The description of “our time” in the literature and film-clips for topic 1 is an age of supercomplexity and characterized by liquid learning – the notion that knowledge and learning are always on the move. I get tired and a bit anxious just to think about it – so how on earth will I manage to teach in it? It is not really putting pressure off – more like painting the option in hell-black when Kek&Huijser (2015) state that we don’t have much of a choice – just take a look at the profession of journalism a few years ago – adapt or go under. Accept the changes, and take control of changes!
What a relief then to read scenario in the first PBL – you are not the ONLY one in the world with the same feelings of half panic as the same time that you are trying to safe-talk yourself that this is going to be fine. Eventually.
It is also somewhat comforting that PBL could actually be a tool – something to hold hands with – in order to take some sort of control over changes, in Kek&Huijser’s (2015) words: “to empower students and ourselves”. The initial interest for PBL stemmed from my own personal interst from how the brain likes to get the whole picture both for the sake of motivation and understanding, so working based on a problem and breaking it down into pieces would logically be better “brainfood”, but I am also found of the idea of something that can give a sense of structure and frame to this hypercomplexity.
“This is not about maintaining comfort zones, but rather about becoming comfortable with discomfort.” Kek, M. & Huijser, H. (2015).
Could PBL be a tool to handle uncertainties and help to develop a strong sense of self “a way of being” (Ibid)? A sense of self is what seem to be much of an issue in an individualistic society. Some feel they have lost it, as maybe Marcia (1970) would have said that there are simply too many options and not enough time to really explore and to much of reluctance to commit when there is always something better to opt for? I am really interested in this subject – how do we counterbalance this uncertainty that makes us ill?
I myself do struggle with uncertainties around copyright issues since I refuse to give boring non-picture lectures and I am determined to put an end to this criminal side of mine. Therefore I was so happy about the seminar with Sara Mörtsell to find out about this great ways of finding pictures that you can use freely – and how to make a reference to them. (Sara Mörtsell, 2016):
It was an eyeopener how we have created a gap between the way student learn and the narrow world of approved knowledge. Both Mörtsell and White (2013) seem to agree on that and that there are strategies needed to close that gap – not to reject, but to critically evaluate – and above all contribute – to improve this shared pool of knowledge. I cannot help but thinking that this to “elite-ify” knowledge is not something new. If accessible to everyone the value of knowledge dilute and the power of the knowledgeable as well. Or is there something fundamentally different going on now?
The theory of residents and visitors (David White, 2013) is seemingly simple and accessible but yet explaining a great deal (good theories often do, I know). I can clearly see that I am consuming a lot but very anxious when it comes to leaving any conscious traces behind. I write conscious since the “filter bubble” constantly is serving me adapted content both in searchbrowsers and facebook ads (Mörtsell, 2016). I do have this same kind of identity “reluctant to share” both in the personal and institutional identity, maybe even more so in the personal sphere.
It is also interesting how we are dealing with litericies and not one single competence – if I was to place myself according to the “The seven elements of digital literacies” from : I would say that information literacies and learning skills are higher than communication and collaboration – that was also one of the reasons why I was so interested in this course from the beginning. ( Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide)
Beetham and Sharpe’s framework (2010) describes digital literacy as a development process from access and functional skills to higher level capabilities and identity – in a form of a pyramid. I really liked that itinerary, but also as an application to all processes of learning – in the end it comes down to a transformation, you become a “new” person and for ever losing the possibility to go back to who you were. It makes me think of an article of Belk “Possessions and the extended Self” and the way that what we have affects what we can do and by our actions we will be defined as somebody else, at the same time: what we want to do and what we want to have depends on who we are. Having, doing and being are inseparable.
PS: As a follow up on my last post: adobe connect seminars have really become easier and more talkative. I think there are four main facilitating circumstances: fewer people in the group, no moderator and a specific problem to unite around and some very interesting and funny people in my group :).DS
PS2: I realize writing the reference list that I have no idea how to refer to a webinar within an online course (!!) DS
REFERENCES:
Belk (1988), The possessions and the Extended Self The Journal of consumer research Volume 15, Issue 2, (sep 1988) 139-168
Kek, M. & Huijser, H. (2015). 21st century skills: problem based learning and the University of the Future. Paper Third 21st Century Academic Forum Conference, Harvard, Boston, USA
Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide
Marcia, J. E., (1966), Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp. 551-558
Mörtsell, S (2016) Webinar https://opennetworkedlearning.wordpress.com/topics-and-activities/topic1/event-webinar-with-sara-mortsell/
White, D. (2014): Visitors and residents (part 1) http://youtu.be/sPOG3iThmRI
Visitors and residents – Credibility (part 2) http://youtu.be/kO569eknM6U
ONL (b)log 