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.
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!
The Strangest Keynote Situation I’ve Ever Experienced
When I was with eCollege, we always heard from integration partners which schools were truly ahead of the curve and which ones simply had a good marketing story, but were in fact awful to work with. Likewise, we would hear which companies were great to work with and which ones were not. That even translated to a company’s values or ethical practices. But embarrassingly, I did not include vendor referrals as part of my research. I solely relied on college / university recommendations. And at this point in my career, having worked on both sides of the fence as well as sitting on committees like the CWiC Executive Advisory Board, we all know that there are thousands of failed technology initiatives which have little to do with the technology and everything to do with the implementation. Yet I contacted school after school, both the solid and the weak, asking if they recommended a vendor.
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!
Can Curriculum Kill Curiosity?
Teaching today is far more about classroom management than it is about actually teaching leading to learning. But when you add in Common Core requirements, newly defined elements of “rigor”, high stakes testing, the political and process-based rules setup by people who have often never been in a classroom, as well as the operational issues needed to organize a grouping of people, teaching and learning is often quite strangled – becoming almost impossible.
Friday Campus Connections: Leadership Academy Reflections
Good leaders are not only good innovators, but they also facilitate innovation in others. Effective leaders and innovators look for opportunities and resources to move forward, building better learning experiences, teams, and campus solutions.