Nicholas Fair
I'm a Web Scientist and Digital Educator interested in Personal Learning Networks and their impact on higher education.
Location Southampton University, UK
Activity
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Nicholas Fair replied to Verónica Salazar
Hi Veronica, thank you for posting and welcome to the course.
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Hi Miguel, nice to meet you too, welcome to the course!
By the way, I love the part of Mexico I have been lucky enough to visit - Tulun in the Yucatan - its beautiful! -
Nicholas Fair replied to Georgina Owen
Hi Georgina, good to know you're keeping active and still learning, welcome to the course!
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Nicholas Fair replied to Elena Kalinina
Hi, this is exactly what I feel and how the Personal Learning Network mapping activity in step 1.15 is designed - every interaction (with humans AND non-humans, such as websites) is a learning event.
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Nicholas Fair replied to Elena Kalinina
Hi both, I agree entirely with you! Do you think the impact of Covid-19 will accelerate this change in how we teach?
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Hi Miguel, thank you for your post. I had a similar experience when at secondary school in the 1980's - my history teacher actually locked someone (not me!) in a cupboard for getting the dates of the Kings of England wrong!!
Can you imagine that today, when we can just look them up on Google (so why remember them)? -
Hi Melissa, I agree with you - different topics, different situations and different learners call for different approaches. Thanks for your post.
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Hi Elena, some good points here, thank you for posting. It sounds like you might be interested in the area of Learning Analytics: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/learning-analytics
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Nicholas Fair replied to Dr Graham Smith
Hi Graham, I tend to agree with you that the Web has changed the way we learn and that a 'new' learning theory, such as Connectivism, adapted to the post-internet world is really important.
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Hi Graham, these are 2 brilliant resources - thank you for sharing them with us all.
I have pinned your post to the top of this comments section, as I'm sure many others will find them as interesting, informative and useful as I did, thanks! -
Nicholas Fair replied to Dr Graham Smith
Hi Graham - if you reached step 1.15 earlier today (before 18:30 on Monday 15th June) you will have found the link from the survey to the PLN map was down. Our apologies. We have fixed the problem and you should be able to login using your ID number now.
(If you've yet to get to step 1.15, great!) -
Hi Michael, welcome to the course and thanks for your balanced and interesting comment. Will look forward to more.
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HI Tina, welcome to the course! In a post-covid world maybe cash will quickly disappear to reduce touching/infection between people (in the UK anyway)? In that case, unless you had a job specifically requiring it (e.g. a darts player or a market trader) how often would we actually use mental arithmetic?
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Hi Elena, welcome to the course. Thanks for posting your ideas, especially concerning emotional intelligence - can you 'learn' that, do you think?
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Hola Jonathon, ¿Podrías escribir en inglés por favor? Gracias!
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Hi Graham, it is great to have you join us on the course, welcome. We'll look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.
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Hi Joanne, welcome to the course, thank you for posting. What is the best way to retain knowledge, do you think?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
@RobertBaird I second that Robert, many thanks! Looking forward to continuing our discussions...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
Hi, early analysis suggests that for those under 25 (regardless of any other demographic feature) about 46% of interactions with their PLN is through their smartphone. For those over 65 this drops to 24%....
How might this impact the development of modules, activities and assessments for a first year undergraduate class when compared with an MSc course...
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Hi both, I think that, to summarise your discussion, you are suggesting that a combination of:
- technical functionality
- personal preference (based on context, appearance/identity, and available resources)
- the wider social context (with whom/what you interact)
all plays an important part in how your Personal Learning Network is structured and... -
Hopefully now is the opportunity to begin to do so.....
Looking forward to your thoughts on it all.
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@JoDixon This is a good point and very true. However, English language bias leading to exclusion could be levelled at the entire Web really, it is not specific to MOOCs.
Equally, there are some MOOC platforms, such as one funded by the European Union, which provides MOOCs in a wide range of (all?) European languages using a very clever 'translator' button,...
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Hopefully you are right about the end of the siloed academic!
For interest, within my silo (Web Science and Education) we make a distinction between the Internet (the hardware of the network, e.g. routers, servers, cables, satellites...etc) and the Web (the software which runs on the Internet e.g. http, html, css...etc).
In reality, almost no-one else...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
A perfect summary of many aspects of this which are impacting Higher Education (HE) today thanks!
The marketisation of the HE sector in the UK and the way (many) students live, work and learn online is increasingly at odds with their experience of teaching and learning at a university. There is real tension here, especially in light of the changes to HE...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
Hi Rob, agreed! Completely! Thanks for the very informative comment...
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Nicholas Fair replied to David Leasure
@DavidLeasure Thanks for this very eloquent and informative post!
In answer to Jo, throughout the first three years of secondary school, if my maths classes had been taught in a way which let me learn from those around me (who were much better than I was at maths), like it was in the next three years, I would definitely have learnt more effectively... -
Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
While my current teaching context and subject material does not suit a behaviouralist approach (hence why I do not use it), I nevertheless have some sympathy for @RobertBaird 's position.
I have taught the pronunciation of the 'th' sound in English using this model as it requires learners to move their tongue in a completely new direction (for many language...
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Hi, it was also the way I was taught in the 1980's in the UK too. Many people who experienced this way of learning do not understand there are other ways, which, I think, is why sometimes HE can be slow to evolve...
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Hi Simon, thanks for pointing this out - the terms are often used interchangeably by different fields, but you are right that the norm is Behaviourism in education. Apologies and we will correct it for the next run!
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Hi Shahrzad, great to see you here, thanks and welcome. Perhaps we need to learn the digital literacies necessary to make learning with and through technology effective... What do you think?
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Hi Lynn, welcome to the course.
You are right that we need the digital literacies to be able to make best use of the Web (and avoid the negative parts). It is also true that 'knowledge' itself has been changed by the Web - we need to remember less than before, because we can find the information we need when we need it, but many people feel that this can... -
Hi Antonio,
a very interesting (and eloquent) comment, thanks. I think your key point is exactly right. If we do not equip ourselves and our societies with the knowledge and skills to make best use of the wonderful resource that is the Web, we do run the risk of being 'drowned' or 'out of control'.
The Web can be empowering, but it can also be divisive and... -
Nicholas Fair replied to John Carvosso
Hi, interestingly that mirrors my own school experience during the 1980's. I always felt 'stupid' in maths class because I couldn't get my head around some of the key aspects, but loved history, which was about patterns, people, societies and empathy.
I went on to read history at university! -
Hi John, I imagine that learning has changed very significantly during your lifetime, it is great to see you embracing the new approaches. Thanks for your comment.
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@NeemaKamau it is not only students who sometimes struggle with that, but many lecturers too!
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Nicholas Fair replied to Nataliya Chuprun
Hi Nataliya, thanks for your feedback!
I agree with you that what 'learning' actually is in the network age is fascinating and there are many different views and opinions about that. Hopefully this week has helped to highlight some of those debates. -
Hi Elaheh, it is true that different learning approaches are suited to different topics and contexts, but the poll asks which approach you personally prefer (ignoring context).
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Hi Nataliya,
age does have an important part to play, but I would argue that there are many old people who are good at using technology (e.g. me!), while there are many young people (especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, or with disabilities, or from many under-developed nations) who are not so good.Age is just one of many factors which affect our...
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Hi Nataliya, I agree with you completely.
However, in the next section we will discover that not all people have access to the web (still about half of the world's population do not access the web, and even in the UK, about 11-14% of people do not use it). Also, even those with access do not all use it in the same way, especially for learning purposes. Some...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
Hi Robert, you are right that behaviouralist/instructionist approaches do have their role for certain learning items and some learning contexts (although I do not apply them in my teaching either!).
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Hi Abdul, just a note for your and other coursemate's information - the order of the options changes every time you view it, so 'the last option' is different for each person who takes the poll.
I assume you mean 'learning from a network of people, experts and technologies'.
If so, 40% of the respondents (almost 500 people) agree with you!
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@ElahehKargaranKermanifar hi, yes, there are a wide range of social, cultural, economic and political factors, such as age, gender, race, income, education level, geographic location, infrastructure, political climate, cultural practices and behaviours....and so on, which affect how individuals are able to learn and develop.
These offline inequalities...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Robert Baird
Hi Robert, welcome to the course.
I too am frustrated by these oversimplified categorisations of people (especially young people) as digitally identical. A later section of the course this week will spend time exploring the ideas of digital differences, I hope you'll find it informative and look forward to further discussions on it... -
Hi Ginta, the course will remain accessible for the next two weeks, and you can choose to buy an upgrade for unlimited access if you wish. The course will also run again in April this year.
Thanks for commenting and being involved and we are very glad that you have learned a lot!
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glad to hear your pet is on the mend!
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This is right on the edge of my knowledge zone, Chris....
I'm not sure about Connectivism and Libertarianism being linked directly, as a wide and effective network should reinforce the value of collaboration and society, not individualism....
I suspect that the rise of Humanism (and the decline of trust in experts) may have ben more influenced by 40...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Jane Anderson
Hi Jane, would you be happy to spread fake or unreliable news stories...? What if someone you knew took action, believing the story to be true because you had sent it to her, which led to negative results...?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Jose Gregorio Salas
Hi Jose, you are right of course, traditional media does have a large amount of bias in the way it reports news. However, unlike the web, there are established regulatory bodies and well-used legal complaint procedures if newspapers or TV report incorrect information...
Nevertheless, we definitely need to be critical of all news sources, online or offline,...
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Nicholas Fair made a comment
Thank you to all of you who took the time and trouble to comment throughout these two weeks - your views and insights have been invaluable!
We really hope that you enjoyed the course, and judging by the comments in the previous step, you have each taken something of use from the ideas we have explored together.
Stay connected...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Thomas Davidson
Just a quick reminder - our PLNs are BOTH online and offline, so developing it inherently involves taking online and offline actions.
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Nicholas Fair replied to Chloe Cheung
does a skype video call count as online or face-to-face....?
Aren't the boundaries between the two blurring ever more now? What about the Internet-of-Things, when we can have 'conversations' with appliances, cars, houses....etc? Are those f-2-f conversations?
[imagine waking up and asking Alexa to open the curtains, turn on the sidelight, play your...
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I think we have always chosen our words in face-to-face situations carefully too. For me, I use different vocabulary, different grammatical phrasing and different tone when speaking to a senior colleague compared with speaking to a friend/peer....
I am careful about what I say and how I say it in those formal f-2-f interactions, compared with being more...
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see my response to Jayney above...
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see my response to Jayney above...
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Hi Jayney (and others).
Based on the learning theories we discovered in week one, perhaps a 'passive, Instructionist' approach typified by lectures is not suited to this student. They need to be active, social learners and discover connections for themselves, not passive note-takers.....The issue here is NOT with the student and her motivation / ability...
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Thanks Debora, your comment is greatly appreciated!
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It is my understanding that the authorities only became aware of the leaked questions several days after the exam - so there was no opportunity to replace the exam.
I also agree that it is unfair that someone who responded was failed while those who didn't weren't - however, that came down to a case of not being able to 'prove' that those who did not reply...
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Hi Charlotte - I'm interested to know whether you can share your sources with us please? I'd love to see the research which supports the need for smaller groups, with a leader and based on f-2-f communities for WhatsApp to be effective (as I am considering using it for one of my modules). Please post a link by reply,
thanks
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Hi Helene - now this is something with which I totally agree!
In my view, it is the use of exams (a solo, closed test of memory) which stands in opposition to a networked, open learning approach. The system is out-of-date, and exams are even more so.New assessment methods, such as producing videos and blogs or showing the number and quality of...
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Interesting! - is it the platform provider's responsibility to monitor these things? Or our responsibility? Or both.....
(Also, see my response to Rebecca above too) -
Would you have 'grassed up' a member of your study group? Especially if you thought the questions were fake....? Who would you report it to?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Thomas Davidson
good point Tom - can you see a role for a UOSM2008 WhatsApp group (as opposed to / in addition to the module twitter hashtag? What would be the benefits / drawbacks in your view?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Thomas Davidson
good point Tom - can you see a role for a UOSM2008 WhatsApp group (as opposed to / in addition to the module twitter hashtag? What would be the benefits / drawbacks in your view?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Thomas Davidson
good point Tom - can you see a role for a UOSM2008 WhatsApp group (as opposed to / in addition to the module twitter hashtag? What would be the benefits / drawbacks in your view?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Chloe Cheung
Thanks for this excellent list of very useful tools.
I use/have used Trello and GitHub and GoogleDrive, but never really connected well with Slack and I don't know Discord. Many thanks for the info...
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Hi Tom, good work on the video - looks great.
For your interest, and for other coursemates reading this, I would make the following comments:
1. ensure that you give enough time for viewers to read the text before it disappears - remember - it is a global resource, so many non-native speakers will be viewing, and they will read up to 30% more slowly than a... -
Hi Debora, great work! I like the design, the font and the colours. How long did it take you to do? Are there any 'top tips' you could share with us all based on your experiences...?
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Hi Chloe, thanks for your openness and your excellent comment.
Indeed, it is my view that our approach to learning needs to change from being a 'closed' thing we undertake for our own personal benefit in a competitive environment, to a 'open' thing we do together for our mutual improvement and success.
In this way, working in the open through blogs...
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Hi Jayney - it takes about half a day to really familiarise yourself with a tool and the more you use it the quicker you get at it. It took me several hours to make my first 2 minute powtoons animation (and looking back on it now, it was poor!). Now I can produce something of reasonable quality in under 2 hours...
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Hi Chloe, do you have your 'personal' profiles under your name, or do you use a more anonymous ID? If you have them under your name, try googling yourself from a friend's computer and see what you get..., especially on google images....!
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Hi Chris, it may be somewhat reassuring to you to know that according to a Jobvite survey on social media recruitment (2014, p.11) https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf evidence of political affiliation on social media accounts does not negatively (or positively) impact your chances of being...
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Hi Jayney, you may also want to try googling yourself from a computer you do not usually use - the results will be different (alternatively, you can go into 'incognito' mode and google yourself - again the results will be different).
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Nicholas Fair replied to Debora Leite Caputo
@both - the use of blogs as a source can be very beneficial - for example, one of the key texts about Connectivism is a blog post by Stephen Downes.
However, I think Debora's point about being able to filter the reliable blogs run by serious people and the more fun / lifestyle blogs run by other types of people from a search page is tricky and requires...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Лідія Сагадіна
@ЛідіяСагадіна Hi Lidia, thank you for sharing such useful links. We often have teachers of English participating (and indeed, I am also one), so this is really helpful, thanks.
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Nicholas Fair replied to Chris Featherman
Hi Chris - really interesting approach, would love to know about any 'fact-checking' tool or process you develop..
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Nicholas Fair replied to Debora Leite Caputo
Hi Debora - yes, it is frustrating when settings change of their own accord (i.e. after an update). It used to be the case (not sure if still is - anyone know?) that our privacy settings got 'reset' after an update and what we previously thought was private(ish) suddenly became public...
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Nicholas Fair replied to isabelle bernard
Hi Isabelle - I very much like your point about our online behaviour and actions reflecting our self-awareness and value systems. I agree - if you wouldn't say it / do it to someone's face (offline), why would you do it online?
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Nicholas Fair replied to Helene Albrechtsen
Hi Helene - you have hit the nail on the head with your comment!
The media is full of 'scare stories', but we can not - in this Network Age - fail to engage with the web without disadvantaging ourselves. Therefore, we need to have the knowledge and digital literacies to engage in safe and constructive ways.
This is what we should be helping our students...
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Hi both - thank you for this feedback, it is not something which I have properly considered, and will now start to do so. However, for now, I guess that simultaneous use of 2 devices for the same task would just count as separate 2 interactions....
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Hi Juan, thank you for your comment and support - really glad you found it a useful tool and exercise....
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Nicholas Fair replied to J R
Hi Jane - thanks for the feedback. I think you'll be able to find "making and answering phonecalls (landline / static phone only)" under Communicating/Collaborating face-to-face...
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@DeboraLeiteCaputo Hi, glad the mapping tool worked for you in the end - apologies for the tech problems!
I think your point about different days resulting in different interaction patterns is exactly right - you could try completing the survey several times on several different days and then comparing the maps you get for each day.... -
Nicholas Fair replied to Chris Featherman
Hi Chris, thank you too for your excellent and thoughtful comments. I'd love to explore how to bring PLNs into the classroom more too - feel free to email me if you'd like to collaborate on this.
By way of getting this going, you might be interested in a module we run at Southampton called Living and Working on the Web (there are many students from that...
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@ЛідіяСагадіна Hi Lidia, PLNs are important because we live in a networked world, where information (and knowledge) is globally distributed across people and technology (especially the web) - not focused in a single person (the teacher). We are constantly connected, through our devices, to more information than we ever thought possible and this is changing the...
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Hi Thomas,
thank you for sharing this excellent example of how offline disadvantage led to digital differences, which then led to further real-world disadvantages.
I hope you may be able to help your cousins overcome this....any suggestions?
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Hi Helene, all you say is true, but what if you can't access the web in the first place (as with 50% of the world's population)...? What about all those other digital differences we have covered affecting how and when and why you use the web....? What about those who can't speak English...?
It should be a 'world dream' for everyone to have equal access to...
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You may want to start using Google Scholar, as this searches academic publications (generally more reliable than a standard web search) - more on this in week 2.
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Hi Ruth, very interesting! If I recall correctly, I think that there have been a small number of studies looking at the experience of women in online gaming communities - it seems to be a difficult place....!
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Hi Melissa, thanks for this really interesting insight, it would be fascinating to compare the online behaviours of similar socio-economic groups in developed and developing nations. There might be much the developed world could learn....
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Hi Jaye,
you may be interested to know that a very large EDUCAUSE / ECAR survey in 2017 found that 77% of university students felt that a blended learning approach was the most effective way for them to learn - in other words, a mix of face-to-face and online learning is best.
The teachers also agreed that blended learning is better than either...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Ruth L
@RuthL HI Ruth, the difference I think you are 'wrapping your head around' is that between the teacher as someone who provides content, and the teacher as a developer of your skills and literacies. Those skills and literacies (e.g. searching, critically analysing, evaluating, presenting...etc) can then be applied to any learning context or to any content,...
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Hi Lorena, welcome.
That is an interesting approach that your school takes. Looking forward to hearing more as the course progresses.... -
Hi Melissa, welcome to the course.
I like the mind-mapping technique too, but I don't mind whether the information I use for it is digital or offline, or whether I use online mind-mapping tools, or a pen and paper.... It is the process which matters, not the medium. Do you agree? -
Hi Lidia,
Addicted, or actively engaged with their learning network.....? -
Nicholas Fair replied to Thomas Davidson
Hi Tom, see my response to Lucy's comment above...
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Nicholas Fair replied to Lucy Marr
Hi Lucy and Tom,
I find it interesting that you both refer to your specific contexts as influencing your PLN map (and interactions) - it highlights aspects of the digital differences discussed in the previous section... -
Hi Maria,
I would suggest that in PLN terms, social media for friends and family equates to informal learning opportunities (e.g. you 'learn' how your nephew is getting on at school), while social media for professional communities of interest provide formal learning opportunities (e.g. you 'learn' a new thing about English as a foreign language).Both...
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Hi Chloe,
good analysis of your network, thanks. A very interesting reflection too - I had not previously considered that seeing our PLN mapped out would lead us to return to offline learning methods!
I'm sure a blend of both as appropriate to the person and the situation is likely to prove most effective, do you agree?
Hopefully in the next steps...
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Hi Chris,
thank you for this great analysis. Your sense of it being a fairly quiet day spent staring at a screen turned out not to be the reality and it is great that the mapping tool helped to suggest this.
It is also really interesting to hear that you were surprised by the quantity of interactions you had with your PLN. I guess it shows how...
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Thanks Lucy! I agree that the future of work is a real driver for active PLN development, thereby equipping individuals for effective lifelong learning.
