Class 7 Reflection

I was really motivated by Kyle's presentation on PLE. I think partly because when I chose my expert presentation topic, LMS I was hoping it was going to address many the issues that PLE's address: breaking down the walls of learning knowledge. I only later found out that the traditional LMS is primarily used as a wall.

However, I find one of the key compoments and challenges of the PLE is the ability to share what you know or discover. It really requires a responsible active learner to continue to blog, post, and share knowledge. It also requires a sizeable part of our limited time. I think many learners feel perhaps a waste of time in sharing when they feel that either they are too novice or that no one is listening.

Yet without sharing, the entire system breaks down. I seem to remember reading that only 20% of Twitter users account for 90% of it's content.

This is certainly a challenge for myself as well. I am starting to think though that the more I am foreced to think, build and share- through blogs, podcasts, twitter whatever- the more confident in my abilities I become and the more concrete my thinking.

How good are you at sharing what you learn? What are some ways in which you do it?

Jane's Top 100 Tools for E-Learning

If you want to keep up with the latest tools in e-learning

Personal Learning Tool Set

I am really learning to love this blog by Tony Karrer. He discusses so many of the issues we address in class including this post about Personal Learning Environments, which is part of a larger series on Social Media. He reiterates Kyles point about how PLEs are personal. The tools and process one person uses to learn may not suite another concept worker.

He also touches on how to keep track of the newest tools using Jane's Harts top 100 tools for E-Learning. I'm going to post that as a separate link because I think it's so useful to have a depository of the newest tools.

Twitter for Learning

Tony Kerrer's blog

Project and Class 7 Reflection

Am I lazy for combining my project idea and previous class reflection into one post? Maybe- but who the heck cares.

Class Reflection

First, while I can still remember I wanted to add my 2 cents about last week's class. Isn't it funny that despite such great presentations on screen captures/recording virtual meetings, globalization and Daniel Pink's meaning; the thing that stands out in my mind is grading?

So i don't want to spend this blog posting my notes from class but rather just give a quick tie in to connectivism. Despite Ethan not being able to discuss the concepts of connectivism, I couldn't help but think of last weeks' class during the reading. By design? Ethan has left this class in many ways to find it's way through emerging technology. Our assignments lack concrete structure or criteria and policy. Rather much of what we get out this class is based on what students put it in.

I'm not saying that those in class who want more concrete structure are wrong, or aren't getting the point. I understand their concerns and feel their needs should be addressed-which I assume Ethan did at the end of class. -- I'm curious how.

I hash through all this again, simply because I think it exemplifies a big challenge with constructivist learning methods, like connectivism. At what point, as instructors do we step in and at what points do we allow students to have freedom? Should we worry if students, parents, employees think we're being lazy by not providing more lecture material, rubrics, structure? How do address these concerns?

Just some food for thought.

And now, finally... the moment we've all been waiting for:

The Final Project Proposal

I'm working on a project with Intrax http://www.intrax.com/ to develop an on-line learning tutorial for American host families planning to take in foreign young people to their homes. These families come from varied geographical , ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds. While much emphasis has been place on the formal , Flash -based tutorial to help educate families, I feel a collaborative network could also help provide meaning to their experience. My inspiration comes from a Ning website I found for the Global Education Collaborative http://globaleducation.ning.com/.

This is a project I already have some background with since I am building the tutorial but I will also need to conduct a needs analysis before going into the specifics of what will be included.

Connectivism Podcast

first attempt at this.

Connectivism and Podcast

After reviewing this week's resources about connectivism, I found myself answering a few questions and raising a few more.

Last week I questioned why social learning seems to have found such new energy as of late. It's seems to be the most fashionable learning theory around now, though it has existed for quite some time, at least to the time of John Dewey and probably before.

This week, I am more convinced that technology is leading the way. Perhaps even too much? But I'm not sure. With so many, and I mean sooo many different networking tools available, it seems like education is riding the coat tails of these new resources. This is an exciting time for social learning and for allowing student to really learn by "being". Yet I also worry about overwhelming already busy learners with "learn by being" practices. Sometimes you just want the teacher to tell you the answer! Especially in a business or corporate setting.





Yet I wonder: and welcome your feedback:

1. How is connectivism different from constructivism?

theory- Connectivism is a means (networking, asking, posting, sharing, grouping) by which constructivism (problem, scenario based) learning is achieved.


2. How do we know a good constructivist teacher or class from a bad one?

theory- Scaffolding and Modeling; a good constructivist teacher will not give you the answer, but they will give you the tools and guidance to find the answer. They will also practice what they preach and model the technique in their class/school.



Finally, I've added the link to my connectivism podcast: it's my first attempt at sound recording or podcast of any kind- so be kind, but I tried to at least make it fun to listen to. Enjoy

Minds on Fire Blog

I didn't find a lot of new information in this article but it was exciting nonetheless to think about the possibilities technology is providing in education. I began wondering why it seems to have taken so long to adopt this style of teaching. Even without the Internet and web 2.0 tools, constructivist learning strategies can also be used in traditional learning environments. And I know the theory itself is not new. Certainly the fact that students/people learn better in groups than on their own isn't new. What are some of the barriers that prevent teachers from using group learning in the classroom? Time? Familiarity with the concepts?


I appreciated the mention of apprenticeships, collaboration and learning to be. Maybe it's why I'm working in the business world instead of education. I've always thought it was a bit or a racket to have all these students learning things that will not help them be. Do I really need 2 years of education to become an instructional designer, accountant, advertising/pr rep? I consider school to be an excellent foundation for learning best practices and theory, but I wouldn't' consider myself an instructional designer until i am "be-ing" one. p.S. - I love school, I just think it's not always necessary and not practical on occasion. I want to get out there and learn to be.

LMS Satisfaction Features and Barriers : eLearning Technology

This is Tony Karrer's blog about all things elearning. I used it extensively for resources on understanding LMS.

LMS Satisfaction Features and Barriers : eLearning Technology

Learning Management Systems

title on Prezi

This is my presentation about LMSs. Though it probably won't make a lot of sense without my narrative.

Once Upon a Time.. in Learning

Who the heck wants to learn about civil rights by reading a textbook? Or experience Rome through a guidebook? These learning experiences merely scratch the surface of education. Unless you were asked to move to the back of the bus or stood under the roof of the Pantheon, can you say you understand?

This week, my team had to read Daniel Pink's section on Stories. I was pretty excited because like most people I love stories and I don't know why they aren't used more in learning, especially at the business level. I guess it has to do with that whole -give me what I need to know- mentality.

However, this "just the facts" mentality Pink argues is not a skill that a modern worker will value as much. With the web, people can find facts using sites like Wikipedia in a matter of seconds, leaving a knowledge worker high and dry. What is harder to find though is a deeper understanding of what those facts mean.

In an example, I put it like this:
Imagine sitting in front of your computer- shouldn't be too hard since you are right now! Now how fast could you find :
the date of when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans?
what size hurricane was it?
how many people died?

Now: how fast could you understand what if felt like to be living in the 9th ward when Katrina hit?

These deeper meaning questions can be somewhat answered through storytelling. Listening to interviews or watching video, pictures all provide a more robust experience to "just the facts".
Storytelling doesn't have to be simply word of mouth. Visual storytelling provides colors, contrast, detail that can be equally descriptive. A picture's worth a thousand words, as they say. Digital storytelling can use words, video, picure, or sound to convey a message.

Stories can invoke emotion and thoughtfulness. They can inspire or horrify. They have been used for good or for ill by humans since the dawn of our existence and are the original educational curriculum. While they have their own limitations, they are still a powerful tool in education.

Class 5 Reflection

What a class discussion we had last week about the use of the term Right Brain vs Left Brain. I found the conversation really somewhat distracting from the overall point of the book. Rather than get wrapped up in science ( of which none of us, as far as I know can speak on with authority) I think it's important to look at the overall message of the book.

Here is what I got from the first part of the book:

Some people are more creative. Some people are more logical . No one is one OR the other. Each of us has unique talents. Assessment tools in school and work often favor those who are more logical thinking. There is a shift taking place to place a greater value on creative skills.

I would say that all those assertions are undeniable except for the last one: the shift to valuing creative skills. I'm open to hear more about what Daniel Pink has to say on the subject. I can understand the argument that if he is wrong on details (brain science, Arabic etc.) then we can't trust what he says later on in the book, but I don't' agree with it. Because I found his over-arching assertions true, I am very interested in case for the R-directed shift.

Oh yes, and great job to Dru and Elizabeth for their Google Wave presentation- pretty cool tool and I'm eager to try and use it.