Presentation slides for the session at the ETUG 2010 Fall Workshop in New Westminster, British Columbia Presenter: Glenn Groulx DescriptionL Both short (10 minute) presentations will include interactive sessions with the audience. There will be a general interactive session among participants and the presenters after the presentations. Presentation One (10 minutes) – Glenn Groulx Interactive session (5 minutes) Presentation One (10 minutes) – Stuart Berry Interactive session (5 minutes) Interactive session (20 minutes) – Presenters and Participants This session will discuss the broader implications and issues of the use of social networking software within both formal and informal learning environments. Two Examples of the use of the ELGG Social Software Environment to Support Learning Part 1: Academic Blogging Circle Glenn Groulx will showcase collaborative and cooperative blogging methods to facilitate discussion and build bridges between faculty, alumni, students, and administrators using the Academic Blogging Circle within an ELGG environment. Part 2: Living Archives Stuart Berry will discuss his doctoral research project with online students within the ELGG environment to facilitate student interaction, knowledge creation, and to encourage the use of an online archive to act as bridges between and among different cohorts of learners.

1. Glenn Groulx
November
2010
Academic
Blogging Circles

2. Background
 Completed MDE program
 Completed 4 courses using
Me2U and AU Landing
 Completed e-portfolio
 Research Assistant
 Blogging in academic setting
since for more than 2 years
 Exploring/expanding on my own
shifting role as lifelong
autonomous learner
 Adult Literacy Instructor at
NWCC
(English and Computers)
 Interested in delivering remote
learning (blended F2F and online
support) for learners in remote

3. About the Academic Blogging
Circle
 Provides a space for participants to discuss
“special interest” topics related to edublogging
 Open membership – anyone can join
 some content has limited access to group; some
is public
 Not connected with any course or program
 Has 20 members
 Set up Summer 2010
 Membership made up of a mix of faculty
members, alumni, administrators, and students
from different academic programs and different
disciplines

4. “Academic
Blogging Circle”

9.  Bridges the skills gap for
learners between cohort
learning and autonomous
lifelong learning
 Encourages interdisciplinary
collaboration
 Encourages open
participation from different
types of learners in non-
formal setting
 Facilitates learning from
seminars to independent
study to auto-didaxy
Benefits of
the Blogging
Circle

10. The Road Ahead
 Opens up potential for
sustained self-assessment
 Analytics for autonomous
learners
 PLAR
 Counseling and advising
support
 E-mentoring
 Personalized mini-courses
 Increased independent study
 E-portfolios (formative and
summative)
 Group projects
 Non-formal research groups
 Unanticipated collaborations
(papers, presentations)

11. Questions and
Discussion
Glenn Groulx, B Ed., MDE
E-mail: ggroulx@nwcc.bc.ca
Twitter: @ggroulx
EduBlog: https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/blog/glenngr4
Academic Blogging Circle:
https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/groups/9775/academic-
blogging-circle/