Comments on: My dream of an open course – Bob Dylan MOOC

By: Rocky Wilson

Rocky Wilson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:02:48 +0000

You might be interested to know that I just posted two blogs on Bob Dylan at effectualhistory.blogspot.com. Best of all in your endeavors. And, I commend you on being ranked #2 on Twitter-grader’s list under the topic Shar-pei. My Shar-pei/black lab mix, Masu, is a wonderful, loving creature.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:34:46 +0000

There are many pre-existing communities and I have no real desire of being outside of them nor of creating a guild style community outside of what is out there.

I get asked, fairly frequently, where to ‘start’ with dylan and ‘what all the fuss is about’. I love that discussion.

The ‘cohort based approach’ can be really helpful to people, like Alan maybe, who’ve always kinda wanted to learn a little more, but have not had the energy to devote to ‘this particular thing’.

You want to have an inverted comma fight? I’m ur man!

By: Scott Leslie

Scott Leslie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:21:04 +0000

I’m not equating “community” with website; I’m equating “community” with a “group of people sharing common interests and bonds doing something together,” and pointed to that one simply to make the point that there are already existing groups learning about Dylan, and learning how to join existing communities is a key skill for network learners, IMO. Further, many of these pre-existing communities (whether they be in music, gaming, software development) do a wonderful job of welcoming in newcomers and pointing them towards some well worn paths (cf beginner question forums, FAQs, sticky posts, on and on) without having to dopt some cohort-based approach.

By all means, don’t let me stop you. It just struck me as quite an odd proposal given the nature and need of what you were learning, to start adopting rather ‘formal’ structures. But fill yer boots.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:36:50 +0000

And, further, you seem to be equating ‘community’ with ‘website’. If 25 of my peeps (or 1000) get together to wander around the interwebs learning about dylan, swapping topics to pursue, debating obscurata I would expect it to be decentralized.

the eventedness stuff is here http://davecormier.com/edblog/2009/04/15/bjet-article-muve-eventedness-an-experience-like-any-other/ but i seem to remember having sent that to you before.

There is a great deal of tension in the language, playing in the tension is part of the fun. Exploring those at the same time as the ‘content’. I learned a great deal from my involvement in CCK08 last year and would like to try something more disconnected.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:18:13 +0000

because people like a party.

By: Scott Leslie

Scott Leslie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:10:08 +0000

So leaving aside the tension between informal, network learning and “curriculum,” “courses” or “eventedness” for a second, what is the problem with simply joining an existing “community” like http://www.theneverendingpool.com/ and starting to ask questions and read up on whatever topics around “Bob Dylan” you are interested in? I am not sure I understand the need for this to be a “course” or to create another “community” around this. I’m being a bit dense on purpose here, as is my wont, but help me understand. This seems as guilty in making the category error that learning only occurs when it’s *explicitly* the aim as does the mistake of referring to people as ‘resources.’

By: Alan Levine

Alan Levine — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:52:04 +0000

As a Dylan neophyte, I am game! Sounds more interesting to me that zombies and pirates

By: Frances Bell

Frances Bell — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:01:06 +0000

I should have said – you can gain guest access as long you accept the site policy

By: Frances Bell

Frances Bell — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:59:21 +0000

Sounds great Dave. A few years ago, Gina Stevens led a music-based course http://www.cabweb.net/portal/mod/resource/view.php?id=852 It was great fun