blogs, Learning Community, Open Education, Reflections

Education Bloggers Research – My Blog Survey

Laura Pasquini

After reading @mweller ‘s blog survey for Alice Bell’s research on education bloggers, I thought that I might as well contribute to the study since I sometimes write about education, learning, and the likes here on TechKNOW Tools. From the post from Alice, it looks as though she will collect responses via e-mail (edubloggingstudy@gmail.com) or via your own blog (so you can share responses with your readers) – and send her the link. If you’re an education blogger, perhaps you too should contribute to the research. All responses are due by by the 15th of June. This sounds interesting and useful – I look forward to hearing about the analysis, but for now here is my blog survey…

Blog URL: techknowtools.wordpress.com 

What do you blog about? Learning networks & environments, academic advising, educational technology, higher education, doctoral stuff, research and writing, training and development, instructional pedagogy & design, social web & open access, podcasting, student affairs, and then some.

Are you paid to blog? No. Only in digital high fives and thanks.

What do you do professionally (other than blog)? Academic Counselor/Instructor & Doctoral Student

How long have you been blogging at this site? Since October 23, 2008 [say my WP Sitestats].

Do you write in other platforms? (e.g. in a print magazine?) I have published book chapters, academic papers, peer-reviewed journal publications, conference papers and proceedings, other blog contributions (like BreakDrink.com and personal blog), and online magazine contributions.

Can you remember why you started blogging? I started blogging personally in 2006 when I was working and travelling around to different countries (on another blogging website); and I started to blog here after reading a number of educational and learning blogs. This blog was created  as a space to share ideas and resources for a NACADA Technology Seminar learning community back in February 2009 – my friend Eric Stoller suggested I try out WordPress since I was using Blogger for my personal blog.  This blog soon evolved into a space where I curated content around what I was reading, writing, researching, or working on related to learning technologies and other issues related in education and training development.

What keeps you blogging? I enjoy it. My academic background in history and education might take some of the credit for blogging. I use my blog to reflect and think about things. It is also a great space to archive, document and curate what I am up to and what I am learning or reading about.  Now blogging is just part of my regular routine. I like starting the conversation here, sharing it in my networks and then learning what others think.

Do you have any idea of the size or character if your audience? How? My Google Feedburner says I have 61 subscribers & Sitestats says I have 29 follows on WP with 115,072 views from 49 countries. I might consider using Google Analytics to track this better in the future, but at the end of the day I think I blog for me than my audience. My audience is composed of higher education professionals, faculty, teachers and instructors from fields in training and development, marketing, management, technology, and education.

What’s your attitude to/ relationship with people who comment on your blog? Typically I have seen more shares of my blog posts on Twitter and Facebook. I have a great network and community that often engage on there more than here. Although the traffic and views are outside WP, I do appreciate and I am delighted to receive a blog comments on here from time to time (Thanks!). I would say that I have better relationships and interactions with those who comment “off the blog.” Some of my blogging prompts shared dialogues on other networks or with other peers who share similar interests.

Do you feel as if you fit into any particular community, network or genre of blogging? (e.g. schools, science, education, museums, technology) Sort of? I think technology and  learning – but I have been known to dive into training and development, organizational management, and higher education due to the nature of my academic program/professional interests.

If so, what does that community give you? I think this community is like the “Office Water Cooler” I have always wanted. It’s a great place to catch up, share interesting news, find out about new resources, swap great ideas, and stay in touch with my personal learning network.

What do you think are the advantages of blogging? What are its disadvantages/ limitations? I shared my thoughts in the “What Prompts You To Blog?” post last month => https://techknowtools.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/what-prompts-you-to-blog/

I think blogging has supported my digital scholarship as a transparent and open researcher and writer. There could be limitations to this, as I often share ideas and references before the referred journal article is published and there is that possibility that others could “borrow” it. The other challenge I can see is the need to publish or perish to make it through the academic ranks for jobs and tenure. Although my writing style is more informal and offers a variety of structure I do enjoy the practice of writing and processes what I am writing. Unfortunately blogging does not equate a journal article and I am aware of the need to contribute to traditional publications and peer-reviewed work to support my career path in academia.

Do you tell people you know offline that you’re a blogger? (e.g. your grandmother, your boss) I think most of my offline (i.e. not in social networks) family or friends know that I “do stuff with technology” and most have some idea of what a blog is. I share the odd blog post with a limited number folks who are not exposed to this blog regularly  (like my boss & parents) if there is a topic something that might interest them. I use another blog and a Flickr account to share more of my “life happenings” so my friends and family are not bored with any of my geek/nerd ramblings on this blog.

Is there anything else you want to tell me about I haven’t asked? I think you have covered most. Good luck with your research! I look forward to hearing how it goes. 🙂

#phdchat, Professional Development

What Are You Reading This Summer? #summerreading

Laura Pasquini

This year, the summer months are providing me space to read articles and books that I have been collecting on my #ToRead list. Below is the first stack of books I have started to read this summer. Since I am not working on any classes this summer,  the plan is to read and annotate  more articles, e-books, and other literary finds I have been collecting and storing in my Delicious and in my Good Reads account. Get ready for some EXTREME READING!

#summerreading

Although my goals are to move forward on my dissertation proposal, I know that I am not alone in setting reading goals for the summer months. Both the NY Times and Grad Hacker want to kick off the #summerreading social media campaign on June 7th. I was able start on my summer reading list early with the help of my recent travel plans – so I am always looking to add book recommendations (both for research and fun).

What books are you reading? What’s on YOUR #summerreading list? What books do you recommend?

EC&I831, eduMOOC, Higher Education, Learning Community, Learning Technologies, Open Education, PLN, Virtual Communities, Web Design

#mtmoot Opening Keynote: Digital Pedagogy to Engage

Laura Pasquini

This morning I will be joining the Mountain MoodleMoot at Carroll College in Helena, MT to share some thoughts and ideas around engaged digital pedagogy. Our learners are connected; however  I think more educators and instructional designers need to support our students in developing effective learning skills to navigate this new culture of learning. For those of you interested in following along, be sure to tweet with hashtag  #mtmoot, check out my slides (below), and feel free to scope out the digital handout http://bit.ly/mtmoot12 I compiled for this session.

 

Today’s learners operate in a world that is informal, networked, and filled with technology. Connectivity and digital access is an increasing need for our students and a vital requirement to excel beyond structured learning environments. Our learners are now able to interact with information, learning materials, and peers from around the globe. There is an increasing need to expand and enhance our learners’ involvement in learning technology to support engagement in online learning environments.

With the emergence of collaborative, online tools, educators can take advantage of multidimensional and engaged participation to reach their learning outcomes. Social media creates a space where “everybody and anybody can share anything anywhere anytime” (Joosten, 2012, p.6). Educational paradigms are shifting to include new modes of online and collaborative learning and student-centered, active learning to challenge our students to connect curriculum with real life issues (Johnson, Adams & Cummins, 2012). As a new generation of learners begin to create and share content, educators need to understand how to effectively utilize social web resources to impact in instructional practice create a culture of online participatory learning.

Emerging technology platforms and devices are beginning to disrupt education as we know it. To coevolve and positively impact learner success, it is critical that instructors and instructional designers consider how digital pedagogy can support learning outcomes. This keynote plenary will share ideas and suggested practices to develop a richer learning experience and thrive in the changing digital learning frontier.

References

Johnson, L., Adams, S. & Cummins, M. (2012). The NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium.

Joosten, T. (2012). Social Media for Educators. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.

#phdchat, Learning Technologies, LPQ

Announcement: Learning and Performance Quarterly First Issue Published & Call For Submissions for Issue No. 2

Laura Pasquini

THE LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE QUARTERLY (LPQ), 1(1) FIRST ISSUE IS NOW PUBLISHED!

Thank you to the number of authors, reviewers and editors who helped contribute to the first open, access online Learning and Performance Quarterly journal. Please read and share with colleagues and researchers who might be interested:

Learning and Performance Quarterly, 1(1)

CALL FOR PAPERS: LPQ, 1(2)

The Learning and Performance Quarterly (LPQ) is currently accepting submissions for the second issue. Deadline for submissions is Friday, June 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm CST. Submission of manuscripts can be made online through the LP Quarterly website via the Open Journal System.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS ACCEPTED

Research Papers :

Papers that are concerned with the various approaches to learning and performance impact. These papers should discuss the literature related to the approach employed and include a measure of the learning and performance impact of the approach employed.

Case Studies:

Case studies that highlight a particular learning, training, performance or instructional setting in which learning and performance resources were used to address a particular challenge. They present a discussion of the challenge from current literature, what was done to solve or explore it, and the results of the project. They often offer suggestions for others interested in addressing similar challenges.

Concept/Theory Papers:

Papers that present new concepts or contribute to existing theory for learning and performance. This should offer a discussion of the literature related to the concept/theory along with a discussion of the major issues for future research needed to validate the concept/theory.

Book Reviews:

Book reviews of publications 2011 or later will be accepted to highlight a issues and resources relevant for learning and performance and offer a suggested solution or direction. The position is supported with both a logical argument and a review of the pertinent literature. Preference will be given in the review process to book review essays that comment on two or more related books.  Book review essays should not exceed 3,800 words and should include city, state, publisher, and year of the book’s publication.  An abstract of 150 words or less and keywords are required for book review essays.  Reviews of single books should not exceed 1,900 words.  At the beginning of the text please include title, author, publisher, city, date, and page numbers of the book(s) under review.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, June 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm CST. For detailed submission guidelines and instructions on how to make a submission please visit Author Guidelines.

CALL FOR LPQ REVIEWERS

Interested in reviewing articles for the LPQ Journal? The LPQ journal is looking for reviewers to conduct peer reviews and evaluations of submissions.

Please identify your reviewing interests, substantive areas of expertise, and preferred research methods when completing the LPQ journal registration online.

We look forward to receiving your submissions. Please pass this post onto other colleagues and researchers who might be interested in publishing, reviewing or editing for the Learning and Performance Quarterly journal.

Thanks!

Laura Pasquini & Jeff Allen, Founding Editors

Learning and Performance Quarterly

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Follow us on Twitter @LPQuarterly

Email: LPquarterly@gmail.com

Higher Education, Open Education

Open Access For All #oa12unt

Laura Pasquini

Yesterday, I attended the 3rd Annual Open Access Symposium at UNT (#oa12unt). It was a full day of talking about open data, sharing research and collaborative efforts and examples in #highered. The open access process is not as simple as you think. It was interesting to hear from researchers, academics, librarians, industry partners, and data managers about what it means to be “open” and accessible for others. Here are a few open notes I took and a Storify I curated from the day.

I think the concluding remarks (and other notes) made by Brian Schottlaender (@ucsdBECS) helped to summarize the key points that were  both said and were not said during the day, including the following topics:

  • Data Preservation
  • Data Aggregation
  • Attribution
  • Citation
  • Publication
  • Data Ecology
  • Peer Review
  • Discovery & Delivery
  • Data Governance
  • Exhortations to Librarians

These final thoughts left me questioning about how higher education will engage in open access and consider what academic tenure/promotion will look like in the future. The open movement is present in my learning network, among the Social and Open Educators like @courosa and academic contributors who want to End Knowledge Cartels in publication such as @academicdave, There are many open and transparent academics/educators contributing to the open movement – but there needs to be more. And more importantly, academic institutions need to recognize and accept open scholarship.

I know the #oa12unt symposium lit the fire for me to finish the layout and publish the first issue of the Learning and Performance Quarterly. This student-lead, open access  journal is an open access publication that I am proud to edit and coordinate with a phenomenal group of reviewers and a great editorial team. The inaugural issue was JUST published online today, and is available for your reading and sharing pleasure HERE.

What have you done openly lately in #highered? Please share.