Hello from your student voice leader

I just wanted to say 'Hello' as your new student voice leader. My contact details can be found in the 'Programme Voice Folder' which is near the bottom of your module study page. Please email me any thoughts both good and bad about your experience so far.

The purpose of the role, is for me to feed-back anything positive and non-positive, you may be experiencing, so the information can be used to make any improvements necessary.

We have a PVG meeting next Tuesday, I'm really sorry, but I won't be in the group chat on Sunday morning as I am flying at that time, it would have been an opportunity for you to share your thoughts with me, so please do email me (before Tuesday) with anything you think needs to be discussed

We had a pre-meeting chat with Adesola which raised some interesting points;

Firstly there is a folder in the 'Programme Voice Folder' called 'Student Sharing Space', this was created after the last PVG meeting. The idea of the folder is that we as students can put in 'hints and tips' for other students, to share what has worked well for us. As you will note it is empty, mainly due to the fact we didn't know it was there! It would be great if we could all add something that would help make the journey smoother for everyone else on the course. If you have any tips, please email them to me and I will get them added to the folder.

Secondly, Adesola and Helen would really like to help us create ways to function better as a community. As a learning environment, we can all sometimes feel very isolated. Any ideas that you think would help facilitate us feeling more connected would be very welcome. With this in mind, I wonder whether a whatsApp group would help the blogging process, we could whatsApp when we have posted or responded to a blog, allowing us to engage in a more immediate way than is occurring at the moment - I would be happy to set this up, email me if you think this is a good idea and would like to join, or if you have a better suggestion. (email details in the PVG folder)

Thirdly, I anticipate there will be issues you want to share, but please also let me know the positives, all courses need to justify there existence in the current financial climate and I believe this course offers a really unique learning experience and we should celebrate that too.

Hope to hear from you soon
xx

Looking Back - Moving Forward

I am excited to be starting module two and getting stuck into the process of pinning down my research inquiry, but it seemed appropriate (on this course) to begin module two, by looking back and reflecting on our learning from module one.

I learnt a lot from the process of the AOLs and the final essay and with the help of Adesola's feedback, I came to understand that it is something about ending and beginning again (the part in the middle) that enabled me to clarify my thinking to begin to move forward. I think I explained this a little better in my response to Adesola:

"it was interesting to me that the moment the essays were submitted my mind starting understanding the theories that threaded through Module one in a more complete way, as if in the act of ending everything became clearer. It is possible, with more time, I would have reached the same understanding and articulated this more clearly in the essay, however, I feel it has something to do with the process of finishing and beginning again, as you and Helen have said ‘the place in the middle’ that helps connect the learning."

Connection is so important for the learning process on this course and I am determined (like others have said) to make full use of all the exciting connections made possible by the blogs and Skype. For those who are starting module one I wanted to post a little thought I had in my 'review of learning' essay about the learning journey this MA affords us and the connections we make;

"I understand each student on this course comes from a different set of experiences, the connection we have is this MA and dance. The combination of learning from this MA and our prior experience, is unique for each of us, the connections we make allows knowledge to develop in a connectivist way.  By blogging about our reflections and ideas, we are each adding to the learning journey of the whole group, by framing these journeys in this MA, enables us to move forward individually but connected. Through Skype and blogging, I encounter theories and knowledge I didn’t know I was looking for, sometimes this causes immediate development of learning, affecting my research and sometimes it adds to my ‘slow-cooker’ of ideas, to dip into when ready."

So, welcome to all those beginning the journey, I am looking forward to hearing your unique perspective, and for all us 'veterans' thank you for all the inspiration so far, I'm going to do my best to share my journey, research, theories and ideas as often as possible. 

Thoughts on connectivisum - Connecting Module One Focus discussion and 'Learning Domains and MAPP (Adesola) 30/09/2019

I'm sure, like all of you, there were many different points in the discussion last night that inspired you to think further and join-up or re-join some dots in your practice.

However, as my thoughts wandered last night, I found myself being drawn back to a comment Iris made - about how, through the Skype conversation, she had learnt that she was a much better communicator 'in person' and she was struggling with the format of the Skype discussion. We all have to acknowledge that as a way of communicating it is a little disjointed - leading to stops-and-starts in the flow of the conversation. In a real-world conversation we recognise the cues in each others faces and body language - How they are responding to what we are saying before we finish - Do they need more information? - Do they want to add thoughts of their own? - Are they interested at all? We adjust the flow, dynamics and emphasis accordingly. It is the rhythms we create that causes the conversation to build, bouncing ideas, developing greater concepts than our original statements - Sometimes allowing ideas to multiply leap-frogging in new directions, whisking-up our ideas and creating new exciting connections (different for all of us depending on our perspective (Moon 2004)) but capable of triggering new paths of enquiry of even  shifts in preconceived areas of 'knowing'  - This rhythm and flow is like a dance, where, because of understood frameworks we know when to lead, when to follow, when to connect and how this relationship develops creativity.

This led me on to thinking about Adesola's Blog 'Learning Domains and MAPP', particularly with reference to 'Knowing Knowledge' (Siemens 2006). Siemens' theories are seductive and compelling, the two-way flow of knowledge will inevitable change, not just the hierarchy of Knowledge distribution but also the shared experience of knowledge that forms the foundation for how we position of ourselves in society and culture, leading to a freeing of traditional boundaries both physical and metaphysical.

'We do not consume knowledge as a passive entity that remains unchanged as it moves through our world and our work. We dance and court the knowledge of others—in ways the original creators did not intend. We make it ours, and in so doing, diminish the prominence of the originator.' (2006)

However by Siemens own admission, we are not there ye -, we stand with our feet in two worlds - a knowledge system designed for an industrial era and a new emerging system designed for tomorrow (2006). 
So this brings me back to our discussion and how the tools we have with Skype and Blogs are not yet equal to the skills we innately have for communication, connectivity and idea growth - actual real life conversation. As we stand on the bridge between the old and new world, we can not reject the new, as this would be counterproductive - After-all it is the generation of these tools that allow us to study on a course like this, from wherever we are, sharing in a  learning process that would be otherwise just available to those who have the means, time and finances to be physically present in the space. What we can do is try to make the new forms of conversations be as productive as possible?

I wonder if it is possible to all share some tips on what makes the connection work more effectively - I began to think about this and here are a couple of the ideas and actions I have started with;

• I have begun to follow you all  (not added you all yet but getting there)

This is easier if you have a follow button on your page but can be done though our own dashboards 'reading list' 'manage reading list' 'add'
Following doesn't quite give the experience I want (an alert on my phone every time one of you posts, so I can engage with it in real time wherever I am) - I still need to actively check my reading list to find your post, but at least all new posts are there for me to check on.

• Posting a photo in my profile

For me there was a huge difference last night between those that spoke who had a picture posted and those who spoke without a picture - I emotionally engaged with the speaker and it was somehow easier to connect - I am guilty of not having a picture but will edit that today.

As an extra idea to this I wondered if we could change these pictures before each conversation - allowing the visual to say something about where we are 'emotionally or conceptually' with our learning process or just in life itself?

I would be really happy if any of you would comment on any ideas, tips and tricks, that help you connect to each other, whether this is a practical 'know how' idea or an emotional idea that helps us to 'know' each other better.

At the end of last night discussion I said I was going to look at the strands that ran though my learning - for me facilitating communication was important. Though this blog post I have learnt that I facilitate communication between others because it is really important in my learning - I struggle to learn when I don't feel connected, which I think is what Iris was saying last night!

• Siemans G  - Knowing Knowledge - Lulu.com, 2006
• Moon J - A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning - Routledge 2004