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J.Randolph Radney

Teaching in Social and Technological Networks « Connectivism - 0 views

www.connectivism.ca/?p=220

teaching connectivism networks social eLearning writing english

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 22 Feb 10 - Cached
  • 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.
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • 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.
  • J.Randolph Radney on 22 Feb 10
     
    Here are some additional concepts that are a part of my approach to teaching.
J.Randolph Radney

Using Wordle in the classroom (1 of 2) - ProfHacker.com - 0 views

www.profhacker.com/...wordle-in-the-classroom-1-of-2

wordle classroom technology

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 14 Nov 09 - Cached
  • it’s now standard practice, for example, to require students in a first-year-composition class to know how to use a word processor and to learn how to make good use of a database: those are not considered “computing skills” anymore. They’re just skills.
  • we’ve long assumed that students become better writers by reading a great deal; and we assume that experience at writing makes them better readers. For many generations, these 2 sides of the textual coin have been taught hand-in-hand: we don’t teach students to be consumers of words and then maybe later teach them (or teach only some of them, depending on their major or their future career) how to create words. Instead, they learn those skills simultaneously.
  • J.Randolph Radney on 14 Nov 09
     
    The site as a whole is devoted to discussing Wordle (the program that produced the word-posters displayed on the MOODLE course websites for both 050 and 060), but notice what is quoted about computer skills (the first quote) and the connection between reading ability and writing ability (the second).
J.Randolph Radney

Flickr Photo Download: What Changes? - 2 views

www.flickr.com/...o

flickr classroom web2.0

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 22 Oct 09 - Cached
  • J.Randolph Radney on 22 Oct 09
     
    This is the present view in many large university classrooms in North American teaching contexts. I have to prepare you for this sort of class.
J.Randolph Radney

Next Time, Fail Better - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education - 0 views

chronicle.com/...131790

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 09 May 12 - No Cached
  • Humanities students are not used to failure. They want to get it right the first time. When they are new to the game, they want to get good grades on what are essentially first drafts. Once they learn how much work it is to write and edit a really good essay, their goals shift—from getting A's on papers written the night before to getting A's and making the difficult process look effortless.
  • I had a colleague who had a poster in his dining room with Samuel Beckett's "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." We may tell ourselves that, but we don't tell our students. Maybe we should post it in our classrooms, not our dining rooms.
J.Randolph Radney

Incredibly Dull: Social Architecture - 1 views

incrediblydull.blogspot.com/...social-architecture.html

social architecture web 2.0 socialnetworking education

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 08 Feb 10 - Cached
  • J.Randolph Radney on 08 Feb 10
     
    What would happen if classrooms were designed to enhance the social experience of learning? How would this be accomplished?
J.Randolph Radney

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

nkogan.wordpress.com/...ia-as-research-panacea-part-ii

diigo

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09 - Cached
  • 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
      J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09
       
      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.
  • J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09
     
    "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."
  • J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09
     
    This is an evaluation of social media tools for classroom use.
J.Randolph Radney

Websites and IMs and Blogs, Oh My! : A Response to Dr. Jill McClay's BCTELA Presentatio... - 0 views

www.bctela.ca/...e-dr-jill-mcclay%E2%80%99s-bct

bctela standards English

shared by J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Jill began by talking about the "new literacies" of technology, including blogs, instant messaging, sharing videos online, and many other kinds of literacy that go well beyond "print on paper." One of the most interesting and potentially alarming things Jill told us was the fact that eight- to ten-year-olds are the fastest-growing group of users on the internet.
  • According to research done by media-awareness.ca, a non-profit organization that develops media literacy programs, kids can be exposed to inappropriate content and risky situations online, including bullying and sexual harassment. On the other hand, the same survey makes it clear that most young people have positive experiences online, and they use the Internet to foster existing social relationships and create new ones. How can we help keep kids' online literacy experiences positive?
  • Jill gave us some examples that made us realize that, regardless of the fears (and often, regardless of the rules) of parents and educators, kids are using the web and joining online communities; they are sharing their writing and secrets, reading those of others, and creating relationships. The Internet is not going away; in fact, access to the web is nearly universal in Canada, either at home, at school, or at public libraries and Internet cafes.
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  • we need to participate in web-based communities and literacy and respect, not dismiss, kids' online relationships. We need to learn the conventions of online literacy. Young people are not going to learn about online safety and security from us unless they see that we know what we're talking about, and that we are also part of that community.
  • Jill's presentation made me realize how much more was out there, and that a lot of it could be very useful in the English classroom and beyond.
  • J.Randolph Radney on 19 Oct 09
     
    This is another recent article written on the use of social media in education, particularly by younger students.
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