Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

“Western culture’s traditional system of knowledge is a stunning achievement,” says author and Harvard Internet scholar David Weinberger at the outset of this thought-provoking video. “It made us the dominant species on the planet.” But it was constructed as a series of stopping points: you asked a question, and you got an answer—on the page of a book or newspaper, say, or from an expert or a teacher. That system worked well when knowledge was put down on paper. Now knowledge lives on the hyperlinked Net, and links offer a never-ending invitation to go further, to know more. What are the implications of a future in which human knowledge is no longer a finite compendium of scholarly works but rather a limitless, intricately connected network of people, ideas, and works? What happens when knowledge consists of all those pieces, connected in discussion and disagreement? What happens, to quote Dr. Weinberger, when “the smartest person in the room is the room”? And what does all this mean for the storyteller? In venturing to answer that last question, Dr. Weinberger identifies the cardinal challenge of the storyteller in the age of networked knowledge: the duty to expose us to points of view other than our own, to free us from the “echo chamber” of narratives that merely reinforce what we already know or believe. The best stories should honor a simple yet stubbornly elusive truth: that different people start from different places, and that what happens to them matters just as much to them as what happens to us matters to us. True, stories that tell us about our own beginnings, our own history, and our own families have a place in our moral universe. But the future of storytelling lies in the hands of tellers who can, in the words of Dr. Weinberger, “show us how the world unfurls from a beginning other than our own.”

Cristina’s blog

Twitter

From the back channel:

@cristinacost #eas12 closed blog portfolio loses richness.

Chaos in the room as @cristinacost gets delegates to draw each other, swap and give feedback #eAS12 #brilliant

#eas12 Cristina Costa – the importance of feedback when trying to create content within a context

#eas12 @cristinacosta assessment and feedback http://t.co/joNFYph5

#eas12 Cristina Costa -getting feedback when you didn’t ask for it – facilitated by Web technologies

#eas12 Cristina Costa – real ‘digital literacy’ teaching students the skills to distinguish between good/bad feedback/comments/reviews

‘if you don’t provide a feedback platform, people will create it themselves’ #eAS12 So very true…

Sue began by referring to Rowntree’s 17 principles of good assessment (1977) highlighting the lack of progress in this field. She outlined the myriad of roles involved in the reform of assessment and their contrasting goals. As an ‘e-learning optimist’ myself I was quite fired up over the ‘passing parade of technologies’ reference. Whilst that may be how it appears to mainstream practitioners if we don’t have those early adopters experimenting and researching then effective and appropriate change is not possible (IMO).

The ‘elephant in the room’ is the true purpose of assessment…certificates required for career progression.

b. Socialising Assessment
Cherry Hopton & Students, Angus College

This was the highlight of the day for me. Cherry enthusiastically shared her classroom experiences but it was when her two students began to talk that I was really blown away. So many of us are disconnected from classroom practice and was fantastic to hear the impact education (and Cherry?) had on their lives.

Getting back to the content: they talked about their use of facebook and how that fostered community in a wider context involving staff and previous students. Both were so positive and enthusiastic it really rubbed off!

From the back channel:

#eas12 students talking about Facebook for teaching and support – they understand boundaries and don’t expect answers at 4am

#eas12 enjoying talk by Cherry Hopton and students. Also, fantastic shoes !

Russell Stannard was first up after lunch to talk about his use of screen capture software to provide feedback. He talked us through his learning journey sharing resources and experiences. He now uses Jing to capture ‘live’ feedback which is hosted online and shared via URL.

He referred to Richard Mayer’s research into multimedia learning which I’m keen to follow up.

From the back channel:

Voice is important for conveying feeling associated with feedback

Audio feedback automatically creates richer feedback – you don’t just say “good” – you naturally expand and explain

Audio feedback: students received more feedback (150wpm) and more PERSONAL feedbac

Students liked both oral & visual elements, thought they were getting more detail, were motivated, clearer, more personal

When @russell1955 initially when started with video feedback gave feedback on surface errors but now elaborates much more

‘Students asked to estimate their mark after feedback – none overestimated their marks’

Well impressed by the fact that Russell shows his early practice and how it has developed – well done sir!

Step by step videos for using JING http://bit.ly/5efjS

‘Who’s feedback is it anyway’ concerns over students reposting personal feedback in the public domainhttp://mashe.hawksey.info/2011/04/whos-feedback-is-it-anyway/

a. What If Feedback Only Counted When it Changed the Learner?
Dr. Steve Draper, University of Glasgow

Dr. Draper challenges us to examine the impact of feedback and specifically “what is wrong with students relationship with feedback?”. He says  “there is no point in giving feedback to a learner unless the learner acts on it: does something concrete and differently because of it”. He tried a variety of tactics and it was really encouraging to see this learning process being shared openly. He had measurable success using a prompt sheet to encourage students to think about what they might do with the feedback and to facilitate an extended discussion.

b. Feedback in eAssessment – What Can We Learn from Psychology Research?
John Kleeman, Questionmark

John Kleeman looked at some interesting research from the field of Psychology  (e.g. Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping); specifically the findings that retrieval practice helps retention of learning (facts and concepts). The strongest effect is when retrieval is difficult and 5-7 repetitions show optimum results. He suggested mobile devices offer a real opportunity in this area, as do observational assessments for work based learning.

He also referred to Valerie Shute and Will Thalheimer but I didn’t catch the exact references.

He defined sustainable feedback:

He emphasised that feedback bridges the gap between teaching and learning and to be effective it requires engagement, it’s just not meaningful as an independent act. He urged us to make our feedback learner driven and to position it as part of learning.

Takeaway tweets:

‘We do not position feedback as if we expect students to act on it – we rely on hope!’

‘Worst case: we are undermining students’ ability to learn’

Judge feedback in terms of effect, on what learners do, on improvement!

Digital might mean doing bad feedback more efficiently.

Is there a more educationally destructive concept than anonymous assessment?

Radio interview with Derek Robertson and David Walker

David Jones: #eAS12 – What a bunch of Wicked Practitioners

Radio interview with Doug Belshaw and Martin Hawksey

Sheila MacNeill: e-Assessment Scotland – Focus on Feedback

Doug Belshaw: e-Assessment Scotland conference 2012

John Johnstone: Notes on eAssessment Scotland

Flickr album

via http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/elearning/the-future-of-education-epic-2020/