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CJ Marchione

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0 (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUC... - 22 views

    • Erika Impagliatelli
       
      As a huge fan of Amazon and NetFlix, these examples were especially appreciated. NetFlix's variety of films including many excellent not-mainstream flicks has allowed the service to fulfill many consumers' entertainment needs without a DirecTV, Blockbuster, or RedBox. These are fantastic analogies for not-mainstream educational artifacts reaching learners thanks to the Internet. 
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      David Wiley is pretty well known, especially in the area of "Open Learning" In fact, he spoke at PSU's Teaching & Learning with Tech Symposium in 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcRctjvIeyQ
  • While the lectures are being played on a monitor (which is often powered by a battery, since many participating schools also lack reliable electricity), a “mediator,” who could be a local teacher or simply a bright student, periodically pauses the video and encourages engagement among the students by asking questions or initiating discussions about the material they are watching.
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      This is very typical of the "Flipping the Classroom" technique and can just as easily be done without the use of technology, though it does make it a little more interesting. It is interesting to me that we have such a hard time convincing faculty to try this method when schools with little to no resources will try just about anything.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      This concept is also not new, as video conferencing has been used in distance education for decades. Although electricity and a cable or satellite hook-up is necessary for video conferencing, mobile phones can allow for this type interaction in more rural areas. A 2010 study that I read for another course looked at the use of mobile phones to teach rural women in India about setting up small enterprises in sheep and goat farming. While much of the technology was used for content delivery, it also allowed for some participation by the women. Balasubramanian, K., Thamizoli, P., Umar, A., & Kanwar, A. (2010). Using mobile phones to promote lifelong learning among rural women in Southern India. Distance Education, 31(2), 193-209. doi: 10.1080/01587919.2010.502555
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Hannah--I also love "flipping the classroom", as it saves precious in class time for interaction as opposed to delivery. I think I would do much more of it, but my lecture size is between 96-120 for most of my classes. The students feel very afraid to ask questions and engage in that size of a class.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Melissa: Do you think using a system like the above Terra Incognita for small group discussions would be beneficial to your large classes? Have you used anything like that before now?
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Karen--I'm not sure as currently discussion works better in the smaller group labs. I have all of the students from my large lecture in a small group lab once a week so that helps. We are looking at doing some "flipping the classroom" types of activities to save lecture time and allow more time for discussion. I don't teach the large size class until September so there is definitely time to change some of the format.
    • Amii_Eunsung Park
       
      Melissa--That reminds me of one of my professors who gives a lecture to more than 100 students. I am not sure what your subject is and whether you have tried below before. But he uses his website where anyone in classroom ask any questions. His students post their questions a few minutes before break time and during break time, professor checks the comments and pick some questions which is highly ranked.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Amii, Melissa- to engage students in large class you can use back-channels (twitter hash tags, clickers, Blackboard has a feature to collect SMS) that the instructor can flash on a screen
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I have colleagues that use clickers, but many of us are not willing to require clickers due to the additional cost. And using something through a cell phone is also difficult as not everyone has one or doesn't have a smartphone that allows for the use of many of these tools. It is definitely a different world in community colleges as we are trying to do the best we can with limited resources. We also have a very different pool of students--from traditional to returning adult. Some of my 50 year old students don't even like to or know how to email.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      These comments remind me of an article posted on Wired (http://www.wired.com/2013/10/free-thinkers/all/----same). It is about a school teacher in Mexico that was tired of the standarize testing and teaching. In one year, he took a class of 5th graders that performed badly on the standarized test to having some of the highest scores in the country, including one girl who scored the highest in the country in math. The teacher was inspired by Sugta Mitra's TED Talk titled, "Build a School in the Cloud".
    • Lindsey Jordan
       
      I also love the flipped classroom! We have 2 teachers who flip this year, and I'll be joining the adventure next year. I think it's a great idea to have students learn the basic facts at home. Then while in school, they can complete the reinforcing activities. The teacher can spend class time reinforcing the material, and also pulling small groups to help those in need and give enrichment to those who can gain from it. Too much time is spent in class memorizing facts. I can't wait to use my class time to reinforce what they learned the night before.
  • The Cartesian perspective assumes that knowledge is a kind of substance and that pedagogy concerns the best way to transfer this substance from teachers to students. By contrast, instead of starting from the Cartesian premise of “I think, therefore I am,” and from the assumption that knowledge is something that is transferred to the student via various pedagogical strategies, the social view of learning says, “We participate, therefore we are.”
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I was especially struck with this idea of a shift in pedagogical strategies since in laboratory science teaching there is always a participatory element. The lecture setting does still work to present and transfer knowledge, but the lab setting allows for social interaction in student groups to apply the content. However, in online classes, I have not found a similar way to form lab groups in the laboratory simulation environment.
    • anonymous
       
      This reminds me of the old saying "Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me, I'll understand." The traditional "sage on stage" approach to learning is very one way and treats knowledge as an article to be passed from one person to another. I think the social view of learning has more value in that it involves experimentation and trial and error to learn. However, I completely agree with you, Michelle, in that recreating these social/lab groups is something that is lacking in Web 2.0 learning.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Referring to 'We participate, therefore we are" it is fantastic that students can take responsibility for their own learning through the affordances provided by Web 2.0 technology.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I wish I could take information about this approach to my administration. I believe that this selection directly relates to education in America. We have created a "norm" for learning which looks like a single teacher standing in the front of the classroom, lecturing to students who are sitting and listening in nice straight rows of desks. Having the administration come in to classrooms looking for "order" is against this philosophy that in order to create a social/interactive classroom, it may look chaotic!
    • kmlambert
       
      Another saying that I find relates to this is "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime."  It highlights that by teaching the man to fish, he will be able to fish on his own every day after to feed his family and survive. 
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  • Nor is it likely that the current methods of teaching and learning will suffice to prepare students for the lives that they will lead in the twenty-first century.
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      I see evidence of this now when I'm on hiring committees and we are drawn to folks that can provide a portfolio of evidence of learning. Its not enough to list your college and grade point average, we want to see that you are agile in your learning process and willing to explore new concepts.
    • anonymous
       
      Hannah - I completely agree. It's crucial for candidates to demonstrate these skills, but for better or worse the system still requires the more tangible credentials like a degree. I don't know if we'll ever get to a point where most job interviews are "demonstrate what you know" rather than "tell me what you know," but I think seeing that portfolio of actual work is far more telling that a candidates GPA.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Regarding job interviews, I was just on a hiring committee and one of the important issues that was raised was related to continuing professional development and lifelong learning. I think it is important that a candidate can show that they want to continue learning even if they are not currently pursuing a degree.
    • jnb196
       
      I agree witht his point but I have found that person indicate and say so many lovely things during interviews but once they land the job then they seem to forget what is said. SI I think we need to go further and work professional development as a requirement for job security and pay increase. This is a big challenge in my country some teacher have the mentality once trained always trained,
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      These are all great points and I agree. I am involved in the badging movement at Penn State and I see badging as a viable new option that could and eventually will replace the way we learn and acquire knowledge.
    • snc520
       
      This is definitely an issue at my school. Many of the teachers are quite set in their ways and refuse to try and add any kind of technology to their curriculum. They need to continue to seek out professional development, especially in Technology areas where they have no experience.
    • jasmccord
       
      I would go a step further and point out that is not just teachers who are set in their ways, but also school policy and administration who prevent the modern application of many devices.
  • For the past few years, he points out, incoming students have been bringing along their online social networks, allowing them to stay in touch with their old friends and former classmates through tools like SMS, IM, Facebook, and MySpace. Through these continuing connections, the University of Michigan students can extend the discussions, debates, bull sessions, and study groups that naturally arise on campus to include their broader networks. Even though these extended connections were not developed to serve educational purposes, they amplify the impact that the university is having while also benefiting students on campus.14
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Although some of my colleagues have created Facebook course sites, I have been worried about requiring my students to use this as a tool. However, this semester, several of my students created their own study group on Facebook and used it to share helpful videos, websites, and tips with each other. I suppose I should take the giant leap if they are already doing it for themselves!
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      IMHO: I like teachers not worrying about requiring it, or not requiring it. I think a key take-away from Seely is that the students are doing it themselves, they're engaging in self-directed learning behaviors, rather than relying on the teacher as the sole source
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      This was a discussion today at work as we were deciding on a textbook for a course for the next academic year. Some instructors really like some of the tools used by a particular textbook and I was noting that sometimes certain tools might not help some types of learners so I don't like to require them to complete those tasks. I know some instructors utilize different assessments that a student can chose based on their own learning style--making a portfolio for instance instead of taking a traditional test.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I like that there are tools out there like Facebook that are more educationally organized to help facilitate this type of learning environment. One example that I was introduced to is Edmodo. This website mimic's Facebook but allows teacher's to take responsibility of their class page. Again, I like the idea of this tool but finding a way to implement this in the primary setting is frustrating. Hopefully throughout this course, I will be able to learn more about how to do that!
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      Engaging students in any matter is positive.  Whether it be social media or in the classroom, the more students continue to talk about what they learn, they more they actually learn.
  • We are entering a world in which we all will have to acquire new knowledge and skills on an almost continuous basis.
    • anonymous
       
      This is an interesting thought. Education/knowledge is becoming immediately accessible to nearly anyone who wants it, but if we are entering a time where we "need" to acquire all this new knowledge quickly then we must come up with an infrastructure to support not just the distribution of that knowledge but also what to do with the educated masses. 
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      Good point. What kinds of new professions, occupations are being created by these new knowledge opportunities?
    • kmlambert
       
      In relation to Jordan's comment, I'm not sure we've figured out what to do with the educated masses as there are plenty of people looking for jobs who have graduate degrees but can not gain employment.  Instead they find themselves working in wage payroll jobs to pay the bills.  Certainly within the library fields, new positions have been created or renamed (example: Emerging Technology Librarian) to stay ahead of technology use in the community.   
  • New kinds of online resources—such as social networking sites, blogs, wikis, and virtual communities—have allowed people with common interests to meet, share ideas, and collaborate in innovative ways
    • anonymous
       
      Web 2.0 resources are great for bringing people together, but how do they allow for exchanges of diverse ideas? If people are only connecting with others who have "common interests," are there limitations to how knowledge can be transformed, rather than simply perpetuated?
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      Yep, we can't let the algorithm-based social networks do all the work for us, or we indeed end up with nothing more than self-validating echo chambers. It can start by intentionally incorporating divergent perspectives into your social feeds (e.g., Twitter, Tumblr)
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      I love Web 2.0 for creation of projects. I'll be interested to see what we can do with exchanges of ideas.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I love the these Web 2.0 tools allow us to communicate. Fostering communication between peers is the best way to learn. Although I like the blogs and wikis for this collaborative purpose, I struggle with finding a way to make it manageable for primary grades. The value of collaboration on material covered can only enhance student learning but the hoops we need to jump through as primary educators is far more difficult then implementing the actual tool!
    • Amii_Eunsung Park
       
      I am a huge fan of two-way/interactive web learning.But it is sometimes hard for me to keep up with class activities to organize contents we discuss and exchange. Web 2.0 is very active learning tool if I can find the way I organize all the thing I need to remember with my own file. For example, I read some interesting comments yesterday, and now I don't see and remember his or her comments..
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I am new to the blogging/social learning way we are experiencing here.  As a result of that, I am so overwhelmed with trying to keep up.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      A great virtual community that my class experimented with last semester was Google+ Hangouts. It provides a facebook feel yet has a "private group" where anyone in the group can post to the timeline. It keeps a running timeline of the class, which is pretty cool. I especially love Web 2.0 tools and social networking. In a sense, my generation grew up with it, so it almost feels second nature to me. I'm super curious and excited to see how learning and the world will look like in 10-15 years, when the generation in college and graduating high school starts overtaking the workforce in numbers.
  • In this open environment, both the content and the process by which it is created are equally visible, thereby enabling a new kind of critical reading—almost a new form of literacy—that invites the reader to join in the consideration of what information is reliable and/or important.
    • anonymous
       
      People often knock Wikipedia, but it's an amazing (and I think wonderfully executed) example of knowledge sharing. Thinking about not only how easily it can be accessed to find information, but also how easily it can open pathways to explore other topics. I would never pick up an encyclopedia for one topic and then when I'm finished reading, flip the pages to another random topic to learn more. But on Wikipedia, I constantly click through to other articles to learn more about related (or even unrelated) topics. I'm not sure if it's just the novelty of the tool, but it makes it feel more like knowledge exploration than "learning."
    • Rachel Tan
       
      It is true that this open environment invites readers to consider what information is reliable - I wonder if most people just grab the information they find and use it without checking if the content is accurate either due to ignorance or the pressure of time to submit a writing. This open environment should force us to be critical consumers of information.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I believe as educators, we fall short in seeing and expressing the good intentions of open sources. I know that when I was in high school, Wikipedia was deemed "bad!" We were to never use Wikipedia for information, references, etc. when doing research for papers. I think that this article allows us to think about Wikipedia in a new context. Being able to evaluate the credibility of information before relying on it is essential. But the real value is in the collaboration that can go into a Wikipedia page to provide accurate, advance, and up-to-date information. We need to start teaching how to properly use these tools instead of scaring people away!
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      I like my students to use wikipedia. Often, I will find an article that I know has a bit of misleading information just for the student's to use as an analytical piece. 
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      We construct knowledge as people. I use the same principle with my students. They appeal to me, albeit in vain, for the answer, but when using the Socrative method, I remind my students that they must come to a consensus on an answer.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Although I cannot find the reference at this moment, I recently read that Wikipedia was as statistically correct as most encyclopedias (maybe it was in my stats class).
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      There's been quite a bit of empirical research into the teams of people who contribute, edit, etc. Wikipedia entries. For example, one of my favorites looks at how some contributors become a "Wikipedian" http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/bryant_forte_bruckman_group05.html
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      I agree that the perception of the validity of Wikipedia has improved over time! When I was studying for my Master of Library and Information Science, we found that wikipedia was more accurate than encyclopedias in some cases. However, when working with K-12 students who are looking for the fastest 'information grab'. I still encourage teachers to only allow them to use the references at the end of the article as sources.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @kristiemcgarry +1
  • From the customers’ standpoint, online enterprises offering unprecedented choice are able to cater much more efficiently to individual tastes and interests than any brick-and-mortar store.
    • anonymous
       
      It's easy to see how the long tail concept can apply to Web 2.0 learning. As it provides more choices and ways to access information, it becomes easier for the learning to develop and take control of their own education.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      Especially with different styles of learners, Web 2.0 tools can allow us to tap into all of the different ways that students learn.
  • We need to construct shared, distributed, reflective practicums in which experiences are collected, vetted, clustered, commented on, and tried out in new contexts.
  • This new form of learning begins with the knowledge and practices acquired in school but is equally suited for continuous, lifelong learning that extends beyond formal schooling. Indeed, such an environment might encourage students to readily and happily pick up new knowledge and skills as the world shifts beneath them.
    • anonymous
       
      This would illustrate a shift in how we view learning, and I think it'd be a great one. Most students view learning as a task, as a means to an end (like getting a job). But as information becomes more easily accessible and life-long learning can easily be done, learning can be viewed more positively.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      I agree with you Jordan. When learning is viewed in a more positive light, it occurs more regularly and is not seen as simply a "task". My dad used to always tell me, "learning lasts a lifetime" and it has sort of turned into a family joke. He calls it our "family motto". We laugh about it since he says it so often, but it is quite true. Web 2.0 supports this and who knows how what we learn and how we do it will change and adapt within the coming years.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      The problem is that business leaders and politicians are now constantly releasing statements and publishing articles talking about how learning anything that isn't directly related to employment is a waste of time and money.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Learning for its own sake is highly valuable. We should voraciously pursue it. As Shelby quoted her Dad, learning is one of the best investments you can make in yourself, especially because you will have it for pretty much your whole life.
  • Fortunately, various initiatives launched over the past few years have created a series of building blocks that could provide the means for transforming the ways in which we provide education and support learning. Much of this activity has been enabled and inspired by the growth and evolution of the Internet, which has created a global “platform” that has vastly expanded access to all sorts of resources, including formal and informal educational materials. The Internet has also fostered a new culture of sharing, one in which content is freely contributed and distributed with few restrictions or costs.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      It was only in Oct'12 that I heard of the term 'open education' which is made possible by internet Web 2.0 technologies and the power of volunteers such that education is no more accessible to those who can afford it. Indeed Coursera, Audacity, etc are platforms for global education - what do you think will happen to future higher ed after watching epic2020.org and witnessing the tsunami of open courses/education
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Ivy League schools opening their doors to the world through their open online courses is a very bid deal. I don't really have an answer to your question at all. I just think it is an interesting experiment in democratic education. Some scientific journals are going all-access electronically as well in an effort to improve communication between researchers in the field, and I think one R&D researcher's question (when discussing it on FB) is valid... how is all this being funded, and will it impact the scholarly validity of the research?
    • kmlambert
       
      This is interesting statement in light of the recent debate over net neutrality.  Currently, users gain access to all search results, but if the FCC has their way then it would be more of a pay per view Internet.  This would drastically impact schools and libraries.   
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @kmlambert - yes, this is definitely something to keep an eye on. One would hope that at the very least libraries would be given some kind of special "public interest" exemption if some type of tiered pricing model comes about
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      If this is true, our world is in for a rude awakening. I'm teaching of the reasons for social class stratification right now in my sociology course. Uneducated population will simply add to this strain.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      It is a rude awakening and it seems the solution is open education where good universities make their courses available on the internet, making education accessible to all.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I'd be cursious to see what this number is now, seeing how this article was written in 2008 and it is six years later, almost a decade.
    • Christina Webster
       
      Agreed.  I feel like the progression has made things a lot more accessible and there has to be a lower number 6 years later.  Then again...I could be wrong.
    • jasmccord
       
      So this quote from Sir John Daniel was made in 1996? This was my senior year in high school so I suppose I fit into this population. Assuming again that the quote was made about the world in 1996, what do you think the numbers would look like today?
  • In this system, students work together in a common space and peripherally participate in each other’s design process; hence they can benefit from their instructors’ comments on and critiques of other students’ projects and not just from comments on their own work.
    • jnb196
       
      This method is great because it allows for schema reformation at a whole different level. A person may have a misconception in relation to some area and may never know until they have the opportunity to represent they idea. In this environment the tutor if realligning misconceptions that of not only the student he corrects but also of the other student who may have the same unrepresented misconception.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      I like this idea. I would really enjoy being able to see the comments on others work - it helps me when I create my own projects.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      To add to this: Not only would seeing comments and critiques of other students projects be beneficial, it would also be beneficial for classmates to be able to critique their peers projects. When I did my student teaching, we had "author's circle" where every child got a chance to read their writing to their classmates. At the conclusion of their reading, they would call on two classmates to give them feedback. As a teacher, I noticed that the students took their peers feedback very seriously and they wanted to improve their writing with the help of their peers (not only the teacher).
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I also had experience with this in a creative writing enlgish course in my undergraduate studies. Each writing assignment was also critiqued by several other classmates before the professor would even take a look at it. This way, we were able to hand in a well-round piece of writing that had other people's eyes check it out too.l
    • snc520
       
      This ties in with another comment I made above. My students use Google Docs for writing assignments and share with each other to proofread and edit their writing. They love being able to receive feedback from their peers!
  • ocial learning is based on the premise that our understanding of content is socially constructed through conversations about that content and through grounded interactions, especially with others, around problems or actions. The focus is not so much on what we are learning but on how we are learning.5
    • jnb196
       
      I engage in social learning everyday, but most of the time it id done through formal or informal meetings. It is a beautifl tool to utilise when engaging in problem solving, the ability to bounce ideas off of another colleague or here another perspective. Web 2.0 tool magnify the opportunities for social learning as it removes the barrier of persons having to be in the same location at the same time. It also allows for artifacts to be created that can be viewed over time.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a great point and a great example of this would be Google Docs. Google Docs has become a super powerful tool in my education as well as my personal and professional lives. I can create a document and share it with whoever I want, and that person can add or edit. This is great for distant learning where students can work on the same document at the same time, from different ends of the world.
    • kmlambert
       
      I have tended to think that learning is a individual process.  Want to learn how to knit, to drive, to ski, or to solve math problems?  While each activity must be completed by an individual, it is usually only mastered through social learning.   
    • snc520
       
      In my middle school language arts class, we use GoogleDrive/Docs all the time to share and collaborate on writing projects. The kids love to proofread each other's work and comment on how their peers can improve their writing. After implementing the writing process in two ways (traditional pencil/paper and using GoogleDrive) the students definitely put more time and effort into doing their work on the computer!
    • Marie Collins
       
      I feel that this statement on Social Learning best describes my learning style. Reading texts or listening to lectures does not always bring important information into context for me. Instead, I find myself learning more from my peers who are able to "teach" the information in new way/context with added commentary and reflection.
  • Light discovered that one of the strongest determinants of students’ success in higher education—more important than the details of their instructors’ teaching styles—was their ability to form or participate in small study groups.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      This contradicts most of what research as shown for a while.  I'll be interested to see where this pans out.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      For me, this never worked.  I may be the outlier though.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This never worked for me either. And I don't believe this is entirely accurate for all people. A great video to watch is Susan Cain's TED talk, "The Power of Introverts". There is a great part in there in which she talks about how the world is designed for extroverts. Group work in schools favor extroverts. How the classroom is arranged favors extroverts. What about the introverts that do better by themselves or need that extra time to think by themselves. http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts
    • kmlambert
       
      Greatly enjoyed Cain's TED talk, and started (but not finished her book, Quiet).  As a shy, quiet, insecure K-12 student I hated having to talk in front of others, especially other students I didn't know.  Are moving towards a framework where group work will be more prominent than self-directed work in educational and professional situations?         
  • The demand-pull approach is based on providing students with access to rich (sometimes virtual) learning communities built around a practice. It is passion-based learning, motivated by the student either wanting to become a member of a particular community of practice or just wanting to learn about, make, or perform something.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Some great learning communities can be found on Google+ and Reddit. You can search for all sorts of topics and they are filled with a wealth of scholars, professionals, or passionate people. Reddit is more on the fun/entertainment side, but there are some great, informative subredits out there. Google+ is designed more for the eudcational realm and has a ton of great educational learning communites that anyone can join.
    • kmlambert
       
      I like the phrase passion-based learning.  After attending a workshop based on the book "Strengths Finder 2.0"  by Tom Rath, I discovered that I am a learner.  I can pinpoint many previous experiences where I sought out learning opportunities .  If this passion-based learning was encouraged more during K-12 settings, it would be more enjoyable for students and teachers.    
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      Knowledge is expected in todays world.  Because of the amount of information at our fingertips, literally, we are expected for find answers before new problems arise.  Students need to be taught in this manner to live in a web-based society.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      That's why information literacy is so important. Learners need to be able to instantly evaluate new materials on their own without depending on anyone else to tell them what to think. There is so much available, and we have to be able to think critically about anything we come across on or off the Internet.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Sometimes I think research literacy is as important as information literacy.
  • Perhaps the best known example is Wikipedia, the online “open source” encyclopedia that has challenged the supremacy of commercial encyclopedias
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      As a librarian, people expect me to slam Wikipedia and other such crowd sourced materials, but I don't. Use the references at the bottom of the page, people! Don't cite the Wikipedia article; click through to the actual source and use that. They are finding your research for you.
  • Few of us today will have a fixed, single career; instead, we are likely to follow a trajectory that encompasses multiple careers
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Many high school students are unsure of what to pursue in college. Many college students are unsure what to pursue as a major. Even when they graduate with a degree, they might do something completely unrelated to their area of training. Field-specific training is important, but generalizable learning such as critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills might prove more effective in raising the adaptability of today's workers as they navigator several careers.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I am definitely not doing what I originally thought I would do or what I did do immediately after graduation. I would also argue that some educational programs don't train you for what you typically end up doing. For instance, most Ph.D. programs in the sciences prepare students to do research in their field, although many end up being teachers with little to no training in teaching. This is beginning to change from what I have seen with some programs adding teaching options or doctoral programs becoming completely dedicated to teaching.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I wonder if the "respect level" or "prestige level" is different for professors who dedicate themselves to teaching when compared to those who dedicate themselves to research.
    • kmlambert
       
      Last I heard, many people will change careers seven times over their working lifetime.  While there is some componenents that overlap, I am not in a field related to my undergraduate degree.  
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I as well am not in a field related to my undergraduate degree. However, my undergrad degree is quite broad, Communications. My full time job is an Education Program Assistant at Penn State, but I do film weddings as a freelance videographer which coincides directly with my undergraduate degree. Filming weddings and videography is more of a hobby and passion of mine, which I probably would not have picked up if it was not for my undergrad degree. I think it is funny that my passion lies within my undergrad degree, but I can't make a solid income with that specific work just yet. Who knows what the future holds though!
  • Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, which has provided free access to a wide range of courses and other educational materials to anyone who wants to use them
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      iTunesU offers Ivy-league caliber courses free of charge. From worksheets to lesson videos and assignments, these courses are available to anyone with an iOS device and Internet connection.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Yes indeed Open Yale Courses, Harvard Open Courses, etc are sharing their resources freely however the videos are too long (recording lectures) - thus requiring deep linking to specific contents
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      OER are free, and widely available, but I'm curious about their measured impact on learning. Learning includes assessments, scope, sequencing, and other curricular and standards-based alignnments; the internet is overflowing with information resources but we don't always know how effectively they are being used for student learning.
    • kmlambert
       
      An interesting side note, Centre County, PA is developing their own OER, called CrowdCourse.  Developed with local partners in collaboration with Centre County Libraries.  See: here: http://centrecounty.crowdcourse.com/
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @kristin - good question. B/c this phenomenon is relatively new, there's not a whole lot out there to my knowledge. However, David Wiley is considered one of the leaders in researching this area. He also spoke at a Penn State Teaching Learning & Tech symposium several years ago. http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=M47HR7IAAAAJ
    • anonymous
       
      It seems as though some of the MOOCS are courses that used to be offered at a University but then became a free course for anyone to take. Does anyone know how this is decided? Is there a new version the universities are offering/charging for?
    • anonymous
       
      I enjoy the iTunes U courses also! :)
  • This encourages the practice of what John Dewey called “productive inquiry”—that is, the process of seeking the knowledge when it is needed in order to carry out a particular situated task
  • The e-Science movement is providing students with access to expensive and scarce high-level tools, giving them the opportunity to engage in the kinds of research conducted by professional scientists
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      This initiative accomplishes the learning need of real-world relevant as well as training on tools similar to those used on the work world.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab, and the Santa Fe Institute are doing some interesting work on this front, e.g., collaborations with schools that involve applied, authentic learning projects of one sort or another
  • ‘playful’ learning
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Learning and play go very well together, especially because in play mode, there's no fear of failure. Encouragement to explore and try out new things is the expectation.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Since "everything I needed to learn, I learned in Kindergarten", I think playful learning can be added to the list.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love playful learning and if you follow gamification, you can see it becoming very big, espeically with badging. I hope to see elementary and middle schools adopt more of a playful learning style as there is no fear of failure, yet our standarize testing system has "punishments" for getting worng answers.
    • kmlambert
       
      Agreed.  The form of play is the basis of all learning.  We can see this in the animal kingdom and with human children.  Lion cubs learn to pounce on each other, as they would on prey.  Human children play with blocks, and legos to learn various forms of developmental skills.   
  • The power of peer review had been brought to bear on the assignments.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      People are genetically wired to be social creatures.
  • Finding and joining a community that ignites a student’s passion can set the stage for the student to acquire both deep knowledge about a subject (“learning about”) and the ability to participate in the practice of a field through productive inquiry and peer-based learning (“learning to be”)
  • Often the learning that transpires is informal rather than formally conducted in a structured setting
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Teaching how to be self learners is essential from an early age to accomplish this goal. Traits include internal locus of control for motivation and self discipline for things such as time management and task completion.
  • world has become increasingly “flat,”
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Our world has also flattened by our lack of knowledge depth.  We are expected to know a little about a lot and what we don't know be able to find by technological means.  Is it enough to have a knowledge base that is a mile wide and an inch deep?
    • anonymous
       
      This reminds me of the quote "To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge" -Copernicus Information being readily available provides us with opportunity to seek diverse as well as in depth knowledge and as a result connections can be made and we are able to grow holistically as individuals. When it comes to long term lasting development, I think it's important to weigh options with a broad perspective; however, I feel as though in depth knowledge that is trade specific aims to assure quality, safety, and efficiency by individuals who have practiced, observed, shared, and as a result improved on their trade which is also essential. Just like a formal learning environment, I feel as though there is a need for unique individuals that rely on each other as a key aspect of enrichment and success in the workforce alike.
  • well-educated workforce with the requisite competitive skills
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I wonder how this though impacts enrollment in technological school.  I ask only because of a recent conversation with an electrician that came to install a new light fixture for me who commented that it is harder to find younger people interested in the vocational trades.  In fact, the average age for the company he worked for was around 38.
    • jasmccord
       
      This also makes me question many of the technology based policies of school districts. Use of devices within my school is limited severely. Isn't this hindering our ability to prepare students to compete in the modern workforce?
  • The latest evolution of the Internet, the so-called Web 2.0, has blurred the line between producers and consumers of content and has shifted attention from access to information toward access to other people
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Steve Case, of early AOL fame, was the commencement speaker for UNC's graduation where he tweeted a picture of the class standing after he finished his speech (cool use of social networking especially since he sent it to Duke).  Here he commented that people have multiple jobs and multiple careers so they should keep learning and be flexible. He also recently gave an interview about the internet and its future and offers interesting insight into the potential of Web 2.0 in education.  The article discusses that the only thing holding back the 2.0 revolution is issues with the infrastructure.  His interview can be found here: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/29/2nd-great-internet-revolution-is-coming-aol-founder-says/  
  • active, passion-based learning
    • cherylanneburris
       
      When passion is injected into learning it no longer becomes a chore or a job but an experience.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I totally agree. One of my favorite quotes, which I have featured on every page of my digital portfolio is from William Butler Yeats. "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
    • jbueter
       
      I like the idea of "passion-based learning" since this kind of internal exigency produces really strong work from students.
    • snc520
       
      I do too! When anyone is passionate about something it makes it less of a chore and more enjoyable!
    • dmwentroble
       
      While the internet has provided us with a wealth of information, the internet is not always correct. Let us remember that anyone can enter information on the internet whether they are qualified or not.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is true, but it is also becoming easier to check online sources. Take Wikipedia as an example. I use Wikipedia quite often for personal as well as school use. However, I ususally check the sources at the bottom of the page and check that source as well. I do agree that the internet is not always correct, but I think a sense of accountability comes with using the interenet.
  • If King is right, it makes sense for colleges and universities to consider how they can leverage these new connections through the variety of social software platforms that are being established for other reasons.
  • leverage
  • If King is right, it makes sense for colleges and universities to consider how they can leverage these new connections through the variety of social software platforms that are being established for other reasons.
    • dmwentroble
       
      While it makes sense for colleges and universities to use social media and social software platforms, it makes me wonder how this can be incorporated into the elementary setting. Young students can also benefit from social learning but the cost of the technology is often the sticking point for most districts.
  • By enabling students to collaborate with working scientists, this movement provides a platform for the “learning to be” aspect of social learning. For example, the Faulkes Telescope Project, sponsored by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, provides students in the United Kingdom with free access to two high-powered robotic telescopes, one in Hawaii and the other in Australia, which the students are able to use remotely to carry out their own scientific investigations (http://faulkes-telescope.com/).
    • dmwentroble
       
      I love the fact that students are able to see and connect with the real world through social technology. This gives a student who is pondering their future a chance to see various paths they can take to have a successful career.
  • online social networks that have attracted millions of young people
    • dmwentroble
       
      I find this interesting. I work with very young children...8 years old and they are already using the social networking devices to talk to their friends. I set up a kidsblog in my classroom and I found them using it daily to discuss their homework, etc. with one another. Start early and the future will be brighter.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is quite interesting that the children are using blogs to discuss their homework with another. I find that facinating. I think cloud schooling is the future, although the brick and mortar school will never go away, schools will look completely different in 20 years.
  • This perspective shifts the focus of our attention from the content of a subject to the learning activities and human interactions around which that content is situated. This perspective also helps to explain the effectiveness of study groups
    • dmwentroble
       
      This is the same as running centers in an elementary classroom. The students interact and learn from each other.
  • A current example of an attempt to harness the power of study groups in a virtual environment is the Terra Incognita project of the University of Southern Queensland (Australia), which has built a classroom in Second Life, the online virtual world that has attracted millions of users.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Last semester in Design Studio, we experimented with having a "virtual class" in Second Life. It was rather interesting. We all created avatars and met in a building. There was a screen in the building that could be used as a web browser, or to play videos or PowerPoints.This way, students could attend Design Studio in person in a real classroom (and join the virtual classroom) and students from a distance could join the virtual classroom and everyone could be in the same classroom. Having avatars gave a sense of personality to a person, which created a different online learning experience.
    • anonymous
       
      This sounds like an awesome course! You met in an actual building? Was this a resident course or is it offered online?
  • Although about 40,000 students are enrolled in classes on the university’s campus in Ann Arbor, King believes that the actual number of students being reached by the school today is closer to 250,000.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Another great example of this at Penn State is World in Conversation. World in Conversation has classes and projects set up where students on campus sit in a room with a television and video conference students at another university on the other side of the world and have a discussion, usually about controversial topics such as race and poverty.
  • Tools such as blogs, wikis, social networks, tagging systems, mashups, and content-sharing sites
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Another great tool not mentioned here is Twitter and the use of hash-tag conversations. I've participated in a number of these and have also found that I discovered other hash tag conversations and weighed in, not knowing the full context. This is a very cool concept because anyone who has a twitter account, which is a lot of people, can find your conversation and join by using the specified hash tag.
  • The recorded lectures provide the educational content, and the local mediators stimulate the interaction that actively engages the students and increases the likelihood that they will develop a real understanding of the lecture material through focused conversation.
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      The school where I work is doing something almost identical with a product purchased from the private company Edgenuity -- recorded lectures and online learning facilitated by classroom teachers in all subject areas -- piloted this year with a small group and next year will be rolled out school-wide.
  • Learning to Be through e-Science and e-Humanities
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      I shared these links with the Science team at my school
  • can take on the role of teacher to help other group members benefit from their understanding
  • participatory medium that is ideal for supporting multiple modes of learning
    • jbueter
       
      I think this is key. Web 2.0 can allow for visual learners to succeed, sure, but the participatory part probably helps many students.
    • jbueter
       
      I like the use of infographs/cartoons here. A "practice-what-you-teach" kind of moment.
  • Becoming a trusted contributor to Wikipedia involves a process of legitimate peripheral participation that is similar to the process in open source software communities. Any reader can modify the text of an entry or contribute new entries. But only more experienced and more trusted individuals are invited to become “administrators” who have access to higher-level editing tools.
    • jbueter
       
      One of the better descriptions of how the Wikipedia contributor process works. Although, I wonder how much it has changed.
  • This experiment suggests one way that the social life of Internet-based virtual education can coexist with and extend traditional education.
    • jbueter
       
      This model seems more tenable than other MOOCs, especially one's that require proctors.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Being able to (practically) instantly communicate to faculty and students in the virtual world is inviting, in comparison to many of the forums that MOOCs offer. Certainly, forums are a valuable tool for asking and responding to questions and ideas, but the reduction of steps and time it takes to communicate is inviting to me. Interacting with a virtual, on-screen character also seems more involving than responding to a 50x50 icon, too (not to knock on forums and blogs, of course; rather, to comment on how this use of a virtual world is an evolution of the practice.)
  • Students can send to Illinois any insects (or other small creatures) that they have captured, then log on with their computers to control the microscope in real time and view their specimens (
    • jbueter
       
      Since I come from the Humanities, it is interesting to see how the sciences can use the interactive element of the internet.
    • snc520
       
      I love this idea! even though I don't teach science, I feel like young lower-elementary students would really enjoy watching whatever little creature they caught. It's like having a class pet without having to actually care for it!
  • The demand-pull approach is based on providing students with access to rich (sometimes virtual) learning communities built around a practice. It is passion-based learning, motivated by the student either wanting to become a member of a particular community of practice or just wanting to learn about, make, or perform something.
  • earning might appear to be extremely resource-intensive
    • jbueter
       
      Certainly a smart observation by Brown, but it is probably more complicated than he makes it out to be. There are various levels of paywalls for certain Web 2.0 tools.
  • it has also become “spikier”: the places that are globally competitive are those that have robust local ecosystems of resources supporting innovation and productiveness.2
    • kmlambert
       
      "Spikier" produces a great image, but would be curious to know which countries or major cities have the greatest spikes then and now.    
  • Typically, 20 percent of titles generate 80 percent of all sales, which means that most revenue comes from the “fat” part of the tail and that most of the costs of operation come from maintaining the inventory in the “long” part of the tail.
    • kmlambert
       
      I found this to be an interesting analogy.  Currently, my library is purchasing more of the bestselling titles, and fewer of the educationally interesting titles because patron demand is driving it.    
  • Demand-pull learning shifts the focus to enabling participation in flows of action, where the focus is both on “learning to be” through enculturation into a practice as well as on collateral learning.
  • In addition to supporting lecture-style teaching, Terra Incognita includes the capability for small groups of students who want to work together to easily “break off” from the central classroom before rejoining the entire class. Instructors can “visit” or send messages to any of the breakout groups and can summon them to rejoin the larger group.
    • anonymous
       
      This opportunity to network makes me wonder about language barriers/education/voice translation technologies.
  • In addition to supporting lecture-style teaching, Terra Incognita includes the capability for small groups of students who want to work together to easily “break off” from the central classroom before rejoining the entire class. Instructors can “visit” or send messages to any of the breakout groups and can summon them to rejoin the larger group.
  • In addition to supporting lecture-style teaching, Terra Incognita includes the capability for small groups of students who want to work together to easily “break off” from the central classroom before rejoining the entire class. Instructors can “visit” or send messages to any of the breakout groups and can summon them to rejoin the larger group.
  • In addition to supporting lecture-style teaching, Terra Incognita includes the capability for small groups of students who want to work together to easily “break off” from the central classroom before rejoining the entire class. Instructors can “visit” or send messages to any of the breakout groups and can summon them to rejoin the larger group.
  • Whereas traditional schools offer a finite number of courses of study, the “catalog” of subjects that can be learned online is almost unlimited.
    • jnb196
       
      Penn State's " Certificate in Educational Technology Integration" is one such course which I wasn't available to in my physical environment.
    • anonymous
       
      Embracing challenge for continuous quality improvement/learning.
  • They are able to maintain inventories of products—books, movies, and music—that are many times greater than can be offered by any conventional store.
    • anonymous
       
      I notice Wal-Mart and Sears online offering products from other online stores in their store.
  • Learning 2.0
  • The most profound impact of the Internet, an impact that has yet to be fully realized, is its ability to support and expand the various aspects of social learning.
  •  
    Educause: Minds On Fire, by Brown & Adler
  •  
    It is amazing to read this 2008 article for the first time and see how much has transpired in the global educational landscape with regards to open education. Where Web 1.0 expanded access to information, Web 2.0 transformed learning with these affordances: participation, interaction, collaboration, social learning... If Web 3.0 is coming - what will it be? The motivation for Coursera.org is very touching - I stumbled into this YouTube video - Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education (http://youtu.be/U6FvJ6jMGHU)
  •  
    EDUCAUSE Review Online
anonymous

Teaching in Social and Technological Networks « Connectivism - 10 views

shared by anonymous on 02 Jun 14 - Cached
  • A teacher/instructor/professor obviously plays numerous roles in a traditional classroom: role model, encourager, supporter, guide, synthesizer.
    • dmwentroble
       
      and in the elementary classroom, a nurse, guidance counselor, referee, and cheerleader!
    • anonymous
       
      etc. :)
  • Selecting a textbook, determining and sequencing lecture topics, and planning learning activities, are all undertaken to offer coherence of a subject area. Instructional (or learning) design is a structured method of coherence provision.
  • The largely unitary voice of the traditional teacher is fragmented by the limitless conversation opportunities available in networks. When learners have control of the tools of conversation, they also control the conversations in which they choose to engage.
    • dmwentroble
       
      I agree with this statement...however, someone has to teach these students how to go out and find this information. This is what is wrong with today's technology being incorporated into the classrooms. The teachers are not trained first!
    • snc520
       
      I agree! Training opportunities on how to get these resources into the classroom are needed!
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is true. I agree that there needs to be more training and workshops for the teachers. But that means more inservice days and less school for the kids. It's a trade-off that would definitely need looked at. But Obama's new ConnectED plan does calls for more teacher professional development in the field of technology education. I talked a little about this in my week four blog curation.
    • kmlambert
       
      I agree the teachers need training first, however don't most teachers take 'work' home with them such as students assignments to grade?  IF that's the case, then why isn't learning new technology part of that?  Is there an attitude that if the administration doesn't teach it to the teachers than they don't have to know it?  This is where the DIY learner should come into play.  Those teachers that want to adopt and try new things will commit their time to do so, meanwhile those that are ok with the status quo will not seek out new methods to incorporate technology into their classroom.  
    • hagenbuch
       
      Traditional teachers feel threatened by tech, when it could enhance their abilities. At what point does the teacher become obsolete, in favor of a less biased Google search? 
  • ...77 more annotations...
  • This cozy comfortable world of outcomes-instruction-assessment alignment exists only in education. In all other areas of life, ambiguity, uncertainty, and unkowns reign.
    • dmwentroble
       
      This is so true! Education as a whole is an entirely different entity then other professions when it comes to goals.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love this statement. It sheds so much light on potentially why education is coming to a stagnant standstill. There is too much structure, too much policy, and too many rules.
    • jbueter
       
      In the world of English composition there has been some push back against the outcomes movement for some of the reasons mentioned by Siemens, but Chris Gallagher, a writing program administrator at Northeastern University, has written about how "outcomes" language limits what we expect from learners. Instead, he argues for "consequential assessment," which for him is more open to what we hope students will learn, but also what unforeseen positive things can occur. 
    • hagenbuch
       
      #Truth. Competency-based approaches can prove to be a very safe, and very dangerous place at the same time.
    • Christina Webster
       
      Exactly! So why do we think this is acceptable for education??
  • clear outcomes are still needed.
    • dmwentroble
       
      Agree
    • anonymous
       
      I agree also until I understand otherwise :)
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Having no clear outcomes could create anarchic, or perhaps apathetic, learning environments. It reminds me of an actor asking the director, "What's my motivation?".
  • How can we achieve learning targets when the educator is no longer able to control the actions of learners?
    • dmwentroble
       
      How do we meet our objectives?? With the new evaluations that we are required to submit, we still need objectives and outcomes. This needs to be addressed.
  • Thoughts, ideas, or messages that the teacher amplifies will generally have a greater probability of being seen by course participants.
  • While “curator” carries the stigma of dusty museums, the metaphor is appropriate for teaching and learning. T
    • kmlambert
       
      When I was in grad school, a professor explained that librarians were informational curators, especially in relation to the Internet.  With so much available information, librarians (curators) were the professionals that could organize, analyze and filter out the 'bad' information for the user.  
  • How do individuals make sense of complex information? How do they find their way through a confusing and contradictory range of ideas?
    • dmwentroble
       
      We make our way through the complex information by exploring. Unfortunately, most teachers do not have the time to explore how to access the technology available.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a great question and that is an even better rebuttal. Not having the time is so true. Teachers only have so many in-service days and thsoe are usually filled by meaningless information and boring presentations. Their nights are filled with correcting homework, checking tests, reading essays, making lession plans, etc. This is a radical idea but what if we would make our schools a 4-day week for the chilren and leave 1 day for the teachers to prep, explore, and create. I'm sure the kids would like that...
  • Today’s social web is no different – we find our way through active exploration
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Today's web is very different. It is both more confusing and comples YET extremely easy to navigate. Confusing because of the unreal number of options for just about everything yet easier to navigate and search for what you need. The web Siemens is talking about is the rudimentary, dial-up internet that has changed tremendously since then. Now, anyone can blog, and you don't have to know any html or ftp.
  • Instead of being the sole or dominant filter of information, he now shares this task with other methods and individuals.
    • dmwentroble
       
      Which can be a very daunting task to many of the "senior" teachers!
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I as well have seen this be a stigma in the faculty world. A lot of teachers are accustomed to being "head" in their field and do not like sharing information or reaserach. We are approaching an age where the kids growing up literally share EVERYTHING.
    • kmlambert
       
      The notion of not sharing information is foreign to me as a librarian.  Information is free and plentiful so why shouldn't it be shared.  Certainly if information was not shared through books, stories, etc where might humanity be without the knowledge of astronomy or medicine that we have today.  
    • hagenbuch
       
      Information is still a commodity, as long as money can be made off of something, we're going to have to keep pushing for full transparency.
    • Christina Webster
       
      This connects with our text Becoming a Networked Learner by Mancabelli and Richardson. It encourages us to seek information but also put it out in the field for others.
  • Having recently relocated to Alberta, I used Google to gain a sense of my children’s teachers, the social media network in Edmonton, colleagues at work, meetups, democamps, etc.
    • dmwentroble
       
      I find this interesting because up until this year, our school website did not have pictures of faculty nor did it have updated information. This was an issue that our union fought to correct.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Oh wow, that's crazy that your school website did not have that information up there!
    • Christina Webster
       
      My district still doesn't have pictures up of staff on our website. They have names, positions, and e-mails posted, but no friendly pictures of your child's teacher.
  • Education sits at the social/technological nexus of change
  • how teaching is impacted by social and technological networks.
  • the teacher offers a narrative of coherence of a particular discipline.
  • What is the impact of conversation/content fragmentation?
  • Fragmentation of content and conversation is about to disrupt this well-ordered view of learning. Educators and universities are beginning to realize that they no longer have the control they once (thought they) did.
    • anonymous
       
      And letting go of it is the hardest part! I think it will come with understanding.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      I think the uncertainty (of the material ultimately covered/to be assessed) is what scares some educators and learners the most... even if they know it's good for them! The lack of predictable outcomes and control of the material adds some nervous insecurity.
    • anonymous
       
      I agree!
  • the system needs to produce concise outcomes. Fragmentation, it would appear, pushes against this.
    • anonymous
       
      Beginning at Fragmentation: I agree with this for short term goals.
  • How can we achieve clear outcomes through distributed means?
  • Given that coherence and lucidity are key to understanding our world, how do educators teach in networks? For educators, control is being replaced with influence. Instead of controlling a classroom, a teacher now influences or shapes a network.
    • anonymous
       
      I like this!!
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Very, very, interesting idea on teachers. I like this perspective and I can absolutely see this class and Phil being that type of teacher for us. Our assignments are based off of reading blogs of leaders in the edtech industry, writing blog posts, commenting on peer blogs, following peer blogs via an RSS Reader. Hopefully we all continue to mainitain our blogs and become the start of our personal learning network! I know I have already added a few other more highly renowned bloggers to my edtech RSS feed.
    • hagenbuch
       
      I love the idea of influence over control, especially at the graduate level. There is less emphasis on "needing" a degree, and more on "wanting" a degree. I would love to see this type of instruction trickle down into traditional pedagogical environments, along with the self-guided outcomes.
  • 1. Amplifying 2. Curating 3. Wayfinding and socially-driven sensemaking 4. Aggregating 5. Filtering 6. Modelling 7. Persistent presence
    • anonymous
       
      New "objectives" ??
  • The following are roles teacher play in networked learning environments:
  • re-tweet (RT). This is essentially amplification.
  • a teacher will be one of the more prominent nodes in a learner’s network.
  • An expert (the curator) exists in the artifacts displayed, resources reviewed in class, concepts being discussed. But she’s behind the scenes providing interpretation, direction, provocation, and yes, even guiding. A curatorial teacher acknowledges the autonomy of learners, yet understands the frustration of exploring unknown territories without a map. A curator is an expert learner. Instead of dispensing knowledge, he creates spaces in which knowledge can be created, explored, and connected. While curators understand their field very well, they don’t adhere to traditional in-class teacher-centric power structures. A curator balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of the subject being explored.
    • anonymous
       
      Balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of the subject being explored...yes!
  • Instead of explicitly stating “you must know this”, the curator includes critical course concepts in her dialogue with learners, her comments on blog posts, her in-class discussions, and in her personal reflections. As learners grow their own networks of understanding, frequent encounters with conceptual artifacts shared by the teacher will begin to resonate.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a great concept; however, it would require engagement by the student. If the student is not engaged in the course content, he/she may never get to the point in the course where they "bump into" easter eggs of "must know" material. This would also fall onto the teacher as well. On top of being a curator, they would need to be an engaging curator that keeps interest and makes the content exciting.
    • hagenbuch
       
      This would prove to be challenging. Also, how would this work when not all students are on the same page? Explain essential information at the risk of holding back those that understand -or- push forward and leave others behind?
  • In CCK08/09, Stephen and I produced a daily newsletter where we highlighted discussions, concepts, and resources that we felt were important.
  • Sensemaking in complex environments is a social process.
  • Aggregation had so much potential. And yet has delivered relatively little over the last decade. I’m not sure why this is. Perhaps RSS was too effective. Perhaps we need to spend more time in information abundant environments before we turn to aggregation as a means of making sense of the landscape.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I think the greatest innovation to aggreation has been hashtags. Go on any social networking site and search by using a hasgtag, and you will get endless results (depending on what you search). Go to twitter and search for #motivationmonday and you'll find thousands of inspiring tweets. Go to instagram and search for #tbt or better known as "throwback thursday" and you'll find thousands of silly, old, rauncy photos of peopls back in their golden days. Hashtags are aggregating information in a scary way, Google knows all about this.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Interesting take Zach, however I feel like hashtags themselves, made public what we already knew about contextual keyword searches. Try the same search in Twitter without the hashtag, and you get the same results. Hashtags seem to be a way of uniting trends, ideas, and are huge in online marketing.  iGoogle was a custom homepage that would aggregate information based on your interests through desktop widgets (weather, Gmail, bible verse of the day, top headlines, etc.). These seemed to limit discovery, unlike hashtags, these aggregate services seemed to be nothing more than a TV with your top channels. While this can be viewed as great for some, it inhibits the ability to receive conflicting messages and outside perspectives.
  • “Intelligence” is applied after the content and interactions start, not before. This is basically what Google did for the web – instead of fully defined and meta-described resources in a database, organized according to subject areas (i.e. Yahoo at the time), intelligence was applied at the point of search. Aggregation should do the same – reveal the content and conversation structure of the course as it unfolds, rather than defining it in advance.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Not doing so would influence human perception and imply that aggregation was an autonomous actor. We know this is not the case though, as it is a direct result of input from a human character.
  • Filtering resources is an important educator role,
  • Educators often have years or decades of experience in a field. As such, they are familiar with many of the concepts, pitfalls, confusions, and distractions that learners are likely to encounter.
  • Filtering can be done in explicit ways – such as selecting readings around course topics – or in less obvious ways – such as writing summary blog posts around topics. Learning is an eliminative process. By determining what doesn’t belong, a learner develops and focuses his understanding of a topic.
  • What cannot be communicated and understood by lecture and learning activities alone can be addressed through modelling by the teacher.
  • Without an online identity, you can’t connect with others – to know and be known. I don’t think I’m overstating the importance of have a presence in order to participate in networks. To teach well in networks – to weave a narrative of coherence with learners – requires a point of presence. A
  • planning learning activities
  • and planning learning activities
  • and planning learning activities
  • This model works well when we can centralize both the content (curriculum) and the teacher. The model falls apart when we distribute content and extend the activities of the teacher to include multiple educator inputs and peer-driven learning.
  • Experts are no longer “out there” or “over there”. Skype brings anyone, from anywhere, into a classroom. Students are not confined to interacting with only the ideas of a researcher or theorist. Instead, a student can interact directly with researchers through Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and listservs
  • Course content is similarly fragmented. The textbook is now augmented with YouTube videos, online articles, simulations, Second Life builds, virtual museums, Diigo content trails, StumpleUpon reflections, and so on.
  • Course content is similarly fragmented. The textbook is now augmented with YouTube videos, online articles, simulations, Second Life builds, virtual museums, Diigo content trails, StumpleUpon reflections, and so on.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I'm not sure if Siemens is saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I feel that this adds to the experience of a digital classroom or any classroom. This is what kids want. They want an engaging variety of materials, not just a textbook that they have to read and complete assignments out of.
  • It’s all very logical: we teach what we say we are going to teach, and then we assess what we said we would teach.
  • Fragmentation, it would appear, pushes against this.
  • Views of teaching, of learner roles, of literacies, of expertise, of control, and of pedagogy are knotted together. Untying one requires untying the entire model.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Evolution through devolution. 
    • CJ Marchione
       
      One step back, and ultimately, two (or more) steps forward.
  • can quickly spread a message to hundreds of people
    • kmlambert
       
      There are plenty of examples of how fast messages can get amplified on Twitter or Facebook, if a user posts a message "Can I get 1 Million likes, RTs for xyz?"  
  • Designers can aid the wayfinding process through consistency of design and functionality across various tools, but ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individual to click/fail/recoup and continue.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is absolutely true. More and more responsibility is falling on the learner/student in today's society, which poses more problmes. How do we engage a student that has no desire to learn or that was brought up in a discouraging environment?
    • hagenbuch
       
      This speaks highly to design, and the advancements in today's web. With site builders, template pages, and communities that do all the heavy technical lifting, learners can focus on progressing vs. traditional troubleshooting.  The gravity of click/fail/recoup seems to be diminished slightly, thus solidifying the importance of wayfinding. 
  • to filter abundance
  • The network becomes a cognitive agent in this instance – helping the learner to make sense of complex subject areas by relying not only on her own reading and resource exploration, but by permitting her social network to filter resources and draw attention to important topics.
    • kmlambert
       
      Just intrigued that he writes of the learner as a 'her' and not a him.  He references teachers as a guide above, and that to me is essentially the same role of a wayfinder.  Helping a student to navigate their way through any new concepts or material in print or online contexts.   
  • learners must be conscious of the need for diversity and should include nodes that offer critical or antagonistic perspectives on all topic areas.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Conflict in the form of discourse.
  • Pageflakes, iGoogle, and Netvibes have largely plateaued innovation in aggregation
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Well I'm 23 and have no idea what any of these three technologies are, which could be very well why they did so little for innovation in aggregation. But I feel facebook and twitter has helped in aggregation, in a different way. Now we have facebook messages that are called "strands" and can be ongoing between any number of poeple. And on twitter you can create groups to follow, etc. Maybee RSS was too effective.
    • jbueter
       
      Another good content aggregator is Scoop.it, which I have used in class for annotated bibliographis and presented on at a couple of conferences. It has a good integration with social media and is its own kind of social media tool.
  • a variety of techniques to pull together fragmented content and conversations
  • Education is concerned with content and conversations.
  • The tools for controlling both content and conversation have shifted from the educator to the learner. We require a system that acknowledges this reality
  • social and technological networks subvert the classroom-based role of the teacher.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a powerful opinion. I disagree. But I guess it all depends on perspective. I feel as if social and technological networks would add to the classroom-based role of the teacher by allowing the teacher to bring in the experts and be able to direct the students in the right direction. Again this may come back to being able to "know where to look" for information in an age of digital literacy.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Interesting point on perspective, as their role becomes increasingly important in knowing and understanding the flow of the class, and what may be needed to keep things progressing. When referring to classroom, I feel it is in more of a traditional context.
  • In the future, however, the role of the teacher, the educator, will be dramatically different from the current norm.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I see this happening now, especially with my class last semester (spring 2014 Design Studio). The professor knew what he was doing, but the class was more less about him teaching us, and more about us teaching each other and ourselves. We simple went to class to discuss what we have been doing, new exciting technology discoveries, and to ask questions on projects or any edtech related issue really.
  • The Knotted Ball of Education
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Interesting analogy. I never heard this before, but now that I have heard it, it makes total sense.
  • I’d like a learning system that functions along the lines of RescueTime – actively monitoring what I’m doing – but then offers suggestions of what I should (or could) be doing additionally. Or a system that is aware of my email exchanges over the last several years and can provide relevant information based on the development of my thinking and work.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This sounds a lot like facebook advertisement, or Google's intense tracking algorithms, or Amazon's tracking system to what you buy. They all provide custom ads or new products or sites to buy, visit, share, etc. All very scary in today's world, tons of privacy concerns here.
    • kmlambert
       
      This sounds something akin to artificial intelligence (AI).  I think it would be helpful, but would take away from the personal learning and comprehension that would occur.  
    • hagenbuch
       
      Ah, privacy vs. a more fluid web experience. It's always a struggle. Those ads that follow you are remarketing ads (http://www.google.com/ads/innovations/remarketing.html), and they work based on cookies, and logged in sessions through Google - giving them the ability to jump devices. Just refresh your cookies, and they should stop following you. The AI element is very concerning though, because as you interact with Google, it is curating results based on you (age, sex, location, etc.). Because of this, you may be missing out on a much larger world, as what you see digitally is being constructed for you as an individual. 
  • “To teach is to model and to demonstrate. To learn is to practice and to reflect.”
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Great quote. I will be "borrowing" this!
  • An educator needs a point of existence online – a place to express herself and be discovered: a blog, profile in a social networking service, Twitter, or (likely) a combination of multiple services. What do you do when you meet someone? Most likely, you search for them in Google.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      And now LinkedIn. I know I always look up my professors on LinkedIn, RateMyProffessor, twitter. I like to know who they are and how they teach. I also do this with job applicants and job hire-ers as well. We are in an age where privacy is far and few between. Pretty soon we will be able to facially recognize someone through a devie like Google Glass, and immediately bring up their information. Scary.
    • kmlambert
       
      Yes, I also will "research" new people I meet, or names I've heard from colleagues or friends to find out more about that person.  Do I know anyone in common with them?  What do they do?  A person's online prescence provides a general impression that I can then reference when interacting with that person..     
    • hagenbuch
       
      I like the legitimacy that persistent presence provides. When somebody doesn't have an online presence, it's almost kind of creepy, or implies that they are hiding something. Though I don't fancy myself a "power user" of social media, I can still be found. 
  • Persistent presence in the learning network is needed for the teacher to amplify, curate, aggregate, and filter content and to model critical thinking and cognitive attributes that reflect the needs of a discipline.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      The personal learning network in a nutshell.
  • I’m often surprised when I hear a declaration of web company’s birthday – Facebook at six years, Youtube at five years. It seems like these tools have been around much longer.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This always blows my mind. I remember graduating high school in 2008 and going to college. This was when I learned that YouTube was only 3 years old at the time. I thought YouTube was around litearlly forever, being a young teenager, I had no idea. The first video ever on YouTube still cracks me up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw
  • Each RT amplifies the message much like an electronic amplifier increases the amplitude of audio or video transmitters.
    • snc520
       
      This is such an interesting way to think about it!
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Reminds me of how people used to comment on tweets and posts on other social networks with videos of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" as a joke, as if to say "I caught you off guard! Here's a random song!". The use of that song for that purpose grew exponentially until people got tired of using it!
  • resource
  • he curator, in a learning context, arranges key elements of a subject in such a manner that learners will “bump into” them throughout the course.
    • snc520
       
      This reminds me of inquiry-based learning
    • hagenbuch
       
      I love stumbling across concepts before they are formally discussed in a class. When looking back at the progression, and how it occurred, you are almost able to follow the path that the instructor took in building up to more complex concepts. Everything is literally connected, and understanding these points, allows for the construction of something greater.
    • jnb196
       
      I agree with this statement that the higher levels in education should be structured for the networked learner, where the learner decide how to navigate through the content to meet specified objectives.
    • jbueter
       
      The difference between "control" and "influence" is sharply stated. It has an appealing elevator pitch conciseness.
  • Criticism was directed at our curatorial activities with concerns voiced that we were only selecting resources that supported our views. This wasn’t the case. We drew attention to both supportive and critical views. However, The Daily was not the only source of information for learners in the course. In the Daily, we aggregated blog posts and twitter posts as well. More on that when we consider aggregation.
  • Modelling has its roots in apprenticeship.
    • jbueter
       
      Which is why internships, a form of apprenticeship, are increasing popular, especially at the University of Maryland where internships are a component of the common education curriculum. 
  • Each RT amplifies the message.
  • Learning is a multi-faceted process, involving cognitive, social, and emotional dimensions. Knowledge is similarly multi-faceted, involving declarative, procedural, and academic dimensions.
    • kmlambert
       
      I appreciate this statement when it terms learning as more than just a cognitive process.  I think that the process of learning is usually thought to be cognitive, involving the brain.  But learning is also social and emotional which allows the learner to make more connections to the content.    
  • Apprenticeship learning models are among the most effective in attending to the full breadth of learning. Apprenticeship is concerned with more than cognition and knowledge (to know about) – it also addresses the process of becoming a carpenter, plumber, or physician.
    • kmlambert
       
      Apprenticeship models can be seen utilized in trade schools.  As a result of this learning by doing method the students have a better grasp on the material than a student in a traditioanl classroom setting.      
    • hagenbuch
       
      I agree that they may have a better physical grasp on the duties that they perform, but do they understand why they know them? i.e. Without the direction of a master/expert, would they be able to overcome all obstacles that come their way?
  • I found my way through personal trial and error.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Importance of making mistakes.
  • Social structures are filters.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Referenced in "Becoming a Networked Learner" through quality, not quantity. Cultivating fewer strong connections vs many weak connections.
  • The singular filter of the teacher has morphed into numerous information streams, each filtered according to different perspectives and world views.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Collective and social approach in learning. This eliminates the single point of failure in a traditional classroom. Have you ever had a class ruined by one bad teacher? In this scenario, learners can salvage a potentially bad experience by drawing on these multiple streams.
  • People have always learned in social networks).
    • hagenbuch
       
      They just didn't realize it.
  • Social media like Twitter provide a few examples of how teacher’s roles might change.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Yes; it turns out that people can use social networks like Twitter and Facebook to share news and other important information. Not to knock Farmville, but there's a lot more going on than that!
  • If one Twitterer posts a link to an article in NY Times, her followers may find the article useful and then respond by re-tweeting the article.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      And some users may distribute a different article in response to counter its points... bringing multiple points of view to light!
  • This is basically what Google did for the web – instead of fully defined and meta-described resources in a database, organized according to subject areas (i.e. Yahoo at the time), intelligence was applied at the point of search.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      That's pretty much the point of SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) Google's engineers have developed complex algorithms to find that meaning for us, and have automated scripts that execute them... and they seem to do a reliable job!
  • My view is that change in education needs to be systemic and substantial.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Systematic and substantial, even if questions remain unanswered; some outcomes aren't clear. I'm reminded of the Louisiana Purchase. We don't know what we might find, but the opportunity's so good that we can't pass it up.
  •  
    "Course content is similarly fragmented." Students are no longer confined to textbooks, they can use multiple resources to find different perspectives and knowledge. Youtube, Skype, blogs, and virtual museums allow students to enter a new world, from their chairs in a classroom miles away with a single click of a button.
Rachel Tan

Most comprehensive wiki dedicated to digital media throughout Asia - 0 views

  •  
    I found this wiki page from the article "Increasing importance of social media in education" as it relates to our Week 6: Wikis and Learning: Professor Michael Netzely, an expatriated American, teaches at the Singapore Management University. His course, based around internet communications, leans heavily on social media. However, rather than teaching from books, Netzley encourages his students to go out and learn by 'getting their hands dirty' on the likes of Blogger, WordPress, Twitter, Tumbler, Facebook and other social media platforms. As well as providing an obvious synergy with the subject of online communications, the approach allows students greater creativity and freedom to develop their communication skills." http://asiancorrespondent.com/61561/increasing-importance-of-social-media-in-education/
  •  
    That's pretty impressive that it's been recognized by the New York Times and other notable news outlets. I'm curious about the processes that led to this outcome. For example, what led him to dispense with the traditional textbook method? Did his students immediately embrace this approach or did it require some scaffolding?
Zach Lonsinger

elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age - 17 views

    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      All of these push knowledge construction by the student through experiences. 
  • Even social constructivist views, which hold that learning is a socially enacted process, promotes the principality of the individual (and her/his physical presence – i.e. brain-based) in learning.
  • Objectivism (similar to behaviorism) states that reality is external and is objective, and knowledge is gained through experiences. Pragmatism (similar to cognitivism) states that reality is interpreted, and knowledge is negotiated through experience and thinking. Interpretivism (similar to constructivism) states that reality is internal, and knowledge is constructed.
  • ...69 more annotations...
  • Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      If we teach our students the "tools" to be able to learn outside of class, we are giving them the tools to become a "learner". Learning is not simply listening to information that is being given, but going out and finding that information and why it is important.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I completely agree with Shelby that we need to teach information literacy skills. However, are these skills being taught to all? Are poorer school districts suffering because their students are not immersed in a life of smartphones and iPads?
    • cherylanneburris
       
      For me, the question becomes how to we do this if we are immersed in an enviornment that is consumed with standardized testing?
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      I once had an administrator excitedly tell me about the new computerized test prep subscription website that they planned to use with the students. She was talking all this stuff about how much better it was to use technology this way, and I'm looking at her and trying not to be all "lady, it's still just test prep..." There was nothing creative about it. There are much better ways to use technology for learning.
    • jasmccord
       
      As a classroom teacher who does not always subscribe to the typical stuff my school tries to throw at us, "test scores, standards, common core..." I love this quote. I ultimately feel that grades, test scores, and the like are not what we are striving for. There will always be kids who can succeed on any test or fail any test. To me, the real measure is that we have given kids the tools to think, the ability to learn, the ability to question, and the ability to be analytical and critical.
  • The need to evaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is applied before learning itself begins. When knowledge is subject to paucity, the process of assessing worthiness is assumed to be intrinsic to learning. When knowledge is abundant, the rapid evaluation of knowledge is important.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I find it tricky when learners start to question why they are expected to learn certain information. In some fields, there have been decades of development for certain curricula, so shouldn't the learner value that the experts in that field find that information important? As an educator, I hear from students all the time that they don't know why they have to learn a certain chunk of material because they feel it doesn't relate to what they are doing. But in the future, they may finally make the connection and realize that it is important.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      In regarding Melissa's comment above (I see it was made last year), I still to this day question some of the material that I was being taught in middle school and high school. There are just some subjects and lessons that I feel we would have been better off without.
    • burkley
       
      I do believe that the skills of learning is the more important in school than that which a student actually learns. Gonzalez in 2004 speaks about the "half-life of knowledge" with this in mind, our student have to be prepare to learn, what is current and appropriate, and learn it very quickly. If I'm going to teach a girl to make a skirt, in order to access if learning have taken place, I could have her build a model or an actual skirt. It really only matter to me or the girl. what matter is if she can build a skirt.
    • jbueter
       
      I agree that the evaluation of knowledge is tricky and a little subject-dependent. Evaluating someone's theory or argument can help a learner understand whether or not the theory is appropriate for supporting their own argument. The source theory could be apocryphal and, thus, unsuited for a highly structured academic piece. This would be a liberal arts/social science skill. But evaluating mathematical proofs seems like a higher-order ability that is for advanced learning, rather than middle-school-level learning. 
    • hagenbuch
       
      While learning theories may not focus on the value of knowledge, I feel that there needs to be a certain external criteria for this worthiness, especially when considering the implementation of learning systems that connect the digital and physical realm. This behaviorist approach seems to be the starting point, but certainly not the end. 
  • Knowledge flow can be likened to a river that meanders through the ecology of an organization. In certain areas, the river pools and in other areas it ebbs. The health of the learning ecology of the organization depends on effective nurturing of information flow.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      This description really emphasizes the importance of committee meetings, professional development workshops, and the like. We must have networks within our organizations so that knowledge can be shared. I have been fascinated at committee meetings how a representative from one area can drastically improve the understanding of the rest of the committee of some aspect of the problem. Committee work can be time-consuming, however, so moving it to a online environment can be more efficient.
  • Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where (the understanding of where to find knowledge needed).
    • cherylanneburris
       
      This is a testament to the need for informational literacy to be taught across the spectrum of education.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Yes, it's so important for students to know how to find the information they need without getting frustrated by bad searches or misled by bad sources. It's frustrating because it's so often overlooked.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      The "know-where" mentioned here reminds me of the John Seely Brown article where he mentions how to "be your own private, personal reference librarian, one that knows how to navigate through the incredible, confusing, complex information spaces"...or a professional Googler.
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      True! and 50-90% of the information on the web will never be accessed by a search engine; the 'deep web' contains some of the most valuable information sources
    • Marie Collins
       
      I really like this quote because it sums up the idea that students are individually making connections with the world to gain knowledge. They tend to follow and explore information that is related to their interests.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      I like the quote for that reason, and I also like it because of the emphasis on the concept of performance and performance potential; thus, the idea of applying learning is incorporated into the very definition of learning!
    • jasmccord
       
      I love the way experience is an important part of the definition of learning. Experience and performance are great teachers, far better than any textbook ever will be and yet many institutions seem to insist that this is the way to learn.
  • Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      It's so trendy now to talk about "lifelong learning", but there is definite truth to the idea that we never really stop learning just because we have finished our formal education. I'd bet most people don't even realize that they are learning even just by catching the news.
    • snc520
       
      Or from reading their social media feeds! I read so many articles from what my friends share!
    • anonymous
       
      I used to think of Facebook as "recreation" but now I get alot of information/stay up to date through my "likes" and what friends post (so many Facebook pages available). I guess this is an example of how both are coming together.
  • Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology.
    • dmwentroble
       
      These theories have been around a very long time regarding education. I wonder what "new" theories will be in place years from now with reference to technology? Will future students be looking back at the new theories and deciding how they impact education?
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I find this rather interesting. I've heard mentioned a few times over the past year or two that our education and school system was developed to answer the Industrail Revoultion, or factories. This can be seen with the the early and late bells in the morning of grade schools. Perhaps these learning theories also came out of the Industrial Revolution or a similar period. It will be really interesting to see what kinds of learning theories will be around in 30 years.
    • anonymous
       
      I also wonder how quickly the "new" theories will change again with rapid/constant development. @Zach, that's an interesting thought!
  • Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime.
    • dmwentroble
       
      This is very true. I graduated in 1981. Most of my peers left high school and went straight into the work force. Many of them are still in those same careers.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      I have encountered many listings on job search engines in which positions are listed as entry level, yet require Master's and/or Doctorate degrees... and paradoxically, previous work experience! It seems like those without formal graduate education are not even considered candidates for many positions that used to only require a high school education or a 2-year college degree.
  • Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated fields over the course of their lifetime
    • dmwentroble
       
      Is this a good thing? Can this be a detriment to the person if they find a job they love and for unforeseen circumstances they can no work? Will their portfolios give the indication that they cannot focus?
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This could be a good thing, and a bad thing. It all depends on the person I feel. If the person is just looking for a job, then it would be a bad thing. But if a person is pursuing a career, or even better, a calling, then it is a great thing. I just read an article the other day on LinkedIn (I can't find the exact article now) that talked about the difference between a job, a career, and a calling. I found it rather intriguing.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      It might be unrealistic of employers to expect that they can regularly find workers who love their jobs, if persons in the work force cannot pursue their passions from entry level to retirement. Yet, the expectation might actually be realistic, given the demands for more formal education from applicants than in previous years; perhaps that increased formal education and a general fostering for the desire to learn could encourage applicants to enjoy a variety of career paths. (I can say in my personal life that I did not enjoy being a retail manager with my B.A. in Psychology, however.)
    • snc520
       
      I feel like this is so common within the teaching feild (especially in the Pittsburgh area). I have so many friends who graduated college with and before myself who are having the hardest time finding a teaching job in the area. I also have friends who have given up completely and have either returned back to school for a completely different field or are doing something completely unrelated. I think the worst part is the time, money, and effort put into get a degree that isn't even being used to its full potential. However, if the person loves what they're doing, then it can be a good thing for them that they found something they are passionate about.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Agreed on the cultivation of a new passion, though it doesn't always work out. Providing an obstacle between a person and their desired field, makes one question their original intent, and can often result in something previously unknown, yet equally satisfying. 
    • kmlambert
       
      People will hold an average of 11 jobs over their lifetime.  As a librarian I am in a different field from my undergraduate degree.  Society needs change and workers need to change with it.   
  • Learning and work related activities are no longer separate. In many situations, they are the same.
  • How can we continue to stay current in a rapidly evolving information ecology?
    • dmwentroble
       
      It is an ever changing world with regards to technology. Staying current can be as easy as downloading a daily news feed.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      I feel the need to raise my hand to this question and answer "Web 2.0! Blogs! Wikis! News feeds from experts! Social networking; communicating with peers!".
    • burkley
       
      I like this question. How current is current do we want to monitor all the changes as they occur knowing that in a few months this knowledge will be obsolete whether we use it or not. Or do we stay current by taking a snapshot of what is current when we are required to be current
    • snc520
       
      As CJ noted, there are a variety of ways to stay current! It's even as easy as searching google to find the most recent information that comes up!
  • Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD).
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a mind-numbing statistic. It's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around this number. That is a lot of knowledge that my parents and my past and current teachers did not know when going through school.
    • jbueter
       
      I agree that this statistic is amazing. I also wonder what the "half-life" rate since this stat was published. There is certainly a fair amount of information I will learn (and have learn) that will be obsolete. 
    • anonymous
       
      Imagine having an individual resource for each question you have. When I was young we had a set of encyclopedias but there were alot of questions I left go because I didn't have them by my side constantly.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Agreed, this surely must have changed since 2004. Also, this is documented knowledge, and that which can be accounted for. This kind of makes me want to get a clearer depiction of what knowledge is given weight in such a claim. 
    • kmlambert
       
      I too was curious about an updated statistic but was unable to find anything concrete with google.  I did find an interesting artcle and corresponding TEDx talk.   http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/stratedgy/what%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Chalf-life-knowledge#sthash.Wsl4FJs4.dpbs
  • Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a neat, yet scary idea. I immediately took it in the literal sense, that technology is literally rewiring us (or brainwashing/controlling us). I know this is not the case, but our society and technology is not far away from people being able to "hijack" another person and control them via nanotechnoloy or tiny, microscopic swalloable bluetooth pills. But anyways, back to the article - this is very true. It is allowing us to become highly efficient multi-taskers that are able to complete more work in a shorter amount of time.
    • kmlambert
       
      I notice younger students multi-tasking using various media devices.  They are able to do this  because their brains have been 'wired'  and 're-wired' to do so.    
  • that is, we need to act by drawing information outside of our primary knowledge.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I think the internet has made this extremely easy today, especially Google. I recently just watched the Apple keynote streamed live from the WWDC 2014 conference on Monday (June 2nd). Their new opearting system is expaning on their search functionality. Now on a Mac computer a user will be able to simply click the maginifying glass on the desktop and type in what you want to fine. This will then search the computer for stored files or software AND it will also now search the inernet via Bing and provide "smart" search options.
  • “Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is an interesting idea and it reminds me of the Reddit (www.reddit.com) community. I am actively engaged in many subreddits and there is a subreddit for just about everything you could possibly want. And being able to freely navigate and comment on any subreddit allows you to tap into other people's experiences and knowledge in fields in which you may not know anything about.
    • hagenbuch
       
      I always wanted to explore Reddit, but just never took the time to sit down and try it out (you may have inspired me). I like how this emphasizes the unique importance of others, and implies a sort of short-cut with the corresponding quote. By calling upon the experience of others in a time of need, you can leverage experience as living database. Each person representing specific sections of a cloud server which can be accessed on demand - thus saving time, and viewing perspectives of those who are embedded within communities of practice. 
  • “be informationally open, that is, for it to be able to classify its own interaction with an environment, it must be able to change its structure…”
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This reminds me of John Seely Brown's analogy of white water kayaing to learning in his Entrepreneurial Learner video. Being able to adapt to change on the go is essential to utitilizing technology to its maximum potential in today's world.
  • serendipity
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love serendipity so much that it may be my favorite word. And from reading that word, it made a "weak tie" in my brain to an article I read a while back on LinkedIn. Here it is if anyone is intereted in the "notion that you could intentionally design your life to encounter surprises." https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140430125746-10842349-why-you-should-plan-for-serendipity?midToken=AQFCebI-qgsCUg&fromEmail=fromEmail&trk=eml-ced-b-art-M-3-7959820741678275557&ut=3eQ04cw4gPNmc1
  • New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is extremely important in today's culture, especially for the young person. I am 23, and I occasionally find myself with information overload from my facebook and twitter timeline. It is insane how much information is continually being pushed out from people on an hourly basis.
    • kmlambert
       
      Totally agree on the information overload aspect of today's culture, but even more important in my opinion is the ability to quickly determine important/valid versus unimportant/unreliable information this quickly changing world.  
  • The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love this sentence. It really puts into perspective education and learning. Yes, the content (oil) is important, but without the ability to learn (the pipe), we will never get the oil. This reminds me of a quote I read the other day from Bob Goff. He said, "Spend a lot more time picking hte track you'll take than the train you'll ride to get there."
    • hagenbuch
       
      #Limitless I feel this also applies to the possibilities that technology provides. Great quote by the way!
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Every time I have interviewed for a job in software engineering, I have been asked questions about how I keep up with changing software development approaches and continue to learn new programming languages, databasing concepts/techniques, and other relevant skills. Copious amounts of informal learning truly is a must, in the world of software programming!
  • Driscoll (2000) defines learning as “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world” (p.11).
  • Content of knowledge – Is knowledge actually knowable? Is it directly knowable through human experience?
  • Observable behaviour is more important than understanding internal activities Behaviour should be focused on simple elements: specific stimuli and responses Learning is about behaviour change
  • Cindy Buell details this process: “In cognitive theories, knowledge is viewed as symbolic mental constructs in the learner's mind, and the learning process is the means by which these symbolic representations are committed to memory.”
  • What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process on learning?
  • chaos states that the meaning exists – the learner's challenge is to recognize the patterns which appear to be hidden
    • CJ Marchione
       
      Learning: a game of solving the riddles of reality?
    • anonymous
       
      I like the gaming connection!
    • hagenbuch
       
      Same here, and playing the game depends on knowing the rules and recognizing the unseen obstacles that hinder progress. 
  • Luis Mateus Rocha (1998) defines self-organization as the “spontaneous formation of well organized structures, patterns, or behaviors, from random initial conditions.” (p.3).
  • Albert-László Barabási states that “nodes always compete for connections because links represent survival in an interconnected world” (2002, p.106). This competition is largely dulled within a personal learning network, but the placing of value on certain nodes over others is a reality.
  • Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories.
  • Landauer and Dumais (1997) explore the phenomenon that “people have much more knowledge than appears to be present in the information to which they have been exposed”.
  • This amplification of learning, knowledge and understanding through the extension of a personal network is the epitome of connectivism.
  • Mainstream media organizations are being challenged by the open, real-time, two-way information flow of blogging.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      And hopefully, we are not sacrificing too many truths in the name of appeasement.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Paid subscriptions will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. In hindsight, the thought of objectivity from a few providers is scary. The open source nature of media put the power in the hands of the people, and their interaction allows consumers a method of control over media hubs that may not be honest about allegiance to specific policies and special interest groups. 
    • kmlambert
       
      For as much as news networks have turned into a 24/7 reality -- it is even more clear that anyone with access to technology can report on current events as they happen.  There is no waiting for the 5 o'clock news anymore to tell you what occured on the other side of the world.  Users on twitter are tweeting or journalists are streaming from the location as the events unfold.  
  • If the underlying conditions used to make decisions change, the decision itself is no longer as correct as it was at the time it was made. The ability to recognize and adjust to pattern shifts is a key learning task
    • hagenbuch
       
      It is impossible to separate ourselves from our past experiences, as this influences our perception. Recognizing changes in meaning schemes and perspectives, highlight acknowledgement of a  transformation that took place. 
  • Classrooms which emulate the “fuzziness” of this learning will be more effective in preparing learners for life-long learning.
    • jbueter
       
      In a way, when a Constructivist classroom "[emulates] the 'fuzziness'" of learning, it follows the research in support of cognitive learning: method of input should mirror method of output, which I think works very well when studying for an exam.
  • The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.
    • jbueter
       
      This is hugely important, especially in the realm of policy. People with agency--in whatever field-- are better served by understanding that changing decisions based on new information is not indecisiveness, but flexibility and awareness.    
  • The management and marshalling of resources to achieve desired outcomes is a significant challenge. Realizing that complete knowledge cannot exist in the mind of one person requires a different approach to creating an overview of the situation.
    • jbueter
       
      This seems to be a significant aspect of the Connectivist learning theory. And it feels like an evolution of the social-constructive model: instead of social influences, Connectivism emphasizes organizational influences, like businesses and schools. 
    • hagenbuch
       
      Agreed. They seem to "steer the ship", relying on smaller units to function independently as a whole. These smaller entities are then responsible for identifying issues, and suggesting new methods that increase and improve efficiency - creating an interdependent relationship between both parties.
  • Within social networks, hubs are well-connected people who are able to foster and maintain knowledge flow.
  • What adjustments need to made with learning theories when technology performs many of the cognitive operations previously performed by learners (information storage and retrieval).
  • o combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, organizations have been forced to develop new methods of deploying instruction.”
  • The organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning.
  • The organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning.
  • he organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning.
  • The organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning.
  • Chaos is the breakdown of predictability, evidenced in complicated arrangements that initially defy order.
  • “sensitive dependence on initial conditions”
  • instead of thousands of ants crossing each other’s pheromone trails and changing their behavior accordingly, thousands of humans pass each other on the sidewalk and change their behavior accordingly.”
  • The capacity to form connections between sources of information, and thereby create useful information patterns, is required to learn in our knowledge economy.
  • Our small world networks are generally populated with people whose interests and knowledge are similar to ours
  • Finding a new job, as an example, often occurs through weak ties.
  • Vaill emphasizes that “learning must be a way of being – an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep abreast o the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (1996, p.42).
    • hagenbuch
       
      Good quote on holistic nature of learning, and allusion to the utilization of tacit knowledge. 
  • At some point, however, the underlying conditions have altered so significantly, that further modification is no longer sensible. An entirely new approach is needed.
  • How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired in the linear manner?
    • hagenbuch
       
      The consistency of classroom-based learning provided a traditional sender/receiver model, for theories to thrive, based on observed behavior among student populations.  Now, there is a move toward the individual, and their impact on the world around them, as the boundaries are blurred. This forces theorists to adapt to the non-linear approach by establishing multiple approaches that converge to suit an individual - as opposed to a larger population.
  • Chaos is the breakdown of predictability, evidenced in complicated arrangements that initially defy order.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Jurassic Park fans anybody? This reminds me of Dr. Ian Malcolm, and his description of chaos theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cVLUPwrSmU. 
  • Connections between disparate ideas and fields can create new innovations.
    • hagenbuch
       
      This seems to imply superseding emphasis on established concepts, and an emphasis on outside perspectives. Possibly a top to bottom approach to questioning established ideas, and allowing individual concepts to exist. 
  • Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
    • hagenbuch
       
      This gives non-human subjects the ability to derive meaning through actor network theory (ANT): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor%E2%80%93network_theory
  • Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Commoditization of knowledge?
  • Knowledge that resides in a database needs to be connected with the right people in the right context in order to be classified as learning.
    • hagenbuch
       
      These databases become living entities, and are granted meaning through interactions and input from human participants. Once the connection between these nodes is broken, so is the agency of the non-human actor.
  • inference
  • John Seely Brown presents an interesting notion that the internet leverages the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Like in Wikipedia or even content virality, the large efforts of the few that contribute, are amplified by the small efforts of many (sharing).
  • The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete
    • kmlambert
       
      I was able to put this into the context of personal entertainment devices.  VCRs are a thing of the past, walkmans, boomboxes, and cd-players too.  Show a child a floppy disk and they won't know what it is or how to use it.  All of these items have no value in our society.   
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      Very true! However, when I threw away the VHS tape collection of videos from my library, many people were upset! When I asked if they would like to take them home, the answer was "what am I doing to do with them?" haha
  • (the “black box theory”).
    • kmlambert
       
      I like the imagery that is created from 'the black box theory.'  People are essentially a black box of knowledge, until the box is opened and that knowledge is transferred to another.  Media often reports on the FCC needing to locate the black box in order to find out cause of airplane accidents from the data that was collected.        
  • Learning theories are concerned with the actual process of learning, not with the value of what is being learned.
    • kmlambert
       
      I have always been intrigued with the process of learning for myself and others.  Why are some people able to instantly grasp concepts and others have to struggle with the material.  A person with dyslexia will need to be taught how to learn in a manner different than a person without reading disorders.  The brain is magical thing isn't it? 
  • Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime.
    • hagenbuch
       
      Speaks to the stagnation often associated with today's processes. The speed mentioned in the Arc of Life article is a refreshing contrast to this.
  • learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      I see this with my students-they are interested in learning at the point when they need the knowledge in order to proceed in a learning activity (rather than gathering up and hoarding knowledge to use later).
  • Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual. This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed.
  • As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses.
Rachel Tan

Students Talk Social Media in Education via the 1st #StuVoice Google Hangout - 1 views

  •  
    The Innovative Educator blog: Student Voice launched their first Google Hangout with the topic "Learning in the 21st Century: Social Media in Education." During the hangout participants discussed how they are using social media in their education and how they think it can better be used in their learning experience
  •  
    I read this on the site: Most commonly used platforms - Participants all agreed that Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are the most popular platforms. Also mentioned were Wikis and LinkedIn. I can see how blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and wikis are used but how would LinkedIn be used? I am unfamiliar with this site (so I guess I will be exploring it later today) but am curious about its uses. Thoughts?
Zach Lonsinger

John Seely Brown: Learning, Working & Playing in the Digital Age - 18 views

  • Bricolage, a concept originally studied by Levi Strauss many years ago, relates to the concrete. It has to do with the ability to find something—an object, tool, piece of code, document—and to use it in a new way and in a new context. In fact, virtually no system today is built from scratch or first principles—like the way I used to build systems—but rather from finding examples of code on the Web, borrowing "that code," bringing it onto their site, and then modifying it to fit their needs.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      The course that I teach, anatomy and physiology, can be very difficult for some students. I encourage using the vidoes and dissection simulations that come with the textbook, youtube videos, online games flashcards, etc. I had an instructor in another discipline ask me why I didn't just use an online tool to make flashcards for the students for distribution. But this comment in the article really emphasized why I don't. Each student needs to find the study technique that works best for them. And in finding the appropriate video or website or whatever that helps them to learn the information, that process is part of the learning as well and teaches them important study tools for future classes.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I use this concept when I write code for websites. Most of the time I don't write new code. I usually take it from a previous project or from another website that I like, and modify it to work for what I want.
  • I believe that the real literacy of tomorrow will have more to do with being able to be your own private, personal reference librarian, one that knows how to navigate through the incredible, confusing, complex information spaces and feel comfortable and located in doing that. So navigation will be a new form of literacy if not the main form of literacy for the 21st century.
    • anonymous
       
      I think this prediction was spot on! Today's learning is not really about what you know, but rather do you know how to find it and how quickly.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      "... private, personal reference librarian" with help from our networks (e.g., Twitter, Tumblr, FB, etc.)
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Research literacy is a requirement given how much information is available now.  There is not as much a need to have a deep rich understanding of a subject.  Instead, how to quickly find the necessary information from credible sources is a requirement for those operating in a digital world.  
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love the "private, personal references librarian". I always described myself to others as a Master Googler. I didn't think anything of it until I saw others try to use Google search engine and fail miserably. Navigation and being able to find what you are looking for is crucial in today's world. And knowing how to use Google, and finding what you actually need, isn't as easy as it looks, as one example.
    • kmlambert
       
      This made me smile as I am a reference librarian.  As much as I find patrons that want to know how to locate something, I think I encounter at least if not more of patrons who just want the item handed to them and do not care to learn how to find it themselves. 
    • kmlambert
       
      Further more often than not, most people assume they already know how to use Google, and will not ask for help searching or don't know how to interpret the search results.  
    • anonymous
       
      I often call Facebook my personalized newspaper!
    • Lindsey Jordan
       
      Social media and apps organizes our library for us: FaceBook, Instagram, Email, banking, gaming, even Pintrest. On your device, you can organize your apps by category, which will only make sense to that individual. I also like your google comment Zach! My students didn't even know there was an advanced search option for google. When they go to research, they can look for specific resources available at their reading level, or look up information during a specific time period!
    • jasmccord
       
      funny thought here... does anyone remeber using the good old card catalog instead of a computer search to find the old, antiquated devices known as books... Sorry, funny connection to the idea of a reference librarian.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I do remember using the card catalog. I remember going on a field trip to the school library and having the school librarian demonstrate how to search for books using the card catalog. Even in gradeschool, it seemed rudimentary to me. Now card catalogs are nearly extinct!
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @jason - yes, libraries have most definitely felt the impact of Web 2.0, social technologies, etc. In many of the conversations and research that I've been following they've been more about helping students and patrons build skills in information literacy and navigating the massive trove of data that all these web-based sources, databases make available to us. Bluntly put, it's great that we have access to all this information through Google and various library databases, but how do we efficiently locate the most relevant, high-quality sources for our specific needs. That is no trivial task and so this presents librarians with an opportunity to assist.
  • This interplay is best characterized as "knowing" and it lives in the action of deliberate inquiry where the concepts, heuristics, laws and algorithms comprising the explicit function as tools for action–deliberate inquiry.)
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      I love this. When learning meets knowing through deliberate inquiry.
  • ...65 more annotations...
    • Marie Collins
       
      I never really thought of the Web being a tool to reach multiple intelligences! The different tools that are on the internet would be great to use in the classroom because each child could express their learning in the context that best suits their needs. Some students could be typing written documents, others could be creating presentations or even short video clips. The possibilities are endless when involving Web 2.0 tools!
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      I noticed this idea, too! I'm a very visual learner, so I appreciate how the Internet can easily include text, videos, and slideshows in the classroom learning environment. Being able to connect to audio for auditory learners or people with visual impairments would also be really useful.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Much as discussed here, technology often reaches multiple intelligences at once seamlessly. I am a visual learner and my daughter is an auditory learner.  Recently, we both watched a clip and picked up on different things because she was mainly listening and I was mainly watching.  As stated here, this addresses not only how a child may express themselves but also how a child may learn too.
    • kmlambert
       
      Yes, can you imagine have these types of tools when you in a K-12 setting?  I envision some of the harder subjects for myself would have been less difficult because I would be able to interact with the content in different ways.  
    • jasmccord
       
      I would take it one step further to include that it not only reaches multiple intelligences, but also is great at adapting for ability levels. It posses the challenges needed for gifted students, the adaptations for students with needs, and can accomodate students who learn better in different languages. In many ways it is the ultimate instructional tool.
  • Most of us experienced our formal learning in an authority-based, lecture-oriented school. And yet with the increasing amounts of information being readily available on the Web, we find a new kind of learning happening—it's not all that new; most of us did it informally anyway—having to do with discovery-based or experiential-based learning.
    • Marie Collins
       
      The idea that we need to be shifting from lecture-oriented/teacher centered learning is something that is hard for young teachers to start changing in their classrooms because of the lack of support from administration. I believe that soon students need to be learning in schools that are discovery-based. There still would be an underlying core of subjects being covered per grade level but students could work on their own through self-motivating projects to discover the information. The role of the teacher would be more of an adviser/moderator that would check in with students on their projects, make suggestions, and stretch their learning!
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Marie--this is very interesting and I think what leads some parents to a home school curriculum. I am not a K-12 teacher and have no experience in that area, but with my own children I see that sometimes they are being taught one certain way to do something because that is the way they will be tested. Since my husband and I are both college professors, we often teach the kids other things and this gets them in trouble at school sometimes. For instance, we taught them 4 states of matter--liquid, gas, solid, and plasma. My son was told that plasma was not in the book so it was not a correct response.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Ugh. Yes. The "the answer in the book is the only correct answer" problem. I was one of those horrible students who argued with my teachers all the time that the teacher's edition was wrong. It's why I always try to write questions that are either A) obviously open-ended on purpose or B) specific enough that there is genuinely only one answer. Sometimes it's all in the directions, but because of my annoyance in school, I try to keep it in mind.
    • kmlambert
       
      It seems like the discovery option in K-12 is not as prevalent in classrooms these days, because teachers/administrators are more worried about covering material for state tests.  
    • Christina Webster
       
      Marie that is exactly the type of classroom I try to maintain.  Students all around the room discovering their own learning.  Its amazing at how something as simple as the powerpoint project I'm having them create right now generates so much creativity and interest.  The students get to pick their topics and I haven't seen them more excited about a single assignment since I've been there.  They ask if we can get out the laptops every free minute and they are constantly calling me over while working to tell me the interesting pieces they are adding about their topic/person/thing.  I also have them present their powerpoint to the class hoping everyone can learn a little about each other's projects and generate their own questions.  As for "the answer in the book is the only correct answer", I haven't come across students that argue with the material yet (unless it is spelling and they are positive that tomato has an "e" in it), but plain and simple the books are outdated.  The information is not always accurate and although I still use the books I try to alternate the books and current internet pieces on the same topic.  Learning is about the students and we aren't constrained to just the old, dusty, resources in the room.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      We need to challenge students to think outside the box and using multiple levels of intelligence.  they are multi-processors and we must continue to challenge them to do so - 1. to keep them from being bored and 2. so they continue to use this ability that they have.
    • jnb196
       
      I would like to add a number 3 to that, so that we shape then into being the 21 citizens which will be required to drive the world forward.
  • If we don't know how to use some appliance, software or game, etc., then we tend to reach for a manual, ask for a training course or ask to be shown how to do it by an expert. Believe me, hand a manual to a 15-year-old or suggest going to a training course and he thinks you are a dinosaur. "A manual? Give me a break! Let me get in there and muck around and try various things and see what works." More generally, today's kids tend to get on the Web and link, lurk and watch how other people are doing things and then try something themselves.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      This made me think of a TedTalk I recently watch.  Titled, Sugata Mitra's new experiments in self-teaching" found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk60sYrU2RU.  Basically, given a computer in India, school age children did not know English, did not know what a computer was, did not know what the internet was, and did not regularly attend school.  Even with that, they taught themselves.  It is worth watching.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I saw TEDtalks by Sugata Mitra before. He is a great pioneer of educational technology. I definitely agree with this statement. It is also my favored way of learning a new system or machine. I just like to dive in and experiment and get my hands dirty. That is how I learn the best.
    • kmlambert
       
      I thought I posted about this before, but I remember reading an article where researchers handed non-speaking English children ipads.  The children quickly figured out how to use the ipads without any instruction or previous experience with technology.    
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      We need to challenge our students to see what is being done in the world, because they have that ability at their fingertips, and exceed it!
  • The second aspect of the Web that has interested me for some time is the fact that the Web may be the first technology, the first medium that honors the notion of multiple intelligences.
  • In essence the Web augments the knowledge dynamics of a region, increasing its diversity and expanding its learning resources by leveraging local expertise—in a lightweight way—for mentoring.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      I like the thought of "augment[ing] the knowledge dynamics of a region". I think it acknowledges that technology is a great tool, but that it isn't the end all and be all. It adds to the learning experience in a way that can be individual and powerful.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Yes it should be pedagogy before technology
  • It took 20 or 50 years for electrification to take hold and for society to enact new social practices that leveraged the potential of that infrastructure
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Sometimes we forget how long change takes to occur.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @Justin - agree; in many cases, the technical layer is easier than the social, e.g., changing mindsets, developing set of best practices, etc.
    • kmlambert
       
      As a society that has always had electricity, it is hard to imagine a life without it.  Similar to what I expect the digital generation to realize that the Web did not always exist. 
    • jasmccord
       
      It is amazing to think of how long it took for some changes to take hold. I feel the web has been able to catch on much more quickly in many ways yet the learning curve for some of its applications are very slow. Schools in particular a slow to adapt to the applications of web based technology.
  • The Web helps to build a rich fabric that combines the small efforts of the many with the large efforts of the few. It enables the culture and sensibilities of the region to evolve, not only by enriching the diversity of available information and expertise,
    • Rachel Tan
       
      This is another way to see the Connectivist approach to learning
  • a shift between using technology to support the individual and using technology to support relationships. This shift will be very important because with it we will discover new ways, new tools and new social protocols for helping us help each other, which is really the very essence of social learning.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      If Web 1.0 was about building a relationship between the web and the individual and Web 2.0 is about building support for relationships, what will Web 3.0 look like ... tailored experiences ... personalization...collaboration?  If so, are we already in a Web 3.0 world?
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      The Web 3.0 could be the Internet of Things or building a relationship between an indivudal and a thing, or turning things into people. Like having an oven recognize that Zach put a turkey in the oven and the oven knows that Zach likes the turkey cooked a certain way so it automatically cooks it for you. Scary concept, but it's coming.
    • jbueter
       
      In a lot of ways--and this is something that others have pointed out--big internet services have narrowed our influences because of more targeted use of the data we give off when we use Google, for instance. Thus, limited some of the potential for relationships that Brown talks about.
    • anonymous
       
      Interesting! Could this information be considered public like the information that is already being sold by physical stores, etc.? Do you think there will be less material things in the future and more virtual or made of different materials? Like a physical stop sign won't be necessary when cars drive themselves. We won't have to paint our walls we can change the color with a click!
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Sam, I do think there will be less material things in the future. Check out this link. http://mashable.com/2013/05/18/stop-sign-water/ LaserVision, a light show company, designed a curtain of water with a stop sign projected onto it. It's been a project in Austrailia since 2007. The implications of this are endless. And I think we are approacing a very different and radical age.
    • anonymous
       
      That's really neat, thanks for sharing! :)
    • Rachel Tan
       
      This shift is happening and undeniable. Social learning is the theme for our next e-learning e-fiesta. Thanks Phil for sharing this (rather long) article.
  • Think about what this suggests for distance learning.
    • dmwentroble
       
      I find this statement interesting. As I get older and see younger people using the technology afforded to them, I realize that like it or not...education is changing. This was probably the sentiment years ago about electricity :)
    • dmwentroble
       
      I agree, it worries me that I am missing the boat on my goals!
  • A second example: Hewlett-Packard and the Web. In this example, engineers at Hewlett-Packard use the Web to act as cognitive apprentices, or mentors, for kids wanting extra help on scientific, engineering or mathematical type problems. Again, the small efforts of the many—the engineers—complement the large efforts of the few—the teachers. Both of these examples barely scratch the surface of what could result from interlacing the small efforts of the many with the large efforts of the few.
    • dmwentroble
       
      Interesting fact: My neighbor is one of the engineers with Hewlett Packard that trains perspective clients to help interns/students learn the ropes via the internet.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      Interesting coincidence indeed!
  • internet and the Web as a medium is that it enables us to leverage the small efforts of the many along with the large efforts of the few. Two very simple examples: consider a project called Pueblo that is happening in the Longview School in Phoenix, Arizona, in conjunction with some researchers from Phoenix College, a part of the Maricopa Community College System. These researchers have found a way to use a closed internet to connect a set of senior citizens acting as mentors with kids in the school systems. The result was that the small efforts of the many—the senior citizens
  • Many of us tend to think that kids who are multi-processing can't be concentrating. This may not be true. Notice that the attention span of most top managers range somewhere between 30 seconds to five minutes, which seems to be about the right span for most kids that I know
    • dmwentroble
       
      I love the idea of the digital age...however, not every job is going to be digital. These "kids" need to understand that they need to focus longer than 5 minutes if they are to succeed in life!
    • jnb196
       
      Good point made, this means that schools cannot fully exchange one method for another but must skilfully integrate two world to ensure that whereas kids recieve training for the digital age we live in they also acquire other life skills.
    • kmlambert
       
      I think his argument would be stronger if he provided actual data. I see students that are 'hooked up' to multiple devices, but I wonder are their brains actually processing and storing data or is it more of a switch in knowing what  requires more of their attention at one time?      
  • So in some interesting sense the need for making judgments is greater than ever. After all, who would necessarily believe something just because it was on the Web? If you found it in the Wall Street Journal you might have some reason to believe it, the National Enquirer, perhaps not.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I totally agree that the needs for making judgements is greater than ever. It almost brings a sense of accountability to useing the internet. And at the same time, it is easier than every to double or even triple check a source. Wikipedia provides endless sources to back up its information, which is proving Wikipedia to be a valuable source of information today.
    • dmwentroble
       
      I just had this discussion with my second graders. Just because something is on the web does not make it a fact. It could just be an opinion. Great way to teach FACT vs. OPINION!
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      One of my fave examples of "something on the web is not always a fact" is the tree octopus: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @Zach - Yes, Wikipedia has certainly come a long way since its early days when its credibility was questionable and was often the victim of spam wars or vandals. And while it's improved dramatically, there's only so much territory that their groups of volunteer editors can cover, and most of the participation has been by men and so the Wikimedia Foundation is looking at ways to encourage more women to participate. e.g., http://www.dailydot.com/society/wikipedia-gender-gap-sarah-stierch/
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @kristie - good example :)
  • nd so it will be for the Web. But to see this I think it is crucial not to think of the Web and the internet as just a network of computers but rather as the beginning of a fundamentally new medium, a medium as in TV, radio, theater and books. But this medium is going to have properties that are going to be very hard for us to understand because it's going to be a two-way or interactive medium
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      It is fascinating that we are now in the phase that this article predicted.
  • t this medium is as transformative as was electrification and with similar diffusion properties. The industrial dynamo was introduced about 1880. It took about 30 or more years for the effects of the dynamo to permeate our society
    • kristiemcgarry
       
      I have heard this comparison before--the internet era compared to the industrial revolution--and it is a very interesting comparison. Not just an invention but a disruptive change in the ways that we work, live, and think.
    • anonymous
       
      It makes me think about the combination of technologies as tools and learning the language.
  • Comcast offered about 50 billion dollars for Media One
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      And to think this was 15 years ago. I wonder how much 50 billion is worth today. And people made a big deal with Facebook bought Instagram for 1 billion, and then more recently WhatsApp for 19 billion, and then a few month ago, Oculus Rift for 2 billion---and yet all of this still does not equal 50 billion.
  • Recently, I was with a young researcher, albeit one that was a bit unusual, that had actually wired a Web browser into his eyeglasses.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Does this guy work for Google now? Perhaps had a part in designing Google Glass? I got to experiement with Google Glass in February. Woah, was that cool. It was very unique in being able to watch a video in your glasses or wink and be able to take a picture. I can definitely see Google Glass, or a future model being implemented in education.
    • kmlambert
       
      Google Glass came to my mind as well.  I've had colleagues that have had the opportunity to try them.  It confuses me as to how it works exactly.  Perhaps we have reached the Jetsons age?
    • jbueter
       
      I've been more fascinated with what 3D printers can do in the classroom, where at least for now printers seem to have an easier to identify educational role.
  • and to be able to pick up and feel comfortable with these new rapidly evolving multiple media genres
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I think this is evident in children today. You see kids everywhere with smartphones, tablets, iPads. And these kids are better users of these than some of their parents.
    • kmlambert
       
      Reminds me of the news article (last year?) which discussed the instance of American researchers providing a handful of children with an Ipad. These children lived in a third world country, but were able to master the use of the Ipad quickly and without any adult instruction. 
  • and may even become a prominent form of entertainment for the digital kid.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Well that was a dead-on prediction.
  • The catch, however, is that if you are going to become a successful bricoleur of the 21st century, a bricoleur of the virtual rather than of the physical, than as you borrow things you have to be able to decide whether or not to believe or trust those things.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I think this can get into the touchy subject of plagiarism. There's a famous saying that goes, "stealing from one source is plagiarism, but stealing from many sources is research". I also read a book titled, "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon. One of the famous sayings used was from Picasso, "Good artists copy, great artists steal."
    • kmlambert
       
      Again, I find most middle school and high school students, college-aged, and adults are not always certain on the differenences between a .gov or .edu site versus a .com site. 
    • jbueter
       
      The standards for "cobbling" or taking code fragments are different than traditional "ideas," though. Code seems less abstract and more material-based, at least virtually. 
  • So we now have navigation being coupled to, basically, discovery and discovery being coupled to bricolage but you don't dare build on whatever you discover unless you can make a judgment concerning its quality or trustworthiness.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a loaded sentence and I love it. It's a great point and I think it describes the complexity of today's world, Web 2.0 tools, and how to be an effective digital bricoleur.
  • digital bricoleur.
  • So troubleshooting is really story construction, not abstract logical reasoning.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I love this. Stories are everywhere, from birth to death, and have always been apart of the human nature. I do believe stories are vital to education and how every child learns best. Not always just storybooks, but stories from parents, classmates, friends, and from their teachers.
    • snc520
       
      Absolutely! I always try to incorporate story telling into my classes. Sharing things I learned during my time in school and letting students share their stories with their peers and myself. A lot of the time I even learn from their stories!
  • Learning was happening in a fantastic way in terms of telling and listening to stories.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a fantastic, yet incredibly simple concept of learning--storytelling. This has been going on for generations, yet we still always manage to miss the basic fundamentals. I think this is why gamification is catching on so fast, becasue most games tell a story that catches your attention.
  • The real expert was not a person but was the community mind, the mind of the community-of-practice.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      Interesting concept. I totally agree that not one person can ever be a true expert in one area, but a group of professionals create the expert community mind. Very cool way to word that, I might bricolage that.
    • kmlambert
       
      Listservs can function as a community mind in this manner.  
  • The twist, though, was that once they received the video, the engineers would replay them in their own small study group, but replay them in a very special way. Every three minutes or so they would stop the video and talk about what they had just seen, and ask each other if there were any questions or any ambiguities that needed to be resolved.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is a great way to learn that I think a lot of professors on campus overlook. The engineers basically were experiencing what we call today a "flipped classroom". I think this is a great way to learn, especially with a small group of people where you can bounce ideas off and pause the lecture or re-watch it. Sometimes during a lecture or in a class, people need that time to pause, and think over the material. Some students do this, and then miss what the instructor continued to talk about.
  • The next system is an experimental system in use at Cornell University and designed by Dan Huttenlocher. Here they use dual video cameras, one on the lecturer and one that zooms in on any student asking a question. The video stream can then be automaticallly segmented, identifying exactly when a student asked a question or the lecturer changed a slide, etc. Once a slide is identified its image is passed to an optical character recognizer whose output is used to help create an index of the video stream content.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      This is an interesting concept. I'm surprised we haven't seen this technology revamped and recreated today, unless I missed it. But I haven't seen this technology used really anywhere.
  • The traditional producers of knowledge (e.g., faculty) are also becoming consumers of the knowledge that their traditional consumers (e.g., grad students, firms in the region) produce.
    • Zach Lonsinger
       
      I think this is a rather important concept, that the teacher also learns from the students. This creates an environment of learning where students can take the reign of teacher and be able to teach. This creates a two-way conversation that can foster deeper and more meaninful learning.
  • We're just at the bottom of the S-curve of this innovation, a curve that will have about the same shape but a greater slope than the one pertaining to electrification. And as this S-curve takes off, it creates a unique period for entrepreneurs! It is entrepreneurs, be they academic, educational or corporate entrepreneurs, that will shape and drive this relatively chaotic phenomenon especially as it relates to learning. Entrepreneurs are great at challenging the status quo. Their power lies in their willingness to see differently, unearth and challenge background assumptions and then act on their beliefs, often overturning an assumption that others felt were unassailable. Our challenge and opportunity, here, is to foster the entrepreneurial spirit toward creating new kinds of learning environments, ones that leverage how we naturally learn coupled to or enhanced by the unique capabilities of the Web.
    • kmlambert
       
      It'd be interesting to find out where this author believes us to be on the S-curve now.  This statement made me realize that most discoveries are made by visionaries that want to push the envelope and have successfully done so, such as Steve Jobs & Apple or Mark Zuckerberg & Facebook.  For better or worse they have revolutionized our society.     
  • learning becomes a part of action and knowledge creation.
    • kmlambert
       
      I have found that I learn and retain new ideas if I can read about it and then have the ability to interract with it in some fashion. 
    • CJ Marchione
       
      When I was in primary and secondary school, I received notesheets that stated that the more senses one uses in studying material, the more likely he is to retain the material as knowledge. Rather than senses, perhaps relating new knowledge to familiar concepts and activitities should have been stressed. (After all, I probably will not be tasting the Renaissance anytime soon!)
  • Enculturation lies at the heart of learning.
    • kmlambert
       
      Again stating that becoming embedded in a community adds to learning.  
  • These study groups were socially constructing their own understanding of the material.
    • kmlambert
       
      Certainly a vote for more group discussions within learning environments, distance learners or not.     
  • One of the things that makes an ecology so powerful and adaptable to new contexts is its diversity
    • kmlambert
       
      My understanding of this is that if everyone in a group has the same viewpoint, nothing new may develop.  But if you have learners from various backgrounds, and life experiences then innovation can begin.  Learner A will propose one solution and Learner B may submit another. Through discussion and evaluation, a final solution will be developed.    
  • Judgment, navigation, discrimination and synthesis are more critical than ever; again, congruent to our hypothesis about digital kids.
  • Basically, each of us is part consumer and part producer. We read and we write, we absorb and we critique, we listen and we tell stories, we help and we seek help. This is life on the Web. The boundaries between consuming and producing are fluid—the secret to many of the business models of Web-based commerce.
    • kmlambert
       
      This is a nice concise statement.  I especially love how it states that boundaries are fluid between being a consumer and being a producer.  
  • What I want to do this morning is to provide some evocative comments rather than give a coherent, logically argued talk. That is, these comments are meant to be idea sparkers that will, hopefully, evoke additional ideas for yourself concerning how the world might be changing and how we might actually recast or reframe some of the classical problems of education and distance learning in quite new terms.
    • jbueter
       
      As someone who teaches rhetoric, I love this acknowledgement of genre and purpose. Probably easier to pull off in a speech when you are someone of his experience.
  • f you see a Web site that's more than six months old, it screams out at you—something is wrong.
    • jbueter
       
      I notice this "off-kilter" quality with operating systems--especially when I toggle between my older iPod touch and my relatively newer iPhone. Must be a golden age for these types of graphic designers.
    • Christina Webster
       
      My summer job is constantly getting new laptops and I never think there is anything wrong with the old ones but each new laptop has a better quality or different feature than the older that benefits the business.  This six month timeline sounds about right.
    • snc520
       
      This is so true! I have a MacBook from 2011 that I have been using and loving. It always worked fine for me, and I saw nothing wrong with it. About a month ago, it started to act up and it eventually quit on me, so I took it in to the local Apple store. I basically needed everything replaced (thank goodness it was still under the extended warranty) and I received all new parts (except for the battery and bottom metal case). Essentially, now I have a brand new computer with the most updated software and I have am so surprised by how much faster and smoother it runs!
  • Web surfing
    • jbueter
       
      Not common to hear this term now, especially in a non-ironic context.
  • Knowledge has two dimensions, the explicit and the tacit. The explicit dimension deals with concepts, the know-whats, whereas the tacit dimension deals with know-how.
    • jbueter
       
      This differentiation looks familiar. The image was also in the Brown piece.  
  • even what constitutes a solution in the first place?
    • jbueter
       
      The skeptic Evgeny Morozov would completely agree with this sentiment. Morozov is cautious of those who look for a solution outside of any real problem.
  • as I mentioned earlier, lurk on the periphery and hear what was going on and in so doing could be a virtual cognitive apprentice. He could also move from the periphery to the center when he had something to contribute, very much like today's digital kids are doing on the Web.
    • jbueter
       
      This is inline with why companies have started forums for support, which is a form of tech support I sometimes prefer.
  • (This capability may be especially important as a child starts his learning journey. Afterwards, and after a sense of self confidence about being able to learn has been established, mastering a broader set of learning media will be easier).
    • anonymous
       
      When I first heard of so many people having a wii fit, I often thought why not just do the real thing in real life? This section gets me thinking about the times I've been in a situation where my comfort level was minimal and therefore I took a backseat to observe (and also refrained from asking specific questions that would allow me to keep up). I enjoy reading about these "safe zones" and how truly essential they are to learner exploration and building confidence!
  • This experiment reflects a win/win situation because the senior citizens wired together actually created a sense of meaning for themselves, through interaction with themselves and the kids, while also acting as a powerful resource to the kids.
    • anonymous
       
      We had "Grandma" in our class while student teaching. The students loved her! I wonder if the students in this project assist "their grandparent" in using technology?
  • just like cold fusion was in science.
  • Then he linked and lurked and at the right moment he transitioned from lurking to asking a question therein initiating a brief conversation with this expert. A small momentary effort of one expert inspired this kid.
  • Given the vastness of the Web, it's often possible to find a niche community or special interest group that exactly coincides with your own, idiosyncratic interest or, more to the point, a kid's interest.
    • anonymous
       
      Depth
  • . It was a strange experience to say the least.
    • snc520
       
      I can't imagine what it would be like if these were mainstream and common! I feel like it would be so hard for myself to concentrate on both things at once!
  • You are picking up or apprenticing to the practices of an expert.
    • snc520
       
      This reminds me a lot of student teaching. In the last two semesters (at least in the Penn State program) are heavy on field experiences. Even though I learned a lot in my methods courses, the most valuable learning experiences I aquired in my time at Penn State were from student teaching, being in an actual classroom and working with an actual teacher!
    • Christina Webster
       
      I have a student now that due to several reasons cannot read or write.  I only have the student for two subjects and during our time with those subjects the student puts his finger on the page as if he is following along, but has no clue where the class is.  The student is constantly cutting papers and never doing the assignment like the rest of the class.  The student does not even remember my name, but if I give this student a verbal test the student receives grades of 80%.  I have no idea how he is retaining the information when he is talking and looking at a completely different page, cannot remember my name, but can get almost every answer correct.  Clearly he is able to concentrate on what is being read or spoken to him in those environments even though according to my eyes he's not paying attention at all.  Just reminded me an example of multi-processing.  
    • jasmccord
       
      This is so true. I cannot help but think of how standards revolve around the ability to read a variety of text, informational, persuasive, and narrative. Standards should be developed for online literacy and how to read online text.
  • learning ecology.
    • jasmccord
       
      I find the terminology used here to be very interesting. To me the word ecology has always had a scienfic conotation to it. Thus, for it to be used in this context seems very interesting.
  • So, having said all that, let's step back and ask about today's kids, kids growing up digital. How are their brains different? How do they learn differently? How do they think differently? How are they different? Because after all, today's kids are today's customers for schools and tomorrow's customers for lifelong learning. So we all have a lot of motivation to jointly come to some understanding of how the "digital kid" is different. Let me first give an overview and then I will dig into this topic a little bit more
    • jasmccord
       
      This is something I have put a great deal of thought to. Kids are different and have changed very rapidly. At the age of 36 I like to believe I am not yet in the category of being considered old. However, when i was going through elementary school the web was not yet something available to me. A computer was the good apple 2e. When I hit middle school and high school the web was coming onto the scene. The apple 2gs was in style and dial up and "You've Got Mail" were familiar to many, but not all. The kids of today however have grown up in a world that has never known dial up, have never been without text messaging or phones capable of standing in for computers. This has changed the kids of today. Their person to person communication skills are lacking, they demand immediate feedback, they multitask like pros because they do nearly everything while connected to an electronic device. This is an area of great interest to me because I believe the web and its associated devices have truly changed who we are as people.
  • Starting about three years ago we, at PARC, started hiring fifteen year olds to join us during the summer as researchers
  • Corporate research centers and high-tech companies are increasingly providing adjunct professors, guest lectures, thesis supervision, richly textured case histories to the universities. They are also providing consulting and sabbatical opportunities for professors and graduate students, thus providing opportunities for the academy to become better grounded in real world problems. Although such intermixing is not fundamentally new, the degree to which it is happening is new and various kinds of cross linkages are growing.
  • What that medium will evolve into, believe me, none of us really know.
    • CJ Marchione
       
      A corporation purchases another for billions of dollars, for the purpose of investing in a medium with intense transformation potential. The uncertainty of what those transformations will be does not deter them. This is the power of increased convenience in communications: it is potentially of great service to billions of people, and worth more green bills than each of us shall witness in our lifetimes.
cherylanneburris

Three Teachers' Answers to Questions on Classroom Microblogging - NYTimes.com - 2 views

    • Erika Impagliatelli
       
      The definition of literate has changed from simply being able to read, to being able to create meaning from images, to now being able to understand, create, and participate in discussions with information.
  • discuss the concept of a “digital footprint”: What one says, what one posts, leaves an impression forever.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I think this is a very important point. Students need to know that many people will be reading what they write. We can not just assume the students understand how blogging and communication via Web 2.0 tools work. We need to spend time teaching, showing examples, and modeling what it looks like to prepare them for success in these areas.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      As a mother, this is why I would be fearful of an open blog environment in K-12. What if they post something silly and it comes up in ten years during a job interview? I try to watch what I post about my own kids as I don't want it to be used by someone else later. I actually ask them before I post something on Facebook about them!
    • Rachel Tan
       
      I agree with Marie about educating students on the use of Web 2.0 tools and the consequences so as to prepare them for success (thus reducing the risk of wrong / inappropriate use)
  • It is natural for young students to be slightly distracted by new technologies, but the “newness” wears off quickly. I remember a day when a student introduced the smiley face — — to a discussion, and the other kids were fascinated! A majority of the students lost focus of our activity and tried to make their own smiley faces. For this age group, many of the text symbols had never before been introduced. So, instead of immediately directing them back to our discussion, I took the opportunity to briefly explain text symbols and discuss appropriate usage, then we were able to get back on topic. For some students, our class time is the only exposure they have to computers.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I really like this story on how to approach primary student interests when using the computers. I can see many teachers becoming frustrated with their students lack of focus with accomplishing the given task. Instead, I believe this teacher did the right thing in finding the teachable moment in Smile Faces before grabbing the reigns back on the lesson. I can definitely see this happening in my classroom. I believe that is why it is important for primary teachers to start small on their expectations for Web 2.0 tools because we will be spending a lot of time on situations similar to this!
    • Rachel Tan
       
      A very good example of how to manage the distraction.  This is a great article and I'm sharing with my teacher friends. 
  • ...12 more annotations...
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Erin is in tune with 21st century learning needs and indicates she would use backchannelling as it is appropriate to the curriculum. She is mindful that  pedagogy precedes technology.  I would enjoy being in her class 
  • Social media is not replacing traditional conversation in the classroom. It is just one way to help facilitate it and add to it. It also allows for the conversation to occur outside of class hours and for those ideas to be discussed in class the next day.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      I am thinking about Singapore students in families that do not speak English at home. This would be a great use of technology to practice English with peers, at least in the written form. When I was growing up so many years ago, my family members do not speak English. It was really difficult to do well in school. Naturally I failed English in the national exam (age 16). It was not until I began work in an American firm at age 19 that I started to pick up on my English.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Rachel--I wonder if the use of a blog in the situation you described could allow the whole family to be involved in the learning. I know many of my online students enjoy sharing content with their families, especially the returning adult students who have teenage children.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Dear Melissa, I like your idea of learning with family. In my case, my parents were both illiterate and my older siblings were sent to Chinese schools. But I shall remember your suggestion should there be any opportunity to share with others. Thank you :) 
  • I model what is appropriate
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      As educators, modeling proper use of technology that students mostly see as toys is essential in preparing them for work in the 21st century. As professionals, they will need to not only respect the tools for their productivity, communicative cabilities, and so forth, they will need to know how to use them properly. Teachers are responsible for establishing this kind of learning in the today's classroom.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      This is important in the learning process - reminds me of Bandura's social learning theory. 
  • A backchannel in my fourth-grade class is in addition to, not instead of, verbal communication. I’ve seen students build skills and confidence via written forms of communication that have later translated into vocal expression.
  • There will always be students who do not want to participate. My goal as a teacher is to find ways to encourage students to speak up, and social media might be the way I get those students to open up and start to speak in class.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Yes! These are the students I want to draw into classroom discussion. As research suggests, for example, female students are less likely to contribute their ideas in the classroom when male students dominate the conversation or there is a competitive atmosphere. For more than these reasons, however, I want to use social media as a way to engage my students in their learning.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Justin--Is there a particular age and subject area that you are referring to regarding females being less likely to contribute? I haven't seen this to be the case in my own classrooms or back when I was in school. In my daughter's 3rd grade class, the girls probably contribute to the discussion more often than the boys.
  • A backchannel is one of several tools I use. I do not use the backchannel every day or for every learning situation, nor is it ever the only means of conversation during a class session.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      Technology is only one of several teaching tools used in the classroom. A teacher will use Web 2.0 resources when they aptly advance students' learning goals.
  • Twitter proved to be an asset in providing a global perspective. The students briefly watched a hashtag as the world reacted. In this particular instance, my students’ reactions were kept in private blog posts and oral discussion.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      I'm interested in the educational use of Twitter. I like this example in the way it balances the public nature of the social network while allowing students to express their ideas in an enclosed educational forum.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      My daughter's teacher this past year used Twitter.  It was really helpful in keeping up with reminders, upcoming events, and hearing her "shout outs" of encouragement to the kids.
  • In this particular instance, my students’ reactions were kept in private blog posts and oral discussion.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Using social media in this way can be very beneficial when they are going to be distracted by something anyone. It can be an important teachable moment. I think it's also important not to dwell too much and model the process of healthy concern and interest while still living life.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I am not sure I know what a "backchannel" is in this instance.  Would someone explain it to me please?
  • s for monitoring, I can say that I have not had a problem from a single student (knock on wood). I go over the rules very clearly with my students and let them know of consequences for misuse of technology in my classroom.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Part of a great classroom management plan is to establish clear rules and expectations from the beginning.  
Rachel Tan

Twittering = learning? - 0 views

  •  
    The theory about learning you embrace determine how you look at social media and its importance (or unimportance). From a behaviourism point of view, twitter might not be very relevant as a means for learning. However, from a social-constructist view you might see a twitter network building relations. In that case twitter is very important.
Phil Tietjen

SoMe My Social Media Story - YouTube - 2 views

  •  
    This is a great 8 min video. What struck me most is how Twitter helped her to connect with people who were interested in her research work. Good thing she was dragged into the power of Social Media
Phil Tietjen

Teachers, Youth, and Social Media: Experiments | DMLcentral - 1 views

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    "space2cre8"
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    Outside of Edmodo, I am struggling to think of ways social networking is used in classrooms here locally in Whispering Pines, NC. Stornaiuolo's comment in the video that students are watching but not commenting may be what I am seeing here locally but further comments made by her may also have revealed the solution. "How do you talk to people" may hold the key, at least in theory, as I talk to my daughter about why she doesn't comment more on Edmodo. My daughter stated that she was concerned about making a mistake since "it would be on the internet like forever. Mom, there is no such thing as a mistake on the internet, just regrets you have to live with forever that everyone knows about and no one forgets or will let you forget about." Interesting...thought provoking...
Rachel Tan

A Seismic Shift in Epistemology (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu - 12 views

  • RSS feeds, sophisticated search engines, and similar harvesting tools help individuals find the needles they care about in a huge haystack of resources.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      Some may think that "finding the needles they care about in a huge haystack" would be a rather time consuming task; however, with RSS feeds like the one we were required to set up at the beginning of this course, the tool does the work for you. You will not have to filter through everything you read for the stuff that you really care about. In the Networked Student Video that is a part of the Week 8 tasks, students now use their iPod or music listening device to listen through iTunesU to literally some of the best professors in the world. You may think that what you are researching or trying to find may be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but you can't be scared to go out and look for ways and people to find out as much as you can. As I read in this article, "It never hurts to ask- people love to share their knowledge in their fields of expertise.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      To add, again from the "Networked Student" video from Week 8, "Information management will be a major challenge in the 21st century". Subscribing to RSS feeds is changing the content on the internet that becomes availble to you.
    • Marie Collins
       
      To be honest, I was completely unaware of RSS feeds prior to this class. It was overwhelming to set one up and to think about checking it. I didn't really see the point in it. However, the video clip really put into perspective how important that tool can be as we transition our students to this style of learning and the process of building PLN's.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      If this is the case, then why is Google cutting RSS feeds?
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Valid question. Cutting Google Reader is one of the stupider things to happen on the Internet recently, like Flash stopping support on mobile devices. They've lost touch with how actual people use their services.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @Marie - yep, RSS saves you the time of having to manually navigate to all those different websites and then also drilling down to that specific blog post.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @cheryl - good question re Google "cutting RSS feeds" The word on the street is money; it's not profitable enough.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      From The Digital Reader: Wired has a new article on Google Reader.... They scored an exclusive interview with Richard Gingras, Google's Senior Director of News & Social Products. This article is Google's attempt at spinning the shut down of Google Reader (now only 24 days away), but in trying to come up with an explanation why the Readerpocalypse was a good idea, Google has actually revealed just how little they understand about how we read, and how we find content to read. But there's another reason Google decided to put its RSS reader to death. According to Mountain View, most of us simply consume news differently now than when Reader was launched. "As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process," says Richard Gingras, Senior Director, News & Social Products at Google. "Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day - replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day." http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/06/06/google-tells-wired-why-google-reader-was-axed-reveals-that-they-dont-understand-how-we-discover-news-articles/#.UdNgpfmmjfw
  • At present, the response of most educators is to ignore or dismiss this epistemological clash. Many faculty force students to turn off electronic devices in classrooms; instead, students could be using search tools to bring in current information and events related to the class discussion. Some faculty ban the use of online sources and deride the validity of any perspective that does not come from a disciplinary scholar. Many see social networking sites as useless or dangerous and do not recognize the diagnostic value of folksonomies for understanding the language and conceptual frameworks that students bring to the classroom.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      Since many educators do take this standpoint today, and if much of the learning is done outside of this "classical perspective" of knowledge, you may ask yourself what exactly is the role of a teacher who is encouraging the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom? As I learned from the "Networked Student" video, the teacher has many roles. The teacher helps to take advantage of learning opportunities, build your "network", offers guidance, models, and organizes information. The teacher also assists students when they hit a bump in the road. This shift in "teaching" I believe is a struggle for many educators.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      It's easier to adopt binary, all-or-nothing policies (e.g., ban cell phones) rather than approach them in more nuanced ways and explore different learning scenarios in order to see where and/or how they work successfully.
    • anonymous
       
      The binary approach is likely more common because we all know that we are distracted individuals. In a formal educational setting, some students just don't want to be there and don't want to pay attention. Providing them a means to "disconnect" from the class through web 2.0 tools (if not used for the proper purposes) just distances them from their education. However, if these tools can be introduced and controlled (although that word is too strong) by the teacher, than learning can be facilitated.
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      I would argue that the tools AND the content could be introduced differently and could facilitate learning more effectively.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I think that some students are going to find a way to be distracted even if we ban their devices. Doodling, note-passing, daydreaming, and the like can all occur without a device. We may be able to keep students on task better if we let them have their devices because instead of worrying about whether they received a certain email or whatever, they can check. It is hard for me to not look at my phone every few minutes, it is simply a behavior that I am used to!
    • Marie Collins
       
      I, too, think it is important to remember that we are growing up in an age that is filled with multi-taskers. Students today can learn at the same time as doodling or playing on their device. Although we may not feel like the learner is paying attention and absorbing the information being presented, to the learner it is quite the opposite.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Marie: I would also add that it depends on the level and age of the student whether devices are allowed and how much they are allowed. I really feel at the college level that it is the students' responsibility to learn and that I am their guide. If using a device helps them without distracting others, I see no reason to not allow it. It took a while for me to come to terms with this, but several times important information or tools have been shared in class because someone looked something up!
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @Jordan - "However, if these tools can be introduced and controlled (although that word is too strong) by the teacher, ..." Yes, that word is too strong. They can't be controlled per se and most advocates don't think that's a productive way in which to think of them. Managed? Yes, to a certain extent. Designed with deliberate learning goals in mind and founded on substantive learning theories? Absolutely. I would say, it's more about parameters when it comes to introducing and using these technologies. Students may take and use these technologies in completely unexpected ways, but in ways that are very creative or insightful. But letting go is difficult for many teachers because their training and prior experience with formal schooling environments (as well as a myriad of other factors) equates good learning with a quiet, well-controlled classroom.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      Knowledge is an agreement. We need to create it together and remember that bias is always engrained within it.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      I agree with you Courtney, whether it is classical or web 2.0 definition of knowledge - there should be agreement - otherwise old/existing will be challenged and new knowledge is created.
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • Expertise involves understanding disputes in detail and proposing syntheses that are widely accepted by the community. Possible warrants for expertise are wide-ranging and may draw on education, experience, rhetorical fluency, reputation, or perceived spiritual authority in articulating beliefs, values, and precepts.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      Let us focus on making our students EXPERTS on disputing "factual" information! How successful could they be at that point?
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      Courtney, I completely agree. This is at the root of what we teach in science courses. We should question, experiment, make conclusions, and repeat!
  • In a representative democracy, a small group of people selected by the entire population makes decisions.
    • Courtney Blackhurst
       
      This is the type of knowledge that we should also aspire to create. Democratic knowledge... no there's a thought!
    • Rachel Tan
       
      Do you mean pure democratic or representative democratic?
  • “knowledge” is constructed by negotiating compromises among various points of view.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I think this is one of the biggest shifts with Education 2.0.  Prior to this, it was a record of events, or "facts" from historical event, or the "effects" of inquiry.  The barrier that WEB 2.0 has broken is not the idea of a new form of learning, communicating, or education, but instead…WEB 2.0 Education has broken the imposed barrier of artificial authority and created space for the "we" and "us" to construct what is right instead of what "you" and "them" have said it should be. 
  • Classical” perspective—the historic views of knowledge, expertise, and learning on which formal education is based. In the Classical perspective, “knowledge” consists of accurate interrelationships among facts, based on unbiased research that produces compelling evidence about systemic causes
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      As a scientist, I'm confused by the argument here. Using the scientific method, many experiments led by many researchers collectively determine the best understanding for what we can see. If in the future, there are multiple experiments that determine that the explaination was wrong, the hypothesis can be revised accordingly. That is what I love about science, as a way of knowing, it allows for change if the data determine that is needed. By the way, my physicist/astronomer husband says he would not teach the colors in the sky in this way!
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      @Melissa - I think Dede is referring to specific moments in time, i.e., at that time there is one accepted fact or interpretation of a given phenomenon.
    • anonymous
       
      It's an interesting argument that may hold more value across different subjects. I don't agree with Dede that there is always "one unambiguous interpretation of factual interrelationships," but there are (in science, for example) undisputed truths. Whether or not we definitely know something at a particular point in time will always be up for debate, but regardless of whether or not we "know" something for sure it still exists as a fact.
  • In the Classical view of knowledge, there is only one correct, unambiguous interpretation of factual interrelationships. I
    • cherylanneburris
       
      The biggest concern I have with all of this is where do we separate opinion from fact?  If everyone agreed that the shift in the color of the sky was caused by increased use of Product XYZ, does that make it fact or opinion?  I appreciate the "Classical perspective" because of the facts.  When I am supporting my opinion, I turn to facts to bolster my position.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      In science, the accumulation of data that explains something can lead to a scientific theory. This is not a fact, it is our best understanding based on years of experimentation. For instance, the cell theory explains that all life is made of cells and cells come from other cells.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      Yes, it's important that "the collective" not suppress the minority view. An easy example would be Galileo whose minority view clashed with the more dominant Roman Catholic Church.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I hope an individual can question established beliefs more so today than in Galileo's time!
  • community-builders do not need specialized technical expertise to create new media.
    • anonymous
       
      This is one of the biggest factors in this seismic shift. In the past, anyone could have knowledge or expertise on a subject. But now, all of those people have an easy means for broadcasting this knowledge. People can create, share, connect, and collaborate much more simply in the past and that has heavily influenced this educative shift.
    • Justin Montgomery
       
      For teachers, who model the technology to their students, this ease of use is the lynchpin. Most teachers are not digital natives. Although some are and others put in the time to adapt, many are in over their heads. With user-friendly Web 2.0 tools, however, professional development can provide these teachers with a comfortable level of confidence in using these resources with their students. 
  • Epistemologically, a single-right-answer is believed to underlie each phenomenon, even though experts may not yet have developed a full understanding of the systemic causes that provide an accurate interpretation of some situations.
    • anonymous
       
      This is a much more clearly worded statement that clarifies what I was trying to write about Dede's statements on the Classical perspective and "knowing" something!
  • overall, like many other technology-driven shifts, Web 2.0 aids with some problems but exacerbates others and creates novel challenges.
    • anonymous
       
      Alas, while facts are black and white, their application in the real world leaves more gray area than we can handle!
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      But isn't it our job to look at the grey areas?
  • Presentational/assimilative pedagogies typically result in learning that is ephemeral, unmotivating, and unlikely to transfer into life situations
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      For students to feel comfortable learning intrinsically, it is going to take a true shift in where we place emphasis when teaching. If our focus is on grades and test scores, so will the students'.
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      But what if we are part of an educational system that prepares students for a field in which they must take a test to receive their credentials to work in that field? I think it really depends on the content area. I want my health care professional to be able to demonstrate their expertise before they care for people on their own, so some sort of testing is important for that field.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      Melissa, you make an interesting point. When I took my Praxis exams as an undergrad, I definitely felt like they didn't really line up with what I had learned in my Ed classes. A little more direct emphasis or test-prep might have been helpful.
  • In an epistemology based on collective agreement, what does it mean to be an “expert” with sufficient subject knowledge to teach a topic?
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      With the tools that we currently have and the role of instructors changing, how much of a subject expert does one need to be to be a facilitator of learning? I would argue that in the current educational system, a teacher does not need to be as much a subject expert as a mentor, facilitator, and guide.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I think that this is a very interesting point that mimics what other people have already stated in our posts and discussions prior. Information is at the tips of our hands. What we are interested in, we will ultimately research. So this question points to a very good thought, what do we need to know for future work and citizenship? Can we not just self learn the important information and build a credible PLN to help us along the way?
  • Classical education, the content and skills that experts feel every person should know are presented as factual “truth” compiled in curriculum standards and assessed with high-stakes tests
  • Premier reference sources, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, and curricular materials, such as textbooks, embody “authenticated” knowledge as compiled by experts and transmitted to learners.
  • In contrast, the Web 2.0 definition of “knowledge” is collective agreement about a description that may combine facts with other dimensions of human experience, such as opinions, values, and spiritual beliefs.
  • Perhaps some similar synthesis about the nature of education can likewise bridge the Classical and the Web 2.0 views of knowledge, expertise, and learning—providing a smooth transition over this seismic shift in epistemology.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      The idea of synthesis between the different ideas about instruction is probably the right way to go. All constructivist all the time might not work in every situation, just as all traditional all the time does not work in every situation either.
    • Rachel Tan
       
      I agree with you Karen
    • Rachel Tan
       
      The Web 2.0 definition of knowledge as "collective agreement about a description that may combine facts with other dimensions of human experience, such as opinions, values, and spiritual beliefs" does not exclude the need for evidence-based argumentation when it is needed, whether hard or soft sciences. Web 2.0 is associated with social, open, and mobile learning; and there is a directory of open access journals, http://www.doaj.org/
Phil Tietjen

Thoughts on Pew's Latest Report on Teens: Notable Findings on Race and Privacy | DMLcen... - 0 views

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    good post on a recent Pew report on teens & social media usage. Well worth reading.
Karen Yarbrough

BlogWalker - Five Tips for Helping Students Become Better Bloggers - 5 views

    • Erika Impagliatelli
       
      It's so easy to forget that most students are completely unfamiliar with the correct way to blog. Providing them with examples is imperative in order for them to know what is expected.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      I like Tip #4 - "Invite students to share their strategies for bringing others into their conversations. Students need to know that far more bloggers will read their posts than will actually respond to them" Set up a rotating conversation where students share their strategies. Alternatively, bloggers from outside the classroom can be invited to share their strategies.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      I had never created a blog or even posted to one before this class.  In addition to these points for students, it is great for me as I learn myself as I strive to be better.
  • e sure to checkout Mark’s strategy of having blog reading as part of his SSR program.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I really like this idea of bringing blogs into Reading Workshop time. I already have a rotation set up where kids are either reading books at their desk, meeting with me to practice fluency passages, or reading at the carpet with a special bin of curriculum themed or holiday themed books. How neat would it be to add a separate group that could be on computers reading blogs! With this rotation, kids would not be doing it every day but would still be intrigued on the days it is their turn to be there!
  • nowing how to respectfully disagree is a skill that requires much practice – but can be essential to maintaining a positive digital footprint.
    • Marie Collins
       
      I can see this as an important introduction lesson to how to properly provide feedback to posts!
    • Melissa Glenn
       
      I don't know how many classrooms you have for the grade level, but for my kids they have five classrooms. If each classroom had a blog, it would allow sharing between classrooms of the same grade. That would be exciting socially as well. In 6 years at school, my son has some students that have never been in his class, so he doesn't know them very well. But sharing blogs could create a better grade learning community. Just a thought!
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      This is a good skill for all students to learn for life! Not just in a post online...but knowing how to respectfully disagree (and to accept disagreement yourself) can be very hard for kids.
    • anonymous
       
      I see a lot of this strategy (point-counterpoint, respectfully disagree, etc.) in our class blog. I'm not so sure all levels of education could employ it as effectively, but it's definitely a good idea to promote.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      There are a number of researchers who argue that more of this needs to happen, i.e., instead of running away from the web, students need to learn how to effectively use it to build and maintain their own social presence, collaborate with others, develop solid "netizenship" skills. For example, this is what Jenkins is getting at when he talks about developing social media literacy.
  • ...6 more annotations...
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      Organizing students into groups and having them comment on each others blog posts is an effective way to avoid the "cool kids" syndrome. Or having them comment on posts of a certain topic from the start.
  • “me too” or “that’s cool”
    • Hannah Inzko
       
      I think that a comment expressing the "me too!" or "that's cool" feeling is a good thing, but chould be backed up with a "why" piece as well. A requirement that I sometimes impose is to "always give a reason" when posting an I agree comment.
    • Phil Tietjen
       
      Yes, it's important for the student to move beyond surface-level thinking and reflect on exactly why s/he agrees or disagrees. Reflection prompts the student to engage with the material on a deeper level and therefore higher order thinking processes.
  • When students don’t know who the “cool” kids are, typically, it is the thoughtfully-composed posts and comments that receive the most response.
    • Shelby Nelson
       
      This becomes very important once you hit middle school and high school. The name of the author shouldn't impact the comment that a student gives. This reminded me of a personal experience. I went to a very small private school (Juniata) here in PA which meant very small classes. I had one professor who got to know all of us very well and he always had his classes put their student ID number at the top of all papers instead of their names.. This way, he graded the papers first without knowing who wrote it. After, he would match up the ID's to our names. I respected this philosophy and had wished more professors did this.
    • anonymous
       
      That's a great idea, Shelby. Whether we realize it or not, there is an inherent bias in how we interact with and view others, both good and bad. That can come from both students and teachers, so while I think anonymous blogging isn't a good idea, perhaps using a different identifier than name can help alleviate some of these issues.
  • nclude reflection  and self-evaluation as part of the blogging process.
    • anonymous
       
      This is a crucial part. Without personal reflection, how can students grow? Evaluation allows the student to do more than just complete an assignment.
    • anonymous
       
      This is a crucial part. Without personal reflection, how can students grow? Evaluation allows the student to do more than just complete an assignment.
  • Teach students how to hyperlink.
    • Karen Yarbrough
       
      This had never occurred to me, but it makes sense.
cherylanneburris

Brazil: Kids Using Digital Media to Teach Each Other, Change Culture | DMLcentral - 1 views

  • They are appropriating YouTube to show their ability, looking for visibility and popularity, researching for new steps and seeing what others have done.
    • cherylanneburris
       
      Much like academics publishing in their respective journals or awards given by any establishment to one of their own, social acceptance is a powerful motivator for many and not just the youth looking to connect to the world or gain the respect of their peers.  
Erika Impagliatelli

Zombie Math Teacher - 0 views

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    This is a wonderful Math/Technology/Education blog which I have referenced often for innovative ideas and thoughts regarding Mathematics education involving technology.
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    I really appreciated the "social media citation" she included on her blog. That would be a very helpful tool for both classroom management.
cherylanneburris

Teacher Reboot Camp - 1 views

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    Since I am new to blogging and such as well as how to use technology in the classroom, I have started to look for interesting blogs that may nudge/push/shove me in the right direction. Since her motto is "Challenging Ourselves to Engage Our Students", I thought I would challenge myself here and engage as a student. Enjoy!
cherylanneburris

Blogging About the Web2.0 Connected Classroom by Steven Anderson - 0 views

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    Really nice blog about using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom (I don't think we have looked at this one yet). I particularly like the resources he includes throughout his blog.
Rachel Tan

Blogs - Gold Mines - 0 views

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    Associate Prof Steve Wheeler emphasized the great potential of blogs for learning, at the NTU Info-Sharing for Faculty: we-Learning for Gen-Y Students, 24 Jul 2013 I agree with him fully after my experience in Penn State's EDTEC 467 course
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