Softening The Machine: Jon Dron, October 2010 Jond@athabascau - Ca

Softening the machine
Jon Dron, October 2010

jond@athabascau.ca
Saturday, 23 October 2010

Softening the machine
Jon Dron, October 2010
jond@athabascau.ca

In case I get distracted....
The AU machine is too

hard and we need to
soften it (so I think you
might want to use the
Landing)
landing.athabascau.ca

This is odd

Our students
• Highly self motivated
• Good family support
• Working
• Unconventional academic
background
• Able to work alone

Transactional distance

Structure
Dialogue

Structure
Dialogue
Structure is inversely
proportional to dialogue
Structure
We are
here
Dialogue
Structure
And a bit We are
here (but here
very
expensively)
Dialogue
Transactional control
Collective
control
Learner Negotiated Teacher
control control control
autonomy dialogue structure
Transactional
distance
We are here
Collective
control
Transactional
distance
We are here
Collective
control
And here
Transactional
distance
We are here
Collective
control
And here
not so much
here
Transactional
distance
Our students

Other people's students

Our staff
• Talented
• Diverse
• Creative
• Communicative
• Distributed

Victims of
transactional distance?
• Driven by process
• Task-centered dialogue
• Serendipity-free
• Unspontaneous
• Unreliable machines
• Weakly connected islands

Holistic control
Individual Negotiated Prescriptive

Transactional
distance
We are here
Holistic control

Transactional
distance
We are here
Holistic control

And here
Transactional
distance
We are here
Holistic control

And here
not so much
here
Transactional
distance
There's a better way

What is a learning
technology?

What is a learning
technology?
Pedagogies
Processes Methods
hardware
Software
management systems
Organizational structures
Techniques
learning designs
assessment systems
The dance of
technology

Softness
Increasing
the
adjacent
possible
Hardness
Makes
things easier
By reducing
choice

Two views of soft and
hard technology
Human Machine
Soft Hard
Flexible Inflexible

Two views of soft and
hard technology
Human Machine
Soft Hard
Flexible Inflexible

Hard is
easy
Soft is
hard
Four generations of
distance education
Harder
Cognitivist/ Individual controller

behaviorist
Social Group guide
constructivist
Connectivist Network co-traveller
Wholist Contextual, set What the learner needs
Anderson & Dron, in press

Softer

Four generationsPostalof
distance education
service and
telephone
Harder

behaviorist
Social Group guide
constructivist

Softer

distance education
service and
telephone
Forums and
Harder
the LMS
behaviorist
Social Group guide
constructivist

Softer

distance education
service and
telephone
Forums and
Harder
the LMS
behaviorist User generated,
Social Group Web 2.0guide
constructivist

Softer

distance education
service and
telephone
Forums and
Harder
the LMS
behaviorist User generated,
Social Group Web 2.0guide
constructivist
Connectivist Network Crowd co-traveller

intelligence,
Wholist personalization,
Contextual, set What the learner needs
analytics
Softer

We are here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/2948560477/sizes/o/

Soft for whom?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sGYULzoQCgA/SA6HEWNCB5I/
AAAAAAAABeA/FTkqbqDd9do/s1600-h/1964-worlds-fair-
schoolmarm.jpg

Developer
Soft
Policy makers
System Administrators
Course developers
Coordinators
Tutors
Hard
Students

http://landing.athabascau.ca
Sharing ideas Bookmark Feeling less alone
Wikis sharing Aggregating
Knowing what others are doing and thinking
Blogs Photo and media sharing

Supporting course sharing and interaction
Groups Knowing what is happening
Microblogs (like Twitter) Finding interesting people
Sharing
Commenting discoveries File sharing
Committees, centres, programs, study groups,
hobbies, interests, leisure, research groups, newsletters
Podcasting Collaborating Discussion
Sustaining dialogue and
communities http://landing.athabascau.ca
Connecting
Sharing
Communicating

Developers
Soft System Administrators
r s e r s
t s s p e a k
e n r s t o r elo m
d ut o r a ev lic y s
u T st d o o r
St i ni
r s e P
na t
d m o u r d i
A C n i o o
u m C
Al
...and everyone else
Hard
Now I know none of this is particularly
ground-breaking, and it likely even
sounds cliche, but to me it is a real
surprise. At the end of June I described
the Landing as disorienting, disconnected
and disorganized. It had no starting
point, few rules, and no real purpose.
In early October, if someone asked, I'd say

it's a close-knit, supportive place:
comfortable, maybe even cozy. It has a
thousand starting points and paths, many
tools and endless possibilities; the
Landing hasn't changed (much) but my
perspective sure has.
I'm also very excited to
find this informal learning
space. In fact, I'd argue
that I can't learn without it!
For me it's always been the
conversations with others
that has made my learning
meaningful. I'm quite
excited to watch and
participate as this space
grows.
Aiming for critical
passion, not just
critical mass

A dream:
Making the hard soft
Making the soft hard
Social Velcro
Go talk
George Siemens and Terry Anderson will be talking
about the Landing at 3:10 (Palm room)
landing.athabascau.ca

Softening The Machine: Jon Dron, October 2010 Jond@athabascau - Ca

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Softening the machine

Jon Dron, October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

The AU machine is too

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

• Highly self motivated

• Good family support

• Able to work alone

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

autonomy dialogue structure

autonomy dialogue structure

autonomy dialogue structure

autonomy dialogue structure

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

• Weakly connected islands

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Individual Negotiated Prescriptive

autonomy dialogue structure

Individual Negotiated Prescriptive

autonomy dialogue structure

Individual Negotiated Prescriptive

autonomy dialogue structure

Individual Negotiated Prescriptive

autonomy dialogue structure

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Cognitivist/ Individual controller

Connectivist Network co-traveller

Wholist Contextual, set What the learner needs

Anderson & Dron, in press

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Cognitivist/ Individual controller

Connectivist Network co-traveller

Wholist Contextual, set What the learner needs

Anderson & Dron, in press

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Connectivist Network co-traveller

Wholist Contextual, set What the learner needs

Anderson & Dron, in press

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Connectivist Network co-traveller

Wholist Contextual, set What the learner needs

Anderson & Dron, in press

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Connectivist Network Crowd co-traveller

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Blogs Photo and media sharing

Saturday, 23 October 2010

In early October, if someone asked, I'd say