Eye on Learning

The ten most viewed articles from the Education and Information Technology Digital Library (EdITLib) at http://www.EdITLib.org are: 1. Issues in Distance Learning http://www.editlib.org/index. cfm?fuseaction=Reader. ViewAbstract&paper_id=8937 2. Technology, Transfer and Teaching: The Impact of a Single Technology Course on Preservice Teachers' Computer Attitudes and Ability http://www.editlib.org/index. cfm?fuseaction=Reader. ViewAbstract&paper_id=26064 3. Are Pretty Interfaces Worth the Time? The Effects of User Interface Types on Web-Based Instruction http://www.editlib.org/index. cfm?fuseaction=Reader. ViewAbstract&paper_id=25210 4. Conditions, Processes and Consequences of 1:1 Computing in K-12 Classrooms: The Impact on Teaching Practices and Student Achievement http://www.editlib.org/index. cfm?fuseaction=Reader. ViewAbstract&paper_id=27486 5. Generative Learning Strategies and Metacognitive Feedback to Facilitate comprehension of Complex Science Topics and S...

At a recent committee meeting with colleagues, one of the members of top management asked what a podcast was. This is not the first time I get the question, in spite of it having been around for a while now. Hence, for those who need to know what it is, how to create one and so on, visit: http://radio.about.com/od/podcastin1/a/aa030805a.htm.

It was good to have attended the kick-off meeting of the ACCESS Project in Brussels. ACCESS is a two-year research project involving several organisations from Europe and South East Asia. Supported by funding under the Erasmus Mundus Programme under the European Commission, the project kick-off meeting took place in Brussels on 27 and 28 February with all the project partners in attendance. It is SEAAIR 's first research project with countries outside the SEAsian region. I am involved as the project coordinator from SEAAIR. More details about the project will be unveiled over the next few months. Meanwhile, a brief of the project can be viewed at http://www.access-project.eu/ . The next meeting will be in June in Malaysia with all partners again attending to review the findings from a survey that will be conducted in February and March. The survey will be on the perception of academicians, researchers and students towards European higher education. The outcomes of the proje...

2009 may have just started but am already feeling the time wheezing by so quickly. I am scheduled to give a keynote at a seminar organised by UPSI in less than 2 weeks time. I can still remember how, when I first got the message asking me whether I was available to speak almost a year ago. I felt that it was so far down the road! Anyway time has flown so quickly and the seminar is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my latest thoughts and ideas on how Web 2.0 can support today's learners. I'm using some of these tools for an online graduate course in the Master of Instructional Design and Technology program at OUM and I believe some of our learners will thrive on Learning 2.0. Some details of the keynote addresses to be delivered at the seminar are at: http://ikict.upsi.edu.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=33

Found an interesting lecture by Thomas Freidman. He needs no introduction, having been a New York Times columnist since 1995 and with several best sellers to his name including his latest book "Hot, Flat and Crowded." His recent keynote address at MIT is on YouTube (48 minutes long) and can be viewed at:

The world of education is becoming more open. Already, we find students retrieving materials from a variety of sources that are not necessarily provided by their own educational institution. This is due to the availability of OERs. What are OERs? George Siemens gives a good introduction of this. View it at: http://www.slideshare.net/gsiemens/oer-presentation-924281 . In addition, other sources of information on OERs include: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/open-educational-resources-and-the-personal-learning-environment http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/101-open-educational-resources-presentation

The University of Southern Queensland has several courses in their OpenCourseWare section. An intuitive approach to help the learner move along from week to week or from topic to topic. Everything is online or in digital form. Saves trees....well, unless every student starts printing every page.

As I go more and more into Web 2.0, I find more and more interesting tools to use and adopt in the near future. If you wish to be on a fast learning track in terms of the tools available, you must visit http://my-ecoach.com/project.php?id=13913 . It's a quick way to get started. I wish I saw this a year ago. Knew about it when I joined the Digifolios and Social Learning Spaces learning group.

Read the following news on how the economic downturn in the US will benefit Malaysian HEIs. Not happy with the negative bits though. http://chronicle.com/news/index.php?id=5777&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en On another note, to know whether an HEI is legitimate or not , visit: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=49864&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html . It includes a list of 17 countries....Malaysia is included!

If you're interested in learning about how conferences can be more engaging, here's a message from Curtis Bonk: "You might be interested in an open/free online event organized and hosted by AACE: Spaces of Interaction: An online conversation on improving traditional conferences. George Siemens is leading the effort. Tom Reynolds, Mimi Lee, Erik Duval, Ellen Wagner, Margaret Driscoll, Jon Dron, Gary Marks, myself, and various others are on the planning committee as well. You can sign up here: http://www.aace.org/conf/spaces/ and join the ning site here: http://aacecommunity.ning.com/ The event will run from Feb 18-20. We will be announcing speakers and panels shortly. Discussions will be held both synchronously and asynchronously. The main goal of the conversation is to share opinions, insights, ideas, and practical suggestions on how we can create more engaging conferences. The event is open, so anyone currently involved in organizing a conference is welcome to attend. F...

With the world becoming more open, academic journals where submissions are peer-reviewed and where whole articles are available without any charge seem to be catching on. One example is the International Journal for the Scholarship on Teaching and Learning (IJoSTL) at http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/index.htm . The January 2009 issue is now available.

Like any tool, Twitter can be a help or a hindrance; or a boon or a bane. Read the latest on how not to let Twitter (a microblogging tool) become a time waster. And, read all the other tips too. Go to: http://www.twitip.com/how-not-to-let-twitter-become-a-waste-of-time/

The ninth SEAAIR regional conference will be hosted by USM and IPPTN in Penang. Plan to attend. We had the most interesting conference in Surabaya last year, thanks to the host, STIE, Perbanas. We expect no less from our Penang hosts this year. For details, visit: http://www.ptpm.usm.my/seaair2009/

Mobile learning is expected to revolutionise education in India. In fact the country is expected to be one of the leaders in mLearning. Read it all at: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20081117/market03.shtml

Heard of Slideshare.com ? I think this is one, if not the most, popular community slide sharing web site. I actually love it coz chances are, you'll find info that you are looking for from the thousands of slides that have been uploaded. But wait, a new one was just born. Called SlideSix , it looks like a much simpler site and it is uncluttered. However, it's brand new. Based on my search for Learning 2.0 or Web 2.0 , nothing came up. Maybe, a good site to upload your slides to if you are not keen to have too many other people viewing your slides. Definitely, not the best place to visit if you were looking for presentations. But, who knows what will happen in a year or two.

It's been a long time since I was impressed, no . . . that's an understatement . . . . very impressed with something that looks like a normal pen and normal note book (with dotted pages) but can be, listen to this, a personal productivity tool, a learning aide, an e-learning content creator, and a personal secretary during meetings, lectures, conferences, discussions, and more. What I saw, at this moment in time, is a tool that OUM could use to develop e-learning content. Designed to help someone write notes or draw and at the same time capture the lecturer's voice in the classroom, or if in a meeting, capture the discussions during the meeting, can actually be used to conduct a tutorial on how to solve math equations, or understand graphs, diagrams, and so on. Notes/images and voice can be stored in the pen's memory and recalled instantaneously with great ease. This can be played back, listened with or without earphones or uploaded to the Internet and played back thr...

If you're looking for a conference on educational technology or those related to education, visit: http://elearnspace.org/media/EdTechConferencesJanToAug2009crw.doc . The list is impressive, though by no means comprehensive. Still a lot to choose from.

Found info on, "Twitter means Business." I had a quick read of Chapter 1 . . . quite interesting. The idea is that Twitter can help make or break a business . . . stories of several companies that have successfully used Twitter are covered in a few chapters of the book. No education institutions are covered in this book, yet. I wonder if Twitter can be a marketing tool for colleges and universities, given the fact that education is considered a "business" these days? For more info, visit: http://yourtech.typepad.com/twitinbiz/

It pays to follow another person's web site entries (George Siemen's!)...found this list on what the top ten social learning tools will be for 2009. Check it out at: http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/2008/12/predictions-for-top-tools-2009.html . Looks like there are more tools for me to explore as I try to find the ones that are most appropriate to adopt for my next graduate course on instructional technology! Can be fun but time-consuming. But, I've enjoyed the learning.

I can agree with a few of the technologies listed by James Clay, who is in charge of Virtual Learning Environments, particularly in the use of learning technologies, e-learning, the libraries, digital and online resources and the strategic direction of the Gloucestershire College in the UK. Check it out at: http://elearningstuff.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/top-ten-technologies-of-2008/ I think the iPod Touch and iPhone are marvellous inventions! I love the iPod nanos as well! Next, view his top ten tools for 2008: http://elearningstuff.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/top-ten-technologies-of-2008/ I am personally starting to like Twitter . You get to stay connected with friends, colleagues and family, or as they say, to stay in the loop...but you've got to have others (who matter) linked to yours to reap the benefits. So once you've started, follow others so that they can also follow you. Catch my twittering at http://twitter.com/zoraini . I started experimenting about a month ago ...