Group items tagged

This article talks about how connectivism is important and valid, but should be used as a tool in the learning process and not as a standalone learning theory.

This article looks at connectivism from the standpoint of learning theory. It discusses the essential criteria for a learning theory or an instructional theory and the differences between a learning theory and an instructional theory in the context of connectivism. The article make an effort to explain connectivism as a learning theory of digital age.

This article gives a really interesting look at connectivism as a learning theory vs an instructional theory. It brings out many studies and prior theories to look further into connectivism in education.

This article describes five major issues in the design and implementation of online communities of practice. The common theme in these five articles is they all focus on the online communication process, and they all try to understand how CoPs, as a reflective tool, can help improve professional practice.

While this article provides examples of communities of practice in action and provides easy to understand definitions it also discusses ways in which CoP's can be sustained. It's one thing to understand their purpose or how to get them started but what do we do once they are up and running? How can we keep a CoP going for say multiple school years rather than diminish over time?

Dr. Sherri E. Ritter's blog post discusses the main ideas behind several learning theories. She also provides background information, a definition, and examples of connectivism. I like how Ritter suggests different apps at the bottom of the post to support connectivism in the classroom. I have used Remind101 before to safely and securely communicate with parents.

What I find most interesting about this is that there are examples of how apps are used in the day to day operation of businesses and educations and yet in most classrooms I've been in the first thing we're told is to turn off our electronic devices. In fact, in the school where I work, we just reconfigured a classroom because it was too hard to tell if students were surfing the web instead of paying attention. Did I mention that I teach adults?

Great connectivism resources for users in a variety of different backgrounds.

This article talks about the technology tools teachers could use to support language arts instruction.

This resource is a personal account of one teacher's usage of personal learning networks that supports the theory and nature of doing so as well as helps to create a working definition of a PLN for the reader. Additionally, this resource features how the educator used social networking to engage in personal learning networks as well as an example of overcoming the objections of skeptics to such practices.

A brief video discussing PLNs that provides a sample scenario of PLNs.

An informative look at how PLNs work and the benefits of a PLN. Told from the perspective of a scenario in which the PLN is not initially accepted as a valuable tool of learning, the creator of this video shows that a PLN offers: 1. user ownership, 2. user independence, 3. user self-determination. The video goes on to show the benefits of collaborating through PLNs.

This video offers a decent introduction to PLNs. I like that it approaches the topic from the perspective of someone who is skeptical and encourages everyone to become a life long learner.

In this article the author makes the argument that a hybridization of PLCs and PLNs would benefit students and teachers. It provides an introduction to both concepts before it offers ideas on hybridization and why they would benefit stakeholders.

I like the argument. Hybridization of these two vital elements will provide teachers and learners with an all around better experience in a school day. I know that in my building PLC is often frowned upon by the staff, because they find it a waste of time. I think that the integration of PLNs in the process could provide far more than simply meeting and discussing policy/educational tools.

I really liked this article because I feel at my school there is many PLC, but no one is really connected to PLN (including myself). As a member of the technology commitment, we have a small group looking to create goals and share knowledge, but sometimes its doesn't go beyond our meeting walls. If the communities could be connected to PLN then the walls are broken down and the collaboration and problem-solving input increased.

This article explains connectivism with academic advising. Within this article, the writer states that connectivism can be useful to help combine old information to new information. It then states how that will help people to understand new material by connecting it to the old material. The writer also states how technology has impacted connectivism. It says connectivism is influencing students' decisions and knowledge through Siri, Amazon Echo, etc and that those tools of technology or other resources they have access to are impacting their decisions based on connections they've made to other information.

This is an interesting article that explains connectivism in the context of academic advising. I found this especially helpful as it makes it easier to understand connetivism as you first receive information and then that information is put into a contextual situation.

This article explores the ways in which using a model of connectivism can help an academic advisor in higher education better connect with or direct the student they are assisting. One example features the way in which students view their advisor, where some students see the advisor as a guidance counselor others are able to differentiate between the two roles distinctly. The article continues on with various examples of interactions and scenarios that students and advisors could encounter that when approached through the model of connectivism would assist the student in combining thoughts, theories, and general information.

This is a great paper talking about connectivity with "what we learn" "How we learn" and "Where we Learn." The author is from Chile is give a good perspective on this works world wide.

Thomas Baker, the author of this work and a TESOL educator, first explores connectivism including the definition and theory in his article and then relates this theory to EFL teaching. Baker connects the tectonic shifts in connectivism to the digital age of learning where learners can become creators instead of just consumers as well as collaborate with anyone, anywhere, at any time due to technology. The article concludes with three examples of teachers and the strategies or tools they utilize in their teaching that makes them "connected" to connectvism.

This article explores Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) as a way to introduce both formal and informal learning within higher education. Specifically, research shows how using a variety of social media tools to customize a PLE can foster learner-controlled instruction. To achieve the learning experience they desire, though, students must possess the skills needed to engage in a self-regulated learning system with the help of both an instructor and peers.

This article really demonstrates the role of the teacher in modeling and encouraging effective use of social media. In my opinion, the framework created by the author would work best under a constructivist learning environment since so much of the class would be taken up by teaching how to use technology. That said, once students were proficient, they could explore class subject-related information online.

This graduate dissertation was particularly interesting to me since it focuses on K-12 Spanish teachers. The author discusses how communities of practice can be used as professional development and ongoing language training, particularly for non-native speakers. The research includes the use of technology in that the community of practice studied was conducted online.

I can see the use of CoP being very beneficial for non-native speakers. The technologies are the tools that would help to bridge the learning gaps and support learners. Non-native speakers often feel very isolated in learning environments, as having more than one learning group would be helpful. What a great dissertation topic.

This video discusses the importance of personal learning networks. The creator shows why teachers are supported through the use of PLNs.

In this article faculty and graduate students at the University of Plymouth wrote about the growing use of blogging in higher education classrooms. The authors see connectivism as the theory that helps to legitimize the use of blogging in the teaching and learning environment. They acknowledge that Web 2.0 tools such as blogs give students the ability to easily make connections with their peers and others outside the classroom walls. One of the most interesting aspects of the article was that the authors advocated for the use of course blogs rather than individual blogs for the simple fact that it promotes a single platform for students to share and connect. The authors gathered much of the information for this article from a case study that they did with university students. They asked several students to complete a survey. Instead of a survey, the staff involved in the project were interviewed. Through this case study, the authors were able to produce both qualitative and quantitative data on the use of blogs. Overall, the results showed that blogs are an acceptable medium for using the connectivist model and that by and large, most students achieved the learning goals while completing the assignment.

Kelly, This is a very interesting article especially since I have had to use blogs for many courses and have considered having my own students use them as well. I definitely understand having a single platform, but I wonder if that takes away from the individuality students gain from getting to create their own.

Tiffany, I too am torn on the use of a single platform in the classroom. I love that it would be easier to manage one account rather than individual student accounts. I have over 100 Spanish 3 students (which doesn't include my Sociology and Spanish 2 classes). It could be a nightmare to monitor appropriate blog use of all of those students. At the same time, I agree that students lose the ability to create a personal site, and could be less engaged on the single platform.

This is an odd resource for this diigo, but you can find lesson plans here and post lessons... while making money :-)

TeachersPayTeachers.com -- 1,000,000+ free and priced teaching resources created by teachers for instant download including lesson plans and unit plans. This is truly my favorite teaching website. There are so many incredible resources that I find here with regards to any subject and grade level. Many activities that I find here are very unique and detailed!