Friday Campus Connections

Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios.  Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness.  Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too.  We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post.  And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@IICEorg).  Happy Friday!

Jeff shaking hands with Sir Ken Robinson

The Fifth Discipline – Revisited

Having taken all manner of personality indicators, I agree with their consistent findings that people who do not perform effectively, in a collaborative fashion, nor with a proper prioritization of goals, are easily waived off in my brain as “morons.”  I struggle to give second chances and I quickly look for workarounds to people and departments that appear obstructivistic regarding forward thinking initiatives, student support, or even student learning, etc. 

Friday Campus Connections

Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios.  Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness.  Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too.  We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post.  And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@Ice_Inst_Org).  Happy Friday!

What Is A Learning Ecosystem?

A crucial “systems thinking” component of a learning ecosystem is this: Integration trumps functionality.  In other words, if 85% of your desired functionality can be achieved with a fully integrated tool, or 97% of your desired functionality can be achieved with no connection to other parts of the ecosystem, use the former and avoid the latter.  (Of note, this is why the RFI / RFP process can be so detrimental to an organization’s longitudinal well-being from a systems perspective.)  

Friday Campus Connections

Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios.  Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness.  Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too.  We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post.  And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@Ice_Inst_Org).  Happy Friday!

What Is A Learning Ecosystem? (10 Minutes)

A learning ecosystem is an omni-channel, multi-modal system that includes all necessary support, resource, and context options by which people learn.  In a formal context, such as a college or university, the learning ecosystem is typically a mix of people, technology, and other infrastructure, leading to certifications and/or degrees for students.  But all of these stakeholders require balance.  The key to an effective learning system is stasis.  The term ecosystem becomes crucial in this context as it connotes interdependence.  In any ecosystem, stasis is reached when interdependence of a (typically) complex system or network is balanced between organisms and their environment.  

A poster with Dr. Borden on it for an education conference in the Middle East

Friday Campus Connections

Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios.  Here are 3 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness.  Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too.  We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post.  And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@Ice_Inst_Org).  Happy Friday!

We Treat Learning Like We Treat Weight Management (12 minutes)

Most companies never ask for a transcript, and for the few who do, it is only for those seeking their first job out of college.  (Working inside education may be an exception.)  After that, grades mean almost nothing.  What companies instead seek are the things that grades, which become so easily gamed by both students and teachers, can diminish.  After all, if the grade is all that matters, then trying new things and failing (actually promoting learning) will be negated.  Teaching to a test, jamming information into short-term memory only to be lost a few weeks later will be the norm.  Critical thinking will be lost.  Problem solving based on context will be supplanted with algorithm practice absent of context. 

Friday Campus Connections

Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios.  Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness.  Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too.  We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post.  And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@Ice_Inst_Org).  Happy Friday!