Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash
Prior to beginning the unit INF532 Knowledge Networking for Educators (the unit), while familiar with blogging, Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and a range of digital tools and platforms, the author had not contributed to a learning network. While teaching and studying the Diploma of VET Practice, the author’s digital learning journey began (Australian Government, 2018). After transitioning from teaching to learning design and professional development (PD) facilitation, the author continued to expand her technical expertise. During this time professional networking activities began, focussing on participation in a Community of and peer-to-peer learning within the direct work team (Corneli & Danoff, 2011; Topping, 2005). While social networking for professional purposes was strictly observational, face-to-face networking continued to develop through facilitation of PD workshops, team meetings and formal professional learning opportunities (Chang, 2016; Voogt, Knezek, Cox, Knezek, & ten Brummelhuis, 2013). With PD facilitation currently in hiatus, learning design work has enabled the continual growth of technical and instructional design skills, but the author is currently unable to put any teaching strategies into practice.
From the unit outset, the author has endeavoured to embrace new networking opportunities and platforms as instructed within the course content. Chief amongst these new technologies was joining Twitter, Wakelet, and professional groups on Facebook (Gerstein, 2013, October 11; Kelly & Antonio, 2016; Pegrum, 2010). Rather than merely ‘lurking’, the author began offering content she had found or created, regularly adding commentary as to why the content was of value (Dale, 2014; De Saulles, 2015). Adding people to her own personal learning network (PLN) and being added to the PLNs of others has become commonplace, benefitting the author in the diversity of perspectives and opinions from across the globe as well as those closer to home (Scardamalia, Bransford, Kozma, & Quellmalz, 2011). While reasonably confident in content creation and expressing views verbally face-to-face, the author was less confident in transposing these abilities to the online space. This lack of confidence is slowly dissipating because of peer feedback and practise.
When teaching fashion students or PD participants, the author will leverage some of the advantages current global platforms offer, including virtual gallery tours, expertise from preeminent universities in the form of MOOCs or recorded lectures, collaborative Pinterest boards for inspiration purposes, and videos from the ateliers such as Christian Dior. Videos such as The House of Dior | Making of Red Bar Coat (NGV Melbourne, 2017, October 15) provide students with both inspiration and insight into haute couture production; without which this would be almost impossible to access. Knowledge networking (KN) has enabled the author to both share these types of content and to find new material within her PLN, enhancing both her own practice and knowledge, and that of her peers.
Curation and critical thinking are two elements of KN that have resonated with the author’s sensibilities and understanding of professional practice. While familiar with curating digital assets for instructional purposes, it has been very helpful to understand the types of curation (mashup, aggregation, distillation, elevation and chronology), and the importance of analysing and editorialising curated content (Bhargava, 2011, March 31). No longer is enough to put content out there because it has caught the eye, the curator must justify the worth of the content and add value in the form of explanation or analysis (Dale, 2014). This forces the curator to think more deeply about what they are capturing and why, as they have others and their own professional credibility to consider (Steigman, 2013, December 11; Weisgerber, 2011, November 16).
The ability to connect with peers across the globe, benefitting from a diverse range of opinions, ideas, strategies and sources of content is an enormous benefit to the modern, networked educator and their students (Connected Learning Alliance, 2010, October 15, 2012, July 30; Tolisano, 2013, September 29). No longer are we confined to the four walls of the classroom, teachers can provide enhanced learning opportunities and engage students with like cohorts wherever they can be found (Lindsay, 2017). These global learning connections can take the form of comparisons in strategies, collaborative work and resource ideas, equipping PD participants with a broad range of new approaches. In making these connections, both teachers and learners benefit from the sense of community, support and collective knowledge that would otherwise be unavailable (Riel & Polin, 2004). These interactions promote learner growth and digital citizenship as they can leverage the experience of many, encouraged by the ties of community to honour and uphold ethical tenets such as attribution and acknowledgement, sharing and gratitude (Snyder, Jones, & Lo Bianco, 2005; Thomas & Brown, 2011).
With sharing work and knowledge becoming increasingly prevalent across knowledge networks, open source content and platforms have flourished, allowing increased access to almost limitless tools and resources. Platforms such as Moodle and GitHub provide flexibility, creativity, innovation and problem-solving for teachers and learners alike in a way that is low cost and repeatable. Access to valuable content such as Awesome Design Tools (Dziuba & Havruliyk, n.d.) allows incorporation of fresh ideas into professional practice, modelling the networked nature of the modern educational environment and the tenets of sharing creations, knowledge and experience, and participating in professional learning communities. In this way the benefits and strategies available through PLNs are promoted to a wider audience, enhancing the professional practice of individuals, spreading to affect the collective practice of the institute.
Exposure to KN and developing a PLN has allowed the author to expand her horizons beyond four walls into the world, participating, contributing and reciprocating wherever innovations, expertise and communities exist.
Photo by BENJAMIN CREMER on Unsplash
References
Australian Government. (2018). Accredited course details: 21697VIC - Diploma of Vocational Education and Training Practice. Retrieved from https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/21697VIC Bhargava, R. (2011, March 31). The 5 Models of Content Curation. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.rohitbhargava.com/2011/03/the-5-models-of-content-curation.html Chang, W.-W. M. (2016). Digital Competence and Professional Development of Vocational Education and Training Teachers in Queensland. Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/95088/1/Wei-Wei_Chang_Thesis.pdf Connected Learning Alliance (Producer). (2010, October 15). Shelly Terrell: Global Netweaver, Curator, Passionate Learning Network (PLN) Builder. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/15880455 Connected Learning Alliance (Producer). (2012, July 30). Professor Alec Couros: "The Connected Teacher". [Video file] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ru6LoU2-kC0 Corneli, J., & Danoff, C. J. (2011). Paragogy: Synergizing individual and organizational learning. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1b4b/4c5b2a53705e161ca797be3562f4eeda1fc1.pdf Dale, S. (2014). Content curation: The future of relevance. Business Information Review, 31(4), 199-205. doi:10.1177/0266382114564267 De Saulles, M. (2015). Information 2.0 : new models of information production, distribution and consumption (2nd ed.). London: Facet Publishing. Dziuba, L., & Havruliyk, V. (n.d.). Awesome Design Tools. Retrieved from https://flawlessapp.io/designtools?fbclid=IwAR06DsevJBEQAKEZ5QquptAcaKD07wR131M-XzIwWGP1b18ZtYGi6pYWo6U Gerstein, J. (Producer). (2013, October 11). Educator as a social networked learner [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/mDy8wz46zT0 Kelly, N., & Antonio, A. (2016). Teacher peer support in social network sites. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56, 138-149. Lindsay, J. (2017). Connecting beyond the classroom - Move from local to global learning modes. Scan, 36(2), 27-38. NGV Melbourne (Producer). (2017, October 15). The House of Dior | Making of Red Bar Coat. [Video file] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5XioCCdojn0 Pegrum, M. (2010). ‘I Link, Therefore I Am’: Network Literacy as a Core Digital Literacy. E-Learning and Digital Media, 7(4), 346-354. doi:10.2304/elea.2010.7.4.346 Riel, M., & Polin, L. (2004). Learning Communities: Common Ground and Critical Differences in Designing Technical Support. In S. Barab, R. Kling, & J. Gray (Eds.), Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning (pp. 16-52). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Scardamalia, M., Bransford, J., Kozma, B., & Quellmalz, E. (2011). Chapter 5: New Assessments and Environments for Knowledge Building. In P. Griffin, E. Care, & B. McGaw (Eds.), Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills. Dordrecht, NETHERLANDS: Springer. Snyder, I., Jones, A., & Lo Bianco, J. (2005). Using information and communication technologies in adult literacy education: New practices, new challenges. Retrieved from https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0012/5214/nr3l08.doc Steigman, D. (Producer). (2013, December 11). How to be a great content curator. [Slide presentation] Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/dariasteigman/be-a-greatcontentcurator Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). Arc-of-life learning. In A new culture of learning: cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change (pp. 17-33). Lexington, KY: CreateSpace. Tolisano, S. R. (2013, September 29). Grow Your Network: Become a Detective. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://langwitches.org/blog/2013/09/29/grow-your-network-become-a-detective/ Topping, K. J. (2005). Trends in Peer Learning. Educational Psychology, 25(6), 631-645. Retrieved from http://www.jesexpertise.be/bibb/bijlagen/trends.pdf Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013). Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A Call to Action. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(1), 4-14. doi:doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00453.x Weisgerber, C. (Producer). (2011, November 16). Building thought leadership through content curation. [Slide presentation] Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/corinnew/building-thought-leadership-through-content-curation
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About meI'm a learning designer from Geelong in Victoria. I have worked in vocational education and training for many years, and for the last four have concentrated entirely on creating learning content to support teachers and students. Archives
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