apcampbell

The purpose of this course was to introduce a group of five university
students to the practice of personal webpublishing. They
were given a weblog, asked to propose a plan for its use. Weekly meetings were held to discuss issues relevant to the practice, such as how to use
the software (Manila) to link, comment, and trackback; and how
to incorporate the use RSS, aggregators, and tools like Feedster and Technorati to gain better access to learning resources and people outside the group. Evaluations were qualitative and triangulated (self, peer, and tutor).

The first half of the semester was primarily spent learning about weblogs, how to use the software, and how to formulate good habits of linking and commenting. The second half was driven by the concept of building a Personal Learning Community (PLC) to support the work centered around each learner’s self-defined purpose. This involved learning to use an aggregator and search tools to find and subscribe to relevant RSS feeds, while making attempts to incorporate those resources into their work. In this way, learners would transcend the traditional boundaries of the institution by interacting with people in personally meaningful ways.

Was our attempt successful? To the extent that learners recognized the possiblities afforded by personal webpublishing and the tools that support its practice, yes. To the extent that learners were successful at building PLCs, no. I think the main reason for this was that they were not given enough time to accomplish it. I think it was a mistake to wait so long (Week 9) to introduce aggregators and RSS to the learners. What I should have done was give them pre-seeded aggregators on the first day of class and show them how to find and subscribe to new feeds. This would have facilitated their induction much quicker. The whole semester should have been spent building PLCs to support each learner’s needs.

The real litmus test of success in this case, however, lies in whether or not the learners continue blogging after the course is finished. That is how we will know whether or not personal webpublishing has tapped into a learner’s intrinsic motivation. In this course, we’ve learned a way, a habit, a behaviour; not a predefined set of knowledge. To continue walking this path is a conscious decision on the part of each learner, one which encourages a greater degree of autonomy and self-direction to be exercised.