Don't you worry, don't you worry child. #RHIZO14

Rhizo14 Week 3 Topic: Embracing Uncertainty

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"Up on the hill across the blue lake,
That's where I had my first heart break
I still remember how it all changed
My father said
Don't you worry, don't you worry child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now"

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I'm a worrywart. Or so I used to be.

I'm an over thinker. As my friends would always tell me.

I think too much, they say.

"You need to relax", Oh I've heard it oh so many times.

I always response with "I know."

It's probably one of the reasons that I blog. I like to literally "transfer" my thoughts from my mind to paper. Sometimes, when my mind is so chaotic that I don't know what to do next... I write.. and I keep on writing.. letting the fingers type my thoughts away... and after putting it all on paper, I close my notebook (or my tablet) and let the thoughts stay there so I could go on with my day. It works for me. And when I'm on the right state of mind, I can look back on what I wrote and see it on a much saner perspective.

You can see in my blog's side bar, a photo. The Four Agreements. Reading the book changed my life. I have less worries now (can't say I've removed it all). But I'm happier. I am embracing uncertainty.

You can see in my About Me description (I just recently had the courage to fill that up), that I mentioned I was in a "quarter-life crisis" during my early 20's. This kind of crisis that I don't want to expound about right here in my academic blog (you can just google about it to know more what I'm saying).

But much of the quarter-life crisis revolves around uncertainties. Am I supposed to be where I currently am? Am I in the right career path? Where am I going to be years from now?  Is this what I really want to do? For the many years ever since I decided to take my masters program in learning and teaching, I was in limbo. What do I really want to do? I want education... I want to work in a school... but I don't want to teach... what will I teach?... I probably will teach eventually... I don't want to teach in a traditional sense... I don't know what to teach.. my major is educational psychology, unlike others who are more specialized with English, Math, Science, among others. All this "searching of self" so I stopped studying.

I came back to school when I figured out my life plan. It was carefully planned out with a timeline and all. Had estimated my year of graduation and planned out other things I will be doing in life. But early 2013 drastic changes in my personal life had happened. My plans in life had to change. And there I was back in a limbo again. The song "Don't you worry child" helped soothe me.

I kept telling myself, "Everything will fall into place".

I have a quote posted in my room "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

All through these years, I have been mastering embracing uncertainty. I should probably get a degree on that now.

Every time a person asks me what my future plans are, I tell them what I would like to do as of the moment and then also say, "but you know... plans change".

We have to be prepared for these changes.

I always tell my friends "the world is round".

This is a metaphor saying, that today you may be on top... but tomorrow, you may be at the bottom.

We have to prepare ourselves.

We need to equip ourselves with "survival skills" just in case things don't go on as the way we initially planned or expected. We have to learn to expect the unexpected.

My friends always say, I am a strong person.. that they can't believe I could handle such things and that I haven't broken down... that I am a tough cookie. But deep inside, they don't know that the warrior is a child.

I wasn't born to be a tough cookie... I earned it... or in better words, I learned it.

Shaped by my experiences. My biography. My life.

I learned to embrace uncertainty. More so, I welcome it with open arms.

It is in the unknown we discover things that we never would have thought about.

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This is part 1 of my Week 3 MOOC Assignment for Rhizo14. I haven't really answered Dave's question about learning because I want to ponder first on what I think about the phrase "embracing uncertainty".

I am a fan of this practice as I have explained in my own personal experiences.

I will end this post with the song my dad always sang when I was a kid.

Que Sera Sera ( Whatever will be, will be)

When I was just a little girl,

I asked my mother, "What will I be?

Will I be pretty?

Will I be rich?"

Here's what she said to me:

"Que sera, sera,

Whatever will be, will be;

The future's not ours to see.

Que sera, sera,

What will be, will be."

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*RHIZO14 is the hashtag for the "Rhizomatic Learning" MOOC provided by Dave Cormier via P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University)

Magic Tricks and the Gorilla. #FutureEd #RHIZO14

Before reading the post watch this Magic Trick Video.

Enforcing Independence and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. #RHIZO14

I have been purposely delaying my blog post regarding the Week 2 topic from #Rhizo14 class. Although when I first saw it, I told myself it's a good topic and probably so many things to talk about. But I wasn't putting much thought on it recently. Not sure if I just didn't want to think for the past few days or because I don't know where to start talking about enforcing independence on students. 

I'm still adjusting to this whole Rhizomatic Learning thing because up to now, I still don't know what a Rhizome is.. And the little voice in my head still keeps pronouncing it as "Rheeeezome" .. (See, there it goes again!!)

Not Rheezome, stupid little voice in my head, IT'S Rhayyyyzome. lol. I feel like a toddler learning words or more like, Hermione teaching me how to properly pronounce a hex. But it's nice to learn new things eh? Things that you have absolutely no idea about? Learning to learn, relearn, and unlearn? All I'm getting from observing people's conversations are key words and key phrases like: putting chaos into order, community is the curriculum...

What do you mean community is the curriculum???? I wonder if I answered this during my curriculum development course in 2012, my professor would probably say I'm being too philosophical. I tried reading blog posts about Rhizomatic Learning but I think I just got confused as ever. (I wish I new about Rhizome before though, it's a wonderful topic to bring up in class and confuse everybody...in confusion we learn.)

While reading the blogs, what ACTUALLY came into my mind is that I've always had been careful of putting my real and full name scattered all over the internet, especially when I graduated college and realized that my career will be in the academe. (The fear of students googling you.) But recently with all these academic networking, I see a lot of people are actually using their own names too (Well, I think it's their real name) and it's actually nice to recognize the names of these people, when I hop into one blog to another and from one social network to another. 

It's really how you use these internet tools responsibly. And by surrounding myself with these professionals, I get to be influenced by how I should use it and talk about things that matter. 

"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about things, great minds talk about ideas."

Sometimes though, I'm scared of what I say because I feel like I talk non-sense and sometimes I feel like I have no idea what's going on. But that's how we grow and learn right? Stepping out of the comfort zone. Dealing with the unknown. Putting yourself out there. Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Things like that. 

Anyway, so how shall I start talking about enforcing independence 

Maybe I could start with a tweet I saw regarding the topic.

Funnehhhh :)

When I saw Dave's syllabus for EDD66 on how he enforced independence. I was both impressed and sad.

Impressed of course because I like to be in this class, although I really didn't get the contract part of grading.

I was sad because I remember my undergraduate Educational Technology classes, wherein we were "taught" using tools. And when final project came, I actually learned more by just googling tutorials. Classes felt so much a waste of my time.

Before I answer Week 2's challenge though, I will include Dave's response to my previous post How Do We Know What Students Need To Learn? - Thanks Dave, no idea why the spotlight suddenly went to me. (Fuzzy feelings). But it does feel like a real learner-centered classroom now where the students are "navigating" the learning experience. Wouldn't be making this video if I didn't come to class, eh? #betterlatethannever :) 

*blush*

Although, Dave, I have to, uh... Listen to your video again and again (even though I still hate hearing my name.. So weird that somebody I personally don't know talking to me :P). 

Kinda having some philosophical something something in my head that's cloudy and I can't even describe it.

Does this mean, we can never know what students need to learn? 

So... We'll just, let them... Do... The choosing? 

You mean there's no answer?!? Lol 

I think I'm having an "Ohhhhhhhhh" moment here. Like, ohhhhhh.. So that's what community is the curriculum is? Shouldn't it be... The community chooses the curriculum? 

I think this is the "The Balance of Power" as far as being learner-centered is concerned, like negotiating the syllabus and allowing students to propose changes. Dave's EDD66 syllabus reminds me of Weimer's strategy in her communication class. She listed a lot of tasks that the students can accomplish in class, but only ONE task was mandatory (which was they had to give a speech, since it was communication class). Everything else, the students had the choice if they were to do it or not (they can even skip the class if the schedule for that day was not their option). Each task had corresponding points though, so it was up to the student to choose the task as long as they are able to add up and reach the certain number of points equivalent to the grade they desire. 

With regards to assigning points... I can't currently expound on the idea how you "decide" the weight of the points... That is actually one question my classmates have brought up during group study when we talked about assessment. For a rubric example, what is the basis for giving a certain % weight for a certain criteria? And for quizzes, what is the basis that 7/10 is the passing cut off? That..... is part of learner-centered assessment I have yet to ponder about. I know the answer is there somewhere, but I have to search within the file cabinets of ze brain. We can negotiate it with the class to democratically decide what is the passing grade though. But... is everything just going to be negotiated? 

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Moving on... 

I will again try to relate Week 2's questions with my review of comprehensive exam because I have NOT been studying for the past few days. My mind has been floating recently. I wish my exams are over. This is prolonging THE agony. Also, I don't want to end up writing rhizomes on my Compre essays :)) I might not be able to articulate and justify it well on my exams.

Question #1 How do we create a learning environment where people must be responsible?

When I read Weimer's syllabus (as mentioned above and only remembered it as I reflected on community as curriculum), it made me think that her strategy is actually a learning environment where her students must be responsible. Responsible to choose whatever task they should be accomplishing, as well as responsible to keep track and compute their grades so that they can reach the cut off for their desired grade. Although, she had mentioned one experience where there was a student who STILL failed her class because the student didn't know that he didn't reach the cut off. "If I knew I lacked points, I would have done more", the student says. So she started to ask herself, should she have given student reminders on what their current points are, mid-semester? She had assumed that students should have been responsibly tracking down their points on their own. 

So I guess it's a trial and error thing. You figure things out as you implement it semester after semester. Her strategy to "choose whatever you want to do and participate in" actually does enforce students to be independent. 

Weimer also points out that there is also that resistance to change. Because our students are used to a system where the teacher decides for themselves, they get surprised when you give them freedom and choice. And surprisingly, given the freedom... they resist. They are used to being dependent. But since we are enforcing them to be independent, how much responsibility should we be expecting from our students? 

The question the underlies here though, is the developmental level of our students. How much freedom can our students take? Do we let them figure it out on their own? Like that of the student who failed because he didn't track his points. We can easily say, "ah he should have known". But that's why we reflect on such things because we want to avoid such things happening again and again. 

Question #2 How do we assure ourselves that learners will self-assess and self-remediate?

I guess, this is related to the scenario above. How can we assure that our students are conscious about their progress? This answers the question if we should remind them of their midterm status. Maybe "remind" shouldn't be the word, because it sounds like making them dependent. We can disseminate the information somewhere, "inform" them about it and again it will be the responsible of the student to inform themselves of their status. That, then may allow themselves room to self-assess and self-remediate their performance. 

This goes in hand with "The purpose of evaluation" in learner-centered teaching. As I've mention in previous posts Weimer's LC "the purpose of evaluation" is 1) promoting learning and 2) promoting self & peer assessment. Focusing on learning process and allowing students the opportunity to revised their work instead of focusing on assigning grades and moving on to the next task.

Giving emphasis in the learning process than merely attaining a specific grade (I'm fully aware of this, yet I myself am still grade conscious. although to be fair, I am both performance & mastery goal oriented.. So it's not just all grades that matter to me), that should help us give somewhat assurance that the students will self-asses and self-remediate. If we point out that we don't care about the grades and we are emphasizing the learning process... Wait, I just already said that. I guess I'm just emphasizing that we should focus on the learning process and not the grades. (oops, there I go repeating it again)

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*RHIZO14 is the hashtag for the "Rhizomatic Learning" MOOC provided by Dave Cormier via P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University)

How do you know what students need to learn? #RHIZO14

Mr. Dave Cormier raised me a question via twitter. Actually, two questions.

Literally scratched my head...

Here I am, reading and discussing with my gradschool classmates about Learner-Centered Teaching and the question posed to me made me stop and say... "Good question". Am I really qualified to earn the degree on being a "Master" in Learning in Teaching? heh.. These questions ARE related to learning & teaching.

I raised these questions to my gradschool classmates and told them that even if it wasn't about our comprehensive examination review topics, we should try to answer the questions on our own to prepare ourselves in practicing taking an exam. Exercise some critical thinking and test-taking skills.

Tests bring out all sorts of emotions, anxiety, pressure. I myself hate taking exams. The reason I loved college because my undergraduate degree barely didn't have final examinations. Most of my courses required research outputs or other types of paper work. I remember during finals week, my block would run wild and free while the rest of the university was stressing on reviewing notes and feeling all the anxiety.

There's something about exams that give me anxiety, probably the pressure of sitting in a chair for a couple of hours and forcing ourselves to create and squeeze out information from our minds. With the pressure of being "graded". I should probably take advantage of my excessive talking, rationalizing and over-thinking as an advantage for my compre. *Metacognition in the process here*

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How do you know what the students should learn? 

After much thought, I realized this is in relation to Maryellen Weimer's "Function of Content". How do we know which content to remove in our syllabus and which ones should stay? She stresses that in the practice of Learner-Centered teaching, we should "use" content to promote learning and not to focus too much on "covering" it. In Teacher-Centered instruction, the focus of teachers is always on covering all the topics which results to competing with time and compromising the learning experience of the students.Which leads us back to the question, how then do we know what the students should learn?

I'm going to go into the practice of using Grant Wiggin's Understanding by Design. In UbD, the whole idea is to start with the "desired results". At the end of your topic or unit or semester, what is your desired result? The guide question in UbD asks "What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?"

It begins with... Students will independently use their learning to....

This practice is helpful because you're able to think of a standard that students should be able to do and it should be long-term. The "big" picture. What do you want students to be able to do? This gives purpose in what you are doing. It's like a Mission-Vision thing. Remember the saying "Vision without mission is merely a dream, mission without vision just passes the time. Vision with mission can change the world"

Your desired result is your vision. If you don't have a vision... then your just "passing the time".

So when you already have a desired result... you go down to asking, "In order to achieve the desired result, what should they understand?

Students will understand that...

As well as thinking, "In order to achieve the desired result, what essential question should be always raised?"

Students will keep considering...(in question format).


And then, we go into identifying "What knowledge and skills do students need to have in order to achieve the desired results?"

Students will know...
Students will be skilled at...

When you have identified all these... it will be easier for you to think of "learning activities & learning assessments" - and there you would incorporate the various teaching and instructional and assessment practices. Hopefully, your practices aren't teacher-centered because remember Weimer's advice... Use content to promote learning, not cover it. Your learning activities and assessments should be aligned with what you have identified above. What should students know? What skills should they develop? That is the whole point of identifying those things, to serve as a guide.

I guess.. to give a short answer from Dave's question "How do you know what students to need to learn?" - You first think of what your desired result is. Your vision, so that you're not just "passing the time".

Do they all need to learn the same things?

I think the key word here is "need". Well, no, they don't need to know the same things but I guess they all need to know the basics. The things you have identified under "knowledge & skills". Some will definitely learn more than others. As long as they all achieve the desired results, then I think you've achieved success - you have achieved your vision. 

So again, it all boils down to your "desired results". 

What is your vision?

Kinda like a lot about life huh? It all starts with a dream.

***updated: A comment in Rhizo14 facebook group mentioned something about the common core standards, in Understanding By Design, it actually starts with "unpacking" the standards... I just didn't discuss it here because I was thinking of learning as a whole (not restricting myself with formal education) - like seminars maybe, or MOOCs :) ***

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On a personal note: This is so crazy. I'm collaborating with PhDs and professors from other parts of the world. And here I am, an overstaying M.A. student who just overcame the "quarter-life" career crisis. They are out of my league. But I feel like I have tons of mentors where I can learn from.

I do have a habit of extending myself and reaching out to people. I have this inner drive thinking I can do more than what is expected. I remember during my undergraduate year (2006), for our first research course I contacted a guy who worked on test anxiety and he mailed me stuff via postmail! manuscripts and even a copy of his instrument (for freeeee). He was Charles D. Spielberger. I was so delighted as an 18 year old having contact a busy person from abroad and was helping me out, a mere undergrad. I wasn't publishing or anything, we were just going to do a simple research as partial completion of our course subject. Hmmm... I should definitely try contacting him again, last time I talked to him I told him I was taking masters. lol I should probably tell him "well... I'm still taking it" ha. But he was one of those key people in my undergraduate experience that made me more enthusiastic about educational research. - ohh maybe Dr. Spielberger has twitter :)))

And now, I've finally found what my key interest is and it basically falls under online learning (or e-learning, still need to decide on that). And I'm finding more and more people to draw inspiration from. Mr. Dave (and his wife, Ms. Bonnie) to begin with. I kinda figured out in the long run that they were a couple. And I think I find it cute because they both share the same interest. It's always nice that you have somebody to talk to that can relate with what you're talking about. Sometimes, when I'm with my friends.. I think if they were honest enough they would tell me "Toni, stop talking about your research and your MOOCs because we have no idea what you are talking about and we also don't give a damn." Well, I think that's what they are thinking. So as a result, I try not to talk to them so often. Don't wanna bore them to death. :D

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*RHIZO14 is the hashtag for the "Rhizomatic Learning" MOOC provided by Dave Cormier via P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University) 

Related Post Re: examinations see previous post on Cheating is a Skill: Redefining Cheating & Thoughts on Learner-Centered Assessment =)

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***updated: OMG!!!!!!!! I typed Charles Spielberger on twitter in hoping to reconnect with him and turns out he died LAST YEAR June 12, 2013 (see link) I feel so sad!!!!!!! And I wasn't even able to update him to tell him the "good" news that I'm almost... finishing my masters... (Though he'll probably say, What took you so long, dear?)

BUT THIS IS SUCH. sad sad sad news :( 

R.I.P Dr. Charles D. Spielberger.. Thank you for mailing me a free copy of your Test Anxiety instrument which gave birth to my love and enthusiasm with educational psychology research. 

Cheating is a Skill: Redefining Cheating & Thoughts on Learner-Centered Assessment #RHIZO14

I think I can justify putting time & thoughts on the first topic for Rhizomatic Learning MOOC.

Cheating as Learning.

This week, my focus on my comprehensive exam review is all about on Learner-Centered Assessment. 

**Side Note: I realized it's a good thing I joined this MOOC course (even if I'm a week late) because the "host" of this MOOC party is the person who "coined" the word MOOC itself. Don't know how that helps with my comprehensive exam but, I like the feeling I'm globally involved.

My thoughts on Cheating As Learning.

Last year, I joined a MOOC in Coursera on "Video Games and Learning" and there was a topic on "Learning as Cheating the Game". This implied that players who "cheat" in the games they play, also needs to learn how to cheat the game in the first place. When we cheat, we also learn. Or rather.. when we "learn" something (like a new strategy, or a new technique), we are "cheating" the game.

In that MOOC, there was a professor who made a practice to "encourage" her students to "cheat the class". She makes her students form into groups and asked them to talk on "How can you cheat this class?"

What the students came up with were reading strategies, identifying common questions professors will asks, what aspects they should be prepared for, focusing early on things for the final paper.

Cheating. for me. is basically. a skill...

(much like academic procrastination for me is also a skill, it was my undergraduate thesis but I won't discuss that here... I've move on with that part of my life :P)

In one of the MOOCs I also took last year via Coursera, a MOOC on Social Psychology. There was a topic that words are actually just constructs to organize things. Words are just ways to "categorize" our thinking. (which leads to prejudice, but I won't talk about that here either).

My point is just that, we need to define "Cheating" as well as there are also different definitions for "Academic Success".

Cheating As Learning.

Students, find it "unfair" when other students cheat and yet they get the same "results". But when we think of the construct "unfair", it just basically means... "Man, I hope I was that person." These students who "cheat" knew something that couldn't be read in the text books. Hustlers, I could refer them. In high school, I used to sit beside a "hustler" and I was the student who barely had experience cheating in exams. But to my luck, there was this one math exam that I really really had no idea about (probably calculus). In that certain exam... HE had the answers!!! (dunno how he got it, but he's got connections)... Of course I was very very nervous because in principle, I was doing a "bad" thing.. I was being a BAD student. But I was one of those people very thankful to have "cheated". I needed to cheat.. to pass the exam.

I am not saying I encourage students to cheat during exams BUT...
It's really a matter of defining the word "cheating". 

This would be a good thesis topic eh?

If we define cheating as "copying answers from somewhere else" then it goes back then to the assessment practices, WHY do students cheat?

There I was, a good student who typically studies instead of "asking seatmates" for answers. But I succumb to cheating. Hustler students are not selfish of sharing answers because they've been there in the situation where you don't know the answer but need to pass. I was lucky to be sitting beside a hustler, instead of a really bright student. Most bright students don't like sharing their answers because for them "you should have studied well" and it is unfair for them because they poured "hard work" in studying, so why would they just "give" the answers away? And most bright students, don't share answers because they don't want to take the "risk" of getting caught. They weren't used to this practice. They didn't have the "skill" to be a cheater.

I was the middle student. Wasn't a hustler, neither was I the very bright student.
I have yet to thank that hustler for that moment. It was a student experience that I still cherish until now.

It's not breaking the rules unless you're caught right? hmmm...

But if teachers allow it, then it's a whole different story.

Thus the practice of "open book or notes" type exams, "group" exams, "take home" exams.

Open book exams for example, "technically" that is totally CHEATING! That's why students love it when exams are open notes, or take home or collaboration.. it's unconventional and for them it's "breaking the rules" - it's cheating.

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So let's go further on Learner-Centered Assessment practices (Please bare with me, I have to blog about LC too because I also have to focus on this to prepare for my comprehensive examination - so this is my way of "cheating" the exam).

Why do students, cheat? 
Assuming we define cheating as "breaking the rules the teacher imposes".

Then it now boils down to the responsibility of the teacher.
How does the teacher decides the rules? and
How does the teacher choose and design the assessment?

**Side Note: This reminds me of the time a classmate who asked a seatmate for paper and the professor shouted at her "That's Cheating!!" - to think the exam hasn't even started yet!! AND SHE was our BEST performing classmate! Why would she cheat??

Take a chill pill and watch out for you b/p.

This is why as educators we need to learn about Learner-Centered Assessment Practices.

Why do students cheat? - You have to think of the circumstances that you put them into. Every behavior has an explanation. It could be because students don't find the value or relevance of the assessment you are giving them, or it also mean you are imposing a set of rules that is too rigid.

According to Weimer's Learner-Centered Teaching book, one of the purposes of evaluation should promote learning. The other purpose is that it should also provide opportunities for students to develop the skill on self & peer assessment.

So when you give evaluations/assessments, first ask yourself "What is my purpose?"

Teacher-Centered practices have had a habit to use tests as punishments. I know I've had teachers like that. When you've pissed off the teacher or if the class is noisy, the teacher gets mad and gives the class a surprise quiz.

What is your purpose?

The next thing you should also think about when making an assessment is that, "Is my assessment aligned with my goal?" 

YOU DO have a goal right?

Understanding by Design is one of the practices you can use in designing learning units. It lets educators establish goals. And all your activities, lessons AND assessment, aligns with the goal. It is your guide. You don't ask students to submit picture cut outs and put them in a collage just for the sake of having an output. Of course not unless, your "goal" is developing motor skills and learning how to cut and paste (for pre-school teachers I assume).

Going back to Learner-Teaching Assessment, focus your assessments in the learning process and REDUCE student's stress and anxiety related to evaluation experiences. Weimer also states not to use evaluation for "hidden agendas" and to provide more formative feedback. Involve students also in the assessment process by giving them the opportunity to self-assess themselves and assess other peers. These are Learner-Centered practices on assessments.

So when you make rules, do you give demerit to students who come to class without paper? Is your GOAL "teaching students to be responsible by bringing their own paper"? Do you give "plus" points to students with legible hand writing? is your class a penmanship class? These are important notes we should reflect on when it comes to assessments.

This goes to my next point about grades... students are highly motivate by grades. My "cheating" experience in high school was motivated because I did not want to fail. Students cheat if they are pressured to pass. Why do grades matter so much? It's because when teachers give too much emphasis on grades instead of learning.

There are a lot of other Learner-Centered Assessment practices.. (which I should be reading more on right now..) So I have to end my blog post abruptly like this. Lol Sorry. But I pretty much make sense right?

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*RHIZO14 is the hashtag for the "Rhizomatic Learning" MOOC provided by Dave Cormier via P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University)

Better Late Than Never: P2PU #RHIZO14

Earlier this month, I've seen Dave Cormier tweet all about his class at Rhizomatic Learning using P2PU MOOC Platform.

I have no idea why I didn't think of enrolling.

Actually, there are two things (or three, probably) I can think of why.

1) The word Rhizomatic sounds too foreign to me. The word itself cannot bring prior knowledge to gain motivation in engaging myself with it. I know I've read about it and the word comes from the Rhizome plant. BUT the thing is, I don't even know what a Rhizome is... I have not encountered what a Rhizome even looks like (because of this I just started googling for images, but still... no idea what it is). It goes back to learning principles huh? (i.e. motivation, engagement, prior knowledge, effort) But I'm enrolling now, because a lot of the tweeters I am following keep putting hashtags of Rhizo14 and retweeting it. So here I am, joining the bandwagon :) ... Even if whenever I see the word "Rhizo", a picture of a Rhino pops in my head. Might as well join the MOOC class so that I can change my perception that a Rhizo is NOT related to a Rhino (or is it?) ... And maybe I'll finally know what a Rhizome plant is.

2) I didn't enroll in the MOOC because, it's not Coursera. I have no "biases" on platform preference ( or maybe it turns out I do), but I just felt like Coursera is my comfort zone. All the courses I've enrolled in are in just one website. It's like the same case in joining a lot of social networks or downloading a lot of messaging applications. They all serve the same purpose! Why the need to be part of em ALL. Ahh.. but the difference is, coursera isn't offering Rhizomatic Learning. and eeeeverybody is hashtagging #rhizo14 ... I want to be part of the loop :(

and the 3rd reason why I didn't think of enrolling is probably because at the back of my mind I told myself I would be dedicating this entire month on reviewing for my comprehensive examinations which is why recently I'm focusing on Learner-Centered Teaching/Education/Curriculum/Assessment. I WOULDN'T wanna fail my exam right? ... MOOCs can be less priority over REAL brick and mortar schooling (redundancy intended)... right? ..

But here I am... it's what the heart wants.

I just serrrriously need to work on my time management now because next week, my Coursera course on "History and Future of Higher Education" by HASTAC will start. It's a FutureEd initiative that I also still have to read more about. http://www.hastac.org/future-ed. I'm in this course because I typed "education" in Coursera, and clicked "enroll" in ALL courses that popped up. heh...

Like I said, too many things on my plate right now... So my strategy is. I will find out more about it as soon as class starts :D

It's a good thing that my 4th module for the Foundations of Teaching and Learning MOOC classes won't start until February. It's one of those MOOC series I wanted to do continuously as I have mentioned earlier in this blog. It has a series of 8 MOOCs, which started last September 2013 and estimated date to finish is December 2014 (one year.. I know).

So... let's focus on hopping in the Rhizo14 bandwagon shall we?

Better Late Than Never.

I'm posting links below that I should be reading first before jumping into class but, I'm late!!!! so... I'll just post the links here first and get back to this later :D. "Virtually" going to class now as soon as I publish this post and link it to twitter (a must..)

https://p2pu.org/en/courses/882/rhizomatic-learning-the-community-is-the-curriculum/
http://davecormier.com/edblog/2014/01/12/your-unguided-tour-of-rhizo14/
http://www.teachthought.com/learning/rhizomatic-learning-is-a-metaphor-for-how-we-learn/

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*RHIZO14 is the hashtag for the "Rhizomatic Learning" MOOC provided by Dave Cormier via P2PU (Peer 2 Peer University)

Is google making us stupid? #EDCMOOC

Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/

I don't think google is making people stupid. It's opening doors for people to gain information. But to those who do not know how to discern real facts from made up stuff, that should be a problem. Information management is a new skill that people should learn to develop nowadays.

That is why schools should teach students the skill in research and verifying facts so that they don't quickly believe anything they see in the internet.

The article said, that people read less because of the internet.

I on the other hand, have opposite experience.

I barely read when I was younger. I was lazy to read. Too lazy that every time I start reading I doze off. Seriously. I think it's because my brain isn't used to reading, so it falls asleep.

But as I grew older, I got overwhelmed with the kind of knowledge I could pick up because of the internet. Technology has also given me the hobby of reading because now I have tons of e-books in my ipad.

Reading for me is now a hobby.

My good reads account is now filled with accomplished books. And the only reason I wouldn't read a book is because I don't have the time or I have other important priorities. Reading is actually a huge distraction for me now because once I start reading a book, I tend to forget my other responsibilities -_-. It's as if I must finish the book first. That's why I postpone reading a book in a later time when I know I don't have exams or other things I should be doing because I can't stop myself from reading!!

The Learning Commons Approach #EDCMOOC why MOOC discussion forums are a pot of gold

Reading the forum discussions of my Blended Learning: Personalizing Education for Students Mooc, I encountered one thread that mentioned the "learning commons approach" and referencing it to a link about learning commons (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7071.pdf)

What came in my mind was our new university library in our new Henry Sy Building.

An additional building in our university that made our school even more classy and world class. They relocated our library into this new Henry Sy building (obviously donated by Henry Sy), and renamed the library into "The Learning Commons". Our library now had cool couches, lots of private rooms, very spacey, consisted of 3 (or more) floors, lots of computers, gadgets, couches, study desks, study rooms, meeting rooms, I haven't even fully explored it yet but it looked awesome. I thought the name change was just for the sake of making our library sound cool as it looks.

 "The [DLSU] Learning Commons occupies part of the 5th floor, as well as the 6th to the 13th floors of the building. It showcases its indoor gardens, outdoor reading areas, lounges, discussion rooms, meeting/conference rooms, and multipurpose halls and wide-open spaces." - ( quoted from related article: DLSU Library, Now the Learning Commons )

The article merely described what our new library now looks like and the ways we can maximize the "new library", but it did not mention anything why it is now "the learning commons".

Coming across the thread in my MOOC, I discovered that the "learning commons" is a kind of educational approach after all (good to know the rationale about this). The description in the pdf I've linked above is exactly what our new "library" looks like.

All I could think of is WOW. I wouldn't know about this not unless I didn't enroll in MOOCs, moreso, if I did not interact with my MOOC classmates. There is indeed a lot of things you can learn in the discussion forum in MOOCs.

I have finished the requirements of my MOOCs and I have actually allotted this time to browse the discussion forums  (which I never had time before because I was too busy trying to catch up with the mooc deadlines and requirements)

Discovering what the Learning Commons approach is very overwhelming to me because its a kind of information that's not much needed, but good to know. It's more of like a trivia to me.

And I quickly shared it with my graduate school classmates and asked them if they ever wondered why our library was now called the learning commons.

Here are some pictures of our new library i.e. The Learning Commons. (Pictures taken from the DLSU article )

I have really learned a lot of things in my MOOCs that I wouldn't learn in my graduate school classes. And I'm glad that I enrolled myself in these things (even if I did over-enroll in too many moocs).

Like for example, I had a educational technology class in my graduate school program early of 2013 and that was the first time I was introduced in the Blended Learning concept. But I learned more about blended learning by enrolling in this current MOOC. It helps that there is still sort of structure in learning things, rather than just googling for information and you don't even know where to start. My MOOCs help me get some structure for independent learning and provides scaffolds on what kind of new things I wanna learn about.

Plus, the interaction of other people who are interested in the same field or topics that you are also interested in makes the learning even more substantial and the experience is overwhelming. MOOCs are really a very promising innovation and suits well for independent learners like me.

Blended Learning: Personalizing Education for Students (final assignment)

The purpose of this assignment is to “try out” blended learning in a classroom or school setting. You may try one of the methods highlighted during the course so far, try something you’ve seen someone else doing elsewhere, or even try something you’ve been dreaming up and never had an excuse to attempt. 

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During my undergraduate years in studying in the field of education, I have read something about next to church, education is the second institution that remains traditional or is slow in terms of keeping up with the times. There are still people (most likely including my own parents), who think of classroom learning where all the knowledge and information are provided or spoon-fed by the teachers. I can't blame them for thinking that way because there are still a lot of schools (probably majority of them, even) here in the Philippines that are "traditional". Which is also one of the reasons why I seemingly can't find a place for myself.

Change is going to be hard. But changes are also good. They say, that most teachers teach the way how they were taught when they were in school. Now, that poses as a problem. Because times have changed and we need to "keep up with the times."

An innovation I want to propose to the teachers here in the Philippines, is a small change that they will be able to quickly implement realistically and yet will have dramatic effects in student experiences and learning.

Through my readings about online education, I have been introduced to the concept of a "Flipped Classroom". By general definition, a flipped classroom is when students do at home what they usually do in the classroom and they do in the classroom what they usually do at home. Therefore the concept of being "flipped".

I think it all started when Salman Khan of Khan Academy uploaded math tutorial videos for his cousins (watch his TED Talk Video embedded below) and then he received comments from teachers who used his video as supplement in learning Math. Then teachers had given these videos of Khan, as a homework. So that when the students come in school, they can just do the exercises and work on clarifications about the lesson. Lectures, are done at home. And Homework, are done at school. Flipped.

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education

I like this idea because it can be applied in schools immediately. Without the need to buy tablets or rearrange classrooms or renovate the school to adapt with technology supported environment. All the teachers have to do is change their lesson plans and instead of giving worksheets as homework, they can ask students to go to you tube and watch a series of videos. They can learn at their own pace, rewind and pause lectures.

Of course, coming from a third world country, this isn't applicable yet in all schools because some students don't have access to the technology needed. But there are already a lot of schools who can implement this. If some teachers integrate the use of Facebook Groups or Google research in their classrooms, then they can definitely ask students to watch these videos outside the classroom hours.

In addition, I like the idea of a Flipped Classroom because teachers can maximize their classroom time in identifying which of the students are behind the lesson or those who need extra help. In traditional classrooms, most of the time are wasted in lectures. And if a student does not understand the lesson, the tendency of the teacher is to repeat the lecture all over again. This type of traditional teaching leaves little time for actual application of the lesson and the tendency is that "seatworks" generally become homeworks instead. What happens to the student who doesn't understand the lesson? He will go home and struggle in doing his homework. Most students would ask people in their homes for help, but sometimes they also have no idea or have a vague clue.

In a flipped classroom, students will watch lectures in his own time and pace (of course the job of choosing videos that are quality is upon the teacher's judgement and discretion or they may opt to make their own videos if they prefer). Students who still have questions about the concepts or lecture, will then come to class having those questions ready at hand. And the best part is that they will have people who are "experts" on the topic, such as classmates or teacher. Classroom time now is spent mostly on clarification and gaining mastery of the lesson, instead of repetitive lectures. In this scenario, students who are advanced can help classmates who are falling behind. Teachers will have time to give extra attention to struggling students as well.

The role of the teacher here, definitely changes. Instead of doing lectures in the classroom, the teacher becomes a consultant instead. Students learn on their own and consult the teacher if they have clarifications or want to confirm what they have learn from the videos.

Learning of the students become their responsibility. They own their learning because they are independently watching the videos and they become independent learners. They can control the pace their are learning and even opt to search for other sources which can supplement their understanding of the lesson. This flipped classroom technique will teach students that they do independent learning This skill is very important because when students graduate, they wont have teachers to spoon fed information to them anymore. They should develop that skill and habit that they can search for information and learn things on their own.

In this day of age, there is an overwhelming free information that is easily accessed by anybody. The skill that one needs to develop is to know which of these information are useful and reliable and are true. Students also need to learn how to verify information or know where to look for the right information. A flipped classroom will help them learn such skills..

The best part is (I have to repeat this again).. teachers can readily implement this next monday.. or even tomorrow.. They don't need to propose to the school to buy tablets or new computers or build a new classroom. They can work around with the current resources that they have and make big impacts on student learning.

I sometimes wish that I had experienced this in my own classroom. I guess this is similar to those "reading homeworks" that I never really read when I was a student. But not so similar because it's not blending technology. Just a couple of heavy boring texts (or tons of them), that are photo-copied in black and white. Not fun at all. But watching youtube videos as homework??? Now you have a reason to tell mom why you are on youtube on a weekday.

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*Updated February 1, 2014: The essay above was for my Final Assignment on Blended Learning MOOC in Coursera. I'm updating this blog post to add on my thoughts about Flipped Classroom. This is a comment I made in one of my MOOC Facebook groups (i.e. in Rhizo14) regarding "Flipped Classroom" being a buzzword and sensationalized in mainstream media.

World Builder #EDCMOOC

"World builder is a short film which explores some of the same themes (simulation, immersion, artifice) as the Toyota advertisement, though in a slightly more nuanced way. What is your interpretation of this film? In what ways does it position ‘the human’ in relation to the technological? What does it say about ways in which human emotion can be manipulated by digital simulation?"

What a sad sad video!!!!! 

I think this video relates when people make a virtual image or creating their own vision of their utopian world inside the world of the wide web.. Once you go offline, you face reality. Those euphoric feelings you have while being online are just temporary emotions because it's not reality. 

But sometimes, it does feel good to have these temporary feelings, as long as you don't mix fantasy with reality. Much like the movie in Inception, when Mal woke up already but she believes she's still dreaming and the only way to "wake up" is to die. 

Sometimes, when I look at my photos, I wish I had the technology to relieve the moments I have during those times. Like what that Robinson's kid did in his science project invention the "memory scanner". 

(I'm a very sentimental person).

But like what the lesson of the animated film says, "Keep moving forward". 

*EDCMOOC stands for E-learning & Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course provided by Coursera

Offline Communication: Digitally Unplugging myself #EDCMOOC

As communicating with people became more convenient with the help of technology, it actually made people feel more lonely. I picked that up somewhere I just don't remember where.

It is true though.

When I was in the states for almost half a year, my family and friends could easily contact me through variety of instant messaging medium. It was as if I never even left. There's iMessage, What's App, Viber, Voxer, Facebook, Skype, Twitter ... You would think that it would make me less melancholic, but it was otherwise.

Eventually, I grew sick of virtual communication and I wanted to socialize with people in person. The digital means of communication just highlighted the fact even more that I was very far away from the people I was so attached with, making me a lonely person in the other side of the world. (Not that I hated being in the states though, I just felt lonely at times).

So I put myself out there and tried to take advantage of being in the states and meeting people who I can physically interact with and it has even given me a lot of growth, may it be because of socially interacting with people of a different culture or may it be gaining new friends.

It came to a point that I told myself, when I get back to the Philippines I will detach myself with virtual communication and actually meet people in person if I wanted them to be updated with my life (and vice versa). Of course I already considered the fact that we cannot completely remove virtual communication in our present lifestyle, but I was determined to lessen it. It is still also more convenient for virtually communicating to those people who are geographically far away. But for those who I can afford to meet in person, I would rather meet up with them, no doubt about it.

I am no longer active in Facebook as I used to be (even if the Philippines has been named social networking capital of the world because it really is now PART of our culture). That is a very huge step already. A lot of my friends have told me to stop deactivating my facebook because I've gone missing. In the Philippines, everybody seems to have Facebook. And if you come across somebody who doesn't have Facebook, they'll be surprised and ask,"Why?".

Next, is my mobile phone. When I came back to the Philippines, I had to get myself another number. I left my iPhone in the states (don't ask why because it's a stupid story) and now, I am back to using a not so smart phone which solely provides a primary usage of merely texting and calling. I would buy myself a new iPhone, but then... it made me think that my life would be better if I didn't have 24/7 access to unlimited data anywhere. I still have my iPad but it's not 3G. I love my iPad because it really has been very helpful with school, work and travel. But to have an iPhone again... would give me access to 3G, and would succumb me to a temptation of being socially connected to the internet wherever I go and whatever I may be doing and be mentally absent to where my body is actually is.

I have regretted that during my first month in the United States when I had made a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends. While I was at this new friend's house, a friend gave me the wifi password and I ended up virtually talking to my other friends while being in this new friend's house. Later on, when circumstances did not give us another chance to hang out again, I regretted that I didn't grab the opportunity to actually get to know these new people when I had the chance. I was totally mentally ABSENT because I was virtually talking to people. From then on, I made it to the point to tell myself to live in the present and not to take the physical presence of people for granted.

I eventually grew the habit of not being attached to my cellphone. Which is why leaving my cellphone in the states did not need so much of an adjustment (but I am still devastated). And ever since I arrived here in the Philippines, I keep forgetting where I placed my phone. One time, my best friend picked me up and I realized I forgot my cellphone at home. And even after a few days, I had to tell her to call my phone because I cannot find it... only to remember I left it in my car.

My cellphone number was new, so roughly less than 15 people know about my new number. The only texts I annoyingly receive everyday was info texts from my network provider which is really SO ANNOYING. It has come back to a point where my cellphone's purpose is primarily for emergencies when I am outside the house. Ironically, I keep forgetting to bring it when I am outside.

I do not have a smart phone but it has given me much more freedom. 

Last weekend, my high school friends and I went on an out of town trip. Every time I see one of them drowning their faces in their smart phones, I would make a remark "Why are you on your cellphone?!??". It may sound bitterness of not having a smart phone (maybe partially.. but no.. I really don't care anymore)... But I was merely trying to point out that we should have fun and enjoy the fact that we are physically together because it wasn't always that we had a chance to have a reunion like that.

Ah. the simple things.

Not having a smart phone did have it's benefits. And maybe, in the long run, I would be deserving of giving myself a new iPhone, just because I can be "responsible" enough to use it only when it is appropriate and necessary.

I would always go back to that memory of losing the opportunity to gain awesome new friends because of being mentally absent.

When I told another friend about my attempts to digitally unplug myself in virtual communication, she said that it was a good idea. She said that probably the reason why she and her boyfriend are becoming so distant with each other is because they spend too much time talking virtually that barely there is a reason to meet (add the fact that instant messaging can lead to a lot of miscommunication). But if there was less virtual communication, people would actually make time to meet somebody up even for just a quick coffee.

Face-to-Face interactions still make a huge difference.

I remember the first time I met with my best friend, a day after I arrived in the Philippines.

She went to my house at 9:00pm and we were talking for hours until 1:30am, on a weekday! (which means she had to go to work the next day). We kept talking for hours and I was so overwhelmed that I could express myself with hand gestures and facial expressions. Nothing that instant messaging and emoticons could ever justify.

There's an iOS application that I discovered over 3 years ago called POSTAGRAM and it allows users to turn photos into postcards and send it to friends via post-mail. Every time my friends would receive my postcards they would be delighted! Nobody gets real mail nowadays... if it isn't bills or junk mail that is.

Digital Age has pros and cons, and it really does depend on how we make use of it.

Either we control our digital usage and decide how we use it, or it will control us.

I am glad that I was able to experience the feeling of being lonely and realizing that talking to people virtually really sucks. Because it made me change my perspective of how I want to run my life. For a moment there, technology almost dictated my life, but no... I am still HUMAN!! with a FREE WILL.

I DON'T WANT TO BE A ROBOT.

Grabbed this photo from a friend's instagram. He proposed that when people are in a social gathering like dinners, they should put their phones at the center of the table and the first one to get the phone will pay for the bill. I suggested to get a non-smart phone.. it's cheaper too... :)) 

*EDCMOOC stands for E-learning & Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course provided by Coursera

Sorry, but your soul just died #EDCMOOC

"There is no longer any excuse for anyone to be depressed or unhappy; even "normally" happy people can make themselves happier without worries of addiction, hangovers, or long-term brain damage." - Francis Fukuyama

The way the future is envisioned is when technology would eventually develop drugs that will allow nobody to experience negative emotions. But.. but... as "heavenly" it may sound like, (and despite I hate the feelings of melancholy, depression or heartaches), it is during these dark stages of our lives that we grow and learn from our experiences. These are the emotions that makes us... human.

"...advances in stem cell research allow scientists to regenerate virtually any tissue in the body, such that life expectancies are pushed well above 100 years"

My mom used to work in a pharmaceutical company during those days where stem cells weren't so popular yet. It sounded like a wonderful invention. But fast forward to the future, it will probably make people immortal. Think, OVERPOPULATION. I remember I had a friend who would always gladly greet a birthday celebrant and then accompanied with "may you live a very very long life". At first it may sound like that my friend is being thoughtful, but in reality his greeting was more like a taunt. My friend would joke around that may the birthday celebrant live a long life even when everybody else he knows is already dead. When you come to think of it, living a very very long life isn't that amazing when all of your friends are dead and the remaining family members that you have are less than half your age. Mortality is what makes us human.

"the wealthy routinely screen embryos before implantation so as to optimise the kind of children they have. You can increasingly tell the social background of a young person by his or her looks and intelligence; if someone doesn't live up to social expectations, he tends to blame bad genetic choices by his parents rather than himself."


I had watched a video before where scientists can remove diseases or abnormalities of an unborn child, or even put traits such as blue eyes. It sounds like a cool idea... I've always also wanted to have fraternal twins (one boy and one girl) ... But but... manipulating fertilized ovaries doesn't guarantee normality does it? Unless science can make it perfect... but... being imperfect is what makes us human...


I DON'T WANT TO BE A ROBOT 




*EDCMOOC stands for E-learning & Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course provided by Coursera

same problems since 1998 #EDCMOOC

http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/569/490 

When I read the abstract of this article, I told myself I should note this down because it would be a good reference to put in my thesis about MOOCs. Considering that 2012 was the year of the MOOCs, it gave rise to a lot of issues in higher education. But when I checked the date it was published I was surprised to see that it was published in 1998. 

Amazing! 1998 and higher education already provided courses online???? 


Although, when you think about it… 1998 and the issues regarding online education are somewhat the same issues today in 2013? Wait a minute... somehow, somewhere, something must have gone wrong. 

quoting the 1998 article “This Fall the student handbook distributed annually to all students by the York Federation of Students contained a warning about the dangers of online education.” – this is very alarming, it seemed that the reason why online education still remains to have a lot of pressing issues even up to this date is probably because we are slowing down the growth on exploring the potential improvements and benefits that online education can provide the society. 

I, for one, am very positive about online education. I believe that MOOCs have a promising place in the future. I am not sure what kind of future MOOCs will have, but I think it will find itself very useful.


*EDCMOOC stands for E-learning & Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course provided by Coursera

#thirdworldproblems #unesco #EDCMOOC

"A key principle in using technology in education is to start from the learner's needs, not the teacher's needs." - John Daniel

I live in a third world country. 

And after being in the U.S. since May 2013, I just arrived a week ago being greeted by a storm. Thankfully, the storm did not do so much damage from where I am located at. In the southern part of the Philippines however, the situation is closely defined to a zombie apocalypse where people are doing absolutely anything just to survive even to the point of committing crimes such as robbery, gun threats and the like. Despite growing up in the Philippines, I never imagined that a chaos like that can actually happen. 

A friend messaged me and said she was crying because she has friends in those locations who had to sleep inside their cars with their guns. I haven't watched TV ever since I arrived in Manila, but the situation in my country seem to be really worse to the extent that my friends in America are actually more updated than I am. They extend their concerns towards me and the whole of Filipino community and I would express my surprise that they know what is happening in my country. The state of calamity is world wide news and I am updated via social network rather than media. 

I am multi-tasking myself between reading the UNESCO article recommended by my E-Learning & Digital Culture MOOC class and instant messaging with my friends regarding the situation in the places hit by the storm.

The two things I was doing seemed to be totally unrelated but they had one common thing that couldn't get out of my mind and if I had to make a hashtag to unify these two things it would be #thirdworldproblems.

I just came from a long break living in the United States, a first world country, and the comparison is just extremes. But it helps to experience and be aware of both ends because it also contributes in expansion of our knowledge and be exposed to various ways in addressing different kinds of issues and problems. 

There was a research article I read way back about MOOCs as a solution to helping solve the education problems of developing countries but it turns out that most MOOC users are actually from those countries that are developed already. I think MOOCs is a promising innovation, but it has a long way to go before it fits to be a "utopia". 

The UNESCO article that I was reading talked about how technology contributes to the quality of education. One thought that struck me, is that society doesn't necessarily need to produce learning technologies to contribute in the quality of education but we have to go look further into the needs of the learners.

An example given was about women's need for technology in making housework more efficient so that they would have more time to study

I really liked the article despite an information overload of my brain right now. But I am overwhelmed by how well the ideas are written and shared. My thirst for knowledge grew even more than before (which is why I don't even have time to watch news on TV). I liked the article and the advocacy so much that I actually went to the UNESCO website and checked the "careers" portion because I would love to work for UNESCO. Their mission, their advocacy, their projects, it's a community that I would yearn to be exposed with. 

Amidst the seriousness of the things that are going on right now (and the heavy rainfall that is really distracting and scaring me), there was a part of the article that made me laugh. Shallow may it seems, it felt really good to laugh at a time like this. 

Below is the portion about the donkeys =), very witty:

"Another example of the need for broad thinking about technology comes from Latin America. How do you get children to school in a rural, mountainous region when they live a good way away and you don't want them to arrive at school already tired out? The answer was that you get hold of some donkeys. The problem is that it is difficult to buy donkeys under the United Nations procurement guidelines. These guidelines require performance specifications, tendering and suchlike. The solution is to hire the donkeys as consultants, which is fine under the UN rules. Donkeys also have one great advantage compared to human consultants - they do not write reports."

Those lucky ass. 

*EDCMOOC stands for E-learning & Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course provided by Coursera