John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

I USTREAMED YOUR USTREAM: NOW THAT'S A TWITTER OF AN IDEA!

As someone who is used to giving over a hundred talks each year and whose blog is titled TravelinEdMan, my schedule in early November 2007 was part of a routine I had come to expect. First, there was a trip to Washington, D.C., to present some of the ideas for this book at the University of Maryland, followed by a presentation at a public health conference in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center a couple of hours later. I flew home the next morning only to return a few days later for a similar sequence of events; this time to keynote a disabilities-related conference, followed by a talk at Northern Virginia Community College, which my friend Nantana Wongtanasirikul had arranged.

As that session ended, a couple of monitors two feet behind me switched from my presentation slides to my Monday night Web 2.0 graduate class back at Indiana University (IU). Within seconds I could view my students back in their Indiana classroom from this classroom in northern Virginia via free Internet-based videoconferencing. They presented to me and I to them. It was the Internet2 at its finest. I could attend a conference in D.C. all day and not miss my class back at IU. In a couple of hours, I thought to myself, I would get a break.

This time I would get a day at home before traveling to the Atlanta Convention Center for a set of four talks at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GAETC). Flying back from D.C. the second time, however, I realized two things: first, my personal gas tank was close to "E" for "essentially out of energy," and second, I was not yet ready for any of the talks in Atlanta. Fortunately, I had an entire day to prepare. Atlanta was a one-day affair-soar in on a nonstop flight from Indianapolis in the early morning, deliver my four talks in succession, and then fly back that night. I hoped to sleep on the plane each way.

Needless to say, GAETC was a grueling experience. By the time I got to my fourth and final talk that afternoon in Atlanta, I was pretty well spent. Worse, the conference organizers had asked me to synthesize the key points of my three earlier talks that afternoon in this final "best of" talk that would likely be my most dreadful talk of the year. I had fifteen minutes to catch my breath and refocus. When I returned, I made a mental list of the challenges I faced-a relatively small crowd, my body was dragging, I had extremely sore feet from making the mistake of wearing brand-new shoes, my vocal cords were about used up, and I was just about out of the free prizes that I could toss to the crowd to distract them.

Could it be worse? Yes. I quickly found out how bad things could get. Just as I was pondering what to do, Vicki Davis, a teacher from Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia, decided to plop herself down in the second row. Her selected location was right in front of where I would be presenting and just behind my suite of remaining props and prizes. I had heard about her popular blog, "The Cool Cat Teacher," but we had never met before. I thought to myself, "Oh man, now I am going to be blogged to the world by the Cool Cat Teacher. I am toast, I am really toast! I am not ready for this." Then Vicki decided to go for the jugular and said, "Do you mind if I Ustream your talk?" "Ustream?" I asked "What is that?" Vicki politely smiled and replied, "It is a way to broadcast your talk on the Internet. And it is a free service. People who cannot attend your `best of' talk will be able to see it." I soon found out that anyone with a Webcam and an Internet connection could create a Ustream account and broadcast his or her captured events to an unlimited audience. Music, talk shows, sports, politics, meetings, speeches, and special gatherings-it is all there in Ustream.

When she finished describing it, Vicki added, "Oh, and I will Twitter it as well." Now Twitter I had heard of but had yet to see anyone actually use it. With Twitter, friends can sign up to receive updates on activities automatically through e-mail, instant messaging, and the Twitter Web site. Social networking tools and resources like Twitter enable people to quickly connect and share information-the maximum length of posts is 140 characters-with those who have similar ideas, backgrounds, and interests. I realized that people used Twitter to let others know what they are doing or thinking at any given moment during a day. People might note that they are "off to the library," "cleaning the fish tank ... let me know if you want to help!" or "drowning in a grant proposal." Often such short posts are made through a mobile phone. Vicki was about to let her entire Twitter subscriber network know that she would be Ustreaming my talk. When done, she was going to write a blog-post reflection about my performance that would likely be read by thousands of her blog subscribers and casual browsers. Now, here was one connected teacher!

Given all that, it took just a few seconds to say, "Sure, go for it." I now realized that having my talk on Ustream would make my audience unknowable and perhaps much larger than any audience I had had all year. Things were looking up or at least becoming much more interesting. My body quickly went from butt-dragging tired to highly inspired. I decided to muster all the remaining energy I had for this final talk and leave no regrets. Why not, I was being Ustreamed to a live audience-potentially to the entire connected world, which is over one billion humans! To up the ante even more, those who later read her Blogger post might watch the saved file in Ustream. Within mere minutes, people around the world who received Vicki's announcement on Twitter were logging in to see the show. To my amazement, my colleague, Dr. Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University, was saying hello to me and relaying questions through Vicki. Dodge, the inventor of the now famous WebQuest activity, is someone you want to have answers for. When Vicki casually let me know that Bernie was watching my talk via the Web, it was yet another layer of pressure and a simultaneous shot of adrenaline.

I soon found out that one of my IU students, Jennifer Maddrell, was also tuning in. At the time, Jennifer was working on a master's degree in our distance program in Instructional Systems Technology. She was also a cohost of the weekly Webcast show Edtechtalk, which features the latest news from the world of educational technology to improve teaching and learning around the globe. She got wind of the Ustream event while attending a conference in New York City and sent a warm message to Vicki for me as well. After the event, Jennifer sent me an e-mail titled, "You Ustreamer!" Then she said, "I was Ustreaming from a conference in New York, when I saw a Tweet [a post to a Twitter account] from Vicki Davis in Twitter that she was Ustreaming YOU! So, at my conference we Ustreamed us watching your Ustream. Cool ..." Yes, how cool was that? One of my students was watching me present on a topic she was interested in, but it was not during a class at IU. She was not even in the audience for my conference talk. Instead, at the exact same moment my talk was given, she was in a session at an entirely different conference in a city 850 miles away; yet she still could benefit from my presentation as it was happening.

"Ustream a Ustream," I think to myself. Wow. There must be thousands of educational uses for just this one tool. The world of education is opening up before our eyes. And it is truly open and much of it is now free! With Ustream, or some other system, we could bring education and technology leaders from around the globe together for a live event addressing serious issues such as Internet access, the digital divide, and the cost of textbooks. As Live Aid and Farm Aid concerts did in the 1980s and 1990s to help farmers keep their farms, with such resources we could gain global attention and support for education resource and technology needs in different Third World countries or regions of the world. We might name it "Live Ed" and include the best education thinkers and activists from around the planet. It is worth a thought. Okay, who will start Live Ed?

There are so many Web technologies today that, if we combined them, they could extend and amplify the learning possibilities for anyone with an Internet connection. According to Vicki Davis, "We live in a place where we may be streamed, captured, photographed, filmed, and `snagged' at any time and at any place. It is the publication of our lives like we've never seen before and it opens up opportunities for many of us!" She goes on to tell me that many of the things I crave already exist. There is a wiki page of all educator Ustreams called EdTV. There are online conferences for those who cannot attend live ones such as the K-12 Online Conference. And, if I am still not convinced, she says there is a space on the Web for discussions of issues on K-12 education called Classroom 2.0 Live Conversations that has some eight thousand members. For those wanting to know where technology in education makes a difference, these sites are surely inspirational. For the time being, however, the notion of someone "Ustreaming my Ustream" will remain novel enough to motivate me when speaking on an empty tank!

THE WEB OF LEARNING

Do you have a favorite place to visit for a vacation? I know of a place more than a billion earthlings have already visited and vow to come back to. Given that you selected this book, I am wagering that you already have been there and quickly became engrossed in the stunning landscapes that surrounded you. A casual tourist, perhaps? Or maybe you are an expedition leader or field guide on a return visit. No matter what your role or purpose, it is a place you want to come back to again and again for nostalgic reasons as well as for the exciting and timely new explorations that are possible.

Most readers will already recognize that what I am talking about is the "Web of Learning." It is a somewhat magical or mystical place where teaching and learning never end. Unlike traditional stand-and-deliver classes, the sun never truly sets in the world of online learning. Fortunately, the hearty explorer will find that the lights rarely flicker or fade in the Web of Learning.

Sure, you can assume the role of teacher or learner when in the Web of Learning. But you can also be a learning escort, concierge, coach, media designer, planner, or anything you really want to be to facilitate your own learning or that of others. And if such responsibilities do not fit your style, there are hundreds of additional roles or avatars to select from or personally create. So why not partake in it? It is a gigantic learning party that is happening each and every day. And this is one party you do not want to miss! Most of the time, you do not even need an invitation; instead, the invitation to learn exists at a mouse click.

Once you arrive, you will discover that you are not simply using the Web of Learning; instead, like the Borg in the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation, you are now a part of it. Your actions-contributions, reactions, comments, and designs-have been assimilated into the corpus or being of the Web of Learning. What you do there has a chance to influence any learner or education professional anywhere on this planet, and someday in this century, with the arrival of interplanetary coaching and mentoring, your contributions will be felt far beyond planet earth. If you post your learning activities or practice tests to the Web of Learning, learners in other geographic regions of the world can use them in preparing for their examinations or in checking their understanding on a topic.

Language and culture are, of course, valid concerns. As machine translation devices increase in accuracy and usability, though, your resources can be quickly converted for those not familiar with your particular language. In addition, they can be modified and adapted by a savvy instructor teaching learners who are younger, older, or less or more experienced than your own. Equally important, opportunities to bridge cultural differences arise when instructors share their ideas with other instructors. But is this Web of Learning spinning out of control? Some would say definitely yes. Others might further contend that Internet technologies need extensive revamping and upgrading to be ready for the proliferating uses in education that now appear on the horizon.

When I ask audiences where online learning is beneficial, a common response is "everywhere." Although one would not exactly call this an intellectually deep answer, there is some merit to it. The branches of the "Web of Learning" extend into all types of learning settings, both formal and informal. My friend Jay Cross, who coined the term e-learning, has written in depth on the informal learning avenues that are not only more available via this Web of Learning but are now required to survive. Learning can be a spontaneous, on-demand decision in a community of learners who are making daily pilgrimages to the Web of Learning for casual insights. It can also be more thoughtfully and purposefully designed.

The Web of Learning impacts younger and older learners. Sometimes this happens simultaneously, as when retired workers and nursing home residents mentor primary school children, or vice versa, when well-wishing youngsters send hellos and encouragement to those in fairly lonely nursing home care. Though still controversial, there are applications of online learning that illustrate its relevance with extremely young children in preschool and primary school settings involving reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. And in college and university settings, there are millions of freshmen in biology and chemistry courses conducting online experiments, senior students in accounting preparing for chartered examinations with online resources, graduate students in law school debating court cases, and music majors across a range of course levels practicing their music, hearing how instruments sound as they age, and listening to historical recordings of experts. At the same time, professionals in the workplace, such as engineers, human resource personnel, accountants, and customer service representatives, are continually upgrading their skills when needs arise and when time permits. And they are choosing to do so online.

The Web of Learning is part of a personal as well as professional lifestyle. Brothers can share the results of their online learning with brothers, sisters with aunties, and moms with dads. Sure, some of it may be strange and curious facts or funny stories, but there are learning lessons in there nonetheless. Personal and professional friend networks pop up in Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and LinkedIn, to share one's ideas, connections, and current events. What is clear is that this Web of Learning extends to all age groups, all walks of life, and learners in all corners of the world and beyond.

If the Web of Learning had existed in 1950 to enhance the learning possibilities and ultimately the competencies of just one learner on the planet, we would have still considered it transformative, albeit in an extremely small way. This one learner would likely have been paraded around as some type of learning prodigy or spectacle. He or she would have been Time magazine's Person of the Year.

But the Web of Learning has done much more than that. The cat is truly out of the bag. During the past decade, millions of people have taken and completed at least one online course. Millions more are enrolled and participating in an online course at this very moment. The Web of Learning has changed the learning potential of those in every country of the planet from Antarctica to Zambia. There is no denying that your own learning potential has dramatically changed with access to it. And with this sudden opening of potential come new learning accomplishments, jobs, success stories, and goals. We are witnessing a massive uncovering of human potential.

What will someone find in this Web of Learning? At first glance, there are tools for learning at deeper levels as well as skimming or browsing possibilities. With some resource guidance and support, you will quickly come upon a sea of educational tools, resources, and objects, each vying for your attention and later use. Some pop up to smack you squarely in the face, whereas others take more subtle routes to getting your attention, but may do so repeatedly until it happens. Notices of podcasted events on nearly any topic imaginable, online conferences and virtual meetings, lifelike simulations, intriguing virtual worlds, and online games are soon found. But there is more. There is always more! There are cultural and historical databases and timelines of information related to long since departed civilizations. There are links to digital resources from online museums and libraries documenting the birth and death of such cultures. And there are portals of learning resources and centers devoted to these particular cultures and people. Further, community-developed resources-such as wikis, which any person on this planet could design or contribute to-can further support, extend, and even transform what is known about that culture. What a diverse array of resources-and each of them can be thoughtfully integrated into a particular course or across a series of them.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The World Is Open by Curtis J. Bonk Copyright © 2009 by Curtis J. Bonk. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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