Microlearning.org

George Siemens points to Pløn Verhagen' critique of his 2004 article on Connectivism, and provides a follow-up.

Tag: Connectivism.

According to this study by comScore Networks, 34% of the German internet users do occasionally use mobile phones to access the internet, while there are only 19% mobile web users in the United States:

Of the countries examined, the highest mobile Web penetration is seen in both Germany and Italy (34 percent for each), followed by France with 28 percent, Spain with 26 percent and the UK with 24 percent. The U.S. figure of 19 percent is the lowest of the set.

Unfortunately, very little detail is given about the study. [via Nico Lumma]

Tag: MobileWeb.

"micropedagogies - mobile pedagogies adjusting to shifting environments, landscapes, users, locations, devices. As opposed to 'grand narrative' pedagogies. users/learners/students provide the input. Pedagogies that emerge in response to environments: a vestibular system for learning situations. Instead of grand narratives of teaching and learning, pedagogies emerge as far more mobile and fluent adjustments towards environments and user/learner demands or requirements. A range of strategies and tactics enable the teacher/facilitator in this approach to guide learning environments towards efficacy and to spin the technologies provided by many sources towards the learning experience." (Brent Simpson, at Keigh Blackall's great The Future of Learning in a Networked World unconference-website/wiki)

From Norm Friesen's new research program on e-learning practices:

[...] "practice" has already gained recognizable but notably qualified currency in e-learning research. This is indicated in the relatively frequent use of phrases such as "communities of practice" or "cognition in practice" (Wenger, 1998; Lave, 1989). However, the familiarity of these and associated phrases in e-learning literature has not been matched by a similarly widespread recognition or adoption of the methodological frameworks in which these terms have their origin: Anthropology, ethnomethodology, and ethnography (Lave, 1991). Obviously, these methodologies are much more closely associated with the study of human cultures and activities than are approaches more common in e-learning research, such as computational cognitivism, cybernetics or information theory (e.g., see Friesen & Feenberg, in press). My research program will restore to the study of e-learning the emphasis on human culture, action and meaning that is originally implied in the term "practice." It will do so by employing methodologies to which human interpretation, experience and everyday activity are central.

Read more: Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices.

Tags: e-Learning, Practices.

I just noticed that there's also an article on Microlearning in the French Wikipedia. Unfortunately I haven't been speaking - or reading, for that matter - French for quite a while, so I cannot comment on the content itself. It seems to be a translation of the English version, though. If you happen to speak French, let me know what you think.

Tags: Microlearning, Wikipedia.

Mobile learning offers people something traditional education cannot; integration into life.

Marcia Conner: Go and Learn [via George Siemens]

Tags: M-Learning, MobileLearning.

... over there at the Pedagogy of the Compressed-blog. Some quotes:

"micropedagogies - mobile pedagogies adjusting to shifting environments, landscapes, users, locations, devices. As opposed to 'grand narrative' pedagogies. users/learners/students provide the input. Pedagogies that emerge in response to environments: a vestibular system for learning situations.

Instead of grand narratives of teaching and learning, pedagogies emerge as far more mobile and fluent adjustments towards environments and user/learner demands or requirements. A range of strategies and tactics enable the teacher/facilitator in this approach to guide learning environments towards efficacy and to spin the technologies provided by many sources towards the learning experience. The teacher is a technologist (this is not new - they always have been!)"

Spread the meme! Comments are saying Right On, Brother! Leigh Blackall links to his essay-like blogpost on decentralised education.

Ajit Jaokar, just having published the book on "Mobile Web 2.0" and blogging over at Open Gardens, is following a new track of the emerging MicroWeb:

"The World Wide Web, as we know it, is exploding. From its fragments emerges a new 'container-based' Web based on Widgets. For the lack of a better term, I shall call it a 'Widget Widget Web.' ... In keeping with my background, Widget Widget Web will discuss Widgets in context of Mobile Web 2.0 in addition to the Web in general. With the emergence of the full web browsers on mobile devices, there is a natural tendency of web widgets to 'cross the chasm' to the mobile web."

Read more here.

... links to two presentations and two research papers extending the subject of micromedia / microinformation / microlearning:

[1] Presentations:
A rather visual, bullet-point free presentation on micromedia. And another one (earlier, in parts identical) more focusing on microlearning.

[2] Research papers:
Use These Tools, Your Mind Will Follow (On Micromedia and Microlearning), ALT-C 2006 research paper.

Designing for the Microcosmos. Human-centered Design for 'Casual' Information and Learning in Micromedia Environments. Research paper for M3, a HCI conference in Vienna. Accepted, but still kinda draft, with my excuses to native speakers for me mistreating the language. at least some of this will be corrected soon.

Mandy Schiefner from Switzerland has a critical look on the microlearning hype and asks about the re-integration and contextualization of microknowledge units (in German).

Tag: Microlearning.