James Michie – Page 5 – Critical Skills 101

#crit101 – Week Three

In week three #crit101 is turning its attention to validity and reliability. The week three page has been updated with reading material and information about this week’s assignments.

The live video lecture will be at 7:30PM (GMT) on Monday (04.02.13). Check the blog or Twitter around 7:25 for the link. The slides will be made available prior to the lecture, and a recording will be made available shortly afterwards.

The Twitter discussion will be on Wednesday (06.02.13) between 7PM and 8PM (GMT).

I mentioned this at the end of week one, but I want to encourage you to read and comment on each others blog posts. You can find them here on the #crit101 blog. I have added an archive so that it is easy to access all posts published on the site. Like last week, I will be adding my own thoughts, and hope to enter into meaningful dialogue with as many of you as possible.

#crit101 Week Two: What is the best way to cook an egg?

This week I asked participants to collaborate on a short piece of research, addressing the question:

“What is the best way to cook an egg?”

The task was challenging, not least because of the ambiguity inherent in the task but also because of the short amount of time they had to complete it in. Moreover, for many of the participants additional challenges presented themselves because of the need to collaborate using a technology (Google Docs) that some of them had never encountered before. I am pleased to say that many of the participants not only demonstrated their ability to work collaboratively but also displayed the resilience many of them referred to as being integral to in(ter)dependent learning in week one.

As I write this, with one hour to go until the 6PM deadline, one or two groups are still editing and refining their articles. Others have finished and blog posts, reflecting on week two, have started to be posted. I will be reading and responding to both the articles and blog posts over the course of week three. Additionally, the first badges will be issued this week to those participants who took an active role in their group’s research project.

Published Articles: What is the best way to cook an egg?

#crit101 #egg Research – Advice and Guidance

With the tomorrow’s 6PM deadline being just around the corner, I thought it would be pertinent to offer some advice and guidance to help you complete your research and get it written up.

Today, you should continue collecting data and write up your introduction and methodology.

In the introduction you should discuss the ambiguity of the question and what you settled on in terms of your chosen line of enquiry.
In the methodology section you should explain your research approach and chosen methods. Do not discuss any findings.

Tomorrow, you should analyse and evaluate the data collected, then write up your findings and conclusion.

In the findings section you should present your analysis of your findings, triangulating your data sources.
In your conclusion you should reflect on and evaluate what you have learned.

Remember, I am just an email or tweet away. Your finished article needs to be published and a link to it included in your individual blog posts.

Week One: Goals, pushing boundaries, and the c in MOOC

This morning I finished reading and commenting on your blog posts from week one. They were thoroughly enjoyable to read and provided a diverse range of thought on both the motivation to participate in the course as well as definitions for in(ter)dependent learning.

Two key ideas that I felt came out of the posts were: ‘setting goals‘ and ‘pushing boundaries‘. Both concepts have given me a lot to think about in terms of how I understand independent learning.

Many of you when discussing your motivations for signing up for #crit101, set goals for yourself. Are goals integral to independent learning? Are they the starting point for the journey towards becoming a more autonomous learner? These are questions I don’t have answers for yet but they are the start to a discussion that I think we need to have. Moreover, the emphasis placed on goals bring the concept of success into sharp focus. How is success to be defined for each of you in a course that is about independence; and has no grades?

The notion of pushing boundaries is something that I had not associated with independent learning at all. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel that it might be significant. I consider myself to be a highly effective independent learner and one of my main aims is to push the boundaries and challenge myself. How integral is that in my makeup as an independent learner? The minute we decide to work within the boundaries, is that when we start to lose our independence? Is systematised education a boundary that needs to challenged in order to enable learners to become more independent?

Additionally, a further discussion that is developing is about the very nature of the course itself. #crit101 is, to a degree, inspired by MOOCs. A question that we are pondering is that of how important the ‘course’ aspect is to MOOCs and the process of independent learning. To what extent does the c in MOOC effect motivation. If I was not here responding to posts, reminding you about deadlines and lectures, would you still show up? Or could this course run through peer-interaction and your own desire to learn?

Please take some time to read over each others posts and the comments. I have left many questions to be considered and I want to know what you think. I look forward to reading your replies!

#crit101 – Week Two

In week two #crit101 is turning its attention to research and enquiry. The week two page has been updated with reading material and information about this week’s assignments.

Like last week there will be a live video lecture at 7:30PM (GMT) on Monday (28.01.13). Check the blog or Twitter around 7:25 for the link. Once again the slides will be made available prior to the lecture, and a recording will be made available shortly afterwards.

The main assignment in week two requires you to conduct research and work collaboratively with your peers using Google Docs. More information about this is available on the week two page and will also be explained in detail during the introductory lecture.

The Twitter discussion will be on Wednesday (30.01.13) between 7PM and 8PM (GMT).

On top of this, I wish to encourage you all to read and comment on each others blog posts from week one. You can find them here on the #crit101 blog. I have added an archive so that it is easy to access all posts published on the site. I will be adding my own thoughts to your posts, but commenting is a key component of the blogging process, and I think it would be useful for you to keep the discussion about in(ter)dependent learning going as the course develops.