Group items tagged

Research regarding the benefits of being a member of a community of practice. While the information seems a bit forced (the communities of practice used for the study were exclusively face-to-face communities), the benefits of being a member of a community of practice still seem valid. According to the study, they are (1) autonomy and freedom to think beyond, (2) sources to ideas, (3) sounding board, (4) intellectual discussion, (5) like-mindedness, (6) alternative perspective and cross-pollination of ideas, (7) overcoming intellectual isolation, (8) move towards collaborative research, (9) response to research pressure, (10) synergy and leverage, (11) time and energy saving, (12) an informal ground for learning and training, (13) fostering of tangible returns, (14) driving research, (15) opportunities to met, (16) networking, information sharing and updates, (17) support and guidance, (18) sense of belonging, (19) identity, and (20) intrinsic fulfillment. As the article is about higher education, there are certainly some benefits that are more specific to their context, but I think the findings of the article are still valid.

Research regarding the benefits of being a member of a community of practice. While the information seems a bit forced (the communities of practice used for the study were exclusively face-to-face communities), the benefits of being a member of a community of practice still seem valid. According to the study, they are (1) autonomy and freedom to think beyond, (2) sources to ideas, (3) sounding board, (4) intellectual discussion, (5) like-mindedness, (6) alternative perspective and cross-pollination of ideas, (7) overcoming intellectual isolation, (8) move towards collaborative research, (9) response to research pressure, (10) synergy and leverage, (11) time and energy saving, (12) an informal ground for learning and training, (13) fostering of tangible returns, (14) driving research, (15) opportunities to met, (16) networking, information sharing and updates, (17) support and guidance, (18) sense of belonging, (19) identity, and (20) intrinsic fulfillment. As the article is about higher education, there are certainly some benefits that are more specific to their context, but I think the findings of the article are still valid.

Have you tried Mystery Skype yet? @PaulSolarz has great how-to resources @chadsmtty http://t.co/vABJiaEDEI #lusded #mysteryskype #edtechchat - Cinnamon Johnsrud (@cbjohnsrud) March 13, 2015

Here are some great Twitter Chat's taking place at different times. I am looking forward to hopefully finally taking part in some chats through this class and beyond!

I love this idea, I have not played around with Twitter chats too much. But I think they are an excellent idea and great ideas to add an element of fun and interaction.

I've tried Twitter chats before. However, the free flow of ideas and different response rates make it hard to follow and respond to. I think I'd do better in a moderated, specific Twitter chat

Abstract: Student Response Technology (SRT) involves the use of hand-held remotes by students during classroom lectures to electronically respond to questions. This study surveyed 350 students enrolled in one of 13 lower-division university science classes taught by five different instructors who used SRT. The survey probed students' perceptions of SRT in terms of enhancing student learning, and investigated which features of SRT students felt had the greatest/least impact on student learning. The majority of students reported that the SRT increased their content understanding, class participation, alertness, and interactions with fellow students, helped with examination preparation, provided important and immediate instructor feedback, and made class more enjoyable. Students in this study scored more positively than peer groups on survey questions related to student engagement in academic and intellectual experiences, suggesting that SRT helps to promote student engagement. Important instructor actions identified during this study that augment the enhancing effects of SRT on student learning, even in large lecture settings, include designing clear, substantive questions, reviewing correct and incorrect answers with students, and making pedagogical adjustments based on class responses.

Great resource for storytelling and can be used at all grade levels. 

Article that includes an excellent description of universal design for learning. Alnahdi, G. (2014) Assistive technology in special education and the universal design for learning. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology. 13 (2) Retrieved from http://www.tojet.net/articles/v13i2/1322.pdf

Stephen Downes shares, among other ideas, the notion that the self is expressed as a network of connections (when we use the web) and that this self should be at the center of the learning experience. Slides 12 and 13 compare the traditional view of learning with the "community of networks" view of learning, with the self at the center.

The authors conducted a study of two groups of students (ages 13-17) with two mentors in a teacher education program at Brigham Young University. The study examined how interaction within the two study groups contributed to social construction of shared knowledge. Group A had social interactions previous to the six-week online project, while group B had no previous social interactions. The researchers examined a variety of data including email exchanges, chat room transcripts, electronic logs, and discussion board entries. The conclusions suggested the effectiveness of an online mentor whose role helps establish social interaction, a supportive climate for the exploration of ideas, consensual decision-making, and open discussion. The strength of the study involves using two groups for comparison, as well as a variety of authentic data resources. Limitations include whether results can be generalized and limited ability to analyze students' prior social interactions as factors in the results.

Internet and Mobile Association of India and Facebook have a program to educate students age 13-17 about safety. It will be live streamed via Facebook. It is part of another classroom program called Safe Surfing.

William Broman sees firsthand the success of using Twitter in a physics class. It makes the only slightly interest students excited.

In this article, Duke, Harper, and Johnston extend the explanation of connectivism penned by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. Their argument states that connectivism, even though it is a critical tool that should be used in the learning process in order to bridge the gap that exists between behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism in the 21st century, it is not a learning theory that can stand on its own.

The section, "Why Connectivism is a new learning theory for a digital age," provided a great explanation of how learning has changed in the last several years, and therefor education as well. The explanation that, "concepts can be viewed much like a mind map... rather than as a linear progression of ideas" really stuck out to me. I tend to be a linear thinker and my school struggles with very traditional knowledge dissemination. Thinking about concepts in this way is giving me a better idea of Connectivism.

The first I have heard of the concept of "navigationism" instead of connectivism. The article seems to negate the existence of the theory of connectivism, while elevating the concept of constructivism.

Interesting read. Similar themes to A Challenge to Connectivism (http://learningevolves.wikispaces.com/kerr), but in a more academic and non-contrary tone. Argues that connectivism is a subset of navigationism, but doesn't force a separation of navigationism and costructivism. The charts on 13-14 were useful.

SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge, an educational version of the popular city-building video game, is a known quantity in a fresh wave of serious learning games that bridge the gap between instruction and assessment. These multimedia tools provide teachers with better assessment tools than written exams.