@brlamb That sounds good for me. For #TTIX, right? in reply to brlamb #

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• @qadmon People I've talked to at #ITC10 loved your insights into the open course you taught. Thanks again for the interview! in reply to qadmon #
• Hacked away at 5 postcards tonight for my #motleyread friends. #
• @diamond_mind Sorry man, wish you'd stayed over another night for #ITC10. in reply to diamond_mind #
• @fncll Where are you at? Some alien world with bizarre but pleasantly catalystic recipes? in reply to fncll #
• With the possibility of snow in Fort Worth overnight, I'm risking my safety to skate these Texas streets One Last Time. #
• @fncll My uncle Rock-N-Ron lives in Anchorage. in reply to fncll #
• @fncll But (I meant to type) I've never had a chance to visit. Cool city? #
• @fncll I probably mentioned it in a past conversation; you know, I have very little to reference re. Alaska! in reply to fncll #
• @BryanAlexander Ugetsu is so brilliant–and creepy! in reply to BryanAlexander #
• Because I know I won't blog about it: places I ate in Ft Worth: Risky's BBQ, Cowtown Diner, Flying Saucer, Corner Bakery, and Jakes. #
• Too dark and too cold to skate safely tonight! Looking forward to some early a.m. breakfast before @nancywhite's #ITC10 keynote. #
• I love the narrative approach in presentations–it's almost always captivating. Go @nancywhite! #ITC10 #
• @BryanAlexander Ooh, thanks for the recommendation. I will look into it. in reply to BryanAlexander #
• @jonmott Amen. in reply to jonmott #
• Hi mom! #ITC10 #
• To manage "through technology or through process"? (Applies to netiquette, cheating, and more.) #ITC10 #
• I dig that PowerPoint Auto Tweet. #
• As an undergrad a forward-thinking English lit prof complemented class discussions with threaded discussions back in 1998. #ITC10 #
• "Don't invest in something so big that if it fails, it's catastrophic." @nancywhite #ITC10 (LMS, anyone?) #
• I think this intermittent showing of the Twitter backchannel stirs audience attention, refocuses. #ITC10 #
• Though the emphasis has been on Twitter, great that @nancywhite stll asks for spontaneous oral feedback from the audience. #ITC10 #
• .@richardleslie It's an app for Windows PPT called SAP http://www.sapweb20.com/blog/powerpoint-twitter-tools/ #
• Love the reminder to go kinesthetic–even if you're not a so-called kinesthetic learner. Thanks, @nancywhite #ITC10 #
• Some great /and/s rather than /or/s, e.g. "perform /and/ 'on the side'" @nancywhite #ITC10 #
• I want to advance the use of tools to foster deep, reflective thinking rather than quick, reactionary thinking. #ITC10 #
• @fncll You'll be happy to know that @nancywhite is modeling the practice _well_. #ITC10 All these great models emerging stokes me. in reply to fncll #
• "I would never /not/ show up for a walk with my friend, but when she was out of town I wouldn't walk." @nancywhite on power of social #ITC10 #
• @fncll I gotta say I think the Boyd example is still important by comparison. The more models–good /and/ foul–the better! #ITC10 in reply to fncll #
• Also dig @nancywhite's consistent use of yoga imagery. What a great theme for a great talk! Thanks #ITC10 #
• @fncll OK, OK, I was /just/ thinking the same thing! But you know as I do, reactionary thinking can be embarrassing. It does feed the fire.. in reply to fncll #
• Too much in-fighting, backstabbing, nitpicking–general negativity amongst certain people… grumble>grumble #
• @busynessgirl Check out, at least, slow-blogging. And couldn't that also be the impetus for ideas of performance-based progression in K12? in reply to busynessgirl #
• @cogdog Here in Ft Worth it's already around 20*F–yesterday I couldn't wear a jacket. Here's hoping my flight escapes the storm. in reply to cogdog #
• Any #ITC10 folks heading out to the airport today between 4 and 5pm? #
• @sleslie I'm testing Instructure out this semester with one of my online courses. in reply to sleslie #
• @sleslie Yeah, I've made one post so far on an interesting feature. in reply to sleslie #
• @mweisman Add another $5 for a photo op and flickr upload. #
• Had one #ITC10 attendee tell me @diamond_mind and I were too hard on Bb and the LMS; another that we weren't hard enough! #
• 5 higher ed Q's from @jonmott: Who do we serve? What do we provide? How do we self-assess? Best way to provide? Best way to organize? #
• @fncll Quote of the day, my friend, qotd. in reply to fncll #
• RT @fncll Err on side of caution. There's no danger of too LITTLE LMS use and a lot of danger in how it retards Instructional Design #itc10 #
• "You can only Daniel Larusso the students for so long." @opencontent #byu2sigma #
• @kylemathews Grab me a couple stickers! in reply to kylemathews #
• Persisting question: is Bloom's 2 sigma problem/challenge still critical, or is it futile? #byu2sigma #
• Persisting q2: has tech morphed and culture changed so radically that we have to discard/rethink our perspectives on learning? #byu2sigma #
• @kenwoodward Because you know I'm going to ask you to brainstorm html template changes with me. in reply to kenwoodward #
• @opencontent If we had no designated parties, would that help? Or hurt? in reply to opencontent #
• @jonmott Surprised at the limits of some of the choices. No libertarian or socialist options for politics? in reply to jonmott #
• I scored 63/100 on the Pew Research Center How Millennial Are You? Quiz http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz #
• Debriefing after simulations accentuates learning through reflection as objectives are solidified. #iptseminar #
• @jonmott Me? I just made up the answers and looked confident… in reply to jonmott #
• @sleslie Thanks for posting this; it makes me feel like my day is not so confused after all… in reply to sleslie #
• RT @sleslie this is really funny, sort of like the Abbott & Costello of Ontology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ujpzdeolA #
• 2nd semester in a row where I've been asked to take over a class for another instructor mid-semester. #
• @fncll Sounds like my kinda day! If you're unlucky, you'll be back to strike mode by 10pm. in reply to fncll #
• @mikhailg That's actually what got me into the Pixies in college (that and a fanatic girlfriend). in reply to mikhailg #
• I thought I misheard NPR referring to Charles Dodgson as "Arthur". Guess not: http://bit.ly/dc5hvd #
• @davecormier Hey, I /wish/ my French was anywhere near as good as yours. in reply to davecormier #
• RT @ttix Don't forget: #TTIX 2010 call for proposals is now open at http://ttix.org TTIX 2010 runs June 9-11 in Salt Lake City. #
• With no other classes to take this Spring, looks like I've got to bite the bullet and get into remedial stats. #
• @diamond_mind I still don't think I'd make The Dude's team. in reply to diamond_mind #
• Watching $JST like a hawk… (didn't realize $ was for stocks!) #
• Working in an old PHP/MySQL system that I'd built (probably 10 yrs ago). It's not good, but it still works. #
• IRS sent me a letter saying I made an error on my return by refusing a govmt handout. Deposited it in my account anyway. #
• Fridays always end up a gruesome battle against the Dark Reinforcement Troops of Email. #
• Jumping in as teacher for someone else's course mid-stream is chaotic, but forces me to consider weird ways to assess. #
• Hard to admit it, but @kenwoodward and I spent an hour going in circles over a basic misunderstanding of SRC. #

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• @fncll Lenovo is infamous for that. But I love my Lenovos. in reply to fncll #
• Grabbing music clips for pres segment interludes: Man? or Astroman, The Lillingtons, Groovie Ghoulies, etc. #
• @mikhailg Yeah, it's a security "feature". You can get a number of different plug-ins to "fix" this. in reply to mikhailg #
• Ugh! Couldn't get Audacity to find stereo mix in Ubuntu. Rebooted into Windows (sorry for the delay, @qadmon) #
• Thanks again, @qadmon, for the interview. The last puzzle piece for my #ITC10 pres, and it fits perfectly! #
• @mikhailg Love Memento as a selection in this genre. in reply to mikhailg #
• Just creating mind-destroying audio file. NOT for your listening pleasure. #ITC10 #
• Big Thanks to @dlwalker for Late Night Learning LIVE announcer voice work #ITC10 #
• @barrydahl Hey, that happened to me today, too! in reply to barrydahl #
• Oh Prezi you did NOT just undo all my work then crash. #
• I guess 160 pathed images is just too much for Prezi. #
• Funny, my phony keynote intro script actually sounds pretty good. #
• @johnhiltoniii Hey, it's DOCTOR Hilton! in reply to johnhiltoniii #
• Cutting a final 2 minutes of an interview. It's painful to leave out good stuff. #
• @diamond_mind Did that last msg mean you are offering crack to your taskmaster? If so, that's sorta like a bribe… I prefer cash in reply to diamond_mind #
• RT @courosa Regular DVD vs. pirated DVD http://i.imgur.com/GxzeV.jpg #
• One last edit of interview with @jonmott for #ITC10 As they say, when you want something done right… #
• FT instructional designer position now open in my unit at UVU: http://www.uvu.jobs/applicants/Central?quickFind=54932 #
• Marc and I strolled through the Fort Worth Library tonight. That's like no library I've been to. #ITC10 #
• Now someone slap me with a killer joke about opencourseware before I fall asleep! #
• Good skating in Fort Worth. Breakfast at Corner Bakery chain. #ITC10 #
• Irfan Mithani 4 President. #
• @barrydahl @diamond_mind and I are going to print our note cards and grab some lunch. Ready to rehearse whenever room is open. #
• Good times @ #ITC10; warm reception for Late Night Learning LIVE. Fab skating downtown, then hanging out with @jimgroom, @busynessgirl et al #
• @NancyWhite I finally can take a breath and send out some #motleyread postcards. I have a dozen that need to be written and mailed. in reply to NancyWhite #
• @fncll You're there in spirit, though we cut my Descartes bit that was inspired by your #TTIX talk. in reply to fncll #
• Before I forget, a big Texas thanks to @jonmott, @jimgroom, @twoodwar, and @qadmon for really making the substance of our #ITC10 pres. #
• At #ITC10 @jimgroom takes the stage. It's an early a.m. sermon; hope the congregation is alert. #
• Listening in on their conversation explains why there's only one other person sitting at @diamond_mind and @johnkrutsch's table… #ITC10 #
• "In the beginning… we had centralized IT….on the 4th day, the LMS" –@jimgroom #ITC10 #
• Oh man, STEAMROLLED by an impromptu choir of @jimgroom fans! #ITC10 #
• It's true: academia is pretty arrogant if we think students come to us for their identity. #
• "We don't need an institution; we just need a website" (@jimgroom re. http://www.khanacademy.org/) #ITC10 #
• We need more great Wikipedia class projects, more people modeling what's possible. #ITC10 #
• Glad @jimgroom's explaining the feed syndication/aggregation method–lots of people still don't fully understand the power of FEED #ITC10 #
• "When you do things on the open web, a certain number of things happen that you can't predict." @jimgroom #ITC10 #
• "Open by default…really makes a big difference in how faculty understand their work" @jimgroom #
• Funny: @jimgroom talking about dept's running a blog–at #UVU IT was pretty scared of WPMU for this reason, replacing campus CMS. #ITC10 #
• Yeah, @jimgroom and I both wonder why it seems to be that students (w/out blogs) choose the institutional blog over options on the open web. #
• @twoodwar You /were/ here! Everyone loved your part! But yeah, looking forward to meeting in person some time. in reply to twoodwar #
• You know it's a good keynote when you're inspired to escape the session–just to start working on the stuff @jimgroom's talking about #ITC10 #
• "That we have a direct impact on our community … is a key part of being an institution" @jimgroom #ITC10 #
• "A domain of one's own" re. personal web sites to revitalize, /reclaim/ one's own liberty. Go, @jimgroom, go! #
• Right! One of the best things about a system like UMW Blogs it showcases and it /features/ teacher, student work. #ITC10 #
• Part of what makes @jimgroom an engaging presenter is he doesn't rely on notes (like I do)–it just flows out like body heat! #
• "Twitter is great for visualizing the network." @jimgroom #ITC10 #
• @busynessgirl Yes. But hopefully it's a transmittable disease. in reply to busynessgirl #
• The UMW Literary Jounals course is fascinating–one of the few instances of an English dept. linking academics to outworld work. #ITC10 #
• @mikhailg How could @jimgroom be on stage AND be overseeing his vast empire of the Internet at the same time? in reply to mikhailg #
• @jimgroom Great job at #ITC10–fascinating content, enlightening insights, engaging presence. #

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• @diamond_mind @mikhailg Second that. in reply to diamond_mind #
• I've been reading "The Hobbit" to my son for the past week; his interest grows each night. I'm hoping he'll illustrate his favorite scenes. #
• Call for proposals now open for 2010's Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange (TTIX) in SLC, UT June 9-11: http://ttix.org/ttix-propose.php #
• I can imagine @jimgroom doing a mean impersonation of Mojo Nixon. #
• @michaelcjohnson Your notes are better than those on the whiteboard (for folks like me who came in late)! #
• "Netbooks will be the next Trapper Keeper." — @fncll http://chrislott.org/story/responding-to-a-few-education-predictions-braddo/ #
• Anyone use a RSVP reading app on their browser or mobile device? #
• @fncll You forgot to add: "plz RT" in reply to fncll #
• @jonmott With empirical evidence! (Got any?) in reply to jonmott #
• RT @grantpotter The Apple Tablet emerges … http://bit.ly/90BoWi — I gotta say, that's a slick looking device. #
• @jonmott Really? I'd be happy even with just a survey of users… in reply to jonmott #
• @tom4cam My prediction: No SD slot ever. in reply to tom4cam #
• Wow. After what I thought was a lively half-hour phone interview with a Chronicle reporter, the one quote used is a self-deprecating one. #
• @fncll That quote was from an off-topic discussion, even. Not a word on the meat of the matter… Guess I'll keep responses to 140 char in reply to fncll #
• @fncll Makes one wonder why one invests time and energy in that crap. From hereon out I'll politely decline. in reply to fncll #
• @fncll I suppose if one keeps rolling the dice, even a 20d, one'll score a critical hit eventually… in reply to fncll #
• @fncll One does what one can. in reply to fncll #
• Loading up another disc of Peter Gunn, cause the brain is too fried for La passion de Jeanne d'Arc. #
• New Tindersticks album is out today: http://www.fallingdownamountain.com/ #
• (Zombie) Dwarfs in Space: Colonization, "Phantasm" and Transhumanism http://bit.ly/9T06WZ #
• More paper edits for #ITC10 pres. I hate this part, but love seeing decreasingly rough cuts… #
• OH @kenwoodward "Should we guess what she wants or should we ask her?" #
• I've cut 28 minutes of interview down to 12. Now to cut below ten. It's like amputating perfectly good limbs. #
• @courosa Any live feed of that session? Based on @craft184's tweets, this baits my curiosity… in reply to courosa #
• @courosa QUOI!!! OK, I'm switching to a Mac. in reply to courosa #
• Leaving another inaudible #educon Elluminate session. I think one person's registration fee would cover the price of decent mics… #
• 1 set of projects scored; 1 letter written to a friend; finances in order; time for a late Saturday brunch with my son. #

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Aleven, V, Koedinger, K. (2002). An effective metacognitive strategy: learning by doing and explaining with a computer-based Cognitive Tutor. Cognitive Science 26, 147-179.

In this report the researchers explain how explanation was shown to increase learner performance and increased time on task. In this particular case the learners input their explanations into a computer interface, but I wonder about self-explanation–that is, explanations crafted only as a part of one’s reflection, only for one’s own consumption. I make this distinction because though learners were “communicating” with a non-human (software) I suspect it was clear to the learners that their explanations would be archived and relayed to the instructor. So to me there may be an issue of learner privacy–a privacy that may shield them and allow them to more fully express themselves, or, conversely, a privacy that masks them and allows them to neglect a fuller explanation as might be made under instructor scrutiny.

There are more questions to raise (some fascinating ones regarding instructional design for solitary learning) and I hope to consider and investigate them in the coming weeks.

As I reviewed the video I noticed I had made a handful of mis-statements that I should correct here:

• Martin Dougiamas is from Australia, not New Zealand.
• The book I reference at the beginning as inspiring me to rethink Moodle was Jason Cole’s “Using Moodle”
• Our Banner system talks to Moodle via a Luminus Message Broker plug-in, not LDAP (we use LDAP for WordPress MU)
• When I talk about adaptive quizzing, I meant to refer to educational research on web-based/hypermedia learning from the last decade or so.
• Though the Workshop tool has been dropped from Moodle 2.0, its functionality will not be replaced in the Assignment tool–instead a new Workshop tool is in development for 2.0

To be clear, we don’t really know what a model PLN looks like, or how it works, or if it’s efficient; we may not even know what the difference between a PLE and a PLN is. It may be that the one thing we can say definitively is we don’t know what a PLN looks like, for any two are unlikely to be the same. It may be that we want a PLN to resist being reified. When I think of a PLN/PLE I try to keep it open-ended; I conjecture that it is shaped by habits formed in the accomplishment of daily tasks, is connected to resources for discovery of new information, and is fostered by social relationships that may be authentic and trusting or merely incidental, built by one-to-one/one-to-many communications. Many of the facets of a PLN–but especially the social aspects–are increasingly open to the world.

I think we know what a LMS looks like: it is typically a monolithic, institutionally-controlled system that provides user accounts and digital space for the tasks of teaching and learning. A LMS is likely to allow file storage and redistribution, private and public communication, user tracking and logging, assignment management, timed/semi-secure assessment, and so on. Even more so than a traditional classroom, a LMS course environment is nearly always closed to the world.

Jon hit most of the primary strengths and weaknesses of each already, but I wanted to add or expand the list a little, but really just take this chance to brain dump and play both sides of a still relevant issue:

LMS Strengths

1. One-stop shopping. Not only do instructors build everything in one place, students can reach all aspects of the course in a single silo (except in the case of ePacks). Related: tools look and act similarly.
2. Bred by educators. Features are based on feedback and requests from a community of educators (theoretically).
3. Attention of ed tech market. Not only to CIOs attend to education-centric software products, third-party companies (textbook publishers to advanced communication tools such as Wimba) build content and products to work with the LMS.
4. Many models of academic use are available as examples or objects of criticism, especially in fully online courses.
5. Potentially greater latitude in using third-party materials under Fair Use or TEACH act. At any rate, many vague, fuzzy, or even illegal uses of third-party material by faculty are masked by closed system.
6. A closed environment–the metaphorical “walled garden”–may encourage students to freely express themselves.

LMS Weaknesses

1. LMS companies seem prone to buy-out, and thus may “pull the rug” out from adoptive institutions.
2. Adoption often requires licensing, which may inhibit switching, or may impel adoption of new versions.
3. Quality of third-party products and integration is often poor, inhibiting access and blemishing the experience.
4. Improvements, features, and fixes are historically are slow.
5. Design may encourage outdated, limiting, or less effective teaching practices.
6. With the exception of Moodle and Sakai, most LMS are closed source (in spite of Blackboard’s claims to be “open”).

PLE Strengths

1. Tools are based on “real world” needs, uses, and practices, and are more likely to be “authentic”.
2. Tools are likely to be coded or scripted according to broadly adopted standards.
3. Stability may be based on community adoption and support as well as financial viability.
4. Students may engage with communities of practice—real experts operating in their profession.
5. 50 Million Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong. Unable to rely upon corporate contracts or other adoption criteria, Web 2.0 tools rely on continued user support and expanded adoption.

PLE Weaknesses

1. Few models or case studies to use as examples or objects of criticism.
2. Tools often require terms of service agreements peculiar to the product company.
3. Likely not designed specifically for education.
4. For interoperability or data harvesting data must be both open and standardized.
5. Related to institutional control of data, data may be impermanent.
6. Some individuals may disdain open publishing or prefer to maintain privacy.

As our semester crawled into the second week and I began to enter scores and feedback for the students’ first assignment–a blog post–I noticed a couple unusual features:

1. When a student submits an URL for an assignment, Instructure grabs a screenshot of the rendered URL in addition to providing a hyperlink. This ensures that students actually have completed what they claim to have completed at the time of submission.
2. Students and instructors can each reply to an assignment’s score and feedback seamlessly within the system. For instance, after I submitted scores for this first assignment, one student explained in the assignment feedback why I failed to notice that she had in fact completed the assignment. I confirmed this, changed her score, and replied back, much like I would in private e-mail, but without any of the hassle of opening a message, choosing an addressee, etc.

Not only is this feedback discussion feature both seamless and the default, I can also use a built-in rubric, attach individual files (though Instructure has an even better way to upload assignment feedback en masse) and even record audio feedback inline (uses a Flash-based plug-in [still buggy for me on Win 7 in FF3]).

This is a great way to negotiate feedback and scoring with students. This also provides an opportunity for learners to engage in the assessment process. And since the features on this particular tool are easy and even intuitive to use, there is no excuse for accurate, timely corrective feedback that is understood by both instructor and learner.

It’s little more than a stub right now, but I plan to come back to it, and I trust others–especially those in Jon Mott’s IP&T 692R course, “The 2 Sigma Problem”–will contribute to and expand the article.