Group items tagged

Common Question I: NLE Strategies Applied Please discuss three most important strategies of NLE in your unit. Please be sure to justify why they are effective NLE strategies and how you assess them. Remember NLE strategies are not just your contents or "technologies," such as wiki, Blog, Twitter etc. It is integrated soft technologies. Hint: Four components of technology integrations: Content; Technology; Instructional Strategies; Assessment.

The primary network learning environment strategies that I used in this unit were ones that concerned communication.  Students were asked to interact in a variety of ways.  They were asked to interact on forums, in chat rooms, and to sharing joint wiki pages.  These communications for interactive, synchronous, and asynchronous.  They allow the learners to feel connected with each other as a community of learners and to benefit from the unique skill sets of individual group members.  Content was delivered textually and through audio and video.  These techniques were used for the more cut dry aspects of the unit.  Students however were expected to build on that content and create their own in sharing their thoughts and reflections upon the unit at its content.  Assessment was based on authentic mini projects that had to meet the specifications of the assignment.  As the specifications were clear, goals were measurable, while allowing the individual learner to tailor NLE were necessary for the unit.  Announcements were served via twitter and e-mail.  Assignments were organized using Google calendar.  Finally iGoogle was used as the one piece that tied all the NLE components together into a usable and understandable environment for the learners.  My aim was to create an environment that fosters learning beyond the tools.

"They were asked to interact on forums, in chat rooms, and to sharing joint wiki pages. " sounds more like online learning strategy, not NLE strategies?!

To apply more networked learning environment specific terms, learners in this unit were required to engage in specific learning activities.  Learners were asked to create their own webpages and wet paint.  This amounts to user generated content.  This user generated content was then shared with classmates so they could gain insights into how the tool is used and how they can use it in their own practice.  This sharing of the user generated content also amounts to social content sharing for learners are engaged in sharing their resources and developed content.  In demonstrating how to embed videos and widgets in white paint, this unit encourages webpage creation in a mashup style where web development combines online content and resources from external sources.  The practice of sharing, editing privileges of individual wiki pages and engaging in dialogue through comments and forums helps to foster participatory web style learning as the users contribute to each other.  Finally, the sharing of access and editing privileges on wiki pages constitutes a form of cloud computing.  The resources are web applications that are accessed via an internet browser and stored on network servers.  This is the very essence of cloud computing.  These learning strategies combined with the elements previously posted are the core of the network learning environment generated by this unit.

Common Question II: NLE Please justify why your unit integrating NLE, not just online learning environments (OLE). Be sure to distinguish NLE from OLE. Provide the examples from your unit to justify your responses.

Although my unit has aspects of online learning environments, it is intended to be a network learning environment.  An online learning environment is more static with the presentation of information as its main means of education.  The network learning environment employed in this unit was intended to chain users in a set of skills (much like an online learning environment), but also for the learners to interact with each other and the content in ways that grew and improved learning beyond the text on the webpage page.  Web 2.0 tools were woven together to create an environment that fosters learning and exploration within the aims of the course.  Students were asked to comment upon possible ways the technology could be employed, both for students and educators.  They were then asked to create products and share them with each other to gain the benefits of the cooperative group effort.  The specifics of individual assignments were left open so that teachers could explore the uses of the technology and see how their colleagues did the same.  They were then required to do the work of others and gain further insight through the process.  The environment used goes beyond a collection of Web 2.0 tools and should be thought of as a collection of tools and resources that assist a collaboration of minds working towards similar goal in creating their own content.  It is this distinction that makes my unit a network learning environment.

Common Question I: NLE Strategies Applied Please discuss three most important strategies of NLE in your unit. Please be sure to justify why they are effective NLE strategies and how you assess them. Remember NLE strategies are not just your contents or "technologies," such as wiki, Blog, Twitter etc. It is integrated soft technologies. Hint: Four components of technology integrations: Content; Technology; Instructional Strategies; Assessment.

The three most important strategies of this NLE were PAR, INFOVIZ, and UGC. With respect to PAR, learners collaborated and created wiki pages. Peer feedback and responses to said feedback were required. This strategy engaged learners in the content area. The evaluation for this portion was covered via rubric and criteria. The INFOVIZ strategy incorporated Wordle and concept maps via Kidspiration. Visual representations of content were created. This allowed an enhancement of content, provided a mental/visual graphic organizer, and allowed each learner to organize concepts in a way which was meaningful to them. This portion was assessed via rubrics. Finally, UGC permitted teams to create and share content via a wiki page. Participants were then required to read through their peers' content and provide feedback. This was evaluated via criteria. This permitted learners to take ownership of their learning. Content effectively fit into a NLE environment. Web 2.0 technology was implemented. Instructional strategies included: learner-learner interaction, reflection, online collaboration, collaborative learning, peer evaluation, creative, etc. Assessments were based on criteria and rubrics.

Common Question II: NLE Please justify why your unit integrating NLE, not just online learning environments (OLE). Be sure to distinguish NLE from OLE. Provide the examples from your unit to justify your responses.

A networked learning environment is an environment which contains a system of interrelated components, connections, and people. This system supports and facilitates your own learning experiences, as well as those you are networked with. It is a collaborative model which the instructor streamlines to promote individual accountability in a group setting, as well as learning goals/objectives. This structure allows for more self-reflection and management of one's learning. Traditional online learning might give a schedule, required readings and assignments, scheduled exams, and have not interaction between other learners or the instructor. There is very little sense of community in this model, and definitely no sense of ownership in one's learning. I feel that this unit lends itself to an NLE. It incorporates NLE strategies and technology tools which foster a sense of ownership (e.g. wiki content pages, Web 2.0, etc.), collaboration (e.g. team and community items such as wiki page creation, peer feedback, interaction, etc.), and self-reflection (e.g. reflective paper and blogger).

Common Question I: NLE Strategies Applied Please discuss three most important strategies of NLE in your unit. Please be sure to justify why they are effective NLE strategies and how you assess them. Remember NLE strategies are not just your contents or "technologies," such as wiki, Blog, Twitter etc. It is integrated soft technologies. Hint: Four components of technology integrations: Content; Technology; Instructional Strategies; Assessment.

Three most important strategies of NLE: * Integration of Text and Video- I placed a great amount of focus in my unit on the balancing of text with video. I used the text to prepare the user to watch the video and prompt the user to reflect after viewing the video. * Authentic Tasks- Each of the lessons involves a task that requires the user to interact with the actual Web 2.0 app. This provides experiences that are not contrived but based in the reality that users will face when they go to apply the lessons for other tasks. * Discovery learning- In this unit, focus has been placed allowing the user to discover the level of skill that they have with the technology and providing multiple entry points to match that skill level. Users drive the learning process as they make decisions about what is valuable.

Common Question II: NLE Please justify why your unit integrating NLE, not just online learning environments (OLE). Be sure to distinguish NLE from OLE. Provide the examples from your unit to justify your responses.

This unit goes beyond OLE in the completion of authentic tasks and the more avanced level of interaction. In a OLE, users will read and reflect on the content that is to be learned. In this lesson, users are given the content in text and video and then are asked to complete authentic tasks. As they are completing these authentic tasks, they are interacting with other users (on the wiki) and nonusers through the technology.

One complete entry includes synchronous and asynchornous postings.