Group items tagged

fun, interactive drawing site---simple line drawings are transformed into a story

A great list of web tools to use in your classroom for drawing, mapping and charting.

Autodesk SketchBook is the digital painting, drawing, and sketching software used for coloring, comic and manga art, industrial design, and concept design. SketchBook includes the digital Copic Color Library, hundreds of custombrushes, perspective tools, and symmetry tools. Discover the natural feel of digital drawing in SketchBook with a free 15-day trial on Windows and Mac, no credit card required.

This article draws a link between personal learning networks and connectivism. The author states that "PWTs allow learners to expand their capacity for knowledge by connecting to external resources", which is one of the principles of connectivism. A variety of personal learning networks are also described.

This tool helps me find some other social learning tools and helps define what a PLN is. It's a concept that I've always worked with and used, but never had a definite term for.

I like the idea of how a PLN's component parts can include (what the authors call) personal web technologies (PWTs). The authors feel that PWTs are especially unique because they create "a continuous, dynamic learning environment for individuals as they move from one role to the next." It is this special property of PWTs that gives individuals the power to "manage their own learning resources." The authors also briefly draw an interesting connection between PWTs and connectivism, but it isn't explored in depth. They do offer an in depth discussion of PWTs shortcomings and potential disadvantages. I especially like their warning that "learners who use PWTs must learn to question sources, verify information, compare and contrast various perspectives and become more independent."

A drawing tool that allows you to develop pictures, charts, diagrams, etc. I am really excited to find this and be able to have students create Double Bubble maps, Venn Diagrams, etc, online.

This is a tool that allows the user to draw electronically with a variety of colors, brush styles, and thicknesses.

Students drew their monsters and wrote a description of them. Then, they skyped their monster exchange partner to share their description. As they shared their description, their partner would draw what they visualized. The projects turned out very nice! Check it out!

This text is similar to others posted in that it highlights the main features to the communities of practice theory. However, this particular text's focus draws to the readers attention the importance of the commitment factor in order to form a successful community of practice. A community of practice can exist in haphazardly fashion, but when the commitment is to the common purpose and shared experience the success will be more vivid. It also alludes to the seven principles outlined by Etienne Wenger which include: shepherd the evolution, encourage internal leadership, weave private and public space, invite multiple level of participation, find rhythm between familiarity and excitement, build momentum, and develop both communal and personal identity. The author states that the communities of practice platform is the perfect place for new and unattempted concepts or ideas to be practiced with nurtured care.

This blog post was written by the creator of the SAMR Model, Dr. Ruben Puentedura. In it he looks at the SAMR Model in relation to Blooms Taxonomy and draws parallels between the two. He even gives some suggested web resources which address various levels in the SAMR/Blooms Model.

Locate your community then draw on Google maps. Create custom, embeddable maps, with annotation, shading, markers, etc. and save maps for future reference. "Pro" version offers more tools and save options and is free but registration is required.

Choose from a wide variety of shapes to create diagrams and charts. Free from Google. This tool is useful for students and teachers alike.

Asserts that technology is rewiring our brains, as the tools people use define and shape their thinking. And that the continuously shifting nature of connections makes learning not completely under the control of the participant. Though the starting point of connectivism is the individual, their knowledge is influenced by and influences a network.

This article gives an overview and background of traditional learning theory and their limitations. Then it provides an alternative theory for a digital age, Connectivism. This article gives a brief overview of Connectivism and its principles.

This is the original paper written by George Siemens introducing the idea of connectivisim. The main problem Siemens identifies with previous learning theories is that they do not account for learning stored outside the person. With technology developments, we no longer need to remember details. We can use our brain space to connect details and expand our knowledge.

This link downloads an article by Antonio Calvani from the University of Florence. He gives his take on whether connectivism is a legitimate learning theory or just a re-branding of the traditional three. He comes to the conclusion that digital access requires that we must re-think learning theories based on tools that were un-imaginable when those said theories were created.

Calvani, A. (2009). Connectivism: new paradigm or fascinating pot-pourri?. Journal of E-learning and Knowledge Society, 4(1). This article is a little hard to swallow at times. In what seems to be a love affair for his own writing he denounces, disagrees, and argues against the text Knowing Knowledge, By Siemens. I am all for disagreeing and arguing but not at the expense of the writer's own opinion where he cannot incorporate any research that supports his position. The author argues that many are too quick to adopt "isms" as a new learning theory and web 2.0 buzzword. He seems to jump from Connectivism as an unfinished theory and being incomplete, again though with no research backing up his own opinion and claim. Just when I thought he was done speaking about anything that I could connect with, Mr. Calvani did illicit a head nod. "A wild transfer of Connectivism to school would lead to think that putting students on the net is enough to produce knowledge, thus consolidating that widespread harmful cliché according to which the more technologies we use, anyway we do it, the better it is for learning".(Calvani,) As an alternative viewpoint to Connectivism he does draw some interesting end points, albeit at the sake of providing actual research for his own defense.

This article proposes that connectivism should not be considered a learning theory, and that it only is given so much attention because of the role it plays in the emerging area of MOOCs. The author looks at theories available to educators that can be valuable in modern education.

The article discusses connectivism and its use in MOOCs and the detractors of the learning theory. There are two definitions of connectivism - one as the learning theory and one that critics of the concept would prefer. The article also includes several scenarios that explain ways that instructors can use connectivism in their classrooms, if they have access to the different required resources.

This was an interesting article to read and to contemplate their arguments on whether connectivism is a theory or not.

This is a more technical site that better describes CoPs.  It talks about what a CoP is and what the requirements are.  I particularly like that the it states that the learning is not necessarily the primary reason for the existence of a CoP.  It also gives some sources for further study.

This article is an outline of Communities of Practice with description of relevant terminology outlined and defined. Identifies the three components of CoPs - domain, community and practice. This article says that the central component of this learning theory is to draw participants deeper into the community through the attractiveness of developing skills relative to the domain.

This one I didn't summarize, only because I really had a hard time grasping the three elements of the CoP, and I thought this site encapsulated it nicely. Incidentally, my creative assignment for this week was inspired by the reference to Star Trek fans in this post. Here are the three elements make up CoP, and again, this information below is taken straight from the source (long quotes), because the definition is so good: 1. There needs to be a domain. A CoP has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest (e.g. radiologists, Star Trek fans, middle school history teachers, Seahawks football fans, etc.); it's not just a network of people or club of friends. Membership implies a commitment to the domain. 2. There needs to be a community. A necessary component is that members of a specific domain interact and engage in shared activities, help each other, and share information with each other. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. In this way, merely sharing the same job does not necessitate a CoP. A static website on hunting in itself is not a community of practice. There needs to be people who interact and learn together in order for a CoP to be formed. Note that members do not necessarily work together daily, however. Wenger points to the example of Impressionist painters who sometimes met in cafes to discuss their painting styles. He indicates that even though these men normally painted alone, these kinds of interactions were essential to making them a CoP. 3. There needs to be a practice: A CoP is not just people who have an interest in something (e.g. sports or agriculture practices). The third requirement for a CoP is that the members are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources which can include stories, helpful tools, experiences, stories, ways of handling typical problems, etc. This kind of interaction needs to be developed over time. A conversation with a random stranger who happens to be an exp

This article discusses how LMSs have become the norm for higher education, but identified limitations of the LMS and how learners are demanding a modification that gives students more control and interaction using web tools such as social networking sites to create PLNs to support their learning. Students want to create their own PLNs to manage information, create content, and connect with others. These approaches "represent a shift away from the model in which students consume information through independent channels such as the library, a textbook, or an LMS, moving instead to a model where students draw connections from a growing matrix of resources that they select and organize", emphasizing the personal aspect of PLNs.

George Siemens and Stephen Downs were offering a free course to the first 2200 people to discover connectivism and study its principals. They chose a free online course format to illustrate connectivism.

I love the explanation of connectivism at the beginning. The explicitness with which they say it's not about the content but the process is refreshing and true to my experience in the classroom as well. There are many days when I know the student will never remember the content I taught but they will remember how they found it and the way that they discussed, dissected, and applied it to their selves.

I think out of all the articles I read about connectivism, this one was the easiest for me to understand and truly grasp the meaning of connectivism. The author gave clear examples of how learning happens through connectivism and that the course he was providing truly used this theory in helping the learners. This article helped me solidify how important I think schooling is for school aged children and the connections they make with their peers academically and socially. They are using this theory without even thinking about it, and in connecting with others ideas they are learning on their own without a teacher telling them facts, dates or formulas.

Contains 4 math programs that allows teachers and students to create equations, drawings, graphs and statistical graphs on the computer. Offers EmPower Program that will give a disabled student a free 10-year license for these programs.