Jo Bloggs

Life after Beth

2007-07-25T19:01:00.000+08:00

Chances are that sooner or later we will leave this gilded cage. Apart from the obvious question mark that hangs over next destination, the actual thought of leaving the expat life conjures up feelings of both dread and excitement.

Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom that having household staff affords. Our live-in nanny, Beth, is bright, energetic, imaginative and, most importantly, the kids adore her. I'm free to study, workout, primp and pamper at will. Yet I still look forward to chaotic (and sometimes hungover) Sundays of dressing, feeding, wiping, cuddling and amusing our two littl'uns. I know that I would miss my helpers no sooner had I stepped off the plane and no matter what, I will never look forward to cleaning my own toilet bowl but with kids as gorgeous as these two, can you blame me for wanting them all to myself .... sometimes?

Sharp as a knife

2007-07-19T10:14:00.000+08:00

I will spare you the pain of my experiences with US airport security during our trip. I will, however, share what I thought was an impressive piece of detective work. As we rolled Luc's hand luggage through the security machine, the conveyor belt stopped abruptly while a couple of inspectors took a closer look. After a few seconds of examining at the screen, a rather fierce looking officer came over and asked "Do you have a knife in the bag?". I could sense my fellow passengers eyes drilling a hole into my back. I wracked my brains wondering whether I had inadvertently slipped a carving knife into Luc's luggage before confidently answering "no". Without a moment's hesitation, he asked "In that case, is there a toy limousine in there?".

A true cliche

2007-07-19T09:43:00.000+08:00

People say the best thing about having kids is that you get to be a kid again yourself. It's so true! Can you guess who was more excited to meet Donald and Minny at New York's Disney store?

April Fool

2007-07-19T09:33:00.000+08:00

As I hit create post, I noticed that my last entry was dated April 1. How time flies! Over the past few months Scarlett, Luc and I have all celebrated birthdays and I finished my penultimate semesters of studies which kept me pretty busy.

Bart, Luc and I just returned from the States where at least 3 friends told me they miss reading my Blog entries so here I am again! Can't promise to post regularly but I'll give it a go.

Bart's Birthday

2007-04-01T14:19:00.000+08:00

Birthday boy decided he wanted to spend the afternoon at the gocart track followed by a bbq back at the house. The carting was huge fun and as usual the bbq offerings cooked up by mum were the toast of the town.

Is it February already??

2007-02-09T09:51:00.000+08:00

It's a good job that 'updating my blog regularly' was not on my resolution list. They say one of the signs of growing old is constantly remarking on how quickly time is passing. I'm positively middle-aged in that case.

So let's see where am I with the resolutions that I did make:

* Sort and backup digital photos
Done. Although I admit my hand was forced when the computer that houses said photos starting coughing and spluttering. There followed a frenzied few hours of cd burning.

* Buy outfits instead of separate items
Haven't done much clothes shopping but am looking forward to keeping this one!

* Finish masters degree
Have enrolled on penultimate unit which starts March 5. Really looking forward to it.

* Get down to pre-Scarlett weight
For all the doubters out there (BO!!), I have shed 6lbs since the beginning of the year thanks to a modified South Beach diet and thrice weekly pilates. I know I could lose more if I added some cardio to the routine. Maybe next week ...

* Stop hoarding useless receipts
Done. I must have taken about 20 old Starbucks receipts from various handbags!!

Playtime

2007-02-01T14:33:00.000+08:00

Luc plays chaperone during a play date with Anna and Scarlett. Scarlett is getting the whole crawling thing down!

Staff BBQ

2007-01-15T13:56:00.000+08:00

We hosted a Sunday afternoon barbecue for our helpers and their families. In the past we usually took them out for dinner but this year we though a relaxed afternoon in the garden would make a nice change. To make it even more fun we hosted jointly with our friends the Purkas.

New Look for the New Year !

2007-01-01T14:50:00.000+08:00

Thanks to preventive measures taken before going to bed, today's hangover has thus far been subdued like an unruly airplane passenger. I'm hoping that when the ibuprofen handcuffs are off, the headache doesn't make a sudden bid for freedom.

Meanwhile, if you're a returning visitor, you might have noticed that we have a new look. You will also notice that to the left of this posting, I have shared my New Years resolutions. They are intentionally not earth shattering but they are achievable and you're looking at the proof.

If you haven't made any resolutions this New Year, just resolve to check out this blog every now and then. I'll try to make it worth your while!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

2007-01-01T09:29:00.000+08:00

Christmas past, present and yet to come

2006-12-28T12:44:00.000+08:00

No matter how many times you're told that "Christmas is all about the kids", I think this is the first year where I truly appreciated the truism. Scarlett was clearly oblivious to the entire event but Luc had a blast. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly though, the highlight for me was not seeing his face when he realised that Santa Claus had eaten the cookie and drunk the milk left out for him nor was it watching his eyes light up each time he opened one of his dozens of car themed gifts.

Instead highlights were provided by moments such as when Luc literally danced in the aisle of the church during the Christmas Eve carol service as well as him insisting on placing a tacky, plastic miniature Christmas tree underneath the big tree because "that's its mummy and it has to be near her" (sniff, sniff).

I can't wait until next Christmas!

Mini Mouse

2006-12-24T15:41:00.000+08:00

Luc has become an expert YouTube user. First we have to type in his search criteria (usually 'monster truck crash'!!) after that he's on his own. He impresses me with his ability to scroll down the screen to pick from the selection offered and he even knows how to drag the pointer to find his favorite part of the movies.

Scarlett is also beginning to see the attraction of the computer mouse although I think her motivation might be slightly different.

The 'ber' months

2006-12-07T21:57:00.000+08:00

In the UK a 'ber' month would be when the weather starts to get colder. Here in the Philippines though (where it never gets cold) the expression is used to describe the last four months of the year (get it?). The first 'ber' month each year is significant because an unwritten rule says that stores can now begin to play Christmas tunes.

This phenomenon has unfailingly irritated the hell out of me for the past 5 years. This year however, I have somehow been doused with Christmas spirit unusually early which I attribute to being a fun side-effect of having a kid who's old enough to get excited about the old fat guy in the red suit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T18:00:00.000+08:00

This will be the first Thanksgiving for a while that we haven't spent in the US with family. Still, we will be feasting on some bird and all the appropriate fixin's. Happy turkey day to everyone!

Caption Contest

2006-11-16T18:26:00.000+08:00

Scarlett went to play with some friends today. Here they are chilling on the couch while we mums went out for a boozy lunch ... (just kidding).

What do you think was going through her mind though? Give me your suggestions in a comment!

Our baby's growing up!

2006-11-14T17:26:00.000+08:00

Quite a few milestones hit at around six months and Scarlett seems to have left infancy in her tracks in a matter of days.

She finds looking around much more interesting than nursing so I have decided to express milk and feed her from a bottle to ensure she gets enough. Which means that we're now on the road to weaning. She has also started to eat some 'solids' (mashed banana and rice cereal so far). I'm sure she's finding it much easier to bite through that goop with the new tooth that appeared last week!

It's great to see her hitting all these milestones. Can't help but feel slightly nostalgic though ...

Here's a picture of Scarlett and her young friend Anna taken by Anna's mummy Karin.

No peace for the wicked

2006-11-14T17:13:00.000+08:00

I sat my end of term exam last Thursday and it was a horrible experience. It was like living the recurring nightmare where I had a literature exam the next day and hadn't even read the book. I am fiercely against exams partly because I am just terrible at them but mostly because it does nothing to prove ability to apply new found knowledge.

So I had the weekend to recover and now it's back to the classroom. This term it's Online and Distributed learning. I'm already much happier because a) there's no exam (hurray!) and b)there is already quite lively use of the course discussion board so I'm hoping that it will be quite an interactive term.

Where there's a will ...

2006-11-04T09:32:00.000+08:00

One of the most frequently asked questions when we returned from three weeks in Europe with (shock, horror) no nanny was "How was it travelling with two kids?".

The short answer is that it was absolutely fine. Perhaps our expectations of the experience were so low that we could only be pleasantly surprised or maybe our kids are exceptionally well behaved (!). In any case, we found that a positive attitude works wonders.

One evening we found ourselves walking the streets on a rainy evening with two sleeping children in our arms looking for a restaurant that was not full. Our search finally paid off and the picture shows me celebrating with a yummy margarita surrounded by sleeping beauties!

Luc is "wild" about cars!

2006-10-31T13:24:00.000+08:00

If you've ever spent any time with Luc, you know that he can name any make of car from 100m away and just by looking at the wheels. Much of his knowledge comes from his growing collection of car magazines.

This morning I was on the computer and Luc was flicking through one of his magazines at breakneck speed. I then became aware that he'd stopped turning the pages. Wondering whether he had stopped to admire a picture of a Ferrari, a Smart car or perhaps a Jaguar. I looked up from my screen to check out the object of this prolonged attention. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he had been staring (complete with mischievous smile) at a full page ad for the latest "Girls Gone Wild" dvd....

Here's a photo of Luc at an auto show in Paris recently.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!

2006-10-23T15:20:00.000+08:00

At the tender age of 5.5 months, Scarlett's witch from the islands costume won her a fancy dress prize this week. Here she is with her proud mum.

Life is a highway ....

2006-10-20T00:53:00.000+08:00

"Life is a highway..." according to one of the song's in Luc's favourite movie, Cars. We certainly wouldn't have disagreed with that on our recent trip to Europe which has us drive 13 hours from Budapest, Hungary to Sigisoara, Romania. Our two little travel bugs coped fantastically.
I will post some photos soon but in the meantime highlights from our trip (which began with a week in our beloved Paris) include:

* Aunt Violet finding a relative in the Transylvanian town she born in.
* Watching waiters' jaws drop when we asked for a table. At one stage we numbered 18 with ages ranging from 5 months to 80 yrs.
* Champagne boat trip on the Danube. The best part was that the moon's reflection on the water pacified a fussy Scarlett.
* Meeting up with so many old friends in Paris and Budapest many of whom have also had new babies since we last saw them.
* Somloi Galushka at the Fatal restaurant Budapest. Hungary's answer to tiramisu is so-so except at this restaurant that is not only served in an enormous serving bowl but is absolutely delicious. I had it 3 times in 4 days!
* Spending time with the US family and Luc hanging out with his cousins.
* Eating wine and cheese in France. It just doesn't taste the same anywhere else.
* Visting local food market in Paris. My first morning in Paris, I went out to look for a supermarket but stumbled upon the fantastic Boulevard de Grenelle Sunday market. Reminded me of the best thing about living in Paris ... the love of food.

Not so high lights:
* Severe jetlag on return
* Snotty waiters in Budapest. I think they went to the same finishing school as some Parisian waiters.
* That road trip

We are the champions!

2006-09-20T21:23:00.000+08:00

Bart recently led a Philippines all-star Ultimate team (Pula, meaning "red") to victory in the men's division of the largest annual regional tournament, held in Singapore.

It was the first time that a Philippine team has won a competition in the sport abroad. There are now hundreds of teams up and down East Asia competing in this growing sport.

Bart served as player-coach of the 14-man squad, which was all Filipino save for him and one other pale-face from the States residing in these islands. As you can see, Bart was rather pleased!

Here is his team (Bart was off somewhere drinking that beer!):

Strike a Pose!

2006-09-10T23:31:00.000+08:00

A Marketer's Dream

2006-09-10T23:17:00.000+08:00

I think my first real movie craze was Grease when I was 8 yrs old. Just to prove how fast kids grow up these days, young Luc is already obsessed with Cars the Movie and he has a full blown crush on Sally (the cute Porsche). Word has spread and now Cars merchandise from his family all over the world has made its way into his little hands. I hate the thought of being the ultimate marketers dream but then again all his stuff makes him so happy and at least he doesn't have photos of Lindsay Lohan all over his wall!

Bowling for Manila

2006-09-08T17:57:00.000+08:00

Luc and his classmates (plus tag along mummies) went bowling today. Luckily, he's not yet at the age where he's embarrased by silly things his parents do because he would have disowned me when I slipped and fell flat on my behind trying to chase a bowling ball down a very greasy bowling lane!! He was rather concerned about me after that which was rather touching and proceeded to ask me "are you ok?" every few minutes. Luc definitely has his own style; it was his kicking the bowling ball that led to my icescapades audition. But I think he actually might have won (I say 'think' because we absentmindedly forgot to check the screen at the end!!).

Hand Signals

2006-09-03T23:06:00.000+08:00

Lately, Scarlett has discovered her hands and feet. She spends many happy moments staring at her hands and scrunching them together. If only we were all so easily amused!

Conflict Resoluton

2006-08-26T13:59:00.000+08:00

My current masters degree course (Information Systems for Managers) is presenting me with challenges and conflicts on many levels. From a logistical perspective, I'm trying to find my groove in terms of scheduling productive study time (as opposed to staring at the page of a text book) alongside feeding time (necessary) and play time (voluntary). There's no quick fix for this and I just have to be mindful on a daily basis of the different pulls on my time.

The more troubing conflict is the approach to learning and assessment of the course itself. 75% of this unit will be awarded on the basis of a written exam taken at the end of this semester whereas my previous courses have been 100% assessment based. The idea of this terrifies me. Apart from the fact that only time I write is to sign credit card slips, the approach frustrates me as it contradicts my fundamental learning philosophy. Learning theory has evolved so much in the past 10 years that the concept of memerising facts and regurgitating them in a stressful timed situation seems all but archaic to me.

My learning theory guru, George Siemens, wrote recently;

... much of our learning is a connection-forming process (the conduit, not content, is what is king) where we add new elements that augment our capacity to know more. We rely on Google, libraries, friends, social bookmarks/tags, etc. to serve as our personal learning network (we store the knowledge external to ourselves). When we need something, we go to our network (know-where is more important than know-how or know-what)...or we expand our network. In the end, the constant act of connecting in order to stay current is a much more reflective model of learning ...

I couldn't agree more. Assuming I do manage to memorise enough relevant facts in order to pas the exam, there is no gurantee that I will I have made my "personal learning network" which will enable me to continue to learn about Infomation Systems.

Convenience Shores

2006-08-23T12:53:00.000+08:00

Now that we have two young kids, gone are the weekends of white water rafting and trekking through remote jungles. OK, so we didn't do that Before Kids (BK) either but the point is that we could have!

We can now seek out destinations that involve large doses of relaxation without the guilty feeling that we should be doing something more active like diving with killer sharks. With this in mind, we recently spent four days on an island called Mactan, a one hour flight from Manila, at a manmade plantation style resort that boasts "one of the largest privately-owned waterways in the world". There indeed seemed to be water and pools everywhere. Our room overlooked a huge (filtered) saltwater 'lagoon' with an asphalt bottom that is drained and refilled every week. The 'beaches' surrounding the lagoons have the cleanest most perfect sand. Noticeably absent are sand creatures or washed up diapers. The 'diving rock' appeared to be made from plaster of Paris and would not look out of place at Disneyland.

Despite the un-naturalness of the place (or perhaps because of it), we had a really nice time. The service was probably the best we've experienced certainly in the Philippines and perhaps at any resort-type establishment. There is a strict no-tipping policy so you know that staff are not just being polite and helpful in the hope that you'll slip them a note and the food was very decent. Although the resort was supposedly full, somehow we never felt that there were many people around.

Mother Nature did provide the finishing touch though ... four days of almost unbroken sunshine. It made such a lovely change from Manila where it has been raining for so long that Scarlett had never seen the sun.

Anyway, enough words, now for some pictures:

Is Luc too young for a tatoo?

2006-08-16T10:22:00.000+08:00

Last weekend we hosted a big barbecue party. The fun started around 3pm with the last revellers being shown the door 1am! I was worried that the kids would be bored so we brought in a 'tatoo artist' for the afternoon. He was a big hit. Here is Luc getting a dragon painted on his arm.

Angels

2006-08-16T10:16:00.000+08:00

Don't they look cute napping together on the couch?!

Check out how curly Scarlett's hair is getting. Her mummy is very envious!

Beckham avoids paparazzi

2006-08-09T12:28:00.000+08:00

Note: For those of you on distant shores, this clip gives you a sneak peak of our dining and living rooms.

Getting to know you

2006-08-09T09:46:00.000+08:00

It's pointless rushing Luc to do anything. He does everything on his own terms when good and ready. Once he decided to walk at 13 months, that was it with barely a stumble. The same went for potty training.

No surprise then that he has waited until now to start taking notice of his sister. Their relationship is still a work in progress but he now talks to her (if you count telling her to stop crying because he can't hear the tv) and he even tries to interest her in his beloved car magazines.

Watch what you say!

2006-08-09T08:19:00.000+08:00

Luc's bedtime ritual includes a couple of minutes after lights out where we talk about what the next day holds in store for him.

Recently, during one of these conversations, we were lying down and I told a sleepy boy, "You're going to wake up, get dressed, have breakfast, drive to school ...". Luc sat up straight in bed and asked "I'm going to drive to school?".

The heat is on

2006-08-08T22:49:00.000+08:00

When it gets too hot playing in the garden, what fun to cool down with the sprinkler.

Got milk!

2006-08-08T09:58:00.000+08:00

Look who's talking!

2006-08-03T10:07:00.001+08:00

I asked Scarlett to say a few words to her growing fan base. Here's what she said:

Nobody said it was easy!

2006-08-03T09:34:00.001+08:00

This entry has a dual purpose. Firstly, I'm experimenting how to upload video clips to the blog and secondly to let you hear Luc's favourite song at the moment. After our trip to Hong Kong, we were listening to Coldplay alot. Then one day out of the blue Luc started to sing 'Nobody said it was easy!'.

P.S. It's a very clever video!

July

2006-07-30T19:06:00.000+08:00

During my sister, Bo's, recent visit to our side of the world, we made a trip to Hong Kong to Luc and Scarlett's great grandmother. We stayed at the luxurious residence of our newly engaged pals, Deebs and Mei. Luc's highlight of the trip was Ocean Park where he experienced his first thrill ride, a log flume journey that ends with a steep drop and a big splash!! Our highlight was a brilliant Coldplay concert.

Also in July, our friend Ha and her little girl Vy visited us during their month long stay in Singapore. Luc and Vy got along great and he misses her lots. The picture shows them playing in the playroom.

Hungry and the Caterpillar

2006-07-12T15:26:00.000+08:00

Measuring Scarlett up against her caterpillar (60cm) reminds me of one of Luc's favourite stories, The Hungry Caterpillar. She has always been a great eater and yesterday's 2 month check-up showed me just how good. She is up to 75th percentile for weight which means that 75% of babies her age weight less than she does. She has chubby cheeks and thighs that we love to squash! Luc, on the other hand, is as thin as a toothpick. I expressed my concern to the doctor who told me not to worry so much as Luc is rarely sick and has lots of energy. As they grow up I wonder whether they'll be complete opposites in other ways too ...

They think it's all over ...

2006-07-10T14:23:00.000+08:00

... it is now! Well, at least for the next four years.

After each world cup campaign, I determine not to get emotionally involved in the efforts of the England team because they inevitably come to nought. I will of course have forgotten the feelings of disappointment by the time the next finals take place in South Africa and will dust off my flag and face paints, ready to board the emotional roller-coaster all over again. For now though, Luc and I still mourn the early exit of Becks et al taking little consolation in the oft heard claim that it could have been ours.

Happy Birthday!

2006-07-05T14:47:00.000+08:00

Luc turned 3 today and we did something we avoided the last 2 birthdays, we threw him a birthday party. So 20 of his closest friends were invited to the Little Gym jump, run and somersault their way through 45 minutes. They then toyed with snacks that we had spent 3 days preparing (!) and were sent home armed with the obligatory goody bag. Everyone was happy especially Luc who was thrilled that Elmo came too.

Like a leap year

2006-06-22T09:16:00.000+08:00

The world cup takes over every four years and depending on the number of time zones away from the action you are, it can literally turn your lives upside down.

Viewing times for matches here in Manila have been 9pm, 12am and 3am. I have only been up once at 3am to watch England play Sweden. They were apparently thinking of me during the 2nd half by putting in such a boring performance that I could sleep and not miss a thing. Add to the football mix a month old baby and a move to a new house and you have a recipe for what Bart has termed "the most surreal month of my life".

Scarlett or 'Lula' as most of us still refer to her is getting into the World Cup spirit of things by doing a very good impression of a football herself (pics coming soon).

Sunday Brunch

2006-05-30T10:57:00.000+08:00

Finding a restaurant that caters to our evolving needs (good food, distraction for Luc, space for large stroller) is a rarity. That's why we were very happy to be introduced to sunday brunch at one of the 5 star hotels in Manila. It has was they call "theatre cuisine" which is essentially a huge buffet but the food at the stations organised by cuisine is largely cooked before your eyes. It was nice to go, eat and not worry about the indigestion I suffered whilst pregnant. Oh and the champagne "a volonte" is a nice touch too!

After brunch we strolled in the gardens and took our first family photo since Scarlett was born.

Business as Usual

2006-05-25T17:48:00.000+08:00

Overall, Luc is adjusting well to his new sister's arrival. We are very lucky to have our nanny, Beth, who can spend time with him doing his favorite activities. Here he is doing some painting.

Wanted!

2006-05-25T17:43:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not this is the photo that immigration officers the world over will identify Scarlett by for the next FIVE years!!

Gender Issues

2006-05-19T15:16:00.000+08:00

If there's one thing that the Philippine people have mastered, it's the art of reproducing. The average square mile must have one of the highest ratios of pregnant woman in the world.

While I was pregnant, random people would announce that I was having a boy/girl based on the width of my nose, whether I was prettier than before I was pregnant, the shape of my bump etc.. What baffles me now is that despite this great insight into pre-natal gender prediction, when I take Scarlett out and she is wearing the obligatory baby-girl pink, I constantly get asked whether it's a boy or a girl. Go figure!

Proof of Life

2006-05-17T14:32:00.000+08:00

Scarlett, 11 days

At the ripe old age of 13 days, our little Scarlett is finally showing signs of emerging from her post-delivery stupor. Just when I was getting used to resorting to cold towels and blowing on her face to keep her awake long enough to feed, she now not only stays awake during meals but for a while afterwards. It's fun watching her trying to focus on objects and listen to her gurgles. Now more than ever, she reminds me of when Luc was an infant, especially as she is wearing some of the same clothes.

Luc, 11 days

For the past couple of days, I've been picking Luc up from school on my own and taken him to run some errand or other just the two of us (one of the luxurious affordances of having full-time help at home). He seems to enjoy our brief outings together and actually seems pleased to be reunited with his sister on our return home.

Luc warm

2006-05-16T15:23:00.000+08:00

For months we had been wondering how Luc would react to the arrival of his little sister. Would he try to jump on her every time our backs were turned or would he immediately become the doting big brother. We bought storybooks whose central theme was the birth of the main protagonists sibling, we talked about her and even gave her a nickname. In the end, I would say that his reaction was initially one of denial and has progressed to what seems to be a growing interest in Scarlett (her almost constant comatose state notwithstanding). He has yet to accept offers to hold her but he does like to stay with us while she nurses and even asks where she is when I pick him up from school solo.

Scarlett's arrival has also affected him on a subconsious level. He is more weepy than usual and has taken to waking up at ridiculously early hours. Friends tell me that this is normal, it's just a passing phase and that all we can do is show him as much love and affection as possible. So far, seems to be working!

Changing direction and nappies

2006-05-16T14:14:00.000+08:00

Recently my Community of Practice focus has switched from innovations in Education Technology to breastfeeding tips and techniques. Scarlett Ann Rosalie was born May 4 which was almost 2 weeks before her due date and 1 week before the c-section that we had carefully planned for her to ensure that her daddy could attend. Best laid plans etc.etc. meant that Bart missed the whole hospital experience and returned from his work trip to India to find his new daughter already installed at home.

For some reason, we like to live from one milestone to another. My milestone for starting to blog again was going to be Mothers Day but of course that day came and went. So today has the milestone of being the day when little Scarlett's remaining umbilical cord fell off (making quite an impressive thud as it fell to the floor I might add). Her dried up cord stump made a hasty exit via the rubbish bin this morning because while the milestone is a cute one, the evidence is not!

Connectivism and Communities of Practice

2005-12-08T00:29:00.000+08:00

The term Knowledge Management has traditionally referred to ongoing efforts to harness explicit and tacit knowledge within an organisation while 'organisational learning' tends to be more focussed on static efforts to meet specific learning objectives. Recently, the lines have become blurred to the extent that a merger in strategies should be considered by any organisation serious about harnessing knowledge and promoting learning. Siemens' article, 'Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age', discusses the need for 'a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning' (Siemens, 2004). He expands his theory of networked learning further in his article ‘Connectivism: Learning as Network-Creation’ (Siemens, 2005). I will demonstrate that the theories outlined in Siemens’ two articles are aligned with Wenger’s attempts to rethink learning in the shape of Communities of Practice (CoP).

Siemens explains that the previously prevalent learning theories of behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism needed updating as learning has become a continuous lifetime occupation taking place through interaction with the learner's environment. He goes on to explain that the aforementioned learning theories 'fail to describe how learning happens within organisations' (Siemens, 2004). His proposal is Connectivism. As the name suggests, Siemens new learning theory asserts that 'we derive our competence from forming connections' (Siemens, 2004). The connections must be made between nodes or members of a CoP (who in turn are individual networks made up of nodes and connections). Once nodes have formed connections the network (or CoP) is formed (Siemens, 2005). The critical factor is the nature of the connections that we make or the order that create from the chaos i.e. 'forming connections between specialized communities'. Once this network or CoP is formed the information system continuum of data to information to knowledge to meaning can begin.

Wenger's definition of 'Community' describes how an individual becomes a member after pursuing interest in a domain, 'members engage in joint activities and discussions' (Wenger, 1998). Siemens’ description of the starting point of Connectivism can be applied to the Coalescing and Active stages of CoP development, 'Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual. This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed.' (Siemens, 2004)

CoPs and Connectivism are united in that they are both models of 'learning that acknowledge the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity' (Siemens, 2004). As Siemens highlights, the affordances of new technologies of the Web 2.0 era such as Blogs, Wikis and discussion boards are enabling learners to form their own connections or learning pathways (Siemens, 2005) thereby facilitating the critical factor of participation in CoPs.

The theory of Connectivism and CoP recognises that different levels of participation exist with the network or community. Siemens states that a ‘node may exist within a network, even if it is not strongly connected’ (Siemens, 2005) while Wenger acknowledges that our involvement in some CoPs will be of a more peripheral nature (Wenger, 1998). While core members or nodes are critical to survival, all levels of participation, from primary to passive users, have a part to play.

Clearly, Connectivism and CoPs have a large role to play in any learning and Knowledge Management program. Wenger states that the collective is necessary simply because ‘domains’ are too complex for one individual to master (Wenger cited by Pór, 2001) while Siemens claims that the differing perspectives brought together by nodes in the same network are necessary for exploring ideas and attaining meaning from knowledge (Siemens, 2005). The challenge is for decision makers to embrace this new paradigm having considered for so long that the acquisition of knowledge within a domain is a finite concept. As Siemens observes, ‘Knowing is no longer a destination (but) a process of walking in varying degrees of alignment with a dynamic environment’ (Siemens, 2005).

References:

Pór. G, (2001) Building a Case for Communities of Practice: what makes them an economic imperative?

Siemens. G (2004). ELearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved September 13, 2005 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Siemens. G (2005). Connectivism: Learning as Network-Creation. Retrieved November 15 2005 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/networks.htm

Wenger. E, (1998) Systems Thinker. Communities of Practice: Learning as a Social System. Retrieved November 8 2005 from http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml

Wenger. E, (1998) Communities of Practice Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge University Press.

Peer review, does it motivate or discourage?

2005-09-14T12:25:00.000+08:00

ID constructivist increasingly advocate the practice of peer review and assessment but does it really work in practice? Does it promote higher order thinking in the reviewer and can the reviewee take the feedback and use it to improve current or future work? Is it enough to wrap up another students work or should the review include constructive criticism?

Both of my units this semester required peer review of proposals. Word count recommendations were 500 for one and 100 for the other. I found the longer review required much more thinking and research especially in unfamiliar subject areas. I tried to give constructive comments and feedback along with references I though might help the anonymous author. I learnt a lot from the exercise. When I received the anonymous reviews for my paper however I was a little disappointed. Whether my disappointment was valid or not is another matter, the fact remains I felt a little cheated considering the amount of effort I put into my own reviews. My point is that peer review needs to be facilitated well with proper guidelines about length, content, expected research. This peer review is mandatory and assessed.

As for the shorter 'wrap-up', I'm not sure what the instructional value of this exercise was given the low word count guideline. It is not assessed or mandatory although recommended. Also, we were not told which paper to 'wrap-up' so some writers were left without wrappers. This presumably left some authors disappointed that there papers were 'ignored' which can't be good for motivation. The facilitator did send a friendly reminder to try and rectify this but doubtful whether the reminder will have a 100% success rate.

In mu course design I will carefully consider my peer review experiences as well as the audience when including this concept as a learning activity.

Murder by Jargon

2005-09-12T17:45:00.000+08:00

I recently attended a conference where for the first time, I was prompted to discuss online learning to a lay person. It was difficult - For weeks now I have been peppering reflections, papers and project proposals with jargon like constructivism, connectivism, elaboration theory, contiguity. The real challenge will be to translate this into language that anyone can understand. Especially if my intention is to act as the 'middle-man between developers and end-users'.

One CEO of a national newspaper spoke of the challenge she had when changing technologies. To my suprise she was referring to her attempts to migrate from typewriter to PC technology. What I took away from the conference which was aimed at HRD practictioners is that Asia still has a way to go to catch up with western practices!

What I want to be when I grow up

2005-08-12T18:08:00.000+08:00

Many people have asked me what I want to do with my Masters degree once I have it. I orginally thought that I wanted to be an independent, solo e-learning developer. I later realised that while I enjoy tinkering around with websites, creating cool image with photoshop and whizzy animations in Flash, to do it full time AND design the instruction too would be too much and frankly too detailed for me. My strength is communication and organisation (though you wouldn't think so looking at my cupboards). So I now think that I can help companies that are branching into the world of e-learning. I can be the one to unravel the mysteries of the IMM world.

Today I found a posting on the E-learning Guild website that kind of sums it up:

'From: nbird
Nbird@rwd.com
Nov 29 2004 11:22AM

Go to Subject
Hello, I actually worked as a one person shop for over a year and I know what you mean. I was responsible for HTML, Flash, and Authorware development. I also had to use tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, FreeHand, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Discreet Cleaner XL, Snag-It, etc... You name it I probably had it. No one person can do all this work and quite frankly no one person wants to. The number of skill sets that this tasks encompasses is large. I serve on the program committe for the E-Learning Guild as well as for TechLearn and I can tell you we are seeing growing numbers of one person shops these days. There is a balance between productivity and quality you must accept. To turn things around in a timely manner requires a one person shop to keep things simple. To get detailed takes time. Now that I am on the services side of the world I am seeing many of our clients leverage our development services to fill the gaps as with so many other third party content providers. As a one person shop I got countless calls from companies in the US and abroad, mostly abroad from India. More companies are "outsourcing", "outtasking", or whatever you want to call it. Basically they find it is more cost effective to pay a company that specializes in content design and development to build their programs then to do it in house. It is because of the challenges and diverse skill sets needed to be able to produce highly interactive SCORM/AICC conformant content. My advice would be to consider the value of outsourcing portions of the work to increase productivity and focus on the quality. There is a lot of talk from folks like Elliott Masie about the end of SMEs. I could see the one person shop individual becoming the individual that represents their companies interests as a project manager. Their purpose changes from a person who does all the work to the person that manages vendor relationships and makes sure all the work is done on time, within budget, and is relevant to the business. I think any management team that has no budget for outsourcing domestically or abroad has not been shown the value of the concept. Someone sees outsourcing as taking someones job away and not as paying for improved ROI, increased productivity, and more effective learning. There are too many major corporations and CLOs that believe strongly in the value of partnering with development companies to fill skill gaps rather than paying for the help. The cost of inneffective training is far greater than the cost of outsourcing. Thanks, Nick'

Must get in touch and get some more ideas

I hate subtitles

2005-08-02T16:17:00.000+08:00

When I watch a French film subtitled in English, I make a conscious effort to avoid the subtitles as I find them distracting and feel that they impair my appreciation of the film. My husband, who has a slightly inferior command of the language, finds it helpful to refer to the translation occasionally. If he were to watch the same film again however, he would be as distracted by the subtitles as I am.

Reading Kalyuga's (2000) article, 'When using sound with a text or a picture is not beneficial for learning' I found parallels with the subtitle story.

Stepping back for a second, the theory of cognitive overload states that too much of the same sensory input is too much for the brain to handle and results in negative learning outcome. Similarly, simultaneous input to two different senses has the same effect - cognitive overload. One technique to overcome this is to follow a visual with an auditory explanation.

My reference to the subtitles becomes relevant when one considers an experienced learner as compared to a novice learner. The latter has been shown to respond well to visuals with accompanying text while the former finds them distracting and prefers visuals only.

Justification for ongoing value of an e-learning module often includes reference to the ability to use a module as an ongoing reference or job aid. It would be worth considering this in the design stage and providing the ability to not only disable any audio (even when it follows the visual) but also provide accompanying text that can be disabled for the returning experienced learner.

The challenge then becomes one of 'navigation and interactivity' but that's tomorrow's reading.

Nursery Rhymes

2005-08-02T13:09:00.000+08:00

Consider the first two lines of a favourite nursery rhyme:

'Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey'.

Even I, subjective and adoring mother that I am, have to recognise that although Luc can recite these lines word perfect, he has absolutely no idea what the words mean.

In his article 'Does technology present a new way of learning?', Leamson (2001) explains how, firstly, Luc can memorise so effortlessly and, secondly, how as parents we can help to nurture his potential as he grows up.

It's all to do with the physiology of the brain. While the brain is physically larger in adults, the actual number of synapses is far greater in infants. 'The profusion of synapses in the child's brain does not indicate knowledge , only a vast potential for learning'. In adults, the bulk of the brain comes from the continuous growth of axons. Axons are projections that grow from neurons when the brain makes connections i.e. when something suddenly makes sense.

So I now have evidence that even very young children can have 'memory without understanding'. As he grows, we can help in the knowledge that 'something is learned when it is both understood and remembered'.

Implications for technology are twofold: Don't let the technology divert the adult learner's attention away from the subject and, conversely, if the student is initially attracted by the technology, gradually divert his attention towards the subject to be learned.

Right, I'm off to find out what the hell 'curds and whey' are!

Born in the wrong decade?

2005-08-01T11:36:00.000+08:00

At university, and even before for that matter, I always believed that I was a 'bad student'. I now realise that this was not necessarily the case but that my particular learning style was not suited to the way my subjects were delivered. As I read now about new ways educators challenge their students, I find myself almost wishing that I could turn back the clock.

I always needed to 'internalise' a concept internally for longer than others before understanding set in and I felt able to contribute to a meaningful discussion. My current asynchronous online study environment allows me to do just that without feeling 'slow' to catch on.

The lectures that stick in my memory are ones that made use of multimedia (albeit rudimentary) such as the Modern Linguistic class that had us listen to tapes of accents from Alsace and compare to accents from Provence. We also had to study the written phonetics of the accents but this multichannel approach was a success.

Although the balance has perhaps not yet been reached between correct use of multimedia and cognitive overlad creation, I wonder whether we would all have done better with a more interactive approach to our education.

The 'O' Level generation was always very proud to have attained lofty levels of parrot like fact repetition but I wonder whether a school leaver today is in fact equiped with a better approach to learning (both academic and social) than we were.

Are bloggers more intelligent?

2005-07-28T09:50:00.000+08:00

I probably look in the mirror more often than the average person. Until recently however, I drew the line at what I considered the ultimate act of narcissism - having my own Blog. I last recorded my inner thoughts when I was 13 years old. I can still picture my diary/scrapbook crammed with photos of Bucks Fizz and Duran Duran's John Taylor lovingly cut out of Smash Hits. So why now, all these years later would I a)want to write down my thoughts and b)publish them online for the world and his wife to view?

One of the first recommendations from Shirley, our Instructional Design module moderator, was to record our reflections in a Blog. Despite being dubious about the instructional value of the exercise, as a self-confessed tech enthusiast I checked it out and discovered I could use a Blog to publish photos and share them with family and friends across the globe. The format is user friendly and the whole experience is more personal than using one of the online photo sharing services that try to sell you a souvenir mug every time you click on a photo.

So having wasted a few hours creating my own and visiting other Blogs, I began the first module's reading - Learning Theory. And therein lay the answer!

The constructivist's theory of learning is based on the premise that we all have our own versions of reality and truth (bear with me) and that the most effective way to learn is to realise what that truth and reality is and build on it with new experiences. This internalisation of thought and reflection is improved if we record the journey.

'Journaling is an example of an instructional method that facilitates the process of internalizing dialogue (Vygotsky, 1962). Specifically, journaling is considered to be an instructional activity that reinforces the skill of reflecting what was simultaneously being discussed with others (Burnham, 1992; Reinersten and Wells, 1993; Beyerbach, 1992).' (Kanuka and Anderson, 1999. Radical Pedagogy)

Maintain a Blog then, is not an act of virtual vanity but rather a way to facilitate and improve our own understanding of the myriad new experiences, exchanges and information that we are exposed to each day.

So the answer to lifelong learning and knowledge is simple - start a Blog!

Detention

2005-07-26T16:56:00.000+08:00

If I could, I would send myself to detention. I know it's still early days but I have yet to break the 3 hour per day study barrier. There are so many ways I could spend my time such as upload cds to my new iPod, play with Luc, go to the gym (yes, even that is more attractive than studying), comparison shop for yoga mats (spare yourself, they are all the same), post a blog or contemplate what my next low carb snack will be.

Despite how it looks, the subject really interests me. It's a little bit like putting down a fantastic book because you don't want it to end. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration but seriously, the whole area of Instructional Design is fascinating.

Most of my fellow students are from the education sector but the relevance of the course is nonetheless significant for us all. I just finished one of our readings (Bates, A. (1997). Restructuring the university for technological change. http://bates.cstudies.ubc.ca/carnegie/carnegie.html). You could almost substitute university for organisation and it would be relevant to any large, complex organisation trying to drag its development and training strategy into the 21st century.

I've yet to get stuck into my Multimedia in Education reading. That's tomorrow's task, unless of course I decide to check out yoga mats one last time.

Back to School !

2005-07-22T10:05:00.000+08:00

After a couple of weeks 'off' it's now back to the classroom for me. This is the first week of Semester 2 where I'll be continuing my online pursuit of a Masters in Education Technology at University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Last semester I took Introduction to Web Publishing which was alot of fun. To check out my final website go to the following URL:
http://studentweb.usq.edu.au/home/w0036792/MADS/
Username = mads
Password = member

This semester I'll be picking up the pace slightly with 2 modules: Instructional Design for Flexible Learning and Multimedia in Education.

This week has been mainly orientation. Next week, I'll start a (semi) rigourous routine of study!

2005-07-12T21:09:00.000+08:00

Luc's birthday card

Luc turns 2

2005-07-12T20:00:00.000+08:00

Last week we celebrated Luc's 2nd birthday. Of course, we had the obligatory 'I can't believe he's 2 already' conversation but it really is staggering at how quickly the time has passed. He celebrated at school where we brought a cake and some little gifts for him to share with his classmates. Then last Saturday, we hosted a lunch for some of our friends.

Luc has been attending school since he turned 18months which seems early but now when I see the amazing progress he has made and how much he looks forward to going every morning, I don't regret our decision at all.

Must make sure that we keep taking photos and footage as I'm told that it only goes by faster from here on.

2005-07-12T19:57:00.000+08:00

Celebrating with grown up friends

2005-07-12T19:56:00.002+08:00

New Bike

2005-07-12T19:56:00.001+08:00

New Train set

2005-07-12T19:56:00.000+08:00

Celebrating at school with classmates

2005-07-12T19:25:00.000+08:00

Weekend Trip

Welcome to my blog!

2005-07-12T17:58:00.000+08:00

Hi!

If you are reading this, you are either a) me b) a lost blog surfer or c) a friend or loved one curious about what I might have to say.

I'm not exactly sure what kind of posts I'll make. Probably a bit of everything including (but not limited to)

Travel stories and general updates on our life here in Manila.
Photos of us and Luc and written justification for our conclusion that he is the cutest and most advanced 2 year old that ever walked the planet.
Musings of a student: I'm currently in the thick of a Masters in Education Technology so I expect I'll be posting like mad when I should be studying. My excuse is that one of my lecturers recommended starting a blog in the first place.
Anything else I can think of.

I'll start with a post dedicated to Luc's 2nd birthday that we celebrated last week.

More soon....