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J.Randolph Radney

Teaching in Social and Technological Networks « Connectivism - 0 views

  • Technological networks have transformed prominent businesses sectors: music, television, financial, manufacturing. Social networks, driven by technological networks, have similarly transformed communication, news, and personal interactions. Education sits at the social/technological nexus of change – primed for dramatic transformative change. In recent posts, I’ve argued for needed systemic innovation. I’d like focus more specifically on how teaching is impacted by social and technological networks.
  • social and technological networks subvert the classroom-based role of the teacher. Networks thin classroom walls. Experts are no longer “out there” or “over there”. Skype brings anyone, from anywhere, into a classroom. Students are not confined to interacting with only the ideas of a researcher or theorist. Instead, a student can interact directly with researchers through Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and listservs. The largely unitary voice of the traditional teacher is fragmented by the limitless conversation opportunities available in networks. When learners have control of the tools of conversation, they also control the conversations in which they choose to engage.
  • Course content is similarly fragmented. The textbook is now augmented with YouTube videos, online articles, simulations, Second Life builds, virtual museums, Diigo content trails, StumpleUpon reflections, and so on.
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  • Thoughts, ideas, or messages that the teacher amplifies will generally have a greater probability of being seen by course participants.
  • The following are roles teacher play in networked learning environments: 1. Amplifying 2. Curating 3. Wayfinding and socially-driven sensemaking 4. Aggregating 5. Filtering 6. Modelling 7. Persistent presence
  • Views of teaching, of learner roles, of literacies, of expertise, of control, and of pedagogy are knotted together. Untying one requires untying the entire model.
  • The curator, in a learning context, arranges key elements of a subject in such a manner that learners will “bump into” them throughout the course. Instead of explicitly stating “you must know this”, the curator includes critical course concepts in her dialogue with learners, her comments on blog posts, her in-class discussions, and in her personal reflections.
  • I found my way through personal trial and error. Today’s social web is no different – we find our way through active exploration. Designers can aid the wayfinding process through consistency of design and functionality across various tools, but ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individual to click/fail/recoup and continue.
  • Fortunately, the experience of wayfinding is now augmented by social systems.
  • Sensemaking in complex environments is a social process.
  • Perhaps we need to spend more time in information abundant environments before we turn to aggregation as a means of making sense of the landscape.
  • magine a course where the fragmented conversations and content are analyzed (monitored) through a similar service. Instead of creating a structure of the course in advance of the students starting (the current model), course structure emerges through numerous fragmented interactions. “Intelligence” is applied after the content and interactions start, not before.
  • Aggregation should do the same – reveal the content and conversation structure of the course as it unfolds, rather than defining it in advance.
  • Filtering resources is an important educator role, but as noted already, effective filtering can be done through a combination of wayfinding, social sensemaking, and aggregation. But expertise still matters. Educators often have years or decades of experience in a field. As such, they are familiar with many of the concepts, pitfalls, confusions, and distractions that learners are likely to encounter.
  • To teach is to model and to demonstrate. To learn is to practice and to reflect.”
  • Apprenticeship learning models are among the most effective in attending to the full breadth of learning.
  • Without an online identity, you can’t connect with others – to know and be known. I don’t think I’m overstating the importance of have a presence in order to participate in networks. To teach well in networks – to weave a narrative of coherence with learners – requires a point of presence. As a course progresses, the teacher provides summary comments, synthesizes discussions, provides critical perspectives, and directs learners to resources they may not have encountered before.
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    Here are some additional concepts that are a part of my approach to teaching.
J.Randolph Radney

"This topic is impossible!": Social Media as Research Panacea? (Part II) « Th... - 1 views

  • Rather than having vague status-update conversations with students, where I’m typically assured that everything is “going well” (a response which, in its vagueness, I can neither confirm nor deny), I, by virtue of being connected to my students’ Diigo networks, would be able to look at their sources, and more importantly, their annotations for those sources, and give them specific feedback about their level of engagement and depth of research. Not only would this ability allow me to see what progress they’ve made on their research, but it will also help students develop a clearer sense of what constitutes valuable active reading and how one distinguishes salient, useful information from that which is less valuable.
    • J.Randolph Radney
       
      This feature would allow me to better coach students in the research process.
  • as I imagine that all students will be connected to one another’s Diigo networks, those working on related topics would be able to share ideas, sources, and insights about their progress. At present, I sense that each student perceives his or her research process to be a very isolated one that is disconnected from his or her peers. By employing a network where students could see the notes their peers have made about the sources they’re reading (though Diigo does offer a “private note” feature, which keeps one’s comments hidden from view by others) as well as those that might be potentially useful, the students will hopefully feel less disconnected and despondent about their progress when they hit a speed bump, and instead will look to their peers for guidance and insight.
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    "However, perhaps the most exciting element of Diigo from my perspective, is the insight it will give me as a teacher into the students' research process. Rather than having vague status-update conversations with students, where I'm typically assured that everything is "going well" (a response which, in its vagueness, I can neither confirm nor deny), I, by virtue of being connected to my students' Diigo networks, would be able to look at their sources, and more importantly, their annotations for those sources, and give them specific feedback about their level of engagement and depth of research. Not only would this ability allow me to see what progress they've made on their research, but it will also help students develop a clearer sense of what constitutes valuable active reading and how one distinguishes salient, useful information from that which is less valuable."
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    This is an evaluation of social media tools for classroom use.
Jak McKinnon

Twitter - 1 views

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    This is a good social networking tool without the heard of people trying to talk like many sites like Facebook.
J.Randolph Radney

SchoolTube - Clearspring - 0 views

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    The Widget Network for building, deploying, monetizing and tracking widgets on the internet.
J.Randolph Radney

2¢ Worth » Can Literacy be Taught? - 0 views

  • Students who become fluent in reading, do so because they read, not because they were taught the basic reading skills.  Of course, it wouldn’t have happened without having been taught the basic reading skills.  But they become fluent because they are required to read for the rest of their formal education and beyond.
  • If we expect students to become fluent in the broader and equally critical information and technology skills of being literate in a networked, digital, and abundant (contemporary) information environment, then they should be required to use those skills in all of their formal education, just like reading.  Reading, for education, is a learning literacy.  Reading, processing, and expressing knowledge in a networked, digital, and abundant information landscape are equally important learning skills — learning literacies.
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    Are you reading, or just able to read?
J.Randolph Radney

Monitor: The net generation, unplugged | The Economist - 0 views

  • THEY are variously known as the Net Generation, Millennials, Generation Y or Digital Natives. But whatever you call this group of young people—roughly, those born between 1980 and 2000—there is a widespread consensus among educators, marketers and policymakers that digital technologies have given rise to a new generation of students, consumers, and citizens who see the world in a different way. Growing up with the internet, it is argued, has transformed their approach to education, work and politics.
  • But does it really make sense to generalise about a whole generation in this way? Not everyone thinks it does. “This is essentially a wrong-headed argument that assumes that our kids have some special path to the witchcraft of ‘digital awareness’ and that they understand something that we, teachers, don’t—and we have to catch up with them,” says Siva Vaidhyanathan, who teaches media studies at University of Virginia.
  • Any teenager can choose to join a Facebook group supporting the opposition in Iran or the liberation of Tibet, but such engagement is likely to be shallow. A recent study by the Pew Research Center, an American think-tank, found that internet users aged 18-24 were the least likely of all age groups to e-mail a public official or make an online political donation. But when it came to using the web to share political news or join political causes on social networks, they were far ahead of everyone else. Rather than genuinely being more politically engaged, they may simply wish to broadcast their activism to their peers. As with the idea that digital natives learn and work in new ways, there may be less going on here than meets the eye.
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    While it is impossible to classify an entire generation of people regarding characteristics and accurately apply features to an entire population, this article makes some interesting observations with regard to discrepancies between experience and expertise in using the Web. What could you write about such a topic? What does it mean to be a "digital native"?
Jak McKinnon

DJ Jak Downing on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos - 0 views

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    Found it more beneficial to put my music online then just sitting at home on the computer
Alison French

Weather Forecast: Williams Lake, British Columbia - The Weather Network - 0 views

  • Short Term ForecastUpdated: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 9:00 PDT   ThursdayAfternoon ThursdayEvening ThursdayOvernight FridayMorning     Sunny Variable cloudiness Cloudy periods Sunny Temp. 17°C 15°C 7°C 8°C Wind SE 15km/h SE 10km/h SE 10km/h SE 10km/h Humidity 26% 25% 34% 49% P.O.P. 10% 30% 30% 10% 24-Hour Precipitation Outlook We don't expect any precipitation from Thursday Afternoon to Friday Morning.
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    weather forcast
J.Randolph Radney

iEARN - International Education and Resource Network - 0 views

  • Debunking Stereotypes. In this project, students collect information about the cultural stereotypes of their countries and and debunk them. Facilitated by Saeed Al Abdulsalam in Oman. Poster at right by Macedonia team. Read more and connect to the forum.
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    Here is the iEARN website.
J.Randolph Radney

3952219485_4f5ce70fcd.jpg (JPEG Image, 500×468 pixels) - 0 views

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    This diagram shows some of the aspects of possible online social connections.
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