OLDaily

Code of practice for wellbeing and mental health analytics
Andrew Cormack, JISC, 2020/07/22

This code builds on Jisc's code of practice for learning analytics and extends the discussion to include "additional issues raised by the use of data for wellbeing purposes... on the use of data in delivering wellbeing and mental health support." I think this is a bit of a departure for Jisc, as we would normally think of health and well-being as something health professionals deliver, not educators, though while acknowledging this the code says "the day-to-day operation of wellbeing and mental health analytics may be conducted by appropriately trained and supported tutors and other staff," which may be true, but doesn't exactly make me feel comfortable. Maybe we can get some engineers to manage ethics for teachers; that would be OK, right? It's the sort of document that should be making you ask who is defining your codes of ethics and what authority they have to do this?

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Wiki.js
wiki.js, Requarks.io, 2020/07/22

Wiki.js is a Javascript-based wiki you can run on your computer or (better) in the cloud. It is open source and based on Node. It uses any of a number of database engines and runs on most platforms. There are modules available that allow you to run analytics, use social authentication, and choose the content editor you wish to use, and sync and backup your content to a number of storage services.

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An Analysis of Heutagogical Practices through Mobile Device Usage in a Teacher Training Programme in Malawi
Andrew Chimpololo, Journal of Learning for Development, 2020/07/22

There's a lot going on in this paper (14 page PDF). One aspect contrasts between what students are taught (modern learner-centred approaches) and how the education system functions (treating learners as empty vessels). The second aspect is a largish survey of mobile phone use for professional development by these student teachers. And a third aspect looks at their employment of three models of heutagogy (ir., self-directed learning): interdependent learning , double and triple-loop learning, and communities of practice. Of these, only the third is employed to any significant degree. Andrew Chimpololo conmcludes, "training institutions need to create a conducive environment where learners are provided the freedom to define their own learning paths and determine individual learning styles."

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A “Watershed” for Educational Transformation: Deployment of Carpe Diem Learning Design Methods in a South African Context
Gilly Salmon, Antoinette van der Merwe, Arnold Schoonwinkel, Journal of Learning for Development, 2020/07/22

This article (15 page PDF) describes the Carpe Diem design methodology and recounts its application at a South African university. The "process draws on agile collaborative project development, creative and visual techniques" such that "every moment during the workshop is spent on designing something that can be put into immediate use with learners." The workshop was conducted at Stellenbosch University and surveys indicated a continued impact from the program six months after the event. "Staff thought that the workshop valued their contribution to the ongoing educational transformation process at SU by providing effective practical support."

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On the Impossibility of the Community-based Production of Learning Content
David Wiley, iterating toward openness, 2020/07/22

In February, 2006, I presented a paper to OECD in Malmo on models for the sustainability of open educational resources in which I concluded that the only truly sustainable model was based on a community development model. Today I read for the first time Yochi Benchler's Common Wisdom: Peer Production of Educational Materials, which David Wiley says he commissioned in 2005. Benchler's answer to the question of whether the community-based peer production model could be used for OERs was: it depends. In particular, if you're looking for something structured and subject to external criteria, then probably not. Wiley takes Benchler's conclusion and runs with it, arguing that "the problems associated with the need to modularize and the need to integrate are just as real now as they were back in the early 2000s.... There’s a good argument to be made that a community based production model for learning content isn’t actually possible." And would respond that it depends what you're trying to produce. If you want to replicate existing managerialist models of resource production, then yeah, a community probably won't support that. But why would we want to do that? Image: M.U. Paily.

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Virtual Research Environment for Preservation Tools
Open Preservation Foundation, 2020/07/22

According to this short item, "The Dutch Digital Heritage Network (DDHN) and the Open Preservation Foundation (OPF) are working together to develop a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) with preservation tools... creating an easy-to-install virtual machine running some of the most popular open source preservation tools. Heritage organizations will be able to use the VRE to test preservation tools without having to install them." The initial toolset consists of Apache Tika (detects and extracts metadata and text), DROID (digital record object identification), JHOVE, and veraPDF (validation tools).

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Happy vacations, everyone! And a reflection on online learning during Covid-19
Tony Bates, Online learning and distance education resources, 2020/07/22

Tony Bates offers some thoughts on the education system response to the pandemic while at the same time urging people to take some vacation (which is exactly what I am doing). He notes that while the higher education system responded quite well, the school system did not, with many boards not prepared to finalize plans until August. He also suggests that the massive uptake of online learning this year will result in "some significant breakthroughs in online and especially blended learning designs... as a result of deep, experiential learning (perhaps better expressed as trial and error)." He's also positive about the survival of most Canadian institutions (though their professors and staff may not be spared the effects of the funding cuts to come).

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iLRN 2020 VR Conference Production Design
Heather Dodds, Tiago Martins Peres, LinkedIn, 2020/07/22

I found this presentation chatty with sometimes odd expressions (*) but it's a comprehensive look at a lot of the thinking behind the use of virtual words for online conferences and offers valuable insights and perspectives. It's quite a long read with numerous exampoles and illustrations and not to be mnissed if you're contemplating running like virtual reality events. (* "discrimination between online and virtual", "it’s visible clear lack", "ground base to go to", etc).

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