Module 4 Connectivism

In the video (Laureate, 2009), George Siemens stated “In a stable environment, the intent of education is to produce clarity and clear thinking.”  I find using the resources I have at hand to enhance my learning is important.  My personal network has changed the way that I learn.  I have learned many new ways to communicate with others in order to find out information that I need to know personally and to teach my students with.  I have found that I now can collaborate with others through blogging and wikis so that I can utilize a higher order of thinking.  I can elaborate on projects because I might not have thought of something that another person has thought of to use in projects.  I now watch and create videos with the use of web 2.0 technologies to help me understand what I am learning.  I communicate through email and a school program called Schoology with my colleagues more than I have prior to coming to Walden University.  I now know how to look up professional journals in online libraries and know which ones are valuable resources and which ones I should not use as a valuable resource.  I used to stick to just the readings that are assigned for a module but I now will go to other sources on the internet to help expand on what was not included in the class readings.

The digital tools that best facilitate learning for me are videos, whether teacher created or other professionals on youtube or other websites.  I like items that I can refer back to and watch or read over and over if I do not understand a concept.  I enjoy knowing that if I do not understand something in one video, there are many more that I can view to help me understand.  I also have found that I have been reading other blogs to see their interpretations of certain views of concepts that I am learning about.  I know people tend to go to blogs that have the same views and opinions as we do, but I am now branching out and looking for opposite viewpoints so that I can have a broader view of the topics I am reading about.  I continue to use “mashups, or taking content and ideas that others have produces and reuse and repurpose them in different contexts” (Laureate, 2009).

“Connectivist teaching and learning must optimize the ability for learners to form effective networks” (Laureate, 2009).  Using my network to learn information is vital to what I need to know.  I count on many people and websites to help me with what I am intrigued about.  I have found that I am habitually searching for answers on the internet for new knowledge I do not know.  If I want to learn how to do something, I will check youtube for a video.  I will look for surveys if I want to know something that I am comparing to something else.  I look up medical issues on certain reliable websites.   I use Pintrest when I need ideas for decorating or for teaching.  I enjoy finding new apps for my ipad when I find I am searching the same concept repeatedly.   “Human existence is a quest to understand.  Our spaces and structures need to be aligned with our new understanding of knowledge…and the manner in which it moves, flows, and behaves” (Siemens, p. 4). 

References

Laureate Education, I. (Director). (2009). Connectivism Learning Theory [Motion Picture].

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing Knowledge. Copyright 2006 by George Siemens. Used by permission.

I replied to

http://kwagoner7105.blogspot.com/2013/07/module-4-connectivism-mindmap-and.html?showComment=1374717881293#c5003302835161504840

Karen,
I like your mindmap. I like how you separated the items into categories. Mine is altogether only because I think I use all of the sites for all the categories. We use so many of the same sites. I have not used Edmodo but have checked it out in the past. I use Schoology which I think works very similar to Edmondo. Noble sounds awesome. My students love to create avatars and real world situations are highly necessary in class. I am excited to check that out and use it for my classes. Thanks for the information. Lori

http://castanosblogs.blogspot.com/2013/07/mod-4-connectivism-map.html?showComment=1374718528513#c8935769810364055302

Joseline

Your mindmap is very interesting.  I like how you included pictures and the categories.  I have found most of mine are intertwined and I had a hard time separating them.  you included many that I did not include so I need to add more onto mine that you had that I do not.  Digital communication is important in our classes now to solidify knowledge like you said in your writing.  Lori

Module 3: Collaboration

Module 3:  Collaboration

In education, collaborative learning is an educational approach involving a combined effort by students, to complete a task. I believe that people have the natural instinct to interact and work as a group.  Collaboration validates what you are thinking.  Sometimes we are not confident in what we are writing or saying.  When you work with others, you have someone else there to say you are right or wrong and add on to what you are thinking, saying and writing.  Rheingold, one of the driving minds behind open collaboration, in the TED video http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html, mentioned the alphabet and how it was kept a secret for the elite for thousands of years.  Once the printing press came along, millions of people became literate due to the sharing of this knowledge.  This shows if people share the proper knowledge, they can become a better society by working collaboratively.  People now use computers and use collaboration on many projects in work and day to day life.  With the social media websites on the internet, people work together by replying to what people posts and adding on what their thoughts are or knowledge of the subjects are.  You might notice that it could be difficult to resist posting a reply to a post that you know is incorrect or that you can add on one more part to make their post better.  It seems to be a natural thing to want to share your knowledge or help someone else with what you know about the topic being discussed.  People are skilled or experts in different areas of subjects.  I might be great at Mathematics and a friend might be an expert at English.  If we collaborated on a lesson, it would be a much better lesson than if we worked separately.   

We collaborate through email, blogs, social media, and wikis.  We can form groups such as ebay to sell items and Wikipedia to share knowledge and expertise.   This is a semi-new strategy of thinking to make us better.  Collaborative learners believe that it increases the interest among the people involved and at the same time encourages critical thinking.  According to Johnson and Johnson (1986), collaboration teams achieve a higher level of thought and retain the information for a longer period of time than people that work silently as individuals. 

The advancement of technology helps to use collaboration within the workforce and in schools.  People need to learn to work as, and make decisions as, a team.  The development of critical-thinking skills through collaboration is one of the main goals with the use of technology in education.  According to Vygotsky (1978), students are capable of performing at higher intellectual levels when using collaboration rather than working individually.  With the use of collaboration, based on the basic ideas of the constructivist learning theory, the constructivist suggests that instruction must take students' prior ideas, experiences, and knowledge into account while giving the opportunities for students to construct new understanding.

Listed below are links to two studies about the benefits of collaboration, one concerning teacher collaboration and one concerning students. 

http://web.mit.edu/acs/faq/Online-collaboration/collab-learning_files/stacey.htm

http://www.districtadministration.com/article/benefits-teacher-collaboration

References

Johnson, R. T., & Johnson, D. W. (1986). Action research: Cooperative learning in the science classroom.  Science and Children, 24, 31-32.

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Replied to: 

http://pnesrsta.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/module-3-blog-technology-as-a-collaboration-tool/#respond

I agree with you when you wrote that if people see the benefit of collaborating, they tend to do so.  I can see that in me.  I do not like to work collaboratively but if it benefitted me I would.  When I do work with others on a project, half the time I do learn from the partners and am happy I worked with someone.  The other half of the time, I do not feel people contribute as much due to the fact that they feel they only need to put in half the work that they normally do and then they always point out what part they did to make sure everyone knows they did their part.

http://kwagoner7105.blogspot.com/2013/07/module-3-technology-and-collaboration.html

Karen
The statement you posted "Technology can facilitate the collaboration process by linking together individuals who share a common interest and goal" (Brown). is so true. I always seem to get better results with collaboration when the students have something in common. I often help students make new friends by putting them in collaboration with someone that they are not friends with and then say to them something like "John, did you know that Tyler plays ice hockey in Pittsburgh also?" Sometimes just one statement like that can help the students decide that they would be good together and they do excellent work". Do you ever do that with your students? What strategies do you have to help your students want to work together and do the best work that they can?