Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

In this scholarly article, Bessenyei discusses the current desire in education to decrease the alienation of traditional schools. He looks at connectivism and network theories as a way to decentralize learning into self-organizing networks. These networks allow information sharing to become more significant as students information sources are varied to include experts as well as other students from multiple institutions.

In this article the author discusses the importance of connectivism that is dependent upon learning in a web 2.0 platform. As the influence of the web has spread so to has the importance the ability to share and distribute information to people all over the world. The premise of this article is that as costs continue to soar in education the connectivism platform offers an alternative way to disseminate learning. The web is now no longer a medium for learning, it is the platform and center for personal learning. One final point that is made is the importance in educating students how to use the available online resources to construct learning for future use because as online resources and CoP's continue to be the primary sources for information it is important to understand how to use and identify these resources for continued learning.

Bessenyei takes an interesting look at the history of elearning as it relates to student learning requirements, societal norms and Connectivism today. The authors perspective on Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and the policital development of elearning provides the reader with a new lens to look at the variety of social media that is used today.

This article defines the learning theory of connectivism and examines it in light of preexisting, more widely accepted learning theories to see if it fits in and should be accepted as a new learning theory for the digital age. They conclude that schools aren't quite ready to accept connectivism because it's a relatively new idea that is more relevant to students than the adults who make the decisions, and many of the adults aren't comfortable with that type of environment. Connectivism isn't to the place of being accepted as a new learning theory, though it is definitely influencing educational pedagogies.

This paper reviews and relates the connections between learning theories commonly associated with constructivist education. These theories include active learning pedagogies, experiential learning, anchored instruction, situated cognition, activity theory, authentic learning, and connectivism. With the advance of active and connected learning pedagogies, the author recognizes the need for a system to effectively apply the theories through education technology design and teaching practices. I found the article a great review of the research and work done to define these different theories and instructional methods. As I am noticing with each article, this author attests to the need for further work and research required to organize these theories into a useful framework for educational technology projects and activities

Connectivism is controversial as a learning theory. Many people don't see it as one of the majors like behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism but those 3 are falling short in terms of describing what is happening in the digital age. Connectivism can be described as distributed learning or using information outside of your primary knowledge. The author thinks that connectivism should be the new constructivism.

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.

Introduction of Digital Connectivism and it's impact on learning. This article focuses on the impacts in English Language Teaching. It defines connectivism, states the principles, and relates it to English Language Teaching.

Connectivism breakdown from Massive Open On-line Course called Connectivism & Connected Knowledge 2011 by a learner and EFL teacher.

Examination of how learning has evolved in the digital age. For example, engagement with learning content has changed from the student acquisition of knowledge through books to the interaction with content via the internet.

I love how this article demonstrates connectivism. Email wasn't just born, it was born out of the idea of the world wide web. From there came other email applications. It is so true and I think so easily forgotten.

In the modern, digital age, technology integration has become the synergy of several classical learning theories (behaviorism, cognitivism, etc.)

This is an excerpt from the book by Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. In it, Wenger details that communities of practice are found everywhere in our lives, from a very young age (daycare!) on up. For many reasons, modern societies are concerned that valid learning takes place and Wendger hopes to contribute. He points out that "a social theory of learning is...not exclusively an academic enterprise." It is all around us. Wenger is not discounting the many other theories of learning that have been developed in the past. His theory is in addition to these.

Andrea, thank you for finding this. I thought I'd found everything available on the internet for Wenger. I had been vacillating back and forth about purchasing "Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning, and identity." Having now read this chapter, I think I'll have to go ahead and buy the book. I love Wenger's writing, especially his straightforward prose used to support his argument for the Communities of Practice theory. Here's a fine example: "What if we assumed that learning is as much a part of our human nature as eating or sleeping, that it is both life-sustaining and inevitable, and that - given a chance - we are quite good at it? And what if, in addition, we assumed that learning is, in its essence, a fundamentally social phenomenon, reflecting our own deeply social nature as human beings capable of knowing?" That's very nice.

Website dedicated to improving vocabulary ability in learners of all ages. Signup for a free account to track progress over time.

Standards for teachers to follow as performance indicators for implementing, designing, and assesing learning experiences using digital technology.

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.

In this article that focuses on social networking and learning, Ruth Reynard explores research conducted by The National School Boards Association (USA), in partnership with research firm Grunwald Associates and with the support of Microsoft, Newscorp, and Verizon, published a 2007. The research cited indicates that learning through social networks is mostly "unidirectional (posting messages, downloading media files, updating personal information) and students utilize it as "a self-reflective learning environment." However, the author points out that the researchers also found if instructional design is geared toward "the user controlling the tool rather than the tool dictating the user's activity," learning collaboratively can increase knowledge because the learner becomes actively engaged in the task, rather than passively approaching it.

I really like the message where it says that students become more actively engaged when they control the tool rather than the tool dictating the user's activity. The students then take control of their learning. They map the course they want to take.

this was very interesting - I found myself wondering how much of it was still relevant given its "age." Crazy that 2008 is "old" but social media has changed so much since then!

This 2 minute video provides some motivation and encouragement for teachers to consider forming a PLN. This doesn't contain much of an academic slant, but it does incorporate the "why" behind building a PLN.

This is a great resource for PLN. Like you said, it doesn't have much of an academic slant, but it does provide information to the importance of having a PLN. The possibilities are endless in this day and age.

MiddleWeb is all about the middle grades - with a sharp focus on teaching and learning in grades 4-8. It is a central location to find resources, commentary and advice from expert teachers and learning leaders, and book reviews.

Chris, Great little site for the middle school environment. The color scheme and graphics composed on the site make it really fun and the ease of the image buttons are great too. Lots of information for students at that age groups to explore.

Great article about integration of tech for early childhood educators

PBS collection of multimedia resources sorted by age, topic, standards, and collections. (Subscription required after several free trials.)

High-quality footage and educational animation/simulations from NASA searchable by age group and topic.