IMU LEARNING SERIES (ROUND 4) Title : Facilitating a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)Date : 22nd February, 2012 Time : 10.00 AM, Kuala LumpurVenue : Online (WizIQ)Description:In this (nearly 2 hour online) talk Stephen Downes, one of the originators of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) format, described the organization and management of a MOOC, beginning with the arrangement of technology, organization of learning materials, communications with students, support tasks, and interaction with guest presenters. This talk is based on fifteen years’ experience designing and delivering web-based instruction, as well as knowledge amassed though the delivery of six MOOCs to almost ten thousand students since 2008.Speaker:  Stephen Downes works for the National Research Council of Canada where he has served as a Senior Researcher, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, since 2001. Affiliated with the Learning and Collaborative Technologies Group, Institute for Information Technology, Downes specializes in the fields of online learning, new media, pedagogy and philosophy. RECORDINGYou are recommended to skip the first 30 minutes of the recorded webinar, so that you can get right into the action. The actual session starts roughly 30 minutes into the recording. If you have any problems viewing, try updating your Flash Player. CLICK HERE (To view the recorded online webinar) Click here to download the recorded webinar. Click here for an excellent audio recording of the webinar captured by Stephen  Downes.PRESENTATION SLIDESFacilitating a Massive Open Online Course View more PowerPoint from Stephen Downes UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

DON'T BELIEVE? WATCH THIS...Yes, my brother-in-law Adam has a GOD GIVEN gift to engage babies to talk. In this video, Adam is talking to my baby daughter Salma (turning 2 years old next week). Although, we have no clue what they are talking about, we are enriched with happy moments to cherish for life.Now, imagine if Adam rethinks his existing law career, and...IMAGINE..Collaborates with Giggles to develop the most wanted app in the world for any mum and dad: 'BABY CHAT!' Now, for the first time since Adam and Eve parents can actually understand what their babies are babbling about. Even better, with 'BABY CHAT' babies also understand what their parents (or anyone) are babbling, meaning a real conversation can take place. It will for sure be revolutionary for baby learning. Adam, please rethink your career and explore the possibilities to reinvent the way we communicate with babies...Please don't answer me, just think about it!In the meantime, can anyone decipher what baby Salma is really trying to say? :)

EMPOWERING PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS Empowering Personal Learning Environments at USM! View more PowerPoint from Zaid Alsagoff This presentation explores 5 future trends educators simply cannot ignore, and then introduce participants to the idea of using a variety of learning tools to build Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to empower lifelong, collaborative and reflective learning.  It will be presented at the ’Enhancing Teaching and Learning’ Seminar at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) on the 13th Feb, 2012.USING FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR LEARNING AND TEACHINGDuring the seminar, I will be conducting two 1-hour learning sessions. The second one is entitled, "Using Facebook and Twitter for Learning and Teaching". For this session, I will basically be reusing the following presentation slides:IMU Learning Series 01 - Facebook for Learning and Teaching? View more PowerPoint from Zaid Alsagoff IMU Twitter 101 Learning Workshop View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff This post will be further enriched with my reflections after the seminar :)

 A TRUE STORY... A few weeks back the inspiring Prof. Zoraini Wati Abas shared the following Dr. Curt Bonk (Professor at Indiana University) video in the electrifying Learning Innovation Circle (Simply LIC! Please join us, too!):WOW! I have to invite him to give an online talk (webinar) for IMU Learning Webinar Series ... His energy and stories could spark new ideas into the minds of IMU faculty and others attending. But, then he rejected my request quickly, promptly and gently by reminding me that he gets 3-4 requests per day, and that he cannot schedule any more right now. I truly understand!    Yeah, both Sir Ken Robinson and Dr. Curt Bonk have rejected my online talk requests. However, IMU Learning Webinar Series is still AWESOME! Until now, 14 renowned learning experts around the world have confirmed participation over the coming weeks and months...THANK YOU! Although, I truly understand, I am also extremely disappointed with Dr. Curt Bonk no matter how busy he claims to be, as he could have done the webinar in his pajamas just before going to sleep, which would be perfect timing for Malaysia (audio only please).  Just kidding! Anyway, he was smart enough to share his juiciest links (URLs) about himself and his work, and that has sparked me to do this blog post!Yes, I have known about Dr. Curt Bonk and his exciting work for a few years now, but I was not aware of the things you are about to discover now...EXTREME LEARNING WORLD!Did you know?V-PORTAL (Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching & Learning) A video series (YouTube version for quicker access) addressing the design and best practices of Distance Education courses. The videos are about 10 minutes long (27 of them!) and each topic is accompanied by a list of useful resources and downloadable handout slides (PDF format).Archived Talks An endless collection of learning resources and stories (Keynotes only). Check these 3 presentations first:  - Active Learning with Technology: Myths, Magic, and Mucho Motivation  - The Rise of Shared Online Video: The Fall of Traditional Learning  - 100+ Hyper-Engaging Lecture Ideas for Any Class Size  Ed Tech Resources and Portals If you are looking for juicy learning resources, go no further :)Dr. Bonk's Videostreamed Talks and PodcastsDiscover his learning adventures and stories... WOW!TravelinEdMan His learning (journal) blog.Extreme LearningExtreme learning blends physical and digital environments, concentrating on activities that enlist technology in uncommon or unique ways. Extreme learning also includes more sedate and passive forms of learning including watching an online video in TED, LinkTV, CurrentTV, or YouTube. Through extreme learning Web resources, those stuck behind prison walls, injured and in a hospital bed, or unemployed and unable to pay for college tuition can learn to be more productive members of society. Wow! No more spoon-feeding! Please, discover more yourself!Finally, Dr. Curt Bonk please reconsider doing an online talk for IMU Learning Webinar Series? If not 2012, why not 2013? No, is not an option! We need your energy and stories to inspire our educators at IMU, Malaysia and beyond to be more creative and innovative in the way they engage students to think and learn. Thank you in advance for reconsidering...DR. CURT BONK'S REACTIONLet's recapture his reaction in a visual and transparent manner:WOW! Respect for his razor sharp quickness and willingness.Let's hope now that he can find the time to conduct one webinar for IMU Learning Webinar Series...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!Yes, after the mighty struggle to convince him, he has finally agreed (on 25/03/2011) to do an IMU webinar on April 10th, 2011. Kudos to Curtis Bonk! CLICK HERE to believe here!  Let's hope no more hiccups to this amazing adventure with Curtis Bonk! Well, I shall say no more.... :)

Title : Learning Innovation Talks (LIT)Date : 7 March 2012Time : 8.30 am - 5.30 pmVenue : Level 3, Wisma R&D, University of MalayaCONGRATULATIONS!LIT was simply AWESOME in so many ways! CONGRATULATIONS and a BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU (AND HUG!) TO EVERYONE involved.MY TALKCan we use Twitter to enhance teaching and learning? My talk explored how we can use Twitter before, during and after classroom learning to engage and inspire students to reflect, discuss, collaborate and learn. Here are the slides:Using Twitter to Transform Classroom Learning View more PowerPoint from Zaid AlsagoffBelieve it or not, the MC (Samir Harith) for the LIT seminar WON the Twitter Challenge (during my talk)...Prof. Karim, no hard feelings, alright (Just some fun!) :)  LIT TALKS RECORDINGAll the LIT talks were video recorded and here is a 'Mambo-Jumbo' 3:28:14 Hour recording (all-in-one): Jump 1:07 Hour to view my LIT talk! The video recording includes the following LIT Talks: Learning in a World that is OpenPresenter : Prof Dr Zoraini Wati Abas (OUM)iPad and Flipped ClassroomPresenter : Prof Dr Abd Karim Alias (USM)Using Twitter to Transform Classroom LearningPresenter: Zaid Ali Alsagoff (IMU)Using Classroom Presenter on Windows-based Tablets for Teaching & LearningPresenter : Dr Abdul Halim Sulaiman (UM)How to Design and Use Prezi Like a ProPresenter: Mohd Hafiz Md Hanif (UPSI)I Annotate, You AnnotatePresenter: Norhayati Maskat (Taylor’s College) Picture Link: Good Presentations Made Better Presenter : George Easton Hanna (Taylor’s College)Beyond Present Schools : MUVilLE (Malaysian multi-User Virtual Learning EnvironmentsMimma Sayuti Khalid (MOE/UM)    FORUM : LIT FORWARDHere is the video recording of the panel discussion: Prof. Dr. Raja Maznah Raja Hussain, Prof Dr Zoraini Wati Abas, Prof Dr Abd Karim Alias, Zaid Ali Alsagoff, and Norhayati Maskat rocked the house!It is amazing that the whole 'LIT' idea was conceptualized and planned mostly online using Facebook. Anything is possible! One thing is for sure: LIT Rocked!

   The fourth invited International speaker was Curtis Bonk. Yes, it was a MIGHThTY CHALLENGE to get him to do an IMU webinar, but in the end he did it (Kudos to him and me!). And what a great webinar it turned out to be...Title : Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Teaching: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme LearningDate : 10th April, 2012 Time : 10.00 AM, Kuala Lumpur Venue : Online (WizIQ)Description:Some insist. Some resist. Others persist. Such is state of online learning today. But what is highly resistible for some is often passionately irresistible for others. Many are content to tinker with blended forms of learning. They dip their toes into the technology change movement by embedding shared online videos, simulations, timelines, collaborative groups, and open access articles in their courses. Others enter deeper waters and push toward the edges of what is possible. Their classes are teeter-tottering on the brink of transformation. Such instructors hand over the keys to their learners and let them drive for a bit. These risk taking instructors might enjoy reading a learner-designed wikibook, listening to a student generated podcast show, or watching the results of an international video competition. And then there are those who find themselves at the extreme edges of this learning planet. They might tap into virtual explorers, artists, archeologists, and adventurers to excite their learners. It is in such courses that scientific discoveries appear live. Mobile, virtual, and telepresence technologies become the new norm. It is time to stretch toward the edges of learning from those of us tinkering on the shores to those whose learning approaches are tottering in new directions and even landing in totally extreme or alien lands. This talk will showcase examples from all three worlds - the world of the tinkerer, the totterer, and the totally extreme. Which world will you find yourself? Speaker:  Curt Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and President of CourseShare. Drawing on his background as a corporate controller, CPA, educational psychologist, and instructional technologist, Bonk offers unique insights into the intersection of business, education, psychology, and technology. He received the CyberStar Award from the Indiana Information Technology Association, the Most Outstanding Achievement Award from the U.S. Distance Learning Association, and the Most Innovative Teaching in a Distance Education Program Award from the State of Indiana. A well-known authority on emerging technologies for learning, Bonk reflects on his speaking experiences around the world in his popular blog, TravelinEdMan. He has coauthored several widely used technology books, including The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education (2009), Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing (2008), The Handbook of Blended Learning (2006), and Electronic Collaborators (1998).  RECORDINGI can nearly guarantee you that this 2-hour plus recorded webinar session will literally blow your mind into the future with extreme excitement and learning. You have probably heard of 'Batman and Robin', but have you heard of 'Admiral Curt and Captain Zaid'? CLICK HERE (To view the WizIQ recorded version) CLICK HERE (To to download the slides)   Extremely important links shared during the webinar: Extreme LearningExtreme learning blends physical and digital environments, concentrating on activities that enlist technology in uncommon or unique ways. Extreme learning also includes more sedate and passive forms of learning including watching an online video in TED, LinkTV, CurrentTV, or YouTube. Through extreme learning Web resources, those stuck behind prison walls, injured and in a hospital bed, or unemployed and unable to pay for college tuition can learn to be more productive members of society.V-PORTAL (Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching & Learning) A video series (YouTube version for quicker access) addressing the design and best practices of Distance Education courses. The videos are about 10 minutes long (27 of them!) and each topic is accompanied by a list of useful resources and downloadable handout slides (PDF format).Archived Talks An endless collection of learning resources and stories (Keynotes only). Check these 3 presentations first:  - Active Learning with Technology: Myths, Magic, and Mucho Motivation  - The Rise of Shared Online Video: The Fall of Traditional Learning  - 100+ Hyper-Engaging Lecture Ideas for Any Class SizeEd Tech Resources and Portals If you are looking for juicy learning resources, go no further :)Dr. Bonk's Videostreamed Talks and PodcastsDiscover his learning adventures and stories... WOW!TravelinEdMan His learning (journal) blog.Curt Bonk's 2-hour webinar exploring the latest innovations in (extreme) learning around the world can be summed up in one word: UNMISSABLE! UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE! 

Our 5th invited online speaker was none other than Prof. Dr. Mohamed Amin, Deputy Director (e-Learning), Centre for Academic Development, UKM. He gave a sizzling and insightful online talk  about e-learning in higher education in Malaysia, and then explored some of his exciting innovation projects, which include iFolio and  JiT2U (a mobile module gently introducing educators and learners to the concepts and potentials of Web 2.0 tools).Title : e-Learning in Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL): Lessons Learnt, Issues & ChallengesDate : 25 April, 2012 Time : 10.00 AM, Kuala Lumpur (Check time differences)Venue : Online (WizIQ)Description:In this talk, Prof. Amin, Chairman of the Malaysian Council of Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) e-Learning Coordinators shared findings of a nation-wide study designed to find out the status and trends of e-Learning implementation in Malaysian IHLs. He highlighted issues, challenges and lessons learnt from implementing e-learning at various institutions of higher learning. This talk is certainly beneficial to those who are planning or already implementing e-Learning at their respective institution/organization.Speaker:  Prof. Dr. Mohamed Amin is a strong proponent of Open Educational Resources and an active contributor of Web 2.0 resources. His publication entitled Web 2.0 Tools in Education Series, which is accessible for free on Scribd has recorded nearly 100,000 'reads' in the last six months. A Web 2.0 Mobile Application he has developed known as JiT2U (free) has already attracted viewers from more than 94 countries worldwide.RECORDINGCLICK HERE to view WizIQ recorded version.UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

OER MISSION!This blog post will be updated continuously until after I have completed the 2-day 'OER 101 Workshop' at Wawasan Open University (WOU) from 26-27 April. Here is my first version of the presentation slides for the workshop (158 slides over 2 days, not 10 minutes! LOL!): The OER 101 Workshop Please feel free to slam, criticize and provide suggestions regarding the first version of the OER 101 workshop slides. I am far from done (I'm already slamming it from all angles)! The slides will reach sizzling inter-galactic quality after 3 rounds of conducting this workshop. So, if you like what you see, and want me to sizzle OER forward at your institution (anywhere in the world), please don't hesitate to invite me over...LOL! BEEN OERing SINCE 2005! I have been practicing and promoting Open Educational Resources (OER) ever since I was involved in the first IIEP discussion forum on Open Educational Resources (24 October - 2 December 2005), and even back then I made enough noise to be mentioned for my contribution.Although, in basically all my workshops and presentations since then have explored and promoted OER, I have never done a full-blown OER workshop. Please, don't ask me why! However, when WOU invited me to do one OER workshop this coming week, I just had to say 'YES'. After having 1 week of fun sense making what I have learned regarding OER since 2005, I firmly believe OER is infused into my DNA makeup (Let the slides be my judge)!...To be Continued Soon :)

Title : Social Learning Revolution Date : 16th May, 2012 Time : 4:00 PM, Kuala Lumpur (Check time differences)Venue : Online (WizIQ)Description:Social learning happens everyday - naturally and continuously - as we converse with our friends and colleagues - both inside and outside organisations. Social media tools can play a useful part in training (including e-learning), but more importantly they are a powerful way for people to connect, share, collaborate and learn as they do they jobs in the workplace. In this talk Jane discussed how Learning and Design (L&D) specialists need to broaden their role to support this important, and often overlooked area of workplace learning.Speaker:  Jane Hart is an independent consultant, speaker and writer. She is an internationally known specialist in the use of social media for learning and working. Jane is the Founder of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT), a free resource site on the use of technologies for learning and performance, which has become one of the world’s most visited website about learning with over 100,000 visits per month. Jane set up the Social Learning Centre, which offers members a number of different ways to find out how social media can be used to support continuous learning and performance improvement in the workplace (as well as to enhance the social aspects of training).RECORDINGCLICK HERE for the WizIQ recording (version).UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

WORKSHOPThe 2-day 'Using Facebook & Twitter for Learning & Teaching' workshop was conducted twice at the National Center for E-learning and Distance Learning (NCeL), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), from 6-9 May (Male and Female). INTRODUCTIONToday more than 900 million people use Facebook, and more than 300 million use Twitter to connect, share and interact with one another. In this workshop, we will explore how we can use these two tools to facilitate learning and teaching. The workshop will start by introducing participants to the concept of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs), so that they see the big picture in using a variety of learning tools to serve their learning and teaching requirements and needs. Then we will explore and discuss with the participants how they can use Facebook for learning and teaching. During the second part of the day, participants will be required to work in groups (of 5 or less) to conceptualize a (brief) Facebook implementation plan, which will be presented to all participants during the last session of the day with a Q&A session.  Day two will be dedicated to exploring Twitter basics and apps for learning and teaching. During the second part of the 2nd day, participants will again be required to work in groups to conceptualize a (brief) Twitter implementation plan, which will be presented to all during the last session (with Q&A). Lastly, I will sum up the lessons learned and provide some useful tips in moving forward with using Facebook and Twitter for learning and teaching. By the end of this 2-day hands-on workshop, participants will be fully equipped with the knowledge and skills required to use both Facebook and Twitter for their teaching and personal learning. PRESENTATION SLIDESEmpowering Personal Learning Environments at NCeL! View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff  Using Facebook and Twitter for Learning and Teaching at NCeL View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff HANDS-ON ACTIVITIESWhen you have completed these 27 tasks below, you have the basic technical skills to use Facebook Groups and Pages, and Twitter to engage your students to interact, collaborate and learn.Facebook Group: EdKSA IMPORTANT LINKS SHARED FACEBOOKEducators User Guide Facebook in Education Facebook: Academic ResearchStatistics on Saudi Arabia Facebook usage8 Things Teachers should DO and NEVER DO on Facebook!My Facebook Delicious Collection 1) Facebook GroupsIntroduction (Video)Tutorial Example: Learning Innovation Circle (LIC)  2) Facebook PagesInteractive Learning Course Example: Harvard UniversityTWITTERTwitterSurgeons Tweet During Brain Surgery (Video) Twitter Doctors My Twitter Delicious CollectionTWITTER #HASHTAG Twitter #Hashtag Tutorial (Video)Example: #IMUShare Twitter StreamTWITTER FOR LEARNING?The Twitter Classroom Experiment (Video) Twitter in the Classroom (Video)Using Twitter to Transform the Classroom! Is Twitter Hurting Grades? (Research)  Twitter Adoption Matrix35 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the ClassroomTWITTER APPS TweetGrid Monitter Twitterfall  Archivist   tweetdoc Poll Everywhere TwtPoll SaP Web 2.0 More Twitter stuff...EMPOWERING PLESocial Media Revolution 2011 (Video) Buzzing with Social Curation Tools! The Future of Online Education is Now (Video) MIT & Harvard edX InitiativeAnatomy of a PLEMoodle is an AirportMoodle Wish A collection of PLEs  The Smart Worker's Guide to Social Media (Jane Hart) MOOC Guide  What is a MOOC? (Video)UDACITYCourseraP2PUUniversity of the PeopleSharing to Connect, Interact and Learn! Quora Wolfram Alpha 101 OER Resources MORE OER (250+)Creative Commons (CC) LicensesOER Gurus - Stephen Downes -  George Siemens- David Wiley-  Stian Håklev - Curt Bonk   OER 101 Workshop Alternative to University LMS: Edmodo          Schoology Wiki tools:Google SitesGoogle DocsWikispacesWetpaint     Blogging Tools:BloggerWordPressTumblrPosterousAuthoring Tools:Slideshare (slidecast example)PreziCreate Online Crossword Puzzles!WizIQ (web conferencing)Create Cartoons, Movies & Animations:XtranormalGo AnimateToondooDesktop Authoring Tools:CourselabExeUse your iPad to Create OER On-The-Fly:EducreationsExplain EverythingSocial Media Tools and tips200+ Learning ToolsJust in Time Training To You (JiT2U) on Social media and Web 2.0WOW!

 "Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems."  - Karl KappFrom the book:  'The Gamification of Learning and Instruction'...Just READ IT!Also, check out this cool interactive Evolution of Learning graphic (yes, it is infused in my graphic above), although I don't endorse its opinion, which to me is kind of misleading. Why? Because great learning experiences depends as much on the educator (and learner) as on the mode chosen for learning. In other words, a great lecture can be an insanely awesome mind stimulating and inspiring trigger for (lifelong) learning, too. What really matters is what goes on in the head (or mind) of the learner as we try to inspire awesome learning experiences, and that does not necessarily depend on the mode chosen to facilitate this process. However, your chances to facilitate insanely awesome learning experiences can be amplified by using a variety of learning and teaching tools, and Gamification is certainly one to have in your arsenal or learning toolbox.  THE BLOG TOURKarl Kapp, thanks for inviting me again to share some thoughts and ideas on your blog book tours (First one: Learning in 3D). No doubt The Gamification of Learning and Instruction book is also insanely awesome. Besides the book itself, you should explore the Gamification Facebook Page, join the conversation on Twitter (#gamLi hashtag), and of course check out all the book reviews and reflections by the invited learning professionals in the Gamification blog book tour. Interestingly, we were extremely fortunate to have Karl Kapp give an online talk on our IMU Webinar Series recently (21/03/2012).... Easily the best learning webinar series on the planet :) CLICK HERE to access the webinar details and recording.THE BOOKThis is Blog book tour STOP 20, which means that 19 learning professionals before me have actually shared their reviews and feedback on the book. And that makes me wonder what can I really contribute to this conversation without babbling or repeating what others have said in my own words. Nope, that does not inspire me to participate in this conversation! However, here is a great presentation by the awesome Karl Kapp on Gamification in learning design and delivery. Game over!Games, Simulations and Gamification in Learning Design and Delivery View more presentations from Karl Kapp You must have something to say about the book? Okay, I do! If you are looking for a book that covers A-Z from understanding to implementing gamification of learning, this is easily the best book I have ever come across. It fuses theory, research, practice and provides some really juicy examples of how gamification is being applied, and importantly he writes in  a language that is understandable beyond the world of instructional designers and hard core gamers.Also, I love the way that Karl Kapp has converted learning outcomes (using military orders) into chapter questions. All instructional designers, subject matter experts and  writers should know that most human beings since Adam and Eve are more likely to be stimulated to think from questions rather than orders (which might stimulate action, but not necessarily thinking), and that also applies to instructional design. Thanks Karl for making it happen in your book! Though, there are many ways to inspire students to explore and achieve the learning outcomes, and this is one good example on how it can be done. Finally, what I really like about this and all other great books that I have read over the years, is that they inspire me to rethink the way I do things, connect ideas, and explore new possibilities. Actually, I have been (like probably you, too!) practicing many aspects of Gamification in life and work ever since 'Donkey Kong' was released without realizing it, or using this word to illustrate it.So, let's look at some examples.GAMIFICATION OF PERSONAL LEARNING & SHARINGI have a big problem when I am bored, because I easily literally fall asleep when I am in that state. This also very much applies when I learn, especially when I read journal articles and boring academic books (and courseware). However, when I am in this state of boredom, I sometimes challenge myself with time specific goals. For example, suddenly I will challenge myself that I must complete a a reflective blog post (250 - 500 words) within an 1 hour, and that will re-energize my sleeping neurons and empower me to work much faster than if I would not have set such goals. So, how do I punish myself when I fail my self-imposed deadlines? Actually, I don't need punitive measures to drive me, so why bother with such things for personal learning and sharing...right? How do I reward myself? I celebrate it in my distorted imaginative mind by winning The Nobel Prize in Literature, and I have won it every year since 2007 (LOL)! Actually, by being able to push myself and making those self-imposed targets is a reward in itself empowering temporary satisfaction, joy and happiness. Also, I might buy some junk food to celebrate the occasion! Sharing is the essence of great learning and connecting with great minds.GAMIFICATION OF TEACHINGThere is nothing worse than lecturing a class to sleep without even trying to inspire them to think and learn. Now, ever since I came across John Medina's 10 Minute Rule, I have continuously explored different ways to engage the mind.   Although, engagification would be a better way to categorize it than gamification, I still think it is within the realm of gamificaton.For example, during my talk at the Learning Innovation Talks earlier this year, I wanted participants to understand Twitter #hashtags, and get them to tweet during my talk (using a particular #hashtag). To encourage more participation, I told them that the winner would receive a Norwegian chocolate bar (Stratos) with juicy air bubbles. And as a result, quite a few participated in this challenge, and guess who won (most tweets using the #hashtag)? Nope, none of the participants won! Instead, the winner was believe it or not the Announcer (MC). I asked him later for his reason to participate, and he replied that he really wanted that Norwegian chocolate, and in the end he got it. You are probably wondering which Twitter app I used to map out the winner visually with one click. Archivist! TAKING OFF SOON!Alright, I could go on talking about the Gamification of exercise, family life and wife (and seriously put you to sleep!). Oops, perhaps not Gamification of wife (please share some tricks!!!)! But, I am currently in Saudi Arabia (as I write), and will be on my way home from Saudi Arabia on 11 May (my blog tour post date) after conducting two 2-day workshops on Facebook and Twitter at the National Center for E-Learning and Distance Learning (NCeL) in Riyadh. So, I am kind of rushing for time, as I need to do some shopping, too. I hope you understand.Luckily we can schedule posts on Blogger, and this particular post should be posted while I am 30,000+ feet up in the air without any Internet access. So, I might not be very interactive on the 11 May even after returning, as I am looking forward to a break after a pretty hectic period. But, hopefully this post can spark a few ideas and discussions. To sum up, Karl Kapp's Gamification of Learning and Instruction book is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more on how to gamify to amplify learning experiences :)

Title : Using Technogogy for Engaging & Effective LearningDate : 30th May, 2012 Time : 10:00 AM, Kuala Lumpur Venue : Online (WizIQ)Description:"Friends and colleagues, lend me your (virtual) ears. I have a framework to share with all of you, something called technogogy. Maybe you have heard of it, maybe you haven’t.   Maybe you did but chose to ignore it. This framework forces one to take into account the elements of the content, learner, pedagogy and technology that can facilitate for a personalized learning environment and student centred learning. I will also share with you my new ubiquitous learning framework , an all in one solution for an exciting lesson (comes with a lot of hard work) design. See you soon..." - Prof. Rozhan M. IdrusSpeaker:  Rozhan M. Idrus is a Professor of Open and Distance Learning & Technogogy at the Universiti Sains Malaysia on the island of Penang in Malaysia. Rozhan is the first Professor of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) appointed in a public institution of higher learning in Malaysia. He has published more than 160 scholarly works in the form of books, chapter in books as well as refereed journal contributions, and has presented 25 Keynote and Plenary addresses in Malaysia, Thailand, the Sultanate of Oman, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Greece, Spain and Bahrain. He is the Founding Chief Editor of the Malaysian Journal of Educational Technology, the Chief Editor of the International Journal of Excellence in e-Learning (based in Dubai) and is a member of the Editorial Board of ten international journals. He has given a definition to the term ‘technogogy’ and is passionately promoting it.RECORDINGCLICK HERE for the WizIQ recording (version).UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

Lifelong learning expert Jeff Cobb "officially" launched his new book "10 Ways to Be a Better Learner" on Monday, June 4 (the Kindle version will be available for free download for the first week). When I heard this, I straight away invited him to do a webinar, and he accepted the invitation with such short notice (Kudos to him!!!). So, we are thrilled to announce that our next online speaker is Jeff Cobb. Great!10 WAYS TO BE A BETTER LEARNERTitle : 10 Ways to Be a Better LearnerDate : 6 June, 2012 Time : 10:00 AM, Kuala LumpurVenue : Online (WizIQ)Description"In this talk, I will explore 10 Ways to Be a Better Learner, which is also the title of my new book. It  was inspired by my ongoing work on the Mission to Learn blog, and also by my work in consulting with trade and professional associations on their continuing education and professional development businesses. I've come to believe that one of the critical roles these and other lifelong learning organizations can play is to help their members/customers become more capable and effective lifelong learners in our high-speed, hyper-connected world. I feel that many of us simply weren't all that well prepared by traditional schooling to handle the massive flow of information and the continual need for upgrading our knowledge and skills that are demanded by the "learning economy" in which we now live. I'm hoping this book will provide some easy-to-digest, practical help."  - Jeff CobbSpeakerJeff Cobb is the founder of the Mission to Learn blog, co-author of Shift Ed: A Call to Action for Transforming K-12 Education (Corwin, 2011) and author of the forthcoming Leading the Learning Revolution (AMACOM, 2013). Through his consulting and research firm, Tagoras, he works with organizations in the business of lifelong learning to maximize the reach, revenue, and impact of their offerings. He also speaks frequently on how technology is transforming business, education, and the business of education. Click here to find out more about Jeff Cobb.RECORDINGCLICK HERE for the WizIQ recording (version).SLIDES 10 Ways to Be a Better Learner - IMU Webinar View more presentations from Tagoras UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

ARE YOU A LEARNING GLADIATOR (LG)?  CLICK HERE ...to join the Master list (the live updated list is below)! Learning Gladiators' Mission: "To Rid the World of Bad Learning & Teaching!" Please Join Us zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2012/06/are-yo… It will be FUN, too :)— Zaid Ali Alsagoff (@zaidlearn) June 12, 2012 THE STORYLate Saturday evening (2/06/2012), Nor Fadzleen and I figured out during an informal tweet (Twitter) discussion (out of no where!) that it would be great if there was an easy way to discover and connect with all those (awesome) educators in Malaysia who share online (e.g. blog) their learning and teaching resources, experiences, best practices, and are really passionate about transforming the Malaysian education landscape.For starters, why not create a master list of all those Malaysian Learning Gladiators out there?  So, here we are inviting you to fill up this simple form (8 questions only) to connect your learning and teaching awesomeness with the rest of us.Now, we should not stop with only Malaysia, let's unite all the 'Learning Gladiators' (or LGs) around the world! Prof. Zoraini thanks for your ambition and wisdom to go for it!  YOU = LEARNING GLADIATOR?  Criteria?SHARINGAre you using the Internet (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare, etc.) to share your reflections, content and best practices (mostly for free) in learning and teaching (Any language)?   PASSIONAre you passionate about improving and transforming learning and teaching in your area (and beyond)? If 'YES' to both (Sharing & Passion), Congratulations! You are a LEARNING GLADIATOR! Click here to register.This master list will be made available online, so please do not add anything that is confidential. Also, please join our growing Learning Innovation Circle (LIC), which is always passionately sharing and exploring together how learning and teaching can be improved in all forms. Let's connect, unite and collaborate for the betterment of education in Malaysia and around the world!  TWITTER UPDATESTo keep yourself updated on the latest news, members and discussions regarding our mission to connect and unite all the Learning Gladiators in Malaysia and around the world, simply follow the term 'Learning Gladiator' ('Save search') on Twitter.Here are the latest updates displayed in a Twitter Widget:     THE MASTER LISTThe master list below will be updated live as educators add themselves to it. Click here to view the master list as a webpage.The first important mission is to unite all LGs around the world (starting with Malaysia), and this master list will be a good starting point. From the master list we can do many amazing things (Who's Who directory, Wiki-collaborations, specialized communities, etc.), but let's first connect and unite by adding ourselves to this Master list.If you are a Learning Gladiator, and don't add yourself to this list, WE WILL DISCOVER YOU SOON, AND ADD YOU!Finally, let's use this Master list to discover and CELEBRATE ALL THE UNSUNG HEROES around world who go the extra mile to passionately share online their learning and teaching :)

Jane Bozarth!!! WOW! Need I say anymore? What are you waiting for? Title    : Instructional Design for the Real World Date   : 27June, 2012 (Check time differences) Time   : 10:00 AM, Kuala Lumpur Venue : Online (WizIQ) Description "Join in for a fast, fun tour of quick tools and tricks that will support rapid instructional design, cut to the heart of needs analysis, and improve communication with subject matter experts and managers and others requesting training solutions." - Jane BozarthSpeaker Dr. Jane Bozarth is the eLearning Coordinator for the state government of North Carolina, USA. While her specialty is in finding ways to cut the high costs of e-learning, Jane is also a popular classroom instructor and motivational speaker. Dr. Bozarth enjoys business writing and author of E-Learning Solutions on a Shoestring, Better than Bullet Points: Creating Engaging E-Learning with PowerPoint, From Analysis to Evaluation: Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Trainers, and Social Media for Trainers. She and her husband live with Thomas the corgi in Durham, North Carolina, USA. RECORDING Will be made available here soon after the webinar (27/6). UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

OER 101 WORKSHOPThis 2-day (or 1 1/2 day) workshop will be conducted at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from 27th - 28th June, 2012. It provides an introduction to the understanding of Open Educational Resources (OER), and how OER can be found, reused, remixed and created. During the workshop, we will explore and discuss together the concept of OER, Creative Commons, business models, and variety of OpenCourseWare (OCW) case studies and content development tools. During the 2nd day, participants will be required to work in groups (hands-on) to create a course topic/module (of choice) by reusing and remixing OER from a variety of sources. In the final session, we will discuss how to move forward with OER at USM. The OER 101 Workshop (Round 2) View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff.The presentation slides have been updated since round 1 at WOU, especially the 'Case Studies' section, which includes a great study on OER reuse and development carried out by Oxford University. LINKS SHARED DURING THE OER 101 WORKSHOPHere is easy access to all the links discussed or explored during the workshop:1. Open Educational Resources (OER)OER CommonsOpenCourseWare ConsortiumMIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)Open Yale CoursesJHSPH OpenCourseWare (OCW) OpenLearn (The Open University)USQ OpenCourseWareSJTU Open Courseware Saudi Arabia?National Centre for e-Learning & Disctance LearningKFUPM Open CoursewareKing Khalid University OCWQassim College of Medicine OCWPakistan?Virtual University of Pakistan Iran?Farabi Institute of Higher Education OCWIndonesia?The University IndonesiaUniversity of Sumatera UtaraUG OCWMalaysia?Universiti Teknologi Malaysia  OCW Open University Malaysia OERAll Open CourseWare (OCW)?OCW Master List of courses (250+)Open Textbooks (e-books)Project GutenbergOpen Textbook CatalogFlat World KnowledgeCollege Open TextbooksCommunity College Consortium of OER CK-12 FlexBooksWikibooksManyBooks.net20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooksMOOCs & Open TeachingMOOC Guide What is a MOOC? (Video)UDACITYCourseraP2PUUniversity of the PeopleSharing to Connect, Interact and Learn!          (Online Talk by Zaid Ali Alsagoff)Learning RepositoriesiTunes UEDU - YouTubeMERLOTKhan AcademyAcademic EarthCMU OpenLearningInitiativeConnexionsWikiEducatorWikiversityExtreme LearningOnline College ClassesCurrikiInternet ArchiveOER AfricaMEDtubeQuoraWolfram Alpha101 OER ResourcesMORE OER (250+)2. Copyright & OERCreative Commons VideoCreative Commons (CC) LicensesCC Comparison TableOpen Educational Resources Licensing ContinuumArticle: http://edtechfrontier.com/tag/connexions/ CC License Selection ToolIf license used incorrectly will I be sued?Open Content Licensing Course for Educators OER Risk Management Calculator3. Finding OERGoogle Custom Search2 Great Starting Points!OER COMMONSOCW ConsortiumOther Good OER Search Engines?OCW Finder Xpert OER Recommender Temoa Curriki SearchUniversity Learning = OCW+OER = FreeKnowledge FinderJorum OER Dynamic Search EngineDiscover EdFolksemanticOER GlueEinzteiniBerrySocial Curation Tools http://www.delicious.com/zaidlearn/Create Your Own Customized OER Search!: Google Custom SearchArticle: http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-custom-search-for-openfree.html    4. OER Case StudiesNew Initiative: MITx (Article) Salman Khan talk at TED 2011Tools Salman Khan Used to Create the Videos?Introduction Video: CourseraOER Case StudiesFlickr Creative CommonsOER Funding Models5. Creating & Sharing OERTurning a resource into OER (video):OER Development Cycle?(Source 1 and 2)OER Educator HandbookAlternative to University LMS: Edmodo          Schoology Wiki tools:Google SitesGoogle DocsWikispacesWetpaint     Blogging Tools:BloggerWordPressTumblrPosterousAuthoring Tools:Slideshare (slidecast example)PreziCreate Online Crossword Puzzles!WizIQ (web conferencing)Create Cartoons, Movies & Animations:XtranormalGo AnimateToondooDesktop Authoring Tools:CourselabExeUse your iPad to Create OER On-The-Fly:EducreationsExplain EverythingSocial Media Tools and tips200+ Learning ToolsJust in Time Training To You (JiT2U) on Social media and Web 2.0OER GurusStephen Downes   Home: http://www.downes.ca/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/presentations   George Siemens   Home: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/gsiemens David Wiley   Home: http://davidwiley.org/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/opencontent/presentations Stian Håklev   Home: http://reganmian.net/blog   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/houshuang/presentations    Curt Bonk   Home: http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk/   Presentations: http://www.trainingshare.com/workshop.php Recommended OER resources (starting points):Open Educational Resources - Educator HandbookA Basic Guide to OERUNESCO-COL Guidelines for OER in Higher Education Open Educational Resources: The value of reuse in higher education

I gave a talk during the 'Annual Teaching and Learning Seminar 2012' at USM on the 26th June,  2012. 21st CENTURY EDUCATOR During your lifetime you have probably experienced inspirational educators, or witnessed inspiring lectures. But, what about you? Are you such an educator? If not, why not? In this talk, I explored 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. PRESENTATION SLIDES The DNA of a 21st Century Educator View more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff.Updated version, which was presented recently at IMU (includes additional insightful slides worth exploring): DNA of a 21st Century Educator (v2) from IMU (International Medical University)  VIDEO RECORDING DNA of a 21st Century Educator - Part 1 from A. Karim on Vimeo. DNA of a 21st Century Educator - Part 2 from A. Karim on Vimeo.

If you are interested to understand the power of social media and mobile devices to facilitate learning and teaching, I can't think of a more appropriate expert than Steve Wheeler to inspire us to the next level. Here we go!Title : Social Media & Mobile Technology: Learning in a Digital AgeDate : 11th July, 2012 Time : 4:00 PM, Kuala Lumpur (Check time differences) Venue : Online (WizIQ) Description:We are witnessing an exponential rise in the use of social media and mobile technology. We have recently seen widespread use of blogging and social networks, use of Twitter and social tagging, wikis and collaborative filtering, recommender systems. All of these and more, are impacting upon the world of education and training, and there is now a need for concerted research into the effectiveness of these applications. Coupled with the rise in use of mobile phones, handheld computing and the soon to arrive wearable computing and augmented reality tools, we are on the crest of a new wave of learning. Using examples from recent research this presentation will explore the new ways students are learning, and provide some examples of how education might adapt to these new trends.Speaker:Steve Wheeler is Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at Plymouth University, in South West England. Originally trained as a psychologist, he has spent his entire career working in media, technology and learning, predominantly in nurse education (NHS 1981-1995) and teacher education and training (1976-1981 and 1995-present). He is now in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society. A trained educator, he teaches on a number of undergraduate and post-graduate teacher education programmes. He specialises in research on e-learning and distance education, with particular emphasis on social media and Web 2.0 tools. He is regularly invited to speak about his work and has given keynotes and invited lectures to audiences in over 20 countries across 5 continents. He is currently involved in several research programmes related to e-learning, social media and handheld technologies. Steve is the author of more than 150 scholarly articles and is an active and prolific edublogger. His blog Learning with ‘e’s is a regular online commentary on the social and cultural impact of disruptive technologies, and the application of digital media in education and training...More. RECORDING  UPCOMING WEBINARS?CLICK HERE!

OER TALK Below are the presentation slides for the OER talk that I gave at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on July 9, 2012. It explores how we can find, reuse, remix, create and share OER. It also provides a lot of excellent resources and tips.OER Talk at UKMView more presentations from Zaid Alsagoff.This SlideShare version is not a big update from my OER workshop at USM recently. Though, I have added a few more juicy learning resources and also added a cool slide exploring a bit more about... I will leave it for you to discover that! Obviously, I will not be able to cover all 186 slides in-depth during this talk, but I am still sharing the full slide deck as a learning resource for all the UKM participants attending and other people out there who are interested. If you want me to cover the whole presentation comprehensively, I would need 1-2 days, which will also involve a lot of discussion and hands-on activities.The only way to really understand and appreciate OER is to get your mind and hands into reusing, remixing, creating and sharing OER.    LINKS SHARED DURING THE OER 101 TALK Here is easy access to all the links discussed or explored during the talk:1. Open Educational Resources (OER)OER CommonsOpenCourseWare ConsortiumMIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)Open Yale CoursesJHSPH OpenCourseWare (OCW) OpenLearn (The Open University)USQ OpenCourseWareSJTU Open Courseware Saudi Arabia?National Centre for e-Learning & Disctance LearningKFUPM Open CoursewareKing Khalid University OCWQassim College of Medicine OCWPakistan?Virtual University of Pakistan Iran?Farabi Institute of Higher Education OCWIndonesia?The University IndonesiaUniversity of Sumatera UtaraUG OCWMalaysia?Universiti Teknologi Malaysia  OCW Open University Malaysia OERAll Open CourseWare (OCW)?OCW Master List of courses (250+)Open Textbooks (e-books)Project GutenbergOpen Textbook CatalogFlat World KnowledgeCollege Open TextbooksCommunity College Consortium of OER CK-12 FlexBooksWikibooksManyBooks.net20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooksMOOCs & Open TeachingMOOC Guide What is a MOOC? (Video)UDACITYCourseraP2PUUniversity of the PeopleSharing to Connect, Interact and Learn!          (Online Talk by Zaid Ali Alsagoff)Learning RepositoriesiTunes UEDU - YouTubeMERLOTKhan AcademyAcademic EarthCMU OpenLearningInitiativeConnexionsWikiEducatorWikiversityExtreme LearningOnline College ClassesCurrikiInternet ArchiveOER AfricaMEDtubeQuoraWolfram Alpha101 OER ResourcesMORE OER (250+)2. Copyright & OERCreative Commons VideoCreative Commons (CC) LicensesCC Comparison TableOpen Educational Resources Licensing ContinuumArticle: http://edtechfrontier.com/tag/connexions/ CC License Selection ToolIf license used incorrectly will I be sued?Open Content Licensing Course for Educators OER Risk Management Calculator3. Finding OERGoogle Custom Search2 Great Starting Points!OER COMMONSOCW ConsortiumOther Good OER Search Engines?OCW Finder Xpert OER Recommender Temoa Curriki SearchUniversity Learning = OCW+OER = FreeKnowledge FinderJorum OER Dynamic Search EngineDiscover EdFolksemanticOER GlueEinzteiniBerrySocial Curation Tools http://www.delicious.com/zaidlearn/Create Your Own Customized OER Search!: Google Custom SearchArticle: http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-custom-search-for-openfree.html    4. OER Case StudiesNew Initiative: MITx (Article) Salman Khan talk at TED 2011Tools Salman Khan Used to Create the Videos?Introduction Video: CourseraOER Case StudiesFlickr Creative CommonsOER Funding Models5. Creating & Sharing OERTurning a resource into OER (video):OER Development Cycle?(Source 1 and 2)OER Educator HandbookCollection of institutions with OER policy Alternative to University LMS: Edmodo          Schoology Wiki tools:Google SitesGoogle DocsWikispacesWetpaint     Blogging Tools:BloggerWordPressTumblrPosterouseBook Tools Authoring Tools:Slideshare (slidecast example)PreziCreate Online Crossword Puzzles!WizIQ (web conferencing)Create Cartoons, Movies & Animations:XtranormalGo AnimateToondooDesktop Authoring Tools:CourselabExeUse your iPad to Create OER On-The-Fly:EducreationsExplain EverythingSocial Media Tools and tips200+ Learning ToolsJust in Time Training To You (JiT2U) on Social media and Web 2.0OER GurusStephen Downes   Home: http://www.downes.ca/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/presentations   George Siemens   Home: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/gsiemens David Wiley   Home: http://davidwiley.org/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/opencontent/presentations Stian Håklev   Home: http://reganmian.net/blog   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/houshuang/presentations    Curt Bonk   Home: http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk/   Presentations: http://www.trainingshare.com/workshop.php Recommended OER resources (starting points):Open Educational Resources - Educator HandbookA Basic Guide to OERUNESCO-COL Guidelines for OER in Higher Education Open Educational Resources: The value of reuse in higher educationGuidelines for OER in Higher Education  OER Dossier: OER and Higher Education

CLICK HERE...for the Scoop.it version to all! THE STORY! Last year, the amazing Prof. Dr. Mohamed Amin (Deputy Director, e-Learning, Centre for Academic Development, UKM) discovered through a large survey he conducted to academics and students from mostly public universities in Malaysia that there was a lack of awareness (and training opportunities) about Web 2.0, and how Web 2.0 can be used for learning and teaching. So, what did Prof. Amin do? Sit down and write another white paper, or research report recommending this and that? That is typical old school mentality, which I suppose some academics would probably still do. No, instead....    QUICK REFERENCE GUIDESProf. Amin started using several different types of Web 2.0 tools (Scribd, SlideShare, GoAnimate, YouTube, etc) to create/publish quick reference guides in creative ways exploring the "What, Why and How" of using Web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching. Since then, he has continued his increasingly successful mission to make a change, and here is a growing list of his amazing work to provide a gentle introduction to using Web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching:  JiT2U - Mobile Version to Learning Web 2.0 Web 2.0 Content Creation Tools Web 2.0 Research Tools Web 2.0 Survey & Polling Tools Web 2.0 Sharing Tools Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools Web 2.0 Social Networking Tools Web 2.0 Tools in EducationWeb 2.0 e-Publishing ToolsWeb 2.0 Annotation & Bookmarking Tools Web 2.0 Mindmapping & Brainstorming Tools 40 Must-know Web 2.0 EdutoolsMore...Here is one of his GoAnimate animations exploring how to use YouTube for learning and teaching (Check out his YouTube channel, too): RESULTS? So far, his Web 2.0 (OER) work has reached people from more than a hundred countries, and this growing collection has now been viewed more than a 150,000 times. However, his amazing work has yet to go really viral, and if it does...WOW!However, as I discussed with my dear friend Prof. Amin yesterday (before my OER Talk at UKM) is that it will be difficult to keep all the quick reference guides updated as he adds new Web 2.0 tools to the growing collection. The navigation and especially the interface of many Web 2.0 tools keep on changing as they evolve, and to keep that updated in quick reference guides will certainly require a lot of extra work (and headaches). One way, is to convert these quick reference guides into Wiki format using for example Google Sites, and then easily invite other interested educators to participate in keeping them updated. Another way is to focus more on the 'WHAT' and 'WHY' (including learning and teaching tips), and then simply link to the 'HOW', which now many Web 2.0 tools (e.g. Twitter help) are doing a pretty good job (also they will certainly update the screenshots and changes faster).Whatever, Prof. Amin plans for the future, his amazing work deserves a BIG KUDOS!Yes, his quick reference guides to Web 2.0 tools is certainly a learning treasure for anyone (who can read English or Malay) :)

'Using Social Media for Research' will be presented on the 2nd September (Insya-Allah) at the APAME Convention 2012. Interestingly, I have decided to share the presentation slides much earlier here, because I am basically done with the draft version, and would simply love some feedback and suggestions for improvement before the APAME Convention 2012. Please feel free to slam everything any way you like, because I can easily update the slides (and ideas) for the better.If your improvement idea(s) stink (according to my humble opinion), I will still recognize your effort by adding your name to a dedicated slide displaying all the names of the awesome geniuses that have contributed in making this presentation or talk better.If I get no feedback, I can humbly say that this presentation was curated and mashed-up by Me, Myself and I. Either way, thanks for just reading this and surfing through my presentation slides! Here we go...ABSTRACTToday nearly a Billion people use Facebook, and more than 500 million use Twitter to connect, share and interact 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 collaborating on research projects and communicating scientific knowledge? This talk will explore how social media can be and is used to play a critical role in the full academic research cycle. We will look at how we can use a variety of social media tools to collaborate on identifying, creating, quality assuring and disseminating scientific knowledge. For example today, many doctors are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs to share and discuss their latest research with their fellow professionals and the public. By doing so, their work is sometimes being peer-reviewed by hundreds of experts around the world, empowering a more impactful learning and research experience.PRESENTATION SLIDES Using Social Media for Research from IMU (International Medical University)PONDERING!You might be thinking now, "How much time has Zaid been given to present his talk'? Sadly, only 20-30 minutes. How the _____ are you going to cover 66 slides in that time?  Great question! If you look carefully, 15 slides are basically fillers or additional whoa, meaning I basically need to cover only 51 slides over say 20 minutes, which sounds insane (to some). Guy Kawasaki would have fired me on the spot after 10 slides (over 20 minutes). I hope you are familiar with his famous 10/20/30 (10 slides/20 minutes/30 words) rule for good PowerPoint presentations.  This might apply well for a good pitch, but if you ask me, I would simply be bored to death if I only saw 10 slides over 20 minutes, unless the speaker blows me away with great ideas and insights. So, how are you going to inspire your main idea to the audience? Not 100% sure yet (still got time!), but the presentation slides (shared above) basically covers what I want to share regarding this topic that was assigned to me, which was to talk about how we can use social media to communicate scientific knowledge. My main point is to convince the audience that social media (or web 2.0 and web 3.0 for that matter) can be used for much more than simply communicating scientific knowledge. And to know what I mean by that, please 'Wallop' the presentation slides shared above, and if you can find time...Please slam away, too! Hidden main point (please don't tell anyone)...If you are totally lost (after the presentation) but excited about the prospects of using social media for research (and learning)...Please, don't hesitate to invite me to conduct a 1-2 day workshop on how to creatively use some of these social media tools to...I shall say no more :)

OER 101 WORKSHOPThis 2-day workshop will be conducted at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from 27th - 28th August, 2012. It provides an introduction to the understanding of Open Educational Resources (OER), and how OER can be found, reused, remixed and created. During the workshop, we will explore and discuss together the concept of OER, Creative Commons, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), business models, and variety of OpenCourseWare (OCW) case studies and content development tools. During the 2nd day, participants will be required to work in groups (hands-on) to create a course topic/module (of choice) by reusing and remixing OER from a variety of sources. In the final session, we will discuss how to move forward with OER at USM. PRESENTATION SLIDES The OER 101 Workshop at USM II from IMU (International Medical University)The latest edition has some new slides compared to the first OER workshop at USM, especially on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), which will be more emphasized this time around. I am really looking forward to all the discussions, especially regarding MOOCs.  LINKS SHARED DURING THE WORKSHOP Here is easy access to all the links discussed or explored during the talk:1. Open Educational Resources (OER)OER CommonsOpenCourseWare ConsortiumMIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)Open Yale CoursesJHSPH OpenCourseWare (OCW) OpenLearn (The Open University)USQ OpenCourseWareSJTU Open Courseware Saudi Arabia?National Centre for e-Learning & Disctance LearningKFUPM Open CoursewareKing Khalid University OCWQassim College of Medicine OCWPakistan?Virtual University of Pakistan Iran?Farabi Institute of Higher Education OCWIndonesia?The University IndonesiaUniversity of Sumatera UtaraUG OCWMalaysia?Universiti Teknologi Malaysia  OCW Open University Malaysia OERAll Open CourseWare (OCW)?OCW Master List of courses (250+)Open Textbooks (e-books)Project GutenbergOpen Textbook CatalogFlat World KnowledgeCollege Open TextbooksCommunity College Consortium of OER CK-12 FlexBooksWikibooksManyBooks.net20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooksLearning RepositoriesiTunes UEDU - YouTubeMERLOTKhan AcademyAcademic EarthCMU OpenLearningInitiativeConnexionsWikiEducatorWikiversityExtreme LearningOnline College ClassesCurrikiInternet ArchiveOER AfricaP2PUUniversity of the PeopleMEDtubeQuoraWolfram Alpha101 OER ResourcesMORE OER (250+)MOOCs & Open TeachingMOOC Guide What is a MOOC? (Video)UDACITYCourseraSharing to Connect, Interact and Learn!          (Online Talk by Zaid Ali Alsagoff)2. Copyright & OERCreative Commons VideoCreative Commons (CC) LicensesCC Comparison TableOpen Educational Resources Licensing ContinuumArticle: http://edtechfrontier.com/tag/connexions/ CC License Selection ToolIf license used incorrectly will I be sued?Open Content Licensing Course for Educators OER Risk Management Calculator3. Finding OERGoogle Custom Search2 Great Starting Points!OER COMMONSOCW ConsortiumOther Good OER Search Engines?OCW Finder Xpert OER Recommender Temoa Curriki SearchUniversity Learning = OCW+OER = FreeKnowledge FinderJorum OER Dynamic Search EngineDiscover EdFolksemanticOER GlueEinzteiniBerrySocial Curation Tools http://www.delicious.com/zaidlearn/Create Your Own Customized OER Search!: Google Custom SearchArticle: http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-custom-search-for-openfree.html    4. OER Case StudiesNew Initiative: MITx (Article) Salman Khan talk at TED 2011Tools Salman Khan Used to Create the Videos?Introduction Video: CourseraOER Case StudiesFlickr Creative CommonsOER Funding Models5. Creating & Sharing OERTurning a resource into OER (video):OER Development Cycle?(Source 1 and 2)OER Educator HandbookCollection of institutions with OER policy Alternative to University LMS: Edmodo          Schoology Wiki tools:Google SitesGoogle DocsWikispacesWetpaint     Blogging Tools:BloggerWordPressTumblrPosterouseBook Tools Authoring Tools:Slideshare (slidecast example)PreziCreate Online Crossword Puzzles!WizIQ (web conferencing)Create Cartoons, Movies & Animations:XtranormalGo AnimateToondooDesktop Authoring Tools:CourselabExeUse your iPad to Create OER On-The-Fly:EducreationsExplain EverythingSocial Media Tools and tips200+ Learning ToolsJust in Time Training To You (JiT2U) on Social media and Web 2.0OER GurusStephen Downes   Home: http://www.downes.ca/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/presentations   George Siemens   Home: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/gsiemens David Wiley   Home: http://davidwiley.org/   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/opencontent/presentations Stian Håklev   Home: http://reganmian.net/blog   Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/houshuang/presentations    Curt Bonk   Home: http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk/   Presentations: http://www.trainingshare.com/workshop.php Recommended OER resources (starting points):Open Educational Resources - Educator HandbookA Basic Guide to OERUNESCO-COL Guidelines for OER in Higher Education Open Educational Resources: The value of reuse in higher educationGuidelines for OER in Higher Education  OER Dossier: OER and Higher EducationThis blog post will be continuously updated until after the workshop :)

If you want to understand how you can make the best use of graphics to engage the mind and stimulate learners to think, I simply can't think of a better expert to engage with than the awesome Connie Malamed!Title : Your Brain on GraphicsDate : 12th September, 2012 Time : 10:00 AM, Kuala Lumpur (Check Time Differences)Venue : Online (WizIQ) Description:Tune in to the power of visual communication and how it facilitates learning and thinking. Learn to design visuals that focus on what you really want to communicate. In this interactive and lively webinar, Connie Malamed explored visual design principles that are based on how learners perceive and process information. Speaker:Connie Malamed consults, writes, and speaks in the fields of online learning, visual communication, and information design. She publishes the popular website, The eLearning Coach and is the author of the Instructional Design Guru iPhone app and the book Visual Language for Designers, which presents visual design principles based on cognitive science.  RECORDINGWOW!

How do we engage and inspire students/educators/learners to really learn, and then empower them with the belief that they can learn on their own (without needing to be always spoon-fed)? Self-learning and learning how-to-learn are probably the two ultimate things we need master to survive and be successful in the 21st century, which will eventually be known as the...Source (Webinar recording)THE FLIPPING CHALLENGE!Are you familiar with the 'Flipped Classroom' approach to learning?Here is a video to introduce you to the biggest global learning trend and buzz word in education for the last few years (besides MOOCs, which is probably the learning buzzword for 2012): In one sentence: You view the lecture (recording) at home, and then you come to class to do the homework (or learning activities), whereby the teacher(s) (and fellow students) are there to provide guidance and support (when necessary) during the learning process. WOW!Source (Infographic)That sounds great for school-level learning, but what about higher education? Jackie Gerstein's masterpiece graphic below (and articles/resources) provides some great ideas on how to make it really work for higher education.Source: Collection of resources/Articles from Jackie Gerstein If you ask me, I would argue that the flipping 'Flipped Classroom' challenge is not making your lectures available online (which many are already doing), but creating electrifying and inspiring learning experiences during the face-to-face (F2F) learning sessions itself that is the ultimate challenge (and differentiating factor to give you a competitive advantage).Also, in higher education, especially at Master and PhD level should we be spoon-feeding students with lectures (recordings) telling or showing them A-Z, so that they can replicate (or vomit out) the same stuff during their exams or assignments?THE LECTUREI suppose it depends on what you are teaching, but we also need to rethink what the real purpose of the lecture should be, and how we can make best use of it to engage and inspire learning beyond the spoon-feeding paradigm.DON'T MISS THIS LECTURE!Alright, after exploring for a few centuries, we finally get the lecture right (for what we are teaching)! What do we do with the students when they come for the F2F (or online) learning sessions? If the lecture recording is already online (hopefully not outdated!), I suppose repeating it during a F2F (or online) session would not be the most productive way to go about it, would it?But, before we get into that, have your students actually gone through the lecture recording before the F2F session?  I suppose so, I told them to do so (Keep on dreaming!).You can assume that, but the reality is often very different unless you have infused some mechanisms to ensure that they view (and also understand) the recorded lecture(s) before they come to class.Changing the students' learning mindset (and habits) to explore lectures (or resources) online before class might take some time, especially if they are from the good old spoon-feeding paradigm. To deal with this, you could for example keep track on who access the recorded lectures (especially if you are using an LMS) before class. However, clicking on a link doesn't mean that actual learning has taken place. However, having an online quiz after (or during) the recorded lecture could encourage more students to explore it, especially if it is a requirement to do it before the F2F session.Adding a discussion forum, requiring for example all students to ask at least one question (or reflection) before class could help, too. Or you could construct a few online learning activities/challenges/assignments (e.g. WebQuest) to encourage students to think before the F2F session.Finally, if you create sizzling online lectures, many students might even explore them without requiring any 'carrot or stick' measures.  The lecture becomes the carrot!As you see there are many ways to get students on board in a 'flipped classroom' approach, and if you explore your creative mind, I am sure you will figure out even better ways to activate your students' brain to think before they come for class.Cool! But, what should we do with them once they come...?CLASSROOM LEARNING"If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom. If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle. And if you wanted to change things, you might have to tear down both and start over." -John MediaDesigning inspiring 'Learning Spaces' will increasingly be required as we want to move F2F (or online learning) learning sessions beyond the lecture format to empower more effective student learning experiences.Changing the physical classroom is probably more complicated as that would also require extensive monetary investments and time to make it happen. Let's assume that you have your good old classroom or computer lab, which by nature might not be really conducive for interactive or collaborative learning (e.g. seating arrangement).If you ask me, I would argue that we can still do learning miracles in a boring classroom setting if we stretch our imagination beyond our usual 'Blame everything else, except ourselves'. So, what can we do during a 'Flipped Classroom' session?Q&A Encourage students to ask questions to clarify what they didn't understand from the recorded lecture (or required readings).Case Study (or Problem-Based Learning)Yes, even Harvard uses Case Studies to empower deep learning and understanding of the subject matter. We could discuss a Case Study with the students, and even break up into groups to encourage more involvement and diverse opinions.Learning ActivitiesBuild learning activities to apply what has been learned in the lecture. Here students don't have to be stuck in the classroom. They could always be asked to venture out individually or in groups to the library, labs, outdoors, etc. and then return to share their discoveries and findings.Online ClassroomIf you can't afford the transformation of your physical classroom, you could always use a  web-conferencing tool to engage students to learn using a variety of features (e.g. poll, whiteboard, chat, screen/application sharing, etc.). It is an alternate and cheaper solution that has no borders. Etc.I leave that to your imagination!All these approaches above can be useful to empower more effective learning experiences. But, personally I want the students learning experiences to be more challenging, competitive, inspiring and fun, so I would...GAMIFY CLASSROOM LEARNING! "Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems." - Karl Kapp  Gamifying learning fully online in mind boggling 3D worlds with collaborative challenges beyond the borders of Earth is really cool. However, how many academics are ready to take the online 'Gamification' pill to make that happen?For starters, let's try gamifying learning in the classroom! I did actually try this during my two 2-day OER workshops at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in June and August (2012).My main mission for the 2nd day's hands-on learning activity was to inspire USM Academic staff to use social media and web 2.0 technologies to develop Open Educational Resources (OER).I could have given a boring show-and-do workshop (interactive lecture format) on using a variety of learning tools (and put them to sleep!), but instead Prof. Karim and I showed them briefly a variety of learning tools (Edmodo, Blogs, Google Sites, Udemy, etc.), and how they can be applied to learning and teaching. We didn't spend much time teaching them how to click, because that was left to the...CHALLENGEA mission learning activity/task/check list was created for the OER challenge. Basically any course that has learning outcomes can be broken down to learning related tasks, meaning this can be applied to most courses (if not all). So, in this context this is what we wanted participants to achieve by the end of this learning activity: GROUP WORKParticipants were assigned to groups based on random numbering (group size: 5 to 7), but were allowed to change group (Not the army!). However, we tried to ensure that the participants with some technology or blogging experience to be divided into different groups (where possible), so that they could play a critical role in helping, or guiding the other participants to achieve the tasks. We also emphasized the learning formula: If you know how to do it, check whether the person next to you knows, too. If not, show him/her how to do it. Teaching is awesome learning!As they had 14 tasks to achieve, most groups divided their work among the members (divide and conquer) and then got back together during the end to integrate their items into a learning masterpiece. During the process they helped one another, and interestingly the facilitators were hardly needed for help. The groups seemed to work out their issues by themselves probably 95% of the time.  GROUP PRESENTATION AND Q&AAfter they had completed their mission, each group was required to present their work to the rest of the participants (10 - 15 minutes each), so that everyone could learn from one another. Participants were encouraged to ask questions after the presentations, and the 2 facilitators (Prof. Karim and me) shared their feedback and recommendations.VOTE FOR THE WINNERTo make it more exciting and competitive, participants were requested to vote for the group winner (based on the learning tasks given) using Poll Everywhere, which enables you to use any mobile/computer device to vote (great tool to empower student engagement...Clickers on steroids!). As Poll Everywhere provides live updates as participants vote, it becomes really exciting, especially if it is a close call. Other voting/polling tools you could use, include Facebook (Ask Questions), Socrative, Polldaddy, and Twtpoll.    CELEBRATE! It is not really about winning, but using the gaming approach to engage and inspire the participants to really explore the learning with a bit of oomph (effort). The winning part is just an icing on a splendidly delicious learning cake. And you know what, I have never seen so many engaged academics embracing a learning activity than during these two workshops. I have been training academics for more than a decade, and this formula has proven to work best for me getting full commitment from participants to do a learning activity. We even had difficulty getting some of the participants to eat lunch. They were so engrossed. Here are some pictures from both workshops to prove it:  JuneAugust The best thing, it is quite easy to gamify classroom learning, especially the way I have done it in this approach shared above. Of course, your classroom session should be perhaps 2 hours or more to empower all these learning activities without needing to rush through. But developing a learning (activity) tasks list (easy), and learning how to use Poll Everywhere (5 minutes max!) is seriously less difficult than you probably realize.More importantly, instead of spoon-feeding them how to use social media (and web 2.0) tools, we have probably made them realize that they can learn on their own, too. Based on the feedback I got from USM was that the participants learned a lot, were engaged, had fun, and wanted the OER workshop to be conducted again, which I did exactly two months later.     "The LESS you teach, the MORE they learn!" - Zaid Ali Alsagoff Finally, great learning and teaching goes beyond the 'Flipped' or 'Gamified' Learning approached, and here is what I mean about that: Gamifying Classroom Learning from Zaid Alsagoff So, are you going to gamify your classroom learning? Hopefully, you are already doing it :)