Group items tagged

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 article is about Computer Based Instruction and how to design an online course for students who will be attending classes online. This article talks about creating an online classroom where the teacher communicates via the web only. This article offers eight guidelines for creating such a classroom. A few of the guidelines/tips that are offered is to orient students with the internet, have students select "email pals," and use computer based testing.

I found the Nielson report cited in several of the articles I reviewed and decided to check it out. The Nielson report typically cites was published in 2009 and so instead I retrieved a more recent (2011) report on the state of social media. This is a fascinating graphic display of the synthesis and major findings of research on the use of social media both in the United States and globally. This is important as we consider the needs and possibilities of using the connected learning theories reviewed in our reading. The data gathered reflects a continued rise in access of social networks and blogs across a wide variety of demographics. Information such as 4 out of 5 active Internet users now visit SN and blogs cannot be ignored as we consider the impact this has on instructional design and education technology applications.

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.

This site contains video and audio recordings of historical nature.

Another option that allows students to use any device with an Internet connection to respond to questions and polls from the teacher.

December 17th, 2012 by Claire The Internet is a bountiful place, full of information, wonder, and an endless supply of heart-melting puppy videos. But what may sometimes seem in short supply are fantastic, free photos to easily-and legally-use for your presentations or blog slideshows.

Great resource for teacher guides and videos. Elementary students especially love the resources on this site.

Interactive curriculum for keeping kids safe online.

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.

Links to online activities for all areas of science.

A great leaping off (or summarizing) video on what a PLE is and its connection to connectivism. This apparently was a high school class production. My only qualm might be that their concept of a PLE is a bit web-centric, but this is really well done. I particularly like the end portion about the role of the instructor in a connectivist world. A definitely worthwhile five minute investment.

At my institution we were just involved in developing a student learning outcome to meet our assessment plan. We made sure that information and technology literacy went past the Internet and would include professional networks that were F2F and also be able to pick up a phone and call someone.

The video from the Digital Media and Learning Research Lab examines how education has changed from supplying curriculum to connecting people with the right peer or mentor that can help engage and develop them. Schools, universities, and professionals no longer control learning and hand it out. Instead, they should arrange learning so that the right people are able to come together for learning. Networks and connectivity are tearing down borders in education.

I enjoyed this video. I'm always intrigued by the anthropological view learning theories, I like Mimi Ito's point that students have to find ways to support their interests based upon what they want to do with their lives and the adventation of the internet has opened them to a world of experts that learners may not have otherwise had access to. Further, because of technology, like-minded learners are able to connect and foster collaborative and involved learning.