Presentation for the June 2016 conference of the Parapsychological Association, arguing for better education in the field for researchers, the importance of professional development, and the usefulness of YouTube and other online resources for accomplishing these goals.

1. FINDING YOUR TEACHER:
PUTTING TOGETHER A SHARED
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN
PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Nancy L. Zingrone, PhD
Research Fellow,
Parapsychology
Foundation

2. THE TALK
• What does and does not matter to me
• Shared Educational Experiences
• Formal versus Informal Learning
• Onsite Learning: Obstacles /
Advantages
• Online Learning: Obstacles /
Advantages
• What’s Different about IUGS and
ParaMOOC
• A Brief Tour of What’s Out There
• A Call to Action

3. WHAT DOES AND DOES
NOT
MATTER TO ME

4. WHAT DOESN’T
MATTER TO ME
• The name of the field
• Convincing hardened
skeptics
• Changing the minds of
people who love to
declare us dead, failed, or
beside the point when we
have work to do

5. WHAT DOES
MATTER T0 ME
• That the phenomena are
studied systematically
• That methodology
improves
• That the theories are
debated
• That research is still on-
going
• That the core knowledge

6. WHAT DOES
MATTER TO ME
• That we’re still
talking to each
other
• That we care about
the phenomena and
what they might
mean
• That our messages
are diverse, and are
becoming more

7. SHARED EDUCATIONAL
EXPERIENCES

8. SHARED EDUCATIONAL
EXPERIENCES
• Who needs it?
• What counts?
• How do we get it?
• How do we provide it?

9. FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL
EDUCATION

10. ONSITE FORMAL OPTIONS:
GRADUATE LEVEL

11. ONSITE FORMAL OPTIONS:
UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

12. ONSITE FORMAL OPTIONS:
UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

13. ONLINE FORMAL OPTIONS:
GRADUATE LEVEL

14. ONLINE INFORMAL OPTIONS

15. ONLINE INFORMAL OPTIONS

16. ONLINE INFORMAL OPTIONS

17. ONSITE LEARNING
OBSTACLES / ADVANTAGES

18. SOME
OBSTACLES
• Academic
qualifications
• Political barriers
• Cost
• Geographical
barriers
• Disruption to daily
life

19. SOME
ADVANTAGES
• Access to
coursework
• Access to experts
• Research
opportunities
• Immersive learning
• Development of
social and academic

20. ONLINE LEARNING
OBSTACLES / ADVANTAGES

21. SOME
OBSTACLES
• Cost / quality of your
connection to the
internet
• Age / Capabilities of
your device
• Preferences in
learning
• Patience with
technology Modified version of illustration licensed from the artist, Ciripas

22. SOME
ADVANTAGES
• Sometimes flexible
scheduling
• Sometimes self-paced
• Learning materials
always “on”
• Sometimes multi-
platform
• Sometimes well-
supported

23. WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT IUGS

24. WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT IUGS?

25. PARAMOOC PHILOSOPHY
• Assume that the
learners are capable
people
• Embody the
controversial nature of
the field
• Embody the
multidisciplinary and
multi-national nature

26. THE PRACTICAL EXPRESSION OF THE
PARAMOOC PHILOSOPHY
• Scheduled live sessions but archived
materials for self-paced review
• Live sessions are scheduled one a day
• Length of live session is up to speaker
and attendees
• Length of Second Life discussions up
to attendees
• Course design anticipating learner’s
needs
• Customizable in light of learner’s
feedback
Dr. Fátima R. Machado,
presenter in ParaMOOC15,
watching the closing session
from her home in Brazil

27. PARAMOOC LOCATIONS

28. PARAMOOC LOCATIONS

29. SOME
PARAMOOC15
STATS Top cities by number of registrants
1. Helsinki & Mumbai
2. Delhi / New Delhi
3. London
4. Bangalore
5. San Francisco
6. Chicago & Toronto
7. Maharashtra & Vienna
8. Los Angeles, New York City, & San Jose
(California)
9. São Paulo, Bristol, Chennai, Dallas,
Phoenix & Vancouver (Canada)
• 809 learners when live sessions ended
• 1041 today (the course is still open for
those who want to work through it at
their own pace)
• 58 countries of origin at the end of live
sessions
• 339 cities represented from all over the
world at the end of live sessions
• About 60 people finished the
requirements for the certificates so far
• A core group of about 15 people
attended discussions through August
of 2015 in the webinar frame or in the
virtual world, Second Life

30. SOME
PARAMOOC16
STATS• 215 learners when live sessions ended
• 314 today (the course is still in
progress and still taking registrations)
• Last year was more than full-time while
the live sessions were on, so fewer
speakers involved this year
• Live sessions went from January 18th
through February 24th, discussion
forums continuing once a month in the
webinar frame and in the virtual world,
Second Life through August 30th, 2016
• ParaMOOC17 will begin the planning
stage in October 2016

31. A BRIEF TOUR OF WHAT’S OUT
THERE

32. WHO NEEDS PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT?
• We all do
Photo by Alejandro Parra, Durham, 2012

33. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DOING?

34. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DOING?

35. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DOING?

36. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DONE?

37. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DONE?

38. ARE WE AWARE OF WHAT
EVERYBODY’S DONE?

39. A CALL TO ACTION

40. SLMOOC, AN INTRODUCTION
TO EDUCATION IN VIRTUAL
WORLDS

41. A CALL TO ACTION
• If you have no formal education in the
field, take some time to get a wider
perspective
• If you are teaching a formal program,
find a way to expand the content that
deals specifically with our phenomena,
theory and methods
• If you are binge-watching Grace and
Frankie or Agents of Shield online, take
a week off and explore YouTube and
the internet for people and research
that is relevant to your work in this
field

42. THANKS FOR LISTENING Contact info:
Email: nancy@theazire.org

43. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LINKS
• On-line/Global Education © the artist, Ciripasca
• Parapsychology wordle © the artist, RadiantSkies
• This PowerPoint: www.slideshare.net/NanZingrone
• Parapsychology Foundation:
http://www.parapsychology.org
• Academy of Spirituality and Consciousness Studies:
http://www.ascsi.org
• University of Northampton CSAPP Research Unit:
http://www.university-directory.eu/United-
Kingdom/Centre-for-the-Study-of-Anomalous-
Psychological-Processes-CSAPP--The-University-of-
Northampton.html
• University of São Paulo, Professor Wellington Zangari:
http://www.ip.usp.br/portal/index.php?option=com_co
ntent&view=article&id=1198%3Aprincipal&catid=281&It
emid=76
• University of Washington at Bothell, Consciousness
Minor: http://www.uwb.edu/biological-
sciences/consciousness
• Saybrook University: http://www.Saybrook.edu
• International University of Graduate Studies:
https://iugrad.edu.dm/degree-
programmes/parapsychology.html
• Atlantic University: http://www.atlanticuniv.edu
• Koestler Parapsychology Unit, University of Edinburgh:
https://koestlerunit.wordpress.com/#
• The Alvarado Zingrone Institute for Research and
Education: http://www.theazire.org
• The AZIRE Moodle: http://theazire.org/moodle
• The AZIRE Academy of WizIQ: http://the-
azire.wiziq.com
• Parapsychology Research and Education 2016 (also
known as ParaMOOC16): http://the-
azire.wiziq.com/course/139659-parapsychology-
research-and-education-paramooc2016
• The Rhine Education Center:
http://rhineeducationcenter.org
• Signs of Reincarnation on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/965923533422836
/
• Parapsychology: News, History and Research:
https://carlossalvarado.wordpress.com/
• Forbidden Histories:
https://forbiddenhistories.wordpress.com/
• Parapsychology Foundation Lyceum Blog:
http://www.pflyceum.org

44. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LINKS
• Entangled Minds: http://deanradin.blogspot.com/
• Unbelievable:
http://www.echonyc.com/~horn/unbelievable/
• Parapsychology Foundation on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/parapsychologyfoundation/
• Global Consciousness Project on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/EGGproject/
• Society for Psychical Research on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Society-for-Psychical-
Research-SPR-295503008217/
• Parapsychological Association:
http://www.parapsych.org
• Division of Perceptual Studies:
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/
• Institut Métapschyque International:
http://www.metapsychique.org/
• Australian Institute of Psychical Research:
http://www.aiprinc.org/
• Instituto de Psicología Paranomal:
http://www.alipsi.com.ar/quienes_somos.asp
• ASSAP Conference Films on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6W4w79Z7NjhXN
_2Ep3DuHQ
• Parapsychology Foundation on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKx9X_6Ek5JynhJY
tiH_HQA
• Parapsychology Online on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ParapsychologyOnline
• New Thinking Allowed on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFk448YbGITLnzpl
K7jwNcw
• Thinking Allowed TV on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThinkingAllowedTV
• Institute of Noetic Sciences on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thenoeticsciences
• Parapsychological Association on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs3rgEjohpmCPSW
ZA2k661Q
• NUPES, Federal University of Juiz da Fora:
https://www.youtube.com/user/nupesufjf
• The AZIRE Library and Learning Center in Second Life:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/154/
83/60