Virtual Learning in a Digital Age - Dr. Kathleen King

Recent Background from the Popular …. to Academic! Part II

drkpking — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:48:57 +0000

So building on the background material- it is always odd to read about yourself, but I thought our readers would enjoy getting to hear someone else’s perspective about my career thus far. Let it be know I have plenty of tracks yet to make and I am a person of lots of energy and vision. So in the words of this reporter, my career is a somewhat disorienting…let’s see what happens in the next 15 years

This article is from a decidedly academic perspective… judge me not

From Inside Fordham 9/11/06

http://www.fordham.edu/Campus_Resources/Public_Affairs/Inside_Fordham/September_11_2006/In_Focus_Faculty_and/Transforming_Educati_23797.asp
In_Focus_Faculty_and/Transforming_Educati_23797.asp

Kathleen P. King, Ed.D.As director of the University’s Regional Educational Technology Center for Professional Development (RETC), and recent director of the Graduate School of Education’s program of Adult Education and Human Resource Development, King has made it her mission to help educators cope with rapid change, technological and otherwise. Her core work, founded in the principles of a theory called “transformative learning,” of which she is a major proponent, seeks to turn challenges—or “disorienting dilemmas”—into opportunities for both learning and personal growth. Transformative learning, as King puts it, “describes how people react when they come across difficult points in their life, how they cope and what they learn from it.”

And, as she is quick to emphasize, “Teachers are learners, too.”

King’s approach to adult education takes in several disciplines, most notably technology. She is a techie by nature, well versed in computing and at ease with the general onslaught of technological innovations that have changed the way we live and work in the past 15 years. The resources available at RETC reflect that: podcasts for teachers, computing testing and certification, online education, and a host of other resources devoted to helping teachers and other adults to innovate, teach, and learn. It is a source of knowledge she believes educators sorely need.

As an educator, King said, “technology will throw you into these conflicts,” posing challenges, and sometimes crises. “In the ‘70s,” she says, learning about new technologies was, “a nice thing to do. Today, it’s survival.”

King has a book out this year, Harnessing Innovative Technology in Higher Education: Access, Equity, Policy, and Instruction (Atwood, 2006), edited with Joan K. Griggs. In its conclusion, written with Susan Biro, Ed.D., associate director of RETC, King says, “In the process, we learn that the pathway [to integrating technology into higher education] is not linear, and that as we are learning about technology along the way, we are also learning about our learners, our organizations, and ourselves.” An insight that might have been gleaned from King’s own non-linear career.

There is a spiritual component to King’s work. Before she began her academic life in the early 1990s, King served as a nondenominational missionary in New England. In her research, she is keen to draw lessons from the religious and ethical traditions of many cultures. A recent article she authored looks at transformative learning from the viewpoint of Confucianism.

Her record of accomplishment since she came to Fordham in 1997 is sort of disorienting itself: she has secured, and now oversees, more than 20 grants, several million dollars worth, for the University; she has received several awards for her work in the field; she has authored dozen of articles for journals; and edited, contributed or authored dozens of books, many on technology and learning. Her latest, written with Victor Wang, Ed.D., California State University, Long Beach, Comparative Adult Education Around the Globe, includes observations of educators from Asia and the Middle East, and will be published in China in a few weeks.

The idea of transformative learning, she said, “has been dominated by Western interpretation. We need to open it up to our colleagues around the world.”

King—who has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, a master’s in theology, and a master’s and doctorate in education—sees adult education as a perfect fit for someone like herself, naturally drawn to and inspired by a number of different ideas and disciplines. “The theme running through all these interests,” she said, “is how adults learn and change their lives.”

She also believes she ended up at the right university to undertake this work. “Fordham is a very good fit for me. They value theory and research, but also put great value on people and practice.”

Though King’s unconventional ideas have often forced her to take a radical stand with her colleagues, she remains committed to the idea of helping others learn and change for the better.

“I am not to here to promote my political view,” King said. “We are trying to provide a platform where people can step forward into their voice. Transformative learning is about opening up opportunities.”

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Comparative Adult Education Around the Globe (2007)
by Dr. Kathy King & Dr. Victor Wang, (Eds.)
Hangzhou, PR China: Zhejiang University Press BX Media LLC - Worldwide Distributors

You can find all of Dr. King’s books most fully described and easily available at http://www.bxmedia.net/kathleen-p-king.html

Recent Background From the Popular to Academic! Part I

drkpking — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:32:35 +0000

It isn’t often we get to span the reaches of understanding from popular media to academia, so I am going to take the chance and post these here so folks will be able to find these articles.

I am posting them as resources for people who are reading the blog and want more background about what I do and who I am…

So for the more popular media perspective this just in from Leesa Barnes at Podonomics

http://podonomics.com/top-10-savvy-women-in-podcasting-dr-kathy-king/

Posted in Podcasting, Women In Podcasting, Top 10 | Sunday, November 26th, 2006 | Trackback

While Dr. King (of Martin Luther fame) encouraged people worldwide to dream for peace, Dr. Kathleen King is on a mission to help educators worldwide incorporate podcasting into their curriculum as a teaching and innovation tool.

A frequent speaker on the role podcasting plays in education, most recently at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo as well as the International Podcasting Expo, Dr. King has written a new book on the convergence between technology and education called Harnessing Innovative Technology for Higher Education (although she’s authored many other titles). She’s not finished there as a newly minted contract with her publisher will set her up to publish two titles a year.

On top of that, Dr. King launched 2 services this year to help bring together educators interested in podcasting, ILearnRadio.org and BX Media. Of course, she hosts a couple of podcasts, one called Adventures in Transformative Learning, the other Podcast for Teachers.

Dr. King is the area code that completes the 10-digit conference call number and she’s my pick as a Top 10 savvy woman in podcasting for 2006.

Using Digital Media and Podcasting as a Way to Reach towards Transformation

drkpking — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:49:21 +0000

Welcome! Using Digital Media and Podcasting as a Way to Reach towards Transformation

To Risk or Not to Risk

As we look at our daily lives we so frequently want to changes things around us, our home, our neighborhood…OK, if you are under 12 you might really want to change your little brother into something else, but that isn’t exactly what I mean here. We all have something about ourselves we want to learn and grow within us. We want to reach further with that tiny strand of daring. We dare to hope that we can muster up the confidence to move ahead into a new opportunity, to break the mold of our usual habits. You are not aloneAre you surprised? Don’t be…That struggle against the status quo, familiar and “safe” is how most people feel about learning something new, and yet by NOT taking those first steps, we can be turning away from enjoying new opportunities, new relationships, and new dimensions of ourselves yet unknown! Is everything so perfect in your life that you don’t want ANYTHING to change? Usually, we have inquisitive minds, let’s learn and grow so we can at least continue to be interesting to those we care about and to benefit from the growth for ourselves. Podcasting Can Mirror New PossibilitiesAs I have watched and been part of the world of podcasting for the past years, I have been surprised to see that podcasting can offer these opportunities for change in unexpected ways! Not just for me, but I have seen this in many other people. What has startled me is how a mirror is figuratively raised by people listening to podcasts, and by people creating podcasts. Within a few short months, we have heard people talk about the great things they learn about themselves and each other through this experience.And when they stopped and spoke to us about it, it is as if they turn and look in a mirror and see the changes… read on to see what you can gain from podcast listening and podcast development! Podcasters Realized They Had Experienced Change

Podcasters, students and teachers in this case, were talking about, evaluating, practicing, and seeking to change

Students were engaging in extensive collaborative student productions
Teachers were creating cross-class collaborative projects that were grade, discipline and time transcendent

Schools developed cross cultural, international and inter generational partners

Children grew in confidence and strength as individuals

Students rapidly gained 21st century skills in problem-based learning environments

Students spent more time working on basic skills in literacy reading, speaking and following oral and written instructions.

These lessons have great meaning for other podcasters as well. First, we know you probably are in podcasting, because you want to share your views with others. But Second, podcasting is a great opportunity for you and those who podcast with you to grow and change.

From confidence building to new horizons and technology skills, new opportunities and to new networks, podcasting can be an active element of change for you as well.

So What’s the Score?

As we consider the score at the end of a sports season and end of school records, take measure of the reflection in the mirror.

How have you grown as a podcast listener?

Have your interests expanded?
Do you think about different perspectives now?
Are you ready to try something new?
Do you have more confidence in yourself?

How have you grown as a podcaster?

Do you have more self-confidence?
Are you branching into new areas of discovery?
Have you expanded your networks and met new people?
Are you thinking about the world as a place you can reach and in which you can make a difference?

Podcasting is an opportunity to change your world from the inside out. Take a risk, take a listen, explore some new ideas
Please note: This article refers to my experiences over the year of 7/05-11/06 with Podcast for Teachers, Adventures for Transformative Learning, Podcast for Professors, CoolCast Radio. I encourage you to check out our podcasts to hear what is happening in the lives of our podcasters and our podcast listeners.

For more information you may contact me at: kpking@bxmedia.net

Books by Kathleen King are found at www.bxmedia.net/kathleen-p-king.html