On 8/18/06, Robert Scott Horning <robert_horning(a)netzero.net> wrote:
I've decided to "*BE BOLD*" and start a
new course or learning
experience on Wikiversity. I know there are several attempts right now
to start at the top and work down to corses, and a few "bottom up"
ideas, but I'm really going to try and push forward the model that has
been explained and described, but not actually done so far in any large
degree.
Great! I really hope that we can get some well-developed bodies of
material (or "courses", whatever) on Wikiversity, so that we can show
others coming in what's been done, what they could try, and hopefully,
as we get going, what's worked and why. You say you'll probably make
mistakes - great! I know it's a cliché, but it really is the best way
to learn. Wikiversity is not just about learning about a subject - it
is also learning how to learn (and facilitate learning). As long as we
reflect on our experiences and feed them back to others, we can truly
develop a learning community.
Quick comments: I really like the idea of keeping students who come
through the course as tutors for the next cohort. This is a model that
works very well - and it is obviously based in the concept of
*community* that we have been so adamant in providing for in
Wikiversity. And also: I like the requirement of writing a Wikibook,
though you may have to manage such "requirements" carefully - what
happens to someone who hasn't met the requirements? Do they "fail"?
I deeply aplogise to all that I don't have the time to be putting into
this project at the moment. I will be devoting my life to it over the
next three years or more - it's just that for these coming few weeks,
I really am in a bit of a tight squeeze with my own brick-and-mortar
institutional requirements. I hope to really start bringing in a whole
range of people who would want to contribute to a project like
Wikiversity - and Wikimania proved to me that they are out there - but
first, we need something to show what we're doing. It'll be great to
see what you come up with :-)
Cormac