The World is Open

This book comes highly recommended: World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education by Curtis Bonk (aka TravelinEdMan). As a special holiday bonus event at SCoPE Curtis will be joining us for a Q&A.

When: Monday, December 21, 2009, 22:00 GMT

Where: Elluminate

If you don't have the book, visit the World is Open site to access the book prequel and postscript, links to the original articles, many book excerpts, and Web resources. Or if you don't have time to read, come anyway!

We're gathering YOUR questions ahead of time in this SCoPE forum.

The World Is Open

I've been reading the World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education by Curtis Bonk (aka TravelinEdMan) in preparation for our upcoming event at SCoPE. Well, I would have read it in any case because I've been a Bonk fan for awhile. If you have ever listened to Curt speak, or read some of his work, you'll know that he has a knack for organizing complex ideas into a simple framework, often using lists like this 2009 article: The World is Open for Reason: Make that 30 Reasons! Or the WE-ALL-LEARN model outlined in the book:

Web Searching in the World of e-Books
E-Learning and Blended Learning
Availability of Open Source and Free Software
Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare
Learning Object Repositories and Portals
Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
Electronic Collaboration
Alternate Reality Learning
Real-Time Mobility and Portability
Networks of Personalized Learning

So, in a true Bonk style, I'll give the you 10 reasons why I admire Curt's work.

1. He weaves interesting stories throughout his work. It's like sitting on the front porch swing and listening to a story teller.
2. He doesn't work alone. He is always communicating, always networking, always seeking out more people to connect to.
3. He doesn't take credit for all of the ideas he writes about. Case in point: 5 pages of acknowledgments in The World is Open, including the Twelve Girls Band from China "for their mesmerizing CD, Eastern Energy, which I listened to over 250 times while writing this book."
4. He's so organized! I mean he counted the number of times he listened to that CD! 
5. He asks a lot of questions, and because he really wants to know the answers.
6. He's so entertaining. Expect him to show up in costume, or carrying a box of props to a talk. This YouTube video just cracks me up.
7. He writes about interesting topics, and uses real-life examples.
8. He's a practitioner. He can write about teaching because that's what he does.
9. He is always paying attention to your interests, and introducing you to other people with similar interests. When you meet him expect to hear "Oh! you really need to talk to so and so...here's her email address"(which he'll happen to have at his fingertips. I mentioned he's organized.)
10. He spreads the word about people doing good work. I learned all about Lucifer Chu and the Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System (OOPS) project through Curt, and was then introduced to him (by Curt, of course...see #9!) at the 2005 eLearn conference in Vancouver. And, of course, I'm flattered that he includes my work and SCoPE on his list. He even sent me an autographed copy of his book. :-) 

So plan to attend the SCoPE event for The World is Open Q&A where you'll get to meet Curt, and ask him questions about his book or anything else you want to know about the impact of technology on learning. Guaranteed he'll have answers!

• Where: Elluminate
• When: December 21, 2009 at 2:00 PST (your time zone)
• How to prepare: If you don't have the book, visit the World is Open blog to access the book prequel and postscript, links to the original articles, many book excerpts, and Web resources. Or if you don't have time to read, come anyway! 
• Dress: Informal

MicroSCoPE December 2009 Issue

This newsletter was sent out to members of the SCoPE community. I'm posting it here to make sure it reaches as many people as possible!

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MicroSCoPE: A Close Look at What's Happening in the SCoPE Community
December, 2009
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In This Issue
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1. Today! Digital Tattoo Project
2. World is Open Q&A
3. Authentic Assessment
4. Instructional Skills Workshop
5. Mark Your Calendars
6. Activity Recap
7. PeriSCoPE
8. About SCoPE
9. About MicroSCoPE

1. Today! Digital Tattoo Project
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 11, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. PST | your time zone
Facilitators: Trish Rosseel and Cindy Underhill
Moderator: Bonnie Johnston
Join us for a tour and discussion of University of British Columbia's Digital Tattoo project today in Elluminate. The project’s goal is to help students become aware of their rights and responsibilities as creators and consumers of digital information in their personal, academic and professional lives. This web conference is part of the 3-week seminar on Digital Identity which runs until December 18, 2009. Latecomers welcome and expected!

2. World is Open Q&A
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 21, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. PST | your time zone
Have you dipped into The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education, by Curtis Bonk? Here's you chance to ask the author YOUR questions! Drop into the forum in the days leading up to the World is Open Q&A.

3. Authentic Assessment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 5, 2010
Facilitators: Doug Hamilton and Sandra Rogers
We will kick of the 2010 Professional Learning Series with an interactive session on authentic assessment, including a look at a special project under development at Royal Roads University. BCcampus, eCampus Alberta, and Alberta-North are teaming together to organize this series focusing on emerging topics in elearning.

4. Instructional Skills Workshop
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January 25 - February 19, 2010
Facilitator: Doug Kerr
Royal Roads University
This course is designed to help new and experienced instructors achieve success in facilitating learning in an online environment. Watch SCoPE for more online courses and workshops offered by British Columbia post-secondary institutions.

5. Mark Your Calendars
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* Guiding the E-Researcher, facilitated by Janet Salmons, January 18 - 29, 2010. This seminar will explore ways that educators can guide learners through a few key e-research steps needed to use synchronous tools for scholarly interviews. The seminar is part of our Professional Reading Group Series, and will draw on Janet's new book: Online Interviews in Real Time.
* Culturally Diverse Learners: February 1-19, 2010
Check upcoming seminars for an updates to the seminar schedule. The Learn Together Collaboratory has a list of events of interest to educators. Feel free to contribute to the list!

6. Activity Recap
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* Course Design Principles for Engagement
December 8, 2009
Sheila Whitmore, Quality Manager for eCampusAlbertaDuring invited course developers to take us on a tour of six great courses! The recording has been posted and the forum remains open for participants to pose questions and give feedback.

* Re-Thinking E-Learning Research
November 9 - 27, 2009,
This book discussion was facilitated by Norm Friesen, Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices. Visit the seminar wiki for links to book chapters and related resources.

* Virtual Field Trip: Cloudworks
November 16, 2009
During this Field Trip, organized in partnership with CPSquare, Grainne Conole took us to Cloudworks, an evolving, dynamic community for learning design developed and hosted by the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University. Naturally, we created a Field Trip Cloud!

* The Art of Teaching
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October 19 - November 6, 2009
This seminar, faciliated by Neil Smith, Nancy Randall and Andrew Marchand, was organized around Vancouver Island University's Art of Teaching video series. The 8-part series is now available on YouTube.

Past SCoPE seminar discussions are always available for reading and afterthoughts.

7. PeriSCoPE
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* The nominations are up and voting is now open in the 2009 Edublog Awards.
* Social Media: Trends and Implications for Learning is a free monthly discussion, hosted by AACE and facilitated by George Siemens and David Cormier.
* The next Learning4Content online workshop is December 14-18, 2009
* The next CIDER Session is Blended Online Learning Design: Shaken not Stirred, January 5, 2010. CIDER sessions are targeted at distance education researchers, graduate students, and practitioners. Each session features an active researcher talking about their project, methodologies used, and their results.

8. About SCoPE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCoPE brings together individuals who share an interest in education research and practice, and offers opportunities for dialogue across disciplines, geographical borders, professions, levels of expertise, and education sectors. Our activities are faciliated by volunteers in the communitiy and membership is free and open to everyone.

SCoPE forms collaborating partnerships with many organizations to implement and promote community activities and products. This is a mutual exchange of support and services.

Self-register at http://scope.bccampus.ca

* Follow SCoPE on Twitter and Facebook
* Join the SCoPE group at Linkedin to connect with others who are interested in employment in education or in connecting professionally on projects, follow SCoPE on Twitter and check out the SCoPE Facebook group and member networking as a way to keep in the loop.
* Do you blog? Add it to our SCoPE member blogs database.
* Leave a message on the SCoPE Voicethread

9. About MicroSCoPE
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SCoPE members receive MicroSCoPE issues automatically. If you prefer to read MicroSCoPE on the website or via RSS, login to SCoPE and manage your subscription here:
http://scope.bccampus.ca/mod/forum/view.php?f=5

MicroSCoPE is prepared by Sylvia Currie, Community Steward (scurrie@bccampus.ca).

Please spread the word about SCoPE activities. Distribute this newsletter!

Digital Identity Seminar

A seminar is starting up at SCoPE today. As with all SCoPE activities, the Digital Identity seminar is facilitated by volunteers in the community, and participation is free and open to the public. Here is the description. Hope to see you there!

Digital Identity: December 1-18, 2009
Facilitators: Trish Rosseel & Cindy Underhill

From Wikipedia: Digital identity refers to the aspect of digital technology that is concerned with the mediation of people's experience of their own identity and the identity of other people and things.

How do you manage and make informed choices about your digital identity? What does all of this mean in an educational context? What are the questions YOU need to ask of your learners to educate them about their digital identities? Join two of the developers behind University of British Columbia's Digital Tattoo project for a discussion about digital identities and what we all need to know.

Using the resources on the Digital Identity Wiki as fodder for discussion, we'll focus on a different themes for each of the three weeks:

1. Us
2. Our Learners
3. Our Institutions
   

Each week, we'll highlight a few of the questions we think are important and (hopefully) draw out some of the themes that are important to you. On Friday, December 11th at 11:00 a.m. we'll host a synchronous session in Elluminate - focusing on the Digital Tattoo project that we're involved with.

We look forward to the discussion in the coming weeks!

Digital Identity Seminar

A seminar is starting up at SCoPE today. As with all SCoPE activities, the Digital Identity seminar is facilitated by volunteers in the community, and participation is free and open to the public. Here is the description. Hope to see you there!

Digital Identity: December 1-18, 2009
Facilitators: Trish Rosseel & Cindy Underhill

From Wikipedia: Digital identity refers to the aspect of digital technology that is concerned with the mediation of people's experience of their own identity and the identity of other people and things.

How do you manage and make informed choices about your digital identity? What does all of this mean in an educational context? What are the questions YOU need to ask of your learners to educate them about their digital identities? Join two of the developers behind University of British Columbia's Digital Tattoo project for a discussion about digital identities and what we all need to know.

Using the resources on the Digital Identity Wiki as fodder for discussion, we'll focus on a different themes for each of the three weeks:

1. Us
2. Our Learners
3. Our Institutions
   

Each week, we'll highlight a few of the questions we think are important and (hopefully) draw out some of the themes that are important to you. On Friday, December 11th at 11:00 a.m. we'll host a synchronous session in Elluminate - focusing on the Digital Tattoo project that we're involved with.

We look forward to the discussion in the coming weeks!