Group items tagged

This is my Learning Log which details my artifacts and reflections throughout my MET journey. Feel free to comment. Remember it is still a work in progress.

I like this website I created for EdTech 506 because it organizes all of the lessons at teach at the beginning of the year. As I created the lesson plans and the website, I was able to plan how I would spiral instruction for the introductory lit concepts.

I really like annotated bibliographies because they provide so much information on a topic in a fairly simple analytical summary, and they allow the reader to delve further by providing the source. The author, Kristi Newgarden, has two fields of interest: educational technology and teaching English as a Second Language. Overall, the focus of the bibliography is on Communities of Practice and Lave and Wenger's concepts of Legitimate Peripheral Participation.

Scott, it's great that you found this annotated bibliography. What caught my attention initially was that it was posted on a TESL website, but after reading further the author mentioned that the resources mentioned could benefit any teacher in any subject area. This is a nice way to find resources on a topic without having to type in a search engine or review resources at the end of a research study. Even better when there is a summary provided so you don't have to figure out if that is a beneficial resource or not.

J Matibag - One thing I didn't touch upon, but didn't, is the benefit summaries provided in an annotated bibliography like this one. Thanks for putting that into your post. Having these description certainly gives the reader a chance to discover more sources in less time. Most studies I've read tend to be 10-25 pages, so this circumvents sifting through studies that may not be what one is looking for.

Because connectivism framework is relatively new, it needs to be based in research and its models needs to be tried and tested in a variety of educational contexts; this article explores research framework to support connectivism in online learning; online communities of practice facilitate meaningful and connected learning; a well-written look at the research framework behind connectivism and its applications

In Edtech 504 I did a paper on connnectivism. If more research is done on connectivism and with a little more time I think many will finally come to accept connectivism as a true, real learning theory.

Learning communities need to be intentional; students must form with each other deeper understandings; gives students more control over their learning environment

Education affects society as a whole; when society fails, education is often to blame; education is a social-sorting tool that affects societies and culture; social networks allow education to take place anywhere

This is a fabulous site for finding resources for students who need immediate help, especially in grammar. There are links to unit and lessons plans for a variety of works of literature, including recent ones. When I need something quickly, this is my favorite page to which I refer!

here are my strategies to develop a positive digital footprint!

This is a blog of an expert in Personal Learning Networks. He talks about how his own PLN has developed and changed over his professional career due to the availabilty to make connections with others in far more ways than were possible 20 years ago. He briefly describes many of the connection possibilities on the internet such as social networks, blogs, wikis, etc.

I like the discussion in this article about critical behaviors. I have found that it is challenging at first to follow through on those behaviors. Assignments in our edtech courses help us engage in such behaviors, but the question for me is whether or not I'll keep those habits intact after the courses end. Thanks for the link.

Stevens, V. (2008). Trial by Twitter: The rise and slide of the year's most viral microblogging platform. TESL-EJ: Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 12(1). This article did not focus just on Connectivism or just on communities of practice but provided a clear example of both after my previous readings. If you think about the basic fundamental of twitter it would be easy to discount at first whether or not it would be successful. I'm sure along the way some may have even felt that it was a fad destined to fail or fade. Who would want to be limited to only one hundred and fifty characters to get out a complete thought and why would anyone be interested. Well right now according to this article twitter is the most popular microblogging tool that has existed. I found it interesting if you have read my previous articles especially about linguistics in communities of practice that twitter type has made its way into our everyday vernacular, such as saying hash tag in actual dictation. Interesting that a change in our speech and actions are indicators of belonging to a certain community of practice, much like how some groups say 'lol' instead of actually laughing out loud. This article draws these dots that are easily linked together to show Connectivism. The author spends time explaining when he "got" twitter, or when it dawned on him this is an excellent tool. From there he uses some great analogies to describe the connected world twitter produces for millions of users a day. My favorite quote from his article "To 'get' twitter, you have to have your finger on the pulse of what is pumping lifeblood through the Internet, and that is the people on it and how they come together (Connectivism), connect, and relate to one another (communities of practice) in virtual learning networks". (Stevens,2008)

I didn't realize Twitter had been around as long as it has - I also didn't know it's origins. Lost most of the social media sites it's changed a lot since the beginning!

Great post and I was cracking up at "The Twitter Curve" image. It gave a good explanation to me about what makes Twitter so powerful and its benefits but am also glad it touched on things to be leery of.

This is the government's take on Communities of Practice, and I included it because like it or not, it impacts many of us on so many levels. The National Education Technology Plan asserts that we need PLC's, and if you have never read this document, it is worth the read. It definitely furthered my knowledge when I read it in EDTECH 501. The bottom line is that because so many students have access to mobile technology, they are able to be a part of social networks. The goal is to harness this power and cultivate collaboration and engaging learning experiences. Its premise is student-centered learning where students are able to make decisions and choices that form their own pathway to learning.

Thanks for including this document. I was impressed to see the progressive views outlined with many strong and important points for changing our education culture. One of the main areas included the need to leverage technology to empower students and shift learning responsibility from teacher to learners. In essence we want to strive to create master learners, where students understand how to evaluate and gain the information they need as life-long learners. The section "Measure what Matters" I especially applauded, as I feel our extreme emphasis on testing is misplaced if we don't make sure the tests and measures are appropriate for what students need to know to be life-long learners. Do standardized tests even have a section about locating information and assessing its validity? This report started out with a short list of recommendations that included, "Be clear in outcomes we seek". I think this is an important point as we strive to embrace and utilize the growing potential of connectivness.

Since my life as an educator has always been about technology through digital imaging and design I wanted to find a CoP site that focused on technology. This resource supports technology as it is applied to communities of practice. I feel that it is a useful resource for educators within the technology sector.

Thanks Katelyn, Yes, I had to find a technology CoP for technology's sake and in the area that I teach. I don't think I could be more enthusiastic about the field of technology. It's very empowering.

This is interesting website that looks at different technologies and justify their use within CoP.

This website organizes groups of four students to work collaboratively to create a blog. Each student is in charge of writing to the blog for one week, others make comments during their "off" weeks. The cycle continues for 4 months.

The line between those creating the educational content and those consuming the content has been blurred through the development of technology and various networks. Students are creating content for each other to learn from, working with teachers, etc. (Think all of the EdTech classes here at Boise). Personalization, Participation, and Productivity are the measures by which we can judge network learning now and in the future. Learning improves as the learner can become active, put their unique spin on learning and ultimately create someth.ig meaningul

Stephen Downes defends the ability of Connectivism to provide for instruction against some of the common critiques. He argues that many of the critics cite the lack of changes in educational institutions as proof that Connectivism is impractical. However, Downes believes we should not look at if the changes have happened, but what the outcomes would be if they did change. While he agrees the model can be chaotic, he asserts that it does not mean it can not be effective.

Great resource! Reading Sephen Downes takes me back to my Edtech 504 days! Two great points he makes about connectivism. 1."These arguments, it seems to me, are circular. They defend the current practice by the current practice." 2. "Saying that "can lead to some educational chaos" is therefore not a criticism of connectivism. " Each of these statements from the article are very profound and support well the fact that just because education has its issues doesn't mean the theories are wrong.

Found the google doc in particular very helpful. I made the argument in my blog entry this week that connectivism is in part hard to nail down because you have two ideological who are on similar (but not identical wavelengths). The only thing I am not sure I jive with is the whole "yes, you're going to be overwhelmed, but that's the modern world, deal with it" philosophy. Information filtering and search advances over the next several years are going to mitigate a lot more of this cognitive overload, I believe.

This is a link to an archived session from the 2013 Leadership in Educational Technology Virtual Conference. The session discusses the use of social media in building community within a school setting. At the link you will find the downloadable research paper as well as a link to a recording of the session.

This is a link to an archived session from the 2013 Leadership in Educational Technology Virtual Conference. The session links CoP as a model for professional learning communities. At the link you will find the downloadable research paper as well as a link to a recording of the session.

I had to check this out because the concept of Guild was introduced to me last year with 3DGameLab. I was happy to see one of the presenters is Steve Isaacs because I met him last summer while playing in the 3DGameLab. I understand he is now in the EdD program, so it makes sense he would do a presentation on this type of connection. I have not spent enough time listening to our EdD students, so thank you for bringing this presentation to our attention.