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cooperjrn

What is the Importance of a Personal Learning Network? - The Edvocate - 2 views

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    Matthew Lynch discusses benefits that an educator gains when they create a Personal learning network. Key points include learning a diversity of teaching styles, taking command of your own professional development, and finding a support system.
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    I like the part about using a PLN as a way to establish a support system. I didn't initially think of them that way but it could be a great source for classroom management or just needing a people to vent to when a class can be difficult that day. It's almost like taking that "teacher's lounge" vibe home...if you need it!
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    This is a nice overview that makes it really clear why an educator might choose to create his/her own PLN. Like Carissa, I like the idea of thinking of a PLN almost as a support system. To me, the most critical component of the PLN is the idea of the PERSONAL Learning Network. The focus is on one's personal goals, needs, strengths, weaknesses, or areas of interest. It's not mandated or directed. Thanks for sharing!
kcastello

Personal Learning Environments: Challenging the dominant design of educational systems - 4 views

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    The article opens with explaining multiple examples of dominant design and then leads into how the shift should move towards personal learning environments. The first thing it explains with this is how the learner can use a variety of technologies instead of just one software. The writer then states that it should be built to support the user's goals. After this it goes into explain how it can be used not only on a personal scale but global scale as well by the use of social media, knowledge bases, learning contexts, etc. The rest of the article discusses how the world is moving towards a personal learning environment and how therefore the other types may become a "less attractive option."
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    This article discusses personal learning networks, specifically in how they challenge the current design of educational systems. It argues that the current education system follows a dominant design which pushes following a typical design that focuses on the integration of tools, draws a very obvious line of who the teacher is and who the learner is, restricts content and connections, along with others. They should instead focus on creating personal learning networks which focus on the connections that are being created rather than the tools implemented, form symmetric relationships where any user can consume or contribute, provides open content, and many other reasons. It also gives possible implementation stratifies and possible challenges to this system or ideology.
Ryann Waldman

Learning Communities - 3 views

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    Learning communities help to share the responsibilities of student success within a school system. Since PLNs require a shared goal, when used in a school it helps align the vision for students, teachers, and administrators. PLNs are a continuous cycle of research, planning, and implementation. They are data driven and reflected upon. Everyone within the PLN is responsible for the development and implementation of the community. When everyone participates it creates an environment of trust and expertise that can be shared equally amongst all of the members. The learning that takes place within PLNs helps to keep school systems aligned and functioning.
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    I appreciate that when we are a part of a PLN, we are part of a team, not a leader and followers. We are continuously learning for ourselves and sharing that knowledge with others. I also thing it's important that when we bring a new idea to our team, we bring supporting evidence for our new ideas so we can share that knowledge and information with our team members.
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    This was a very interesting article that really had me thinking deeper bout PLN. One specific line " Learning communities convene regularly and frequently during the workday to engage in collaborative professional learning to strengthen their practice and increase student results" really caught my eye. How does one find time for such intensive participation? Separate from that I like the idea of learning being a group responsibility and not just an individual one.
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    Hi Ryann, I love this article and how it chunks the topics into easy comprehension for the reader. Collective responsibility stuck out to me the most. I think this is so important whenever tackling a project as a team. The team is interdependent and I think its important for each member to take responsibility of their strengths that they bring to the table. Nice article!
bettywells

Personal Learning Environments - the future of eLearning? - 6 views

  • a Personal Learning environment was not an application. A PLE is comprised of all the different tools we use in our everyday life for learning.
  • All educational software, implicitly or otherwise, either enhances or restrains certain pedagogic approaches to learning. There is no such thing as pedagogically neutral software. A Personal Learning Environment could allow a leaner to configure and develop a learning environment to suit and enable their own style of learning.
  • Social software offers the opportunity for narrowing the divide between producers and consumers. Consumers become themselves producers, through creating and sharing.
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    In this article Attwell begins to discuss the importance of continuing education within the professional field. Attwell highlights that as the learning environment is changing so too must the educational world in how people acquire knowledge. As we are all well aware that gaining an education online is very adaptable, so too must schools recognize the value in allowing educators to gain knowledge through PLN's. Attwell identifies that as PLN's continue to grow so to will the informal and formal acquisition of knowledge.
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    This article explains the basic idea of personal learning networks, especially related to e-Learning. The author makes the argument that the education system needs to adapt the ideas behind personal learning networks in order to be successful in the future.
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    This article discusses the important trends in personal learning environments. It talks of its importance in life long learning, informal learning, the impact of different learning styles and how technology is playing a huge role in our education today,
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    This is paper written back in 2007 about PLNs. The author argues that PLN are the future of elearning because of the power they have to offer individualized learning and give the learner the opportunity to organize his/her own learning. That educational institutions cannot expect to simply recreate the same forms of learning used in tradition education online. rather that we must learn to adapt to the new and emerging technologies of ubiquitous computing and social software. Considering that this article was written 9 years ago, I found it to be extremely accurate and representative of PLNs today.
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    The article looks at personal learning environments and discusses the possibility that some form of PLE will be needed as part of the future of learning. It also discusses the need for changes in education to accommodate PLEs as current teaching methodology is out of date with how current students wish to learn.
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    This article pushes for a change in learning through Personal Learning Environments. This article recognizes that PLEs help to foster lifelong learning though providing multiple tools and resources to support the learning. It is argued that this learning does not have to be a formal, institutional learning, but can be informal which adapts for different styles of learning. A very interesting aspect of the article to me is the addressing of assessment and how the learning that has taken place through the PLE would be assessed. This primarily explains that evidence could be shown through artifacts and possibly an e-Portfolio. It later goes on to explain what a PLE would look like which include a copious amount of tools that one uses daily for learning. These tools primarily would be comprised of what is called social software connecting collaborators. The important take away from this article is that a PLE is not a tool to be implemented, but instead an approach for the use of a web of tools for learning and sharing creating a bridge between the learner and the world outside.
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    @kcastello Thanks for the article! I particularly like the distinction you made between PLEs as an approach, not a tool.
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    Great article Kristin! I really like how the article states that it's lifelong learning when it comes to PLEs and not just temporary if done correctly!
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    This paper explores the Personal Learning Environment and considers why PLEs might be useful to learning in the future. The author looks at the changing face of education and the ways the net generation is using technology for learning. The idea of a Personal Learning Environment understands that learning is ongoing and wants to provide tools to support that learning and help the learner organize his own learning. The article also looks at changing technology, and the development of social software, and it's impacts on education today.
Gretchen Smith

Framework for 21st Century Learning - The Partnership for 21st Century Skills - 0 views

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    Graphic and description of the Framework for 21st Century Learning. Downloads include student outcomes and support systems. Great resource for Technology Integration Specialists.
Daniel Oldham

The networked student model for construction of personal learning environments: Balanci... - 11 views

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    As students construct personal learning environments, teacher instruction and support is likely to be needed. PLE's must be constructed based on needs, and students may or may not be able to articulate what their learning needs are.
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    This study covers teacher and student PLEs and details the necessary components for bringing students into the 21st Century with differentiated digital resources.
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    I like the visuals for the models. It makes it very clear how to utilize digital resources and clearly explains the method,data and design of the model.
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    This article explores a Networked Student Model and a test case which seeks to understand how teachers can support a more learner-centered and autonomuos learning experience.
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    This article discusses the difficulties that are posed to instructors as the PLN grows for each student. It discusses the need for student autonomy but with instructor guidance. It shows how the instructor should be a foundation of the PLN but the student should be encouraged to utilize all the tools available.
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    The article also compares a networked teacher model to that of a networked student model so teachers can see how similar the two really are. Although the teacher acts as a guide by nurturing and encouraging students throughout the process, the student is the one who controls what is learned or explored. The students can activate their own learning or shut it off. Just like adults. Fascinating.
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    Today, students already have personal learning environments, but as teachers we have the ability to forge new pathways to learning by utilizing what kids already know and modeling collaboration and exploration.
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    Wow! What a cool article. I really enjoyed the picture of the Networked student. This article is like a how to for a teacher wanting to teach the 21st century student. It makes me wonder if our school system should provide a class on how to set up a method for each student to display their learning or their personal learning environment.
Todd Vens

Moving beyond communities of practice in adult basic education - 1 views

Harris, S. R., & Shelswell, N. (2005). Moving beyond communities of practice in adult basic education. In D. Barton, K. Tusting, D. Barton, & K. Tusting (Eds.), Beyond Communities of Practice (pp. ...

communities of practice peer mentor tutor support system

started by Todd Vens on 16 Sep 12 no follow-up yet
Natalie Frasure

Virtual Nerd: Real help in math and science - 0 views

shared by Natalie Frasure on 15 Jul 12 - Cached
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    Virtual Nerd's patent-pending tutorial system provides in-context information, hints, and links to supporting tutorials, synchronized with videos, each 3 to 7 minutes long. In this non-linear system, users are free to take whatever path through the material best serves their needs. These unique features make Virtual Nerd a viable alternative to private tutoring.
danielbmc

Three Generations of Distance Education Pedagogy - 1 views

  • cognitive-behaviourist, social constructivist, and connectivist pedagogy
  • explore distance education systems as they have evolved through three eras of educational, social, and psychological development
  • requirement for distance education to be technologically mediated in order to span the geographic and often temporal distance between learners, teachers, and institutions, it is common to think of development or generations of distance education in terms of the technology used to span these distances
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  • first generation of distance education technology was by postal correspondence
  • second generation, defined by the mass media of television, radio, and film production
  • interactive technologies: first audio, then text, video, and then web and immersive conferencing
  • less clear what defines the so-called fourth- and even fifth-generation distance technologies except for a use of intelligent data bases (Taylor, 2002) that create “intelligent flexible learning” or that incorporate Web 2.0 or semantic web technologies
  • repertoire of options available to DE designers and learners has increase
  • Many educators pride themselves on being pedagogically (as opposed to technologically) driven in their teaching and learning designs
  • two being intertwined in a dance: the technology sets the beat and creates the music, while the pedagogy defines the moves
  • To some extent, our pedagogical processes may themselves be viewed as technologies
  • none of these three pedagogical generations has disappeared, and we will argue that all three can and should be effectively used to address the full spectrum of learning needs and aspirations of 21st century learners.
  • Behavioural learning theory begins with notions of learning which are generally defined as new behaviours or changes in behaviours that are acquired as the result of an individual’s response to stimuli
  • Although learning was still conceived of as an individual process, its study expanded from an exclusive focus on behaviour to changes in knowledge or capacity that are stored and recalled in individual memory.
  • The locus of control in a CB model is very much the teacher or instructional designer
  • It is notable that such models gained a foothold in distance education at a time when there were limited technologies available that allowed many-to-many communication. Teleconferencing was perhaps the most successful means available but came with associated costs and complexity that limited its usefulness. The postal service and publication or redistribution of messages was very slow, expensive, and limited in scope for interactivity. Methods that relied on one-to-many and one-to-one communication were really the only sensible options because of the constraints of the surrounding technologies.
  • Cognitive presence is the means and context through which learners construct and confirm new knowledge
  • Later developments in cognitive theory have attempted to design learning materials in ways that maximized brain efficiency and effectiveness by attending to the types, ordering, timing, and nature of learning stimulations
  • Learning was thought of as an individual process, and thus it made little difference if one was reading a book, watching a movie, or interacting with a computer-assisted learning program by oneself or in the company of other learners
  • reduction of the role and importance of the teacher further fueled resentment by traditional educators against the CB model of distance education
  • While appropriate when learning objectives are very clear, CB models avoid dealing with the full richness and complexity of humans learning to be, as opposed to learning to do
  • People are not blank slates but begin with models and knowledge of the world and learn and exist in a social context of great intricacy and depth.
  • technology became widely used to create opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interactions between and among students and teachers
  • Social-constructivist pedagogy acknowledges the social nature of knowledge and of its creation in the minds of individual learners.
  • Teachers do not merely transmit knowledge to be passively consumed by learners; rather, each learner constructs means by which new knowledge is both created and integrated with existing knowledge
  • The locus of control in a social-constructivist system shifts somewhat away from the teacher, who becomes more of a guide than an instructor, but who assumes the critical role of shaping the learning activities and designing the structure in which those activities occur
  • social-constructivist models only began to gain a foothold in distance education when the technologies of many-to-many communication became widely available, enabled first by email and bulletin boards, and later through the World Wide Web and mobile technologies
  • Cognitive presence also assumes that learners are actively engaged, and interaction with peers is perhaps the most cost-effective way to support cognitive presence
  • It remains challenging to apply learning where it can blossom into application and thus demonstrate true understanding
  • Social interaction is a defining feature of constructivist pedagogies. At a distance, this interaction is always mediated, but nonetheless, it is considered to be a critical component of quality distance education
  • the educator is a guide, helper, and partner where the content is secondary to the learning process; the source of knowledge lies primarily in experiences
  • teaching presence in constructivist pedagogical models focuses on guiding and evaluating authentic tasks performed in realistic contexts.
  • Constructivist distance education pedagogies moved distance learning beyond the narrow type of knowledge transmission that could be encapsulated easily in media through to the use of synchronous and asynchronous, human communications-based learning
  • learning is the process of building networks of information, contacts, and resources that are applied to real problems. Connectivism was developed in the information age of a networked era (Castells, 1996) and assumes ubiquitous access to networked technologies
  • Connectivism also assumes that information is plentiful and that the learner’s role is not to memorize or even understand everything, but to have the capacity to find and apply knowledge when and where it is needed.
  • It is noteworthy that connectivist models explicitly rely on the ubiquity of networked connections between people, digital artifacts, and content, which would have been inconceivable as forms of distance learning were the World Wide Web not available to mediate the process. Thus, as we have seen in the case of the earlier generations of distance learning, technology has played a major role in determining the potential pedagogies that may be employed.
  • learners have access to powerful networks and, as importantly, are literate and confident enough to exploit these networks in completing learning tasks
  • exposing students to networks and providing opportunities for them to gain a sense of self-efficacy in networked-based cognitive skills and the process of developing their own net presence
  • Connectivist learning is based as much upon production as consumption of educational content
  • The activities of learners are reflected in their contributions to wikis, Twitter, threaded conferences, Voicethreads, and other network tools. Further, social presence is retained and promoted through the comments, contributions, and insights of students who have previously engaged in the course and that persist as augmentable archives to enrich network interactions for current students
  • learners and teacher collaborate to create the content of study, and in the process re-create that content for future use by others
  • stress to teaching presence is the challenge presented by rapidly changing technologies
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    How three theories have shaped distance learning over the years. Connectivist theory shows how learning is about forming connections with others through human and digital interaction. Developed in the digital age and assumes access to social networking technologies.
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    This is a March 2011 journal article that highlights the shifts in technology and theory for distance learning. First, there was the cognitive-behaviorist with it's focus on read, watch, and recall. As the web developed, we saw constructivism shift the teachers duties from content creator to a guide through the content as students synthesized. Connectivism promotes the teacher as a "co-traveler" helping students to explore, connect, and create.
anonymous

Canvas - 0 views

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    Canvas is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) by Instructure. Canvas is a modern, easy-to-use, reliable and adaptable LMS that supports current and evolving teaching and learning needs. You can use Canvas to: organize your course using an integrated calendaring and syllabus system, content modules, and communication stream.
anonymous

Dialogue and Connectivism - 4 views

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    Suggests that understanding how members of a learning community converse is an important component of understanding connectivism. The tone of the interactions in a forum rely on the design and management of the space. Furthermore, learning depends on sharing in conversations and interactions which themselves can be meaningful activities. During communication among learners, there is a balance of what is good for each individual and the ability to move towards a common purpose.
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    I became particularly interested in Connectivism in EdTech504, and its relationship to information literacy. This article is another great resource when exploring this learning theory. Thanks for posting!
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    This 2011 article builds on the theory of connectivism to propose that a social networked environment creates a new "landscape for dialogue."
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    In this article, Andrew Ravenscroft explores a "dialogue rich view of connectivism" and how we can develop learners that can "think, reason and analyse." He takes inspiration from social constructivist theory to focus on dialogue as a vehicle for learning. Ravenscroft begins by detailing Siemens 8 principles of connectivism. He then asks 3 questions: how can we understand the dialogue processes of a networked world, what dialogue features make for quality connections and how do we design to promote quality connections. He starts to explore the questions with Socrates and the Socratic method. This method has applications for 21st century learning. He reviews Hegel's dialectic as well. Ravenscroft maps these positions to connectivism because dialectic helps refine knowledge from a diversity of opinions, supports the capacity to know more, consideration of alternative viewpoints, fosters a constant evolution of knowledge, and promotes critical and collaborative dialogue. Then he discusses dialogic processes and how they map to connectivism. Dialectic and dialogic can work, not in opposition, but together in different aspects. Dialectic focuses on the epistemic and cognitive dimensions of learning, while dialogic focuses more on emotional and interpersonal aspects. The author then details dialogue game interactions and how they can foster learning. To be successful they need to balance orchestration and openness. This article proposes that language and dialogue remain a "most powerful semiotic system."
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    What a fascinating article. Ravenscroft's discussion of a scaffolded system to build a learner's dialogic skills reminds me of research I did for my EdTech504 class on self-regulated learning. Roger Azevedo is developing and experimenting with a similar game, MetaTutor, which scaffolds student learning as well. I think self-regulation is complex and difficult to teach in the classroom, and am amazed that researchers are creating software to build self-efficacy!
kyledillon

Personal Learning Environments: Challenging the Dominant Design of Educational Systems - 3 views

http://www.je-lks.org/ojs/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/article/view/247/229 Summary: In this article, Scott Wilson (professor), Oleg Liber, Mark Johnson, Phil Beauvoir, Paul Sharples, and Colin Milligan of...

PLE personallearningenvironments educationalsystem PLEmodel

started by kyledillon on 04 Sep 17 no follow-up yet
Jenni Borg

(Assignment #2) 10. http://www.edudemic.com/2012/10/build-personal-learning-network/ - 3 views

This article helped to synthesize all of the other articles I read on PLNs. It states, "Personal Learning Networks are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This...

education technology resources tools EdTech543

started by Jenni Borg on 18 Jun 13 no follow-up yet
mark_bishop

Designing Technology for Emerging Knowledge in Communities of Learners - 0 views

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    This is a paper that considers the design issues of supporting emergent knowledge from communities of users. It considers these challenges from a theoretical point of view and from the perspective of information systems. It posits principles such as 'Design for Customer Engagement by Seeking Out Naive Users' and 'Design for Knowledge Translation Through Radical Iteration with Functional Prototypes'.
Terrence Shaneyfelt

Personal Learning Networks for Educators - 2 views

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    While some of the tools mentioned in this 2010 video by Skip Via are a bit out of date (Google Wave and Google Reader, for instance), the importance of developing a personal learning network is clear. First, creating a PLN ensures that we have access to a support system, and additionally, we have a professional responsibility to seek out and participate in our own learning opportunities, and PLNs offer inexpensive (free) ways to accomplish this.
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    This video provides a good overview of a PLN. What I like about it is that tools that can be used for a variety of activities are discussed.
Danielle Leone

The Connected Educator: Building a Professional Learning Network - 5 views

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    This is a guest written article about creating a PLN. It has very good graphics illustrating a PLN. It also describes the different components of a PLN including information aggregation tools and the social media connections. It even shows the step for a beginner to get started including resources to use and also blogs to follow. Short and sweet and to the point.
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    A PLN is a system of interpersonal connections that support informal learning experiences. With the prevelance of social media, edcuators have a variety of tools to connect with other educators around the globe. Adults are not the only ones who can benefit from PLNs; students can develop their own PLNs to learn more about a topic or concept of interest to develop their learning.
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    Hi Cinnamon! Great resource! I really thought some of the graphics and links included in the article were helpful. The section on information aggregation and social media connections at the end of the article was especially helpful.
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    This article provides a snapshot of how personal learning networks work and their benefits. Torrey Trust explains that PLNs allow for professional development to be catered to your specific needs at that moment. Educators can seek instant feedback for questions or ideas they may share. She also outlines the main tools that make PLNs work, information aggregation and social media. It is a good article to for educators new to PLNs. It provides a good understanding of why PLNs are important to professional development and also explains the ways in which the information is shared.
michellehughes11

Personal Learning Networks - YouTube - 2 views

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    I am biased as I am a Will Richardson fan. I went to a day with him last year and it changed so much about what I thought. As a direct result I signed up for twitter and began to try and connect with people. He wrote a book on PLN's and his last TED book 'Why School' is a must read. Here he talks through the whole topic as well as big picture issues. Focused on education and good practice. Love the way he thinks and explains. Worth a follow think he is @willrich45
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    Thanks for adding this - I really enjoyed it. I like his comment that professional development is now the responsibility of the educator through PLNs than the institution. Also the comment "we really do want to be found by strangers online now." People don't learn just from their face-to-face worlds any more. I am going to download his TED book.
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    I like what he says about learning being constant in this internet age; with PLN's we are always learning. When we choose the right people to follow we are getting a wealth of knowledge everyday. We see what others are doing and get advice about what we are doing. "Learning is moving away from the institution and more to the individual." Educators and leaders need to support this change by "modeling" and "facilitating." This is exciting, how do we sell our leaders on this?
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    Thank you for the post, It was very insightful. I like how he compares a PLN to your own bigger brain, or something along those lines. I think this is a great way to think of a PLN. There is so much information out there one person can't possibly conceptualize it all, so we create PLNs a system of more brains to consult whenever we have problems or questions.
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    Richardson summarizes the importance and components of PLNs for educators and students. He summarizes that PLNs are networks of like-minded people that act as a network that converse and brainstorm answers to questions. Richardson notes that PLNs act as powerful sources of professional development for teachers. He discusses the current state of PLNs in our students' lives and how they are creating their own connections through various social media platforms. Finally, he relays the responsibility of teachers to inform themselves about PLNs in order to properly and safely guide our students through the use of PLNs.
bbridgewater019

Connectivism Making Classrooms Obsolete - 3 views

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    Though this article does not outwardly define or name connectivism theory, the entire argument regarding learning that is presented in the article is rooted in connectivist theory. For example it states, "each student "constructs" knowledge based on his or her own past experiences." These experiences are then explored in comparison to the current system of learning and connectivism theory is supported by looking at the classrooms of today and how they could be altered to better suit students based from this theory.
msbianchi

Preservice Teachers' Participation and Perceptions of Twitter Live Chats as Personal Le... - 6 views

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    This study observed and surveyed undergraduate students in a teacher certification program use Twitter to form personal learning networks. Researchers were interested in how students perceived Twitter before and after group discussion. Additionally, researchers wanted to know if Twitter was an effective medium for group discussion. Although some students had frustrations with Twitter's structure, most had a positive experience in using it for networking.
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    I like this article because it shows how social media is rapidly transforming all aspects of our professional lives. At first when I started reading it, I wondered what are the benefits of Twitter over the chat function in many Learning Management Systems. But then I realized students are more likely connected to Twitter with several devices. The chat session would stay around longer than the course page in the LMS. Additionally, the PLN created by the synchronous chat session exists outside of the classroom walls and can continue long after the class is over. The article was correct to cite that one of the drawbacks is the lack of critical thought that goes into Twitter feeds. The low number of characters allowed limits the ability to express thoughts clearly. However, if it is used to organize PLNs it becomes an effective tool as the participants in the study all attested.
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    The study supported the belief that Twitter chats provide a place where learners can be exposed to widely differing perspectives, not limited by geographical or socioeconomic constraints: "Twitter chats . . . to communicate to other professionals you may not even know but you will absolutely learn from them and what they have to say." I enjoyed the anecdote of the student who found himself in the same chat room as his school principal father!
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