Knowledge or skill

1 min read

Kevin Gamble on Twitter: "Is "network literacy" knowledge or a skill? #netlit #coopext" 

 Kevin asks if network literacy is a skill or knowledge - I say both, and I'm not sure you can separate one from the other. If we take that abilities are aptitudes we're born with and skills are learned, then you likely can't have one without the other. Kevin also asked which comes first - which I see as a bit of a "chicken or egg" problem. Should we care? Some people may gain knowledge, without acquiring a particular skill, but it may facilitate gaining the skill when the need arises. As we acquire skills, we gain knowledge from the practice and experience applying them. So, I don't care which comes first, as they almost certainly arise together and in succession in weird and wonderful ways.

Originally posted to linkblog February 8, 2015

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Collective Intelligence

1 min read

Reading the Mind in the Eyes or Reading between the Lines? Theory of Mind Predicts Collective Intelligence Equally Well Online and Face-To-Face

Taken together, these results provide strong empirical support for the emergence of collective intelligence in online groups, and the conclusion that theory of mind abilities are a significant determinant of group collective intelligence even when, as in many online groups, the group has extremely limited communication channels. 

 Interesting that the same results are seen in online groups communicating only via text.

Originally posted to linkblog December 31, 2014

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Skill and attitude

1 min read

Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them. 

 "These two observations allow us to conclude that networking for networked learning is not only a skill to be developed, but also an attitude towards learning to be cultivated. The interviews confirmed that networking revolves around a complex ability of (i) recognizing and identifying the other’s qualities; and, of (ii) making (valuable) associations of these qualities with the learner’s own qualities that could take place when interacting with a contact or even in the contact’s absence. Learners have different levels of proficiency in this skill, but can also differ in the actual application of the skill, due to the attitude with which they approach learning."

Originally posted to linkblog November 13, 2014

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How long can you volley?

1 min read

Teaching Students to Talk to Each Other: Improving the Discussion Board, 2006 

 This "old" paper came to my attention through a Tweet by Harold Rheingold. I'm glad I took the time to follow the link, as this topic resonates with me, especially since I'm currently taking online courses. In the paper, Edward J. Gallagher of Lehigh University discusses how he transformed the use of discussion boards in his class into a truly collaborative learning environment. His metaphor of friends playing racquetball, with the goal of sustaining the volley for as long as possible, is extremely useful. If boards are places where students go to post ace serves, that no one can return, then they can hardly be considered a learning tool. No, the learning takes place in the thoughtful back and forth, where each post leaves room for someone else to respond, probe, agree, disagree, expound, etc. The lessons here could equally be applied to blogs comments and social media.

Originally posted to linkblog August 29, 2014

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Hoffman on Network Literacy

1 min read

The Information Age to the Networked Age: Are You Network Literate? 

 "To be truly network literate is to always be thinking of how you can add value to the networks you’re a part of, and to make it a priority to turn connections into relationships, and relationships into alliances."

This post by Reid Hoffman highlights many of the concepts that inform the Network Literacy Community of Practice and drive my involvement.

Originally posted to linkblog June 16, 2014

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Podcasts are part of my Personal Learning Network

4 min read

Having recently participated in the Exploring Personal Learning Networks seminar (#xplrpln), I found the discussion around reciprocity in a PLN interesting. For me, my PLN is not only the people that I learn from and that learn from me, but includes the resources I learn from - even if the people behind those resources are unaware of my existence.

For the last eight and a half years, since iTunes added podcast subscription capability, I have been a regular podcast listener - primarily when driving and walking. I drive quite a bit, and find that listening to podcasts helps keep me current on emerging technologies and feeds my interests in a wide variety of subjects. I'll often share information from and links to particular episodes that strike a fancy, though I doubt many people take the time to listen to the podcast.

I thought it would be useful for me, and perhaps others, to share my current list of podcast subscriptions. I listen on my Moto X (Android phone) using the DoggCatcher client, and listen at 1.5X speed (I find it intelligible for all but the fastest talkers or those with particularly thick accents) so that I can cram more information in my listening time.

The list (ordered by priority - I generally listen to new episodes from the top to bottom, with the last ones being removed if I don't have the time. I skip around if I feel like it, and rearrange the order as my interests change. I also remove subscriptions if I don't find them useful or relevant. I add new podcasts to the bottom of the list and then "promote" them or remove them after a few episodes):

• Working Differently in Extension Podcast - a fantastic podcast from my friend Bob Bertsch at North Dakota State University Extension featuring interviews with Extension professionals who are approaching their work in new ways.
• EconTalk - economics podcast from Russ Roberts with a decidely Hayekian bent
• Extension Quick Bytes - tips and tricks from University of Minnesota Extension
• This Week in Google (TWiT network) - Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis, ant others discuss the latest happenings in the cloud.
• Security Now (TWiT network) - Steve Gibson takes a deep dive on security and technology issues
• All About Android (TWiT network) - focuse on the Android operating system, phones, and tablets
• This Week in Tech (TWiT network) - A roundup and analysis of the week's technology news
• The ButtonClick Admin Podcast  | For Salesforce Admins, Developers, and Executives
• Triangulation (TWiT network) - Leo Laporte interviews various tech personalities
• Freakonomics Radio - a decidely different view from the Freakonomics authors
• More or Less: Behind the Stats (BBC) - do the stats in current news stories add up?
• NPR: Planet Money Podcast
• Revolutions explores great political revolutions (focusing on English Revolution currently)
• Stuff You Should Know - cursory glance at a wide range of technologies, phenomena, and events
• Stuff You Missed in History Class - discussion of relatively obscure events and people in history (at least, obscure to me)
• Science Friday Audio Podcast - recordings from the NPR radio program featuring current topics in science
• FLOSS Weekly (TWiT network) - Free, Libre, Open-source software
• Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine - campy look at medical history
• In Beta - talk show about tech culture, making open source software, and how mobile, social, and web apps are changing the world.
• This Week in Enterprise Tech (TWiT network) - discussion of technology affecting large corporations and institutions
• HBR IdeaCast - from Harvard Business Review, a brief look at an interesting management research topic or idea
• Frontiers (BBC) - new ideas in science from the BBC
• Tim Harford: Pop-Up Ideas (BBC) - mostly economics-related talks to live audiences by Tim Harford

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Comments on original post

Sharing is a form of self-expression

1 min read

A minority of the texts that people circulated were original compositions; most material was quoted from other sources. The same is true of modern social-media systems: posting links and snippets found elsewhere is standard practice on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter: and on some platforms, such as Pinterest and Tumblr, more than 80 percent of items shared are "repins" or "reblogs" of items previously posted by other users. Then as now, people enjoy being able to articulate their interests and define themselves by selectively compiling and resharing content created by others. The mere act of sharing something can, in other words, be a form of self-expression.

From Writing on the Wall: Social Media - The First 2,000 Years -  Tom Standage

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