LearnHub

Hi Rachel,

I strongly believe in the value of an open platform for learning, teaching, communicating and sharing knowledge, experiences, skills and values. There are in between different communities that discuss the nuts and bolts of online-learning, blended learning, using the Web 2.0 for learning experiences and so on.

I, despite my so called “Authority” here, am just a rather ignorant newbie in this field of expertise. For my untrained eye, Learnhub, at the moment, is a mix of facebook or myspace or a similar platform with an open LMS like Nuvvo was.

So there is this community idea: people gathering online, more or less topic-centered, but very open, very vulnerable to spam and other disturbances, just to meet, do small-talk, chitchat or exchange some experiences, in general: For me, to meet people like me I may like.

On the other hand, there is the hope to gain real learning experiences, to gain insights and answers to questions you had for a long time, to prepare for some tough exam, to educate yourself, to find help in online therapy – you name it.

Last but not least there is the hope to find an audience for your thoughts, to be able eventually to help others with the knowledge you share through your courses and lessons and other contributions

There are users who want to be consumers, there are those who want to be instructors first, perhaps even gain some money out of their instruction, and there are those who want to even out the difference between those roles, who want the exchange of open minds, who want to teach and learn concurrently.

With the raising numbers of users at Learnhub, to save the value of Learnhub for those who want meaningful learning experiences, I believe that some stronger structure is needed on Learnhub. You mentioned elsewhere your netiquette: “I have only joined groups that I genuinely think I can add something to and get something from. In turn, I don’t add posts unless I think they add value to the lesson or discussion (usually).” I think this netiquette is not self-evident for all existent Learnhub-users or Learnhub-users to be. I think, we need to create structures – or ask the team of Learnhub to create those for us – which allow to install community rules and to empower the communities to put their rules and controls into action.

Given those tools for community-leaders and -contributors, there will raise different forms of communities:

There will exist communities that are exchange- and meeting-centered, with lots of discussions and debates, with chat, fun-videos … Those will be open for everyone except the notorious spammer who may be banned, but else nearly without restrictions.

And there will exist communities with clear course and lesson structures, with discussions strongly related to different courses, with debates connected to tasks of lessons etc. perhaps with noticeable differences between the roles of instructors and students. Some courses even may be “invitation only”, perhaps even to join a community you may have to request acceptance.

Sounds dictatorial? Well, I don’t think so. I just believe that there is a very complex multiverse of users of Learnhub out there (or will be in a few weeks time), and that to address the needs of this multiverse, Learnhub has to create a complex multiverse of opportunities. So there has to be and will be not only “black and white” but thousands of shades of gray between the extremes, and, maybe, if we accomplish it, millions of colors, too.

So, perhaps, “Second Life”, learnwise.

I totally agree with you, Peter.

As LearnHub grows we’ll need changes to allow us to make it more effective while remaining inclusive. It will surely be a challenge. I use the word challenge deliberately because it denotes something that will have to be worked at to be maintained, like a garden perhaps. It’s not particularly exciting or glamorous, but the “tending to” will need to be done and those willing will need to have the ability to do that.

You made such good points that I couldn’t say them better myself. The points you made that particularly resonate with me are:

- “To meet people like me that I may like.”

- “To gain insights and answers to questions you had for a long time.”

- “To find an audience for your thoughts… to help others with the knowledge you share”

- “To save the value of Learnhub for those who want meaningful learning experiences, I believe that some stronger structure is needed on Learnhub.”

- “Install community rules and to empower the communities to put their rules and controls into action. Some courses even may be “invitation only”, perhaps even to join a community you may have to request acceptance.”

Peter and Rachel, I have been using Moodle as a CMS, wikis as electronic notebooks and ning as social collaborative spaces with my high school EFL/ESL learners. My students may be very cooperative, but they would like to log into one place. I believe LearnHub can provide the goods. I am going to bug John and some of the others until that happens. Now you know why I am here.

BTW WiZiQ is a fun (live) place to be in addition to learnhub. I think it’s also important to add voice discussions, too.

Here is a voice discussion application called snapvine:

http://www.snapvine.com/vc/g-z-zvjCEdynVgAwSFs39g/4UAdAQ

Comment | Copy This

Send Me A Voice Comment! | Copy This

There are some things I notice I would like to do here that I can’t do yet. I suppose this means I would like to lead LH in some directions that it’s not currently capable of going.

1) I would like to be able to share comments I make about various lessons with communities that may not be “hosting” the lesson but seem to be interested in the turn the lesson is taking at the time I’m commenting on it. Maybe I’m just projecting… but I think what I want to do is better “connect” parallel conversations. I would like to have a button next to POST that enables me to SHARE and get a drop down menu of communities I can choose to share with.

2) I would like to be able to approve the addition of lessons by others to communities I inaugurated. This isn’t about controlling access, it’s about making the role of “community leader” something I feel motivated to develop. Once a community is started, the way the architecture works, it’s a free-for-all of lesson posting and I’ve joined communities where the leader hasn’t yet posted a lesson, discussion or debate. I feel like I’m intruding when I see my lessons show up in spaces like that. No one has told me this, but I am concerned they might be wondering what “leading” means when the architecture is that open.

3) I would like to be able to designate a text I’m quoting in a lesson GRAPHICALLY so it’s clear what’s someone else’s IP and what is mine. The colored boxes in debates would work nicely…if I had those as layout options.

4) I would like to be informed daily about what’s changed with key contacts and also with courses (mine or those I’m taking) without having to skim the current “news” on the home page. I can only see the most recent news and don’t know what might have happened since I was last able to visit the home page. This leaves me feeling confused and a little frantic. The notification system that started this week is GREAT!!! Now I would like these things added to it…

5) I would like to be able to host live community meetings and live course meetings inside the system, not having to go outside to use other systems.

Maybe it’s possible to do some of these things already and I just missed learning how…?? Maybe these dreams could come true easily??

What are others wanting/dreaming possible here?

All I know is I’m selling out.

Hi Andrew,

I hope you sell out for a better deal. :)

Let me know if you ever want to collaborate.

I’m cheap and easy