Practical Inspiration (30th Apr 2012)
Practical Inspiration
Imagine a website that could make these conversations possible ...
Certificates being achieved day 1
"Well done. You have shown that you can log in to the College computer system and register for the O-VL website. That means you have achieved two certificates today. You get a certificate for every piece of learning you complete. They are called atoms."
"Wow! Can I take these home?"
"Of course you can, you earned them. They are yours."
"But what are they worth? I can't get a job with these."
"No, you can't, but you have achieved ... and they show that you can log in and register, so you can show an employer those skills which will put you that bit ahead of those can't prove that. Now, how many certificates can you get tomorrow ..."
Customisation
"But I don't like using a computer. The glare hurts my eyes and the writing is always sooo small."
"Don't worry. You can change the background colour to one that suits you and make the writing as large as you need ... oh, and by the way, you can watch the video or listen to the words instead if you prefer not to read from the screen. You do it your way."
Worst case scenario
"I'm sorry, but Ola will be off for a while, so I'll be taking the class. Could you please add me to the list of people able to mark your work for this unit. I can then see where you all are and help you finish off."
Create your own atoms!
"I have finished the work. Can I look up some stuff on O-VL?"
"Yup. That's your reward for having achieved four atoms today."
"I can't find anything on Justin Bieber!"
"Well, write your own!"
"I ain't no teacher. I can't do that. Can't you do it for me?"
"What do I know about Justin Bieber? You're the expert there! Complete the atoms on how create the materials - you'll then add those to your portfolio - then you can create the materials on Justin Bieber - and you'll have that in your portfolio too."
Altruistic atoms
"What does debate mean? I’ve watched this video four times and I still don’t understand."
"It means to talk about something with others, getting their ideas and giving them yours. "
"I wish it was all in my language, Miss."
"Why don't you translate it into your language and then others can use it. "
"Am I allowed to do that?"
"Anyone can create materials as long as you create the short video, sound file and text file because they allow anyone to learn in the way that suits them best."
Prove I’ve passed
“I can’t do writing! It takes forever and I always get it wrong!”
“But you don’t have to do writing. As long as you cover everything you can submit a video, a voice file, photographs or even as a song – as long it’s understandable.”
“Can I use the notes a made on my notice board or stuff from my chats or mind map, then?”
“Yes, definitely, as long as it’s your own work you can use anything! ”
Complete the atom mix to achieve your qualification
"Hey, you've passed this unit! Well done. "
"But I've just done little bits. How can I have passed?"
"The little bits add up and now you've passed. "
"But it was too easy. Everything was on the website, I could do it at my speed, I could do it my way, I could do it home or on the bus as well as here. It was too easy."
"See what you can do. It does not have to be hard to be worth something. You have covered all the syllabus ... every little bit of it ... and now you've passed. Go home feeling good about yourself."
"But my mate at that other college has teachers teaching him all the time, homework and things. I just come here, do a few atoms, ask questions when I need to and then get it marked off. It's too easy."
Low hanging fruit
"That's your distinction in the bag."
"That's the first time I've ever got good grades ... it feels really, really good."
"Not only that, but these atoms transferable to other areas. Look it says here that if you complete these other five atoms you can also get this qualification. I know it's not part of your course, but all certificates are good certificates."
"Can I do them at home, only I've got to look after my baby sister 'cos my mum is at work this afternoon?"
"Did you do any of these at home? You can do any atoms you like at any time and anywhere. You don't need my permission. It is your work."
"Corr, thanks, Sir."
"... and please don't call me Sir - you are not worth less than me! "
Employer and the plesiadapis
"Thank you for being so prompt for your interview here. I see from this that you completed your course with good grades - well done."
"Thank you."
"I can see that you also completed work on Justin Bieber and a plesiadapis ... whatever that is. Tell me about it."
"Well, I was really into Justin Bieber when I started at college and there weren't any materials on O-VL about him, so I decided to create them. I had to write the text, create a video to go along with the text and then make the sound file from the video."
"That shows some enterprise. So you have these skills as well? "
"Yes. The materials have been used 19,947 times so far ... nearly 20,000 and I've even earned a bit from it via the advertising."
"Tell me about the plesiadapis ... what was that all about? "
"It was snowing and someone in the class said it looked like a new Ice Age. Someone else said that at least there was no squirrel running round chasing acorns - it's from the Ice Age movies. The teacher said it wasn't a squirrel, it was a plesiadapis, the mammal that lived at the time of the dinosaurs and later evolved into apes and then humans. So me and some the others, we looked it up, 'cos we were interested, and got the atom on it."
"That shows some enterprise and a broader level of thinking than we usually get! "
Life-long learning
"So, I said, no it isn't and he said yes it was. So we looked it up and added it to our list of atoms. Don't know why we did that!"
... well, we are working on a prototype, O-VL (short for Open Virtual Learning). The site does not have any functionality yet, but the layout will show you what is on offer.