Alien Pedagogy

Before I attended this session, I’d read Jeff Utecht’s blog for several months. How could I skip his session?

(The Wifi was sketchy for much of this session, so my notes are incomplete. I got a chance to talk to Jeff twice after his session and have also included thoughts from those conversations here.)

Thoughts I Still Have From This Session:

• Too many people on Twitter are creating networks that are designed to create a flock of followers. It seems more practical to use a blog and to present at conferences to create a flock. Use Twitter to create meaningful PLNs.
• BTW, PLN – A network of thinkers that you interact with online. You can use this network of people to challenge your ideas. A real network would be one that you can draw upon for ideas and resources — that you can interact with. So if you ask a question on Twitter and don’t get a response, you haven’t created a very effective network.
• Face to Face Contact is important in creating effective networks. At the least, put your face on Twitter instead of a metaphorical representation of your personality.
• Social Tagging – I haven’t used this in the classroom yet, but am excited to try it. Essentially, create a unique tag and use a social bookmarking site like Delicious to collate the resources that are identified by a community of students.
• Wikipedia Deniers who are quick to criticize the project because “anyone can edit Wikipedia” should be using social tagging and advanced google search techniques for research. (Also, teachers that advise students to use external links, please remember that those links were added by anyone.)
• Twitter can be used for professional networking, though many people just record very minute details. An email is too tenuous to be effective in maintaining a professional relationship and facebook is too personal.
• Creating a personal learning network requires time and effort. Don’t wait for people to come to you: use wefollow and twit groups to form your own network. Before you go to a conference, look into the tags for that conference. If you can, find a Jeff Utecht Twitter user who already has a lot of followers and who is keen to help others create their own networks.

In closing:

The biggest myth that I encountered when talking to teachers about PLNs is that a useful network will appear overnight. A meaningful network requires a lot of maintenance before it will run on autopilot. Once created, it can be a powerful tool for teachers.

I left this session with a strong determination to incorporate more connectivism in my classes.