(photo by by ecstaticist)

George Siemens outlined some concrete steps to get started with connectivism/networked learning.

Number 4 is interesting!

"4. To be networked, resources and conversations need a degree of openness. This is one of the drawbacks of an LMS. Learners need to develop comfort with transparency and see the impact. In a recent course on digital literacies, Peter Tittenberger and I found learners can be uncomfortable with posting thoughts in an open public forum. There is something personal (vulnerable?) about learning that certain individuals prefer to keep "secure". To balance openness and privacy, tools exist, such as ELGG, that allow educators to create mini-networks with greater privacy than the open web."

By default, our MEL product configures ELGG as a closed "walled-garden".  We made this decision because the target audience includes the 6-12 grade range.  One of ELGG's strengths is access control, allowing users to choose to restrict access even within the school community. MEL creates an ELGG community for each Moodle class so students can set blog posts, files, etc. as visible only to one class, or even just for their teacher.

We plan on working with our clients to find out how and when student works should get shared with a wider audience in a way that obeys privacy laws and allows parents, administrators, and students all to be comfortable.  Our vision is that MEL, used in middle and high schools, provides the concrete learning experiences that prepare students to be full contributors to the knowledge network.

This video shows how to create access control groups in ELGG.  You can create your own account and try it out on our demo system.