This Wiki workshop was conducted on the 11th February (2013) at Jazan University. WIKI WORKSHOPWikis empowers us with the ability to collaborate online in developing websites and documents. In this workshop, we will explore how we can use wikis with our students to facilitate collaborative online learning spaces. Wikis are great for group assignments and projects. During the hands-on activities, we will explore the wiki tools ‘Google Docs’ and ‘Google Sites’ for facilitating collaborative development of documents and websites respectively. LEARNING OUTCOMESAfter this workshop, you will be able to:Discuss how to use wikis to facilitate collaborative online learning and teaching.Use Google Docs for collaborative document development. Use Google Sites for collaborative website development.WIKI?Wiki is a Web site developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content.A website created by a group; rather than by an individual.In Hawaiian, Wiki means "quick"What I Know Is…  (descriptive of the process of collaborative content development.) HOW?How can we use Wikis for facilitating collaborative learning? Examples (Source and Details):Faculty AuthoredGroup Authoring of course materials.Creating and maintaining course reference lists.Student AuthoredGroup assignmentse-PortfoliosGroup debatesPeer self-help pagesStudent feedback to facultyStudy guidesSubject glossaryPeer review of assignments during their creation Faculty and Student AuthoredMarking schemes for assignmentsSubject glossariesFrequently asked questionsBuilding case studies, field reports etc.Reporting research findingsBENEFITS of using Wikis for learning and teaching (Source):Extremely flexible allowing any site structure to be created.Can be used in classroom based, hybrid, and online courses.Wiki functionality makes them ideal for collaborative writing applications and knowledge bases, which can be utilized across sections, terms and courses.Wiki integration into the curriculum assists in transferring from instructor-centered to learner-centered educational opportunities.Enables web publishing without knowledge of HTML or use of special web development tools.Enables faculty to track who contributed what and when.Potential DISADVANTAGES that you may want to take into consideration before utilizing Wikis for your courses (Source):Using a wiki does involve learning about acceptable editing practices (e.g. how to deal with conflicting opinions).Managing a wiki can require significant time commitments from faculty and/or student moderators as page edits should be closely monitored at the beginning of the project/assignment.A wiki has no predefined structure to guide new users and visitors can find navigating a wiki difficult (a hypermedia content page and/or search tool would assist with this issue.)IP ownership and copyright of Wiki pages can be contentious unless clear policies are in place.WIKI TOOLS?Recommended Wiki Tools to use:Google Sites Google Drive (Docs) Wikispaces Wetpaint pbwikiEXAMPLESAnatomy WikiGreetings from the WorldClassroomMedTutorMore examples MedTutor - Learning to Think! HANDS-ONGOOGLE DOCS "Google Docs is a free, Web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google within its Google Drive service. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users." - Wikipedia  Features (Details):MISSION 01   You have 15 minutes to complete the following tasks on Google Docs (in Google Drive):Create a New Document (using a template).Rename the New Document.Add an image, link (URL), table and embed a video (from YouTube).  Upload a file (.docx or .pptx) to Google Docs. Translate your document to another language (e.g. Arabic).  Create a new Folder. Assign a color to help identify it.Add (drag) a file to the Folder. Share a File with another person.Add a comment to a selected text in the Document. Publish a document to the web (URL).Create an online survey (using Form).   Tips (for all mission activities):Google Docs Tutorial (GCF Global Learning)Google Docs: Sharing and Collaborating Tutorial (Video) 37 Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in the ClassroomGoogle Docs (Drive) HelpGoogle Workshop  GOOGLE SITES"Google Sites is a structured wiki- and web page-creation tool offered by Google as part of the Google Apps Productivity suite. The goal of Google Sites is for anyone to be able to create a team-oriented site where multiple people can collaborate and share files." - WikipediaResources:Beginner's Guide Google Sites Help  MISSION 02You have 15 minutes to complete the following tasks on Google Sites:Create a New Site.Invite others to participate.Create a New Page.Add Text, Pictures and Links (URLs) to the Page.Embed a Video to your site.Add a Gadget to your site.Build a site with Multiple Pages.Share documents in Google Sites using Google Docs.More Tips? Wikis & Education (Shambles)

Below, are all the resources for the talks and workshops facilitated over a 5-day period (9 - 13 Feb) at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia.*Click on the Links to access all the resources shared for the respective workshops highlighted below.DAY 1 DNA of a 21st Century Educator Simplified! from Zaid Alsagoff DNA of a 21st Century Educator This talk explores some of the ingredients top educators in the 21st century have, and how we can learn from them, and reinvent ourselves to reach our true potential as an educator.Learning OutcomesDiscuss the attributes of a 21st Century Educator.Explore the latest trends and methods in e-learning.DAY 2iPads for Learning This workshop will awaken and empower participants on how they can use iPads more strategically and effectively for learning, sharing, communicating, collaborating, creating and publishing their e-learning content and activities using a range of essential applications. It will be interactive, engaging, fun, and you will learn a lot of tips on how to use mobile devices to engage your students in and beyond the classroom.Learning OutcomesDownload and annotate presentations/articles/notes.Create and publish rapid e-learning content.Use a variety of apps to engage students in and beyond the classroom.DAY 3Empowering Personal Learning Environments (PLE)This introduction, explores the idea of using a variety of learning tools to build Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to empower lifelong, collaborative and reflective learning.Learning OutcomesDiscuss how social media can be used for learning and teaching.Blogging & Wikis for Learning Workshop Materials:Blogging for Learning Wikis for LearningThis session explores a variety of ways to use blog and wikis for learning and teaching. Participants will be required to create a blog, wiki, and conceptualize strategies to make them work for learning and teaching. Learning OutcomesDiscuss how to use blogs to facilitate learning and teaching.Set up your own blog using Google Blogger. Discuss how to use wikis to facilitate collaborative online learning and teaching.Use Google Docs for collaborative document development. Use Google Sites for collaborative website development.DAY 4Facebook & Twitter for LearningJazanU Facebook GroupWorkshop Materials:Facebook for Learning  Twitter for LearningIn this workshop, we will explore how we can use Facebook and Twitter to facilitate learning and teaching.  Learning OutcomesUse Facebook and Twitter to facilitate learning and teaching.Create Facebook Groups to engage students and conduct assignments.Create unique Twitter #hashtags for programmes, courses and events.Use Twitter apps to engage students in the classroom (and beyond).DAY 5Discovering & Creating OERThis workshop will empower you with the necessary skills to find, reuse, remix and create Open Educational Resources (OER) for your courses. We will explore and discuss together the concept of OER, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Creative Commons (CC), business models, and variety of OpenCourseWare (OCW) case studies and content development tools. Learning OutcomesDiscuss the benefits and challenges of OER.Explore Creative Commons as an alternative to Copyright.Find OER and OCW using a variety of search tools.Identify a variety of web 2.0 and Social Media tools to develop OER.Conceptualize an OER strategy for your institution.Have fun and attribute (to me) whatever you reuse/remix/repurpose :)

ONE MILLION+ VIEWS!If this was a Gagnam Style, or Harlam Shake video viewing achievement, it would be nothing special (Just below average). Yes, if this was a Sneezing Baby Panda (155+ million views), or a YouTube viewing achievement, it would also not be much to celebrate (especially if you are uploading cute baby or puppy videos). But, having your educational content (currently 60 presentations) being viewed more than one million times on SlideShare is something worth celebrating a bit! Congrats, Zaid(Learn)! Al-Hamdullilah! Also, I would like thank everyone that has viewed any of my SlideShare presentations over the years, and more importantly hopefully you have learned something interesting, and better yet been able to use, or apply some of the ideas and resources shared into your learning and teaching environments. Congrats to Everyone!  MY SLIDESHARE PRESENTATIONSIf you have never experienced (or want to revisit) my presentations shared on SlideShare since 2007, here is a good starting point:Click here for all my SlideShare presentations at once.Sometimes it is nice to celebrate our own achievements in our distorted self-glorifying minds...Congrats :)

LEARNING ADVENTURE!WOW! I have to admit, my Saudi Arabia adventure from 31 January - 17 February (2013) was without doubt my most exciting LEARNING ADVENTURE in my life (up until now). It was action packed from day one (my luggage got lost and came nearly 2 days after me). During this adventure I facilitated 10 workshops and 3 lectures, participated in 1 panel discussion, attended 3 days of conference interacting with amazing minds, visited 2 Universities and 1 school, numerous social events,  and most importantly did a short Umrah. All this was done in about 2 1/2 weeks!!!Yes, it was a truly inspiring (and exhausting) learning adventure, Al-Hamdulilla! I would like to thank everyone that made it happen, and to avoid hurting anyone, I will not mention any names (to avoid missing others). Shukran Jazilan, Al-Hamdulilla!Instead of sharing stories for now (can probably write a 10,000 - 15,000 words essay, if I had the time), I will leave you with 580 pictures and 176 tweets to recap my inspiring and amazing learning adventure in Saudi Arabia.PHOTO ALBUMSHere are 580 pictures taken according to major events during this Saudi Arabia learning adventure:eLi 2013 Conference & Social Events (1-7 Feb, 2013)Pictures from the Third International Conference of e-Learning and Distance Education (eLi13) and related social events in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During the conference, I facilitated two 1-day workshops (OER & iPad) and participated in one panel discussion sharing my L2T3SEA Learning Framework. It was an inspiring week of interacting with great learning minds and having fun, especially during the social events.Jazan University Adventure (8-13 Feb, 2013)Pictures from talks, workshops and social events at Jazan University in the city of Jazan, Saudi Arabia.Mecca Journey (14-15 Feb, 2013)Pictures from my short Umrah and In-House talk about '16 Learning Trends, We Simply Can't Ignore!" at Hasan Alfilaly's house in Mecca.Jeddah - In-House Talk (Feb 15, 2013)Gave a talk about '16 Learning Trends, We Simply Can't Ignore!" at Sheikh Ibrahim Alharthy's house in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Al-Andalus School Visit & Talk (16 Feb, 2013)Pictures from my visit and talk about the 'DNA of a 21st Century Educator' (given at Jazan University, too) at Al-Andalus Private School in Jeddah. An inspiring school with innovative and passionate aspirations.TWEETSHere are all my 176 tweets (or Retweets) from the Saudi Arabia learning adventure (Tweetbook doesn't support Arabic!!!): Tweets: Saudi Arabia Learning Adventure! by   STORIESComing soon! I have a lot of interesting stories to share, but I will need to find time for that later. This portion will be updated in the coming weeks as I recall and reflect upon all the learning nuggets and wisdom I discovered during this adventure interacting with some pretty amazing learning minds. At the moment, I need to focus on other upcoming activities and events in coming weeks ahead.SUMMING UPIn general, Saudi Arabia is investing a lot of money to improve education for both men and women in the Kingdom. As I have visited Saudi Arabia five times since 2008 (four work related visits), I can testify to this based on my learning adventures, which includes visits to nine Universities during this period.Since its establishment in 2005, The National Center for e-Learning and Distance Learning (NeLC) has been passionately striving to support the universities around the Kingdom to transform their learning and teaching using technology and e-learning. The biggest challenge today in Saudi Arabia in terms of education, is not so much technology anymore, as most Universities are evolving fast on this frontier, and have enough funding to continue to have the latest technologies if wanted. If you ask me, the biggest challenges facing education in Saudi Arabia (like in so many other countries around the world), are inspiring educators (mindset change) in the Kingdom to transform their learning and teaching methods, and to empower them with the skills to use technology transformatively to design more engaging and effective student learning experiences.In today's disruptive global age of knowledge and innovation, we all have to continuously learn, rethink, innovate and adapt. It will be interesting to see how Saudi Arabia continues to evolve its education over the coming years.Insya-Allah, I can assist in this process, too :)

Facilitating a half-day hands-on 'Facebook & Twitter for Learning' workshop on the 13th March (2013) at the 8th International Medical Education Conference (IMEC-2013). Venue: International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia.Facebook GroupFACEBOOK & TWITTER WORKSHOPToday more than one billion people use Facebook, and more than 500 million use Twitter to connect, share and interact with one another.  In this workshop, we will explore how we can use Facebook and Twitter to facilitate learning and teaching. During the hands-on activities, we will learn how to create Facebook Groups to engage students and conduct assignments, and create unique Twitter #hashtags to empower dedicated streams for sharing and learning. Finally, we will explore several Twitter apps to engage students in the classroom and beyond.LEARNING OUTCOMESAfter this workshop, you will be able to:Use Facebook and Twitter to facilitate learning and teaching.Create Facebook Groups/Pages to engage students and conduct assignments.Create unique Twitter #hashtags for programmes, courses and events.Use Twitter apps to engage students in the classroom (and beyond).PRESENTATION SLIDES Facebook for Learning at #IMEC8 from Zaid AlsagoffCLICK HERE to download (PowerPoint version).  Twitter for Learning at #IMEC8 from Zaid AlsagoffCLICK HERE to download (PowerPoint version).  Facebook and Twitter are still cool learning tools, so don't miss this crash course :)

"PERSONALIZING HEALTHCARE - FROM BENCH TO CLINIC"Dental Education Research Symposium: Reaching out beyond the Academia TALK I will Insya-Allah be giving a 20-minute talk on the 16th March (2013) during the 'Dental Education Research Symposium' at the 12th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) (16 - 17 March), Malaysian Section. Venue: International Medical University (IMU), Kuala LumpurSLIDESWhy wait? Here is the publication (slides) in advance: Social Media for Research! from Zaid Alsagoff  My talk will be after Jonas Nordquist (if it goes according to the list below), who is seriously the Hans Rosling of medical education. Isn't that cool! Can't wait for that mission cool! Hard act to follow, but that is still cool!KEY POINTS? My key points in one slide: Welcome to the world of social media, where we can publish anytime we want! Even before the event :)

You might be wondering what Malaysia has contributed in terms of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Learning Institutions?Well, now there is an e-Book published exploring exactly that. Yes, I did contribute a bit to it, too (the first 3 chapters with Prof. Amin, who was the book editor).I shall write no more, but please scan, read, reflect and enjoy the e-Book in two (2) formats:SCRIBD Open Educational Resources in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions by ProfDrAminSLIDESHARE Open Educational Resources in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions from Mohamed Amin Embi Let's just say this is only the beginning! OER is a burning topic in Malaysia, and many more institutions are in the process of embracing this movement. Yes, some are even planning to launch a MOOC in the very near future, but I shall write no more :)

Looking forward to the upcoming 1-day MOOC workshop at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on the 13 April, 2013. Although, I have been exploring MOOCs in my OER workshops over the last 2 years, this is the first one I am facilitating that is focusing totally on this disruptive learning beast. Let's MOOC! WORKSHOPImagine facilitating an online course that has more than 230,000 registered students. Welcome to the MOOC world! In this 1-day workshop, we will explore the latest global trend in online learning known as MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses. We will explore how MOOCs are designed, and how they can potentially play a vital role in the democratization of education to the world. During the hands-on session, participants will be divided into groups to conceptualize and design a prototype MOOC (strategy). Are you ready to MOOC your University to the next frontier of online learning? Be there to find out! LEARNING OUTCOMESAfter this workshop, you will be able to:Discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing MOOCs;Differentiate between cMOOCs and xMOOCs;Identify a variety of social media/web 2.0 tools to engage learners during MOOCs;Conceptualize a MOOC strategy for your University.PRESENTATION SLIDESPresentation slides for the MOOC workshop: Demystifying MOOCs! from Zaid Alsagoff GROUP PHOTO CHALLENGE 1st Challenge:2nd Challenge (Group work): RESOURCESHere are most of the MOOC resources (URLs) explored during the workshop:Udacity CourseraedX P2PU Futurelearn UdemyOnline Educational Delivery Models: A Descriptive View MOOC Guide What is a MOOC? Three Kinds of MOOCs  Dark side of MOOCs (Infographic)  What are we Learning from Online Education? (Daphne Koller)Online Courses Look for a Business Model Four Barriers That MOOCs Must Overcome To Build a Sustainable Model The March of the MOOCs: Monstrous Open Online Courses MOOCs: Learning PointsMOOC List Sharing to Connect, Interact and Learn!            (Online Talk by Zaid Ali Alsagoff)So, what are your MOOC plans? :)

CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER...WOW! LEARNING INNOVATION TALKS 03 LEARNING HISTORY is coming to you on the 22nd May! Do you want to be part of it?Join us for this really exciting upcoming Learning Innovation Talks 3 (LIT 03), which will be FULLY ONLINE.5 BIG REASONS to attend LIT 03:FIRST 1-Day Online Seminar held by a University in Malaysia.Opportunity to connect and engage with AWESOME EDUCATORS.Learn SIZZLING NEW TRICKS and tips on how to use technology to transform learning.Exposure to the LATEST TRENDS in e-learning.Will Get a DIGITAL CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE if you register and attend. Oops, I forgot to mention that this online seminar is FREE! What are you waiting for?ORGANIZER The 3rd Learning Innovation Talks (LIT) is organized by the International Medical University (IMU). This is the first LIT (history) to be done fully online. And this is totally inline with IMU's 3I's, which are Insight, Imagination and Innovation.Here is IMU's e-Learning Team masterminding this mission:     For more details:Program & SpeakersOnline Registration FormLIT History FAQsLearning Innovation Talks 3 (#LIT03) by zaidlearnLooking forward to YOUR PARTICIPATION! Thanks :)

ONLINE TALKThe inspiring Prof. Vasudha Kamat (Vice Chancellor, SNDTWU) invited me recently to do a webinar (11 May) entitled 'Social Media for Research' for the Online Course in Research methodology for PhD scholars at the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University (SNDTWU), India. How could I say no? WEBINAR DETAILSTitle: Social Media for ResearchDate: 11 May (Saturday)Time: 7:00 PM (SNDT time or 9:30 PM KL time...Check Timezone differences)Platform: WizIQDescription:Today, more than a Billion people use Facebook, and more than 200 million use Twitter actively to connect, network, interact and share with one another. YouTube receives more than 4 Billion video views per day, millions of people blog, and there are more than 14 million articles on Wikipedia. Social Media today is impacting every aspect of our lives whether it is our social, working, education or family life. However, what about using social media for academic research and sharing scientific knowledge?  For example today, many doctors are using various Social Media tools to share and discuss their latest research with their fellow professionals and the public. By doing so, their work is sometimes being peer-reviewed and promoted by hundreds of experts around the world, empowering a more impactful learning and research experience. During this webinar, we will explore various social media tools we can use to discover new knowledge, collaborate with other researchers, and promote our research within and beyond the academic world.PRESENTATION SLIDES Social Media For Research at SNDT! from Zaid Alsagoff RECORDINGCLICK HERE to view the recording.Please skip the first 30 minutes, as there was a mix-up regarding the scheduled time. Still learning :)Yes, we went on for more than 2 hours, so it was a long webinar session with a lot of discussions. Have fun discovering the hidden wisdom nuggets within all the noise and who-ha :)