Getting set for the start of the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course being facilitated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. Is it significant that they are both based in Canada? Being a geographer at heart, I find places and the connections between them interesting. If I go somewhere new, I always like to have a map, to see the lie of the land.
There is a link to online learning here. People often complain that a major downside to learning online is the sense of isolation that it can bring. In badly managed courses, no-one knows anything about their fellow participants. There is no connection between them. Over the last 3 or 4 years I’ve started to see ClustrMaps and Frappr maps (now Platial) pop up in courses and frequently on blog sidebars. For geographically dispersed courses this can be an icebreaker or a starting point in getting people to talk about themselves. Even in small courses, with a localised cohort, maps can be used to prompt discussion on other topics.
Rodd Lucier has created a Google Map for the CCK08 course. I like Google maps for several reasons. For a start they haven’t dropped the final vowel in their name 
but importantly you can embed or link to so much information including profiles and pictures. I’m embedding a link to the CCK08 map here so I can find it quickly when I want!
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