Ruralocity Blog

Everybody wants to get in on the act.

I wish I could say I don’t post here often enough because I’m way too busy at work. I mean, I am busy, but that’s not a good excuse. On the other hand, at least I have something to show for my last couple of months. First up is the Stratepedia Learning Labs.

The Stratepedia Learning Labs site is a combination of self-paced online instructional modules (tutorials) and community of practice-type group workareas. The site runs on top of the Moodle open source learning management system.

The front page got a major overhaul from its previous look, driven by a default Moodle template. I went with bright, cheery colors and–in what’s becoming a trademark for the Stratepedia suite of web apps–a symbol of the great state of Kansas. The big, button-like links right from the get-go help people get started or reoriented after the redesign.

Content-wise, the site is a work-in-progress. Tweaking language, what’s behind links, and policies continues as I find what people like and don’t like.

I’m trying to promote the idea of peer support on this site. I’ve created a peer support area, heavy in threaded discussions. People have joined, but nobody’s chatting. Yet. We’re presenting this at the summer conference, and hopefully by then we’ll have some compelling activities using the support area.

Just because I can–a video podcast experiment using a Canon PowerShot G6 and iMovie.

The more I read about informal learning, the more I realize why I never cared for school, and still don’t, really. I won’t rail on how our schools’ structure is based on antiquated, industrial era needs–that’s been covered ad nauseum elsewhere–but I will say that the system does everything it can to perpetuate itself. My girlfriend took her exams to be recertified in secondary education last weekend. Based on the questions she shared with me, these exams do nothing to determine whether or not you’re an effective teacher. Rather, they measure how much useless trivia you’ve managed to cram into your brain. Trivia is not a skill. How important is it to have publication dates of great works of literature memorized? When will information literacy–the ability to find reliable, accurate information on demand–become the measure of a good educator?

Sadly, between the companies making pretty good bank by charging teachers to take their tests, and the old guard who call the shots in schools, districts, and legislatures, and the unrealistic joke that is No Child Left Behind, I don’t see anything changing anytime soon. In the meantime, I can keep pushing for small changes in my little corner of the world. I know I’m not as well-versed on the subject as others, but I’m doing my best to learn. Here are some of the things I’ve been reading:

• Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance by Jay Cross: I never thought I’d hear myself saying yes, yes yes! to a book about education, of all topics, but this book’s really opened my eyes to why I hate education in general and, in a lot of ways, how I got to where I did.
• growing changing learning creating blog by Tom Haskins: A little over my head sometimes, but interesting. I appreciate the emphasis of why over how.
• TerenceOnline by Terence Armentano

It’s a bit unsettling to read that the degree I’m putting a lot of time and money into could be obsolete in a few years. On the other hand, I think if I worked at it I could be at the forefront of a new way of thinking within the field of Instructional Design, as the instructional designer as we currently know him/her shifts focus into more of a facilitator, helping bring subject matter experts and learners together to engage in more meaningful learning.