tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326053344094419375.post8339968133542825125..comments2024-03-18T23:51:24.440-04:00Comments on The Electric Educator: Agile Development, Meet Online LearningJohn R. Sowashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00830158152077843312noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326053344094419375.post-78975985701895563932011-10-30T13:45:16.394-04:002011-10-30T13:45:16.394-04:00Late to the part on this one, but I really like wh...Late to the part on this one, but I really like what you're getting at in this post here John. It sounds like, although you were making excellent progress with the traditional formulation of your online course, you were missing out on the ability to not just act agile, but think agile.<br /><br />Geoff pays lip service to false preconceived notions about why education is glacial. It isn't unions, tenure, stipends, etc. Those are all red herrings, that while sometimes can slow things down, are not the real root of slowed-paced methodical change in educational practice. The real culprit is size. The larger an entity is, the more goals it must reach, and the more requirements that are placed upon it, the more is must try to serve too many masters, and not the one that is most essential. In the case of education, that's the student. I've taught in schools both with unions and without, and the school that focuses their attention on the individual learner always comes out on top. The hard part is trying to whittle away all of the extra "stuff" and just focus on that one learner who will be interacting with your content, especially with online course development because you have this nagging doubt that potentially hundreds or thousands may be using your materials.<br /><br />The agile instructional methodology you describe is brilliant, has nothing to do with unions, tenure, and other traditional boogey-men that people use to tear down public educational institutions. If you try to adhere to that same razor-like focus that Steve Jobs had for his products (how will the consumer interact with my product), you might find it easier to "plow" through the creation process.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16663227650636443896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326053344094419375.post-36332969219366883852011-10-24T11:25:53.794-04:002011-10-24T11:25:53.794-04:00Thanks for your comments, Geoff, and for the link....Thanks for your comments, Geoff, and for the link. I completely agree with your observation; this is the concern that I have trying to resolve-- the fast pace of agile development compared with the glacial (apply put!) pace of progress in education. Hopefully we can discuss this further and come up with a workable solution.John R. Sowashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00830158152077843312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6326053344094419375.post-62975608156897820332011-10-23T23:03:22.721-04:002011-10-23T23:03:22.721-04:00This is a great post. I was writing about this tod...This is a great post. I was writing about this today here: http://cain.blogspot.com/2011/10/connectivism-and-agile-software.html and I found your blog posting. I think there is something unfortunately antithetical in an education environment to agile design. The pace of work in education institutions can be glacial because of union issues, tenure politics, stipends, specialization, etc. Not that I am against any of the above per se but they sure can slow things down.Geoff Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06997344068009095701noreply@blogger.com