Many thanks for the detailed response. Sorry where I’ve been “hype”. In terms of language divide, I´m not sure localization is initially the best solution for Spanish-speakers, our beautiful language can be more divisive than unifying. If you have a look at wikiversidad (Sp wikiversity) or Wikipedia itself, fairly small in comparison to speaker No with ICT & English ability. Wondering if bilingual contents or small translations would be OK without localizing? This might provide access to excellent stuff already going on and help some cope better with “fear/allergy to English” (?), as well as enhance cultural awareness, maybe audio rather than text (?). Language musicality can convey initial sensory appreciation.
De: wikieducator@googlegroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] En nombre de Wayne Mackintosh Enviado el: sábado, 31 de mayo de 2008 18:40 Para: wikieducator@googlegroups.com Asunto: [WikiEducator] Re: Questions and collaboration Hi Alex -- BIG thanks for this feedback -- very insightful and exactly the kind of information WE need to respond more effectively. A few thoughts and reflections in text below. On Sat, 2008-05-31 at 17:40 +0200, Alex P. Real wrote: Hi Wayne, I´m probably unconventional and likely to jump across Phases below. Seems reasonable to first spot shared topics/areas of interest to avoid duplication and build on ongoing developments rather than start from scratch (?). I can´t speak for others so, though the support forum seems a very good idea, I lack enough WE awareness to size newcomer likeliness to contribute, backgrounds or average ICT expertise. Question to make when new members register? May others have a say J? Fair comment -- but in the same breadth you are a newcomer in the community and your experience and thoughts are equally valid. I understand the WE development rationale, the Commonwealth scope & enjoy WE structure, allows analyzing how it has “grown”, but surfing categories/projects can be somewhat puzzling at the beginning. You asked, so here´s some reckless thoughts: Agreed -- our growth creates new opportunities to improve -- WE are working on creating new access points and ways of navigating our content, for example by sector and subject area. (Coming soon!) · What if I don´t have a country-based mentality? Didn´t choose my passport & I´m OK with it but… Many country nodes are not developed & I guess other members (esp. non-native English speakers) may share my views here. Yip. I think people network in different ways and this is what I find most exciting about the WIki -- namely its ability to model and support multiple process related activity. So for example, it is possible to set up any "clustering" configuration by setting up a new page -- the user is the innovator! · What if a “pet” interest is heavily associated to a specific country node? WE is highly diverse, not every member or node may be able/willing to cope with cultural distance. Everybody is free to edit/ create a new page/project, but there´s etiquette to cater for. Just wondering J ! Absolutely. In fact, WE is talking about the cultural distance in relation to educational materials in our thinking about quality. WE is not an encyclopedia where we are trying to develop an objective universal article on some concept. Education is culturally bounded and in this sense every teaching situation is unique. My personal guess is that the WE community will adopt the open source model. People will collaborate as long as it makes sense to collaborate on materials -- or they will fork the content development by making a copy and adapting for their own needs. Very much using what works -- and dumping content which doesn't work in a given context. · Language divide can be more divisive than digital. Any plans? At least one WE replicate in Spanish (skills training), without the potential of P.3 & P.4, real pity. You're right and this particularly relevant for the WE family. Only 44% of our new account holders are English first language speakers so we have a very rich community in terms of diversity and breadth of experience. This will evolve as directed by the community. Our most successful localisation is the French WE. We are very proud of the French WE because this was inspired and developed by the Cameroon -- and not for example the French speaking countries in the industrialised world! · If I was 40+, European, ESOL teacher, with rough survival ICT skills, either linked through or word of mouth, odds are I´d get the free training and quit, as I wouldn´t know where to hang my lesson. That's a pretty good description of the "Average" WikiEducator -- see our survey of new account holders: http://wikieducator.org/images/f/f6/WE_Survey_04262008.pdf Before we started with the Learning4Content initiative - our conversion rate was about 10% -- that is about - 1 out of every 10 users becoming active contributors. Since we started L4C this has increased to about 25% - 30% of new users. That's increasing our productivity 3 fold! Good point about helping newbies to figure out where to hang their lesson. WE'll get this fixed. The institutional/govrn components are great but likely to freak out average teachers, so I guess some visitors don´t register or do so not to come back. I understand the un-structure viewpoint, but what about segmentation? Sure -- that's the power of the wiki. Find a few folk that share your interests and ideas and create a new segment in the wiki. L4C seems behind target (?) The roll out of L4C represents the shape and form of an exponential curve --- a little slow in the beginning (setting up tutorials, spreading the word etc.), but we are designed to scale. WE want to exceed our targets -- instead of 2500 teachers let's go for 3000! People who From an outsider perspective, main page can provide the impression that P.3 is THE goal. I realize institutional weight is VERY important within some cultures & there are obvious interests but, though difficult, keeping balance is important. Or WE may find this is more relevant than teacher training (?). Good question -- don't have an answer here -- but I suspect we're going to find out over the next year's activity. · Still finding out if WE is indeed the right option for me. Whatever you decide -- you'll always be welcome in our WE neighbourhood. Sorry, hope you’re not repenting now L?! Not at all -- Thank you for your time and contribution in helping us get better. Cheers Wayne Cheers, Alex De: wikieducator@googlegroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] En nombre de Wayne Mackintosh Enviado el: jueves, 29 de mayo de 2008 21:48 Para: wikieducator@googlegroups.com Asunto: [WikiEducator] Re: Questions and collaboration Hi Alex -- Based on your own experiences -- do you think new people would be more comfortable posting "how to" questions on a dedicated support forum for WE? This is VERY important for us as a community because WE want to assist all newbies in achieving their aims. As the community grows -- we are learning ourselves. There appear to be different phases of capability development that have evolved. Our WE community must find effective ways to support all levels in parallel. In other words, if you join WE at any time there should be multiple paths of support for all capability levels. The "capability" phases we've identified so far include: * Phase 1: Mastery of basic editing skills (Individual and supported by the Tutorials and the Learning4Content project) * Phase 2: Individual content development where a teacher, lecturer or trainer focuses on their own content projects without actively pursuing collaboration with others * Phase 3: Implementing collaborative content development -- i.e. strategising and actively pursuing collaboration opportunities. * Phase 4: Engaging learner in OER development. You raise an important point about the value of reading the posts in the main forum --- this in itself is a powerful vehicle to learn about the community. I think commitment to open and transparent dialogue builds trust. Appreciate the contributions -- this helps us on our continuous path of development. Cheers Wayne On Thu, 2008-05-29 at 21:22 +0200, Alex P. Real wrote: Hello Nellie, I´m new to WE. I started with ICT literally “learning by doing”, so I normally manage to make my way. If I had an editing query I probably wouldn´t ask here, would seem out of context. For obvious reasons, most active contributors are founders or got involved much earlier and are at a more advanced stage than any newcomer. Threads logically reflect that. I don´t feel intimidated (actually enjoy them) but I can understand why less adventurous spirits might. Would you post a “how to” query to an audience (visible=active contributors) discussing elaborate stages of collaboration and advanced projects involving several institutions? This doesn´t mean these queries are not welcome, though new people may be under such impression or feel they´re too petty in comparison to HIV/AIDS or midwifery (?). Hardly the right time for me to make any suggestion, really. I hope this helps, Alex De: wikieducator@googlegroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] En nombre de NELLIE DEUTSCH Enviado el: jueves, 29 de mayo de 2008 17:06 Para: wikieducator@googlegroups.com Asunto: [WikiEducator] Re: Questions and collaboration Valerie said: Some of the forum threads are intimidating. Valerie, Can you please clarify your statement with examples? Thank you. Nellie On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 7:11 AM, valerie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: 2nd Life / Second Life - I had the same problem, missing the play on words. Sorry to be so slow... Going beyond the basics as a collaborative effort sounds great. There should be some nice spin-offs - mentoring, authoring, student participation, reviewing and contributing. Tutoring is an interesting issue. I am surprised / concerned that anyone feels reluctant to ask questions in a "safe learning environment" like WE discussions. We are all learners here. All questions that should be asked and answered in a public forum where everyone can benefit. If we don't get that message across to every participant, we have lots of work to do! Some of the forum threads are intimidating. It might be appropriate to have a Questions? forum devoted to questions of new participants. On May 28, 6:50 pm, "Leigh Blackall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > When I saw 2nd Life, I didn't recognise a play on words and thought Wayne > was meaning Second Life or online simulators ...snip -- Nellie Deutsch Doctoral Student of Education http://www.nelliemuller.com http://www.integrating-technology.com/pd http://www.building-relationship.com/education http://blendedlear.ning.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. 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