Blogs commented on

I commented on the following blogs for the Module 4 assignment.

http://vidamartin7105.blogspot.com/

http://learningtheoryeducationaltechnology.blogspot.com/

http://ylyonstechnology.blogspot.com

Connectivism Module-4

How has your network changed the way you learn?

Connectivism is built on the principal that knowledge exists in the world not in the mind of one individual.  I chose to reveal my mind map to show how this principal relates to the knowledge about technology and how I apply this knowledge.  When gathering information what comes to my mind is collaborating with the experts in my field.  I have had such a great learning experience working in a learning community, I decided to build on this experience by relating to other learning communities in the content area in which I teach (4^th grade math).   The insight that I have gained from others is priceless. Like students we sometimes feel intimidated by our peers and don’t communicate openly with them. 

What digital tool best facilitates learning?

The digital tool that best facilitates learning for me is Wikispace.  This tool is very motivational  for all learners due to the fact that individuals learn so much from each other.  This has given the students in my math class the ability to respond to their peers using their language.  My class includes students with poor writing skills and they are very hesitant about writing.  Twenty-first century education is challenging all teachers to meet the students where they are.   They live in a digital world and we must make learning digital.  They are learning to respond to their peers by adding comments as to how to work a problem and what part of a problem was most complicated for them.  They are even able to reveal the part of solving the problem they still don’t understand.  This has been a great instrument for me being a veteran teacher.  It allows me to critique their work without a verbal comment but by using a written remark.  I have become a big fan of wikispace and so have my students.  My colleagues in the workplace are seeing its benefits as well.  We used it wikispace to express our concerns Teacher Keys because we did not have time to meet f2f.  When using wikispace you are also working with individuals that you are not familiar with except through written communication.

How do you learn knew knowledge when you have questions?

When I have a question I can always use Google and find the answer and this is how knew knowledge is learned.  Google is a great search engine for finding trustworthy and suitable articles. This also allows you and other individuals to be sincere with their opinion about the subject matter at hand.  It also increases collaboration efforts. This makes learning motivational and challenging.  It also promotes critical thinking skills.  According to Siemen we bond and bring together numerous elements and creative ideas and activities continually influencing our perception and awareness. (Simen, 2006, p.35)

Reference

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing Knowledge. Copyright 2006 by George Siemens. Used by permission.

Shirley Brady

Module 3 Blog Post

Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia? How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles? Find a current research study that has been conducted in the last 5 years that supports collaboration as an effective tool for learning.

Howard Rheingold: Way-New Collaboration http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

In our workplace there have not been a lot of examples as to how collaboration works.  As individuals we envision collaboration as what works for oneself.  Howard Rheingold makes mention of the “Split Game.”  In this game two individuals who are not familiar with each other are placed in different rooms and given a problem.  They are given a $100 dollars and one of the individuals decides what is to be done with it and the other has the choice to accept or reject the idea.  The offer was only accepted when the offer was very close to the even split of being evenly divided.  Rheingold pointed out that it is to no advantage to reject even the $1 against 0 but is does happen.

As we get a better understanding of what collaboration really is and seeing the benefit individuals working together to achieve the same goal. A good example of this is Wikipedia.  This site provides many instances where people are collaborating together to put together enlightening users of all available information and no particular individual reaps these benefits.  If a way can be found to convince individuals that everybody can benefit from a reward other than oneself, this will increase the drive to collaborate.

Addendum to Module 2 Discussion

In my teaching tenure I have learned that educational goals change as social needs change.  Along with these changes integrating of technology also changes.  There are no one size fit all as to which strategies prove to be the most reliable in accomplishing the educational goals of today’s learners.  Even though most directed instructions are embedded in behaviorist learning theory and the processing of information is the work of the cognitive learning theories,  the disagreement  for the two types of learning is directed teaching and constructivism.  Technology applications that involve drill and practice or tutorials are not the answer to effectively integrating technology.  There are applications that can improve our directed lessons or constructivist surroundings.  Depending on how teachers incorporate technology in the classroom instructions is the result of its effectiveness.  It is obvious that will be much research along with trial and error to determine the most effeective way of integrating technology.