Hi Amy, and Michael as well because his post is similar to yours Amy.

While it's true that anyone can subscribe to all the NIFL LINCS Lists,
these discussion lists are in fact geared toward the practitioner and
are specifically offered for purposes of professional development to the
field.  

I do know that a few of the Lists do have a number of adult students who
are vocal from time to time, and I am sure this enriches those
discussions greatly.  I think that the topic of the List somewhat
dictates whether adult students are on there or not.  

So adult students can certainly subscribe.  But this List is not geared
toward working with the student and so I would wonder how helpful it
would be to them.  Their presence would definitely be helpful to us, but
again, I'm not sure an adult student would want to subscribe to a list
that does not really serve their purposes.  

If you click on any of the Descriptions of the Lists at
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html you will see that
the adult learner/student is deliberately not articulated in the mission
of the Lists.  It would be quite a feat actually, to serve the adult
student AND the practitioner at the same time in this forum.

Marie


Marie Cora
Assessment Discussion List Moderator



-----Original Message-----
From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:assessment-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of Amy Denney
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 1:51 PM
To: The Assessment Discussion List
Subject: [Assessment 1997] Re: Participation Inequality

Is there any way that learners can subscribe to this list or this just
for teachers, staff, and volunteers? 

Amy Denney
Adult Education Instructor

Appalachian Campus
Building 100, Room 127B
100 Campus Drive
Jasper, Georgia 30143
p:706-253-4527
f: 706-253-4531
adenney at ChattahocheeTech.edu
A Unit of the Technical College System of Georgia



-----Original Message-----
From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:assessment-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of Michael Gyori
Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 11:55 AM
To: jackie at jataylor.net
Cc: assessment at nifl.gov
Subject: [Assessment 1994] Re: Participation Inequality


Hello everyone,

To begin, I fully agree with Jackie  that there is a huge difference
between observable and unobservable audiences.

In terms of which discussion list areas may be deemed most important - I
don't think the numbers of subscribers tells a meaningful story. We
must remember that the most important people in the audience are almost
completely missing - the audience of learners. 

Without learner outcomes in the picture,  I really
believe that we are preaching to the choir; I don't believe doing so
provides the needed leverage to promote sustainability of particular
types of programs or to inform and set policy.

Michael
www.mauilanguage.com

Sent via Blackberry by Turkcell

Jackie A. Taylor wrote: 

>  Hi Phyllis and all, 

>    

>  Phyllis, I totally

> agree; I don't like the term "lurker" either. I think of myself as a

> "peripheral participant" in most communities. In fact, this is

> probably the most I've said on this list! ;-) I believe Etienne

Wenger, the guru of online communities

> of practice < http://www.ewenger.com/ > calls lurking

> "legitimate peripheral participation." 

>    

>  Once, the Professional

> Development List got into a huge spontaneous discussion about the term

lurker; at the end of the

> discussion they officially abolished the term on that list! People

learn and

> participate differently, and that’s OK to me.  

>    

>  Jackie Coelho asked, “ And

> aren't there some 'lurkers' in a face to face class? What is the

connection if

> any?” 

>    

>  Great question. I think one difference is that in a

> face-to-face class, you can gauge participation through observation:

does the

> learner appear engaged, or disconnected? Does she appear to have a

question but

> may be afraid to ask? Is she taking what she’s hearing /seeing /

reading

> and using it in a way that’s meaningful for her?  

>    

>  These types of things are much harder to know online, on a

> discussion list where we cannot see one another. The only way we’ll

know

> whether others have questions is if they voice (post) them. We can’t

know

> if others are reticent about posting; we can only hope that everyone

feels

> comfortable enough to post a question when they have one.  

>    

>  In a face-to-face class, how long might students go without

> asking questions? Can we take advantage of down time here on the list

(in

> between guest discussions) for asking questions that may lead to more

spontaneous

> discussions? 

>    

>  What else helps? (Here’s

> my 2 cents, what do you think?) 

>    

>  ·         

>  Hearing

> how you use the information you receive, any subsequent questions,

issues, or

> challenges that raises for you 

>  ·         

>  Sharing

> back with the list what others in your program have been discussing

about

> assessment issues 

>  ·         

>  Hearing

> how our discussions here are informing policy and research 

>    

>  (I do not think that “ditto”

> types of responses help.)  

>    

>  So I find myself

> wondering, we’re resources for each other right now; are we sure that

we’re

> making the most of it? (and maybe we are!) 

>    

>  Enough from me. I want

> to know what you think. 

>    

>  Sincerely, 

>    

>  Jackie Taylor 

>    




      
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