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KMD Digital Journalism 2010
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Feedback on the P2PU platform and organization of this course
Go back to: General discussion
P2PU is developing rapidly, and although there is still much to be done, we believe we have made some great strides. The last large cycle, with 16 courses, was the first one to use our new web platform, and at that time the platform was still very immature. We worked hard on improving it, taking into account people's ideas and suggestions, and you are the first course to use our "new and improved platform". It would be very useful to hear what you think about it so far, and how it could be improved, what problems you have encountered, etc.
It will also be interesting to hear your thoughts about the course design. This is the first course that has a face-to-face component, with the class at Keio. To the non-Keio students, how do you think this adds to your experience, compared to one in which all the students are online? Do you think you miss out on something not being physically present? Does it add to your interest in this course, that it's actually a "real" university course?
And for the Keio students who are here, how does it add to your class to have both the P2PU platform to collaborate on, and the P2PU community participating in the class?
I realize the course is not over yet, and we will probably contact you at the end of the course with a formal evaluation form, and invitations to participate in P2PU, comment on your experience etc, but it would be great to already now get a feel for how it's going, and maybe there are things we can do during the course to make it an even better experience.
From what I can see, as an interested observer, the course seems to be going really well.
Stian
Love the open requests for feedback and responses.
Will add more thoughts later, elsewhere, but here's initial response:
1. The real-world and online world mashup reminds me of a calculus II class my daughter had at a respected IB school a couple of years back. The teacher connected remotely with one class and taught in person for my daughter's class. Benefit: Leveraging a strong teacher to a broader audience. Drawbacks: Less brain space and time for the teacher to spend with face-to-face students. Result: Real-world students less engaged; daughter slid by with a "C" and passed the exam for college credit. She has not taken a higher-level math course since.
Lesson: Seek out the early education pioneers who have already tread this path and get feedback.
More broader suggestion: Develop the tools and platform quickly, simplifying with attention to UX and design beauty. Make the tools accessible to large, diverse pool of teachers as well as students and reach out to those potential, teachers. Embrace the open-source ideals to build big community and support diverse group, not just those who are already making livings in academic circles.
On a somewhat related 'organizational' note, I've assembled a Twitter list for participants in this course: http://twitter.com/1rick/p2pu
If you've filled out your Twitter handle in your p2pu profile, I've already added you. If not, fire me a quick Twitter message and I'll make sure to add you.
Hey all,
I would like to use this forum to get some information needed for our course project and also to help p2pu on the feedback from participants. I’ll point out some guiding questions and please, CONTRIBUTE YOUR OPINION, even if it’s just one sentence, it’s highly valuable for us, Joi, and helps p2pu platform towards world domination!:)
What is the reason why you are taking this course?
Which communication tool(s) do you find most useful? (forum, mailing list, twitter, IRC channel UStream…) What obstacles regarding technology did you encounter during the course?
Do you find it ok, frustrating, annoying, beneficial... that the course is open to everyone? Why (if at all) is this value of openness important for you?
Should we build on the principles of freedom, openness, sharing, transparency... when it comes to learning?
What are the advantages and drawbacks of the type of learning in this course? Is there something that needs to be changed in the organization of the course?
Any other ideas, comments, arguments…?
Thank you very much!
The main obstacle for me has been the IRC chat. I've only managed to sign in successfully a few times, and that's been frustrating to no end. Here's a visual of the error I get: http://1rick.com/irc
Have you tried using the chat page on this site?
Yes. In multiple browsers. Same error.
(See the link in my previous message to see error)
Thanks for letting us know! It seems to me that the name is invalid, because if I try to login with any other nick, it works fine (did you try that), but if I use 1rick, I get the same error as you did. I will try to track down the exact allowed format of the username, and post that on the chat page, so other people won't be frustrated by this.
Hi Stian. Thanks for replying. Yes, I think that was it. Very odd. Should have occurred to me to try other names.
Thanks again!
For Lena:
What is the reason why you are taking this course?
Started as a way to check the tools, interface, design etc. to learn about perhaps doing something similar on Moodle or elsewhere. Stayed to learn from others interested in the same thing plus participate in interesting discussions. (community). Truly believe that some people with experience actually have a need to share their thoughts with others; but I'm trying to keep "beginner's mind" and not be too pedantic.
Which communication tool(s) do you find most useful? (forum, mailing list, twitter, IRC channel UStream…) What obstacles regarding technology did you encounter during the course?
UStream interesting to see and hear the guests and physical classroom. Always passive for me though. IRC, a bit scary at first, is comfortable for me. Forums are quite familiar to me, because the method is quite similar to other online classes on Blackboard or SharePoint. Email is a bit overwhelming, too much of it, but it ensures I don't miss anything. Would like opportunity to turn off and on email notifications for specific threads, and perhaps even specific classmates. Generally don't use Twitter except for alerts that a UStream has begun or to keep up with classmates and their projects, including promoting their projects. Not a fan of Twitter for open discussions, because I have a follower base interested in other things. I don't want to give them too much noise. For promotion of class and ideas, and for links, Twitter is good.
Do you find it ok, frustrating, annoying, beneficial... that the course is open to everyone? Why (if at all) is this value of openness important for you?
Beneficial, generally. If specific information of a higher level was being addressed, prerequisites or filtering of class participants might be in order, but generally love the idea of many different levels participating, as long as all are comfortable with a quick pace. (Reflects the Montessori method, actually, for much younger students.)
Should we build on the principles of freedom, openness, sharing, transparency... when it comes to learning?
Yes, generally. However, I do think private, walled online gardens are essential sometimes to frank discussions. Archiving of everything shared could be painful for students in the future if they're not cognizant of the public nature of the course. And sometimes, people can inadvertently share too much.
What are the advantages and drawbacks of the type of learning in this course? Is there something that needs to be changed in the organization of the course?
Design needs much work, I think. Needs to be much more pleasing to the eye and not confusing. Parts that don't work or are unused need to be tucked away where they won't confuse people. Colors and fonts could be updated. Even the P2PU logo could use some work; the "campus" like feel to it doesn't quite work to me when compared to some other new learning sites. I like functional, simple design of http://help.hackshackers.com/ Another inspiration to consider would be http://openstudy.org, though it borrows too heavily from Twitter design. Also, IRC feels like a throwback; another integrated chat tool that resembles what people are used to now might be more in order. Don't have specific alternatives to suggest; can IRC interface be designed?
Any other ideas, comments, arguments…?
Thank you very much for letting me participate and give feedback.
Thank you Andria!
Hi Andria,
thanks a lot for your comments, they are very helpful to the P2PU team as well. As for the IRC comments, it is actually an open-source client, so theoretically we could make it look or function any way we wanted - but of course that would take someone willing to do the job :) Any specific gripes with it, or is it more fonts/aesthetics?
Hi Stian,
It's about how fonts/aesthetics affect function. :)
One classmate said it took him three weeks to figure out how it worked. For those of us not raised on IRC (though I remember bulletin board tools from about 1993), it's not visually clear what we're supposed to do with IRC, and where we type in order to chat with others.
Agreed. At the very least a short how-to guide on IRC explaining that you can access via chat clients instead of the browser might have gone a long way to stimulating a healthy conversation in the chat room -- not just during the Ustream broadcast, but all the time.
Oh, and the captchas? Ugly, almost unusable. But good that there is audible alternative.
I think that the better tool has been the e-mail group, but i am not speak English, so It is normal... I can read it and few to few I am getting understand withouth translating it... I think that I could have learn very much withouth that "problem",...
I am really interesting on this course, and perhaps it isn´t visible hear, but in my blog i have been writting about digital journalism and the future of news... using some course´s links.
That´s my opinion, i have used only this way of communication and i have learned very much considering all, but my case is particular, i suppose...
Hi Francisco,
it would be great if you put a link to your blog in your profile. You might have mentioned the address somewhere here, but it's a lot easier if we can find it just by clicking on your name.
• What is the reason why you are taking this course?
I have recently launched an e-Magazine but I do not have a media background or experience. I have been learning about this field through my network and through internet. When I knew about this course about e-journalism, I was looking forward to participate as it will help me in running my start up.
• Which communication tool(s) do you find most useful and why? (forum,
mailing list, twitter, IRC channel, UStream) What obstacles regarding
technology did you encounter during the course?
All the technology tools used are for sure helpful and useful. The idea to record the lectures and the IRC chat is also good. Sometimes, I receive a huge flow of duplicate information. Sometimes, the sound is not clear.
• Do you find it ok, frustrating, annoying, beneficial... that the
course is open to everyone? Why (if at all) is this value of openness
important for you?
I think it is beneficial to have this flexibility and to learn from people of different backgrounds and experiences.
I believe open learning or informal learning is the future and that it will solve a lot of economic problems not only to developing countries but also to developed countries.
• Should we build on the principles of freedom, openness, sharing,
transparency... when it comes to learning?
Sure. Open education and sharing of educational resources enhances creativity and thus produces more knowledge to the overall community.
• What are the advantages and drawbacks of the type of learning in
this course? Is there something that needs to be changed in the
organization of the course?
There are a lot of advantages: Knowledge sharing, learning from people of different backgrounds and experiences, learning from guest speakers, networking, having access to quality course material, flexibility, not stressful.
In terms of course organization, I would suggest that one of the administrators explains through a 15 mn video session how does the course work and what do participants need to prepare and do during the course. This could be done at the beginning of the first session for instance.
• Any other ideas, comments, arguments…?
In terms of technology, I would suggest to use a learning management system (LMS) rather that a content management system (DRUPAL in our case).
The LMS coupled with a unified communication system would will solve the problem of redundancy and offer a better learning experience.
There are open source solutions that can be used but there are also paid for solutions that could be considered through sponsorship for instance.
What is the reason why you are taking this course?
To learn more about trends in the industry I work in, hear from experts and look for ways to improve both the way I report and the way organizations I am employed by present news.
Which communication tool(s) do you find most useful? (forum, mailing list, twitter, IRC channel UStream…) What obstacles regarding technology did you encounter during the course?
The forum. To be honest, using so many communication tools is a little confusing. It's easy to miss conversations, mails etc.
Do you find it ok, frustrating, annoying, beneficial... that the course is open to everyone? Why (if at all) is this value of openness important for you?
I found it highly beneficial, but think we are all on unsteady ground when talking about the new openness. For example, many spoke of only presenting a professional persona when online etc. There have been comments I have hesitated to make (and some have been left unsaid) because of the openness.
Should we build on the principles of freedom, openness, sharing, transparency... when it comes to learning?
I have no idea. I think yes, but there are a lot of problems. If students (particularly younger ones) are on record saying something in what is supposed to an academic environment, there are clearly risks of people avoiding giving honest opinions etc. I would hate to have had some of my seminars on record as a philosophy major at university.
What are the advantages and drawbacks of the type of learning in this course? Is there something that needs to be changed in the organization of the course?
Communication seems to be the main challenge. and a lot of the appeal is that the seminars are recorded and so give flexibility. But at the same time, I've only really worked properly with Rick during the course. Most importantly though, I would say, is setting up some sort of failsafe system for communication between admin/teachers and the students.
Any other ideas, comments, arguments…?
Interesting course.
Thank you for your reply, Richard.
Here are my answers.
1. What is the reason why you are taking this course?
My motivation is primarily because of the research that I’m doing on online learning environments, but I really got very involved in my research because it’s fun. I love to discover all the different social tools, and during the course I learned how to use them. I also like the feeling that this is really going somewhere, imagining all the opportunities offered by this type of free and open learning.
2. Which communication tool(s) do you find most useful and why? (forum, mailing list, twitter, IRC channel, UStream) What obstacles regarding technology did you encounter during the course?
I hate the forums, there is no organization structure there. There should be chapters like Assignments, Updates, Seminars, Projects, Feedback, Other, Useful resources and so on. Threaded discussions are also not very visible. I think this is the most important part of the course and wish that it would be better organized, because sometimes messages get lost. And what’s the point of Dashboard?! It shows every single post, that’s just too confusing.
The mailing list (google group) is ok, but there are too many email notifications from the forums. I know that can be turned off but I wanted to leave it on so I wouldn’t miss anything. Sometimes I receive same messages through the google group as through the forum. I like IRC, although it could be used to a larger extent, not only during the lectures. Could make the IRC log in different format too.
I don’t really see why we had to have a Twitter account as a prerequisite. UStream is cool, it has always been working for me and it’s really great for lectures.
3. Do you find it ok, frustrating, annoying, beneficial... that the course is open to everyone? Why (if at all) is this value of openness important for you?
I love the fact that everyone can participate. If every education would be organized like this, we would be able to educate much more people. It is important for me because it gives me personal freedom to walk away from the course if I don’t find it interesting, there is no pressure and I can get involved as much as I like, from contributing a lot to only lurking.
4. Should we build on the principles of freedom, openness, sharing, transparency... when it comes to learning?
That would be the path to sustainable development. The universities are already supporting different forms of peer learning, and this transparency can be achieved not only through computer mediated education, but also at universities in real life. Perhaps projects like p2pu have found the easiest path to those principles and I really appreciate that a real university is involved in this particular course. It just shows the open-mindedness of people.
5. What are the advantages and drawbacks of the type of learning in this course? Is there something that needs to be changed in the organization of the course?
Advantages: Peer building, assessment and feedback. The diversity of this class helps to see things from different perspectives, express opinions and debate on topics. We are using each other’s knowledge and information for learning, not only some text written resources.
Drawbacks: You have to be technology savvy. I have in mind a recent forum post by somebody that didn’t know how to use IRC and couldn’t participate as much as (s)he wanted. We just take some things for granted, but there are definitely some prerequisites needed for following the course.
6. Any other ideas, comments, arguments…?
I am definitely going to take more courses at p2pu in the future and I really wish that they would represent a new model of online education for people who can’t afford university education.