books on e-Learning

Don't you just love the concept of sharing information for free? I sure do. So I wanted to quickly blog a link I would like to revisit in the future. Jane Hart from the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies (aka C4LPT), has assembled a running list of websites that hold free content from e-Learning books. For example, some of the items on the list are sample chapters from publisher websites advertising print books. The list is very useful and shows that even a little bit of free sharing can go a long way when someone takes the time to assemble the sources into one place. Thanks Jane!

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CCK08-Connectivism is here!

The massively online open course on Connectivism has begun (see description here). Already there is so much material on the subject that some of the participants are very surprised and somewhat overwhelmed. In my view, I think the key is not to get stressed out with the large volume of material that will be channeled to participants in CCK08. Learning is supposed to be fun - so I am adopting the approach of simply 'going with the flow' for the next 13 weeks. I'm going to read a few things that interest me each day (mostly from 'the daily' email produced by the instructors and from the Pageflakes RSS aggregation page). And when I 'feel the urge' I will blog about something related to these materials in my regular blog here - I'll be sure to add the tag CCK08 to the postings. I have no specific goal (or expectation) in mind as to the number of readings I will complete each day nor the number of blog postings on CCK08 I will make each week; however, I will keep an open mind and see what happens. I am here to enjoy the ride with the least amount of stress as possible. I know I will learn
something on this journey - without giving myself a heart attack along the way (*haha*)

I hope the same for everyone else that is a participant in CCK08!

PS: If this posting intrigues you - it's not too late to join into CCK08. Give it a try!

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Free File Storage Online

I attended a presentation by a colleague of mine yesterday (Hi Louise!) where the topic of free file storage online came up. Often when working in a course development team, using some central repository of files is very convenient - free file storage services online can help.

Here's a review of 10 free online file storage services via The Smorgasbord dated Aug 19th, 2008.

Here's a review of 10 free online file storage services via Online Storage Services Review dated sometime in 2008.

Here's a review of 6 free online file storage services via Enfotainer dated August 13th, 2008.

Also, Helen Barret, the E-Portfolio Queen!, has recently been conducting some Online File Storage Research. Be sure to read the opinion she's posted on her blog on March 30th, 2008.

If you have any successes, or failures, to report about a free online storage service, please leave a comment below.

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