Tiffany Harrell
Dwanell Dibartolo
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Module 4- Heather Rogers
Module 4 Response- Heather Rogers
- How has your network changed the way you learn?
As Siemens (2006) stated, learning occurs when networks are created. My network is comprised of four main categories, personal, social, professional and educational. All sub topics, as shown, can be related to many categories. With this overlap I am able to develop knowledge that supports aspects of my professional and personal life. Through conversations and shared information, I am not only able to expand my expertise, but I am able to share it with colleagues and in the end apply it in my classroom. The world of education is ever changing technology, and it is often difficult to remain current; with the use of networks and technological tools it becomes a daily event. I frequently read news articles and blog posts that are posted on educational topics. This allows me to see view points and topics from other educators (Siemens, 2004).
- Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
Web 2.0 are tools I feel best facilitate personal learning. I am able to connect with other educators to seek opinions or support on content I currently teach. I am also able to locate educational research that provides support on issues or topics I am dealing with in my classroom. The online course in which I am currently taking and ones I have taken previously allows me to connect with educators in various parts of the world. Through these connections I am able to gain point of views that may vary from my own and gives me ideas or support that I may not have thought of on my own.
- How do you learn new knowledge when you have questions?
The first place I begin when seeking educational knowledge are scholarly articles or websites. Most of the strategies and information are research based and often supported by studies. I am confident the information is reliable and applicable to my field. If I were seeking general information I would use the internet. There are endless amounts of search engines, websites, blogs, wikis etc. that provide information on all topics. I am, however, careful as to where the information is derived.
References
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.lulu.com/.
Additional Resources
Cool Cat Teacher- this is a great blog site that provides great information and opinions on many educational topics.
2 Cents Worth- Another great educational blog. This blog includes a range of educational topics
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Module 3 Responses
Valenta Wade
http://raivynsmom.wordpress.com/
Tiffany Harrell
http://tiffanyharrell.blogspot.com/
http://raivynsmom.wordpress.com/
Tiffany Harrell
http://tiffanyharrell.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Module 3 Post- Heather Rogers
Module 3 Blog Post- Heather Rogers
Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia?
Humans by nature are social beings; all the way back to early civilizations humans worked collaboratively to create, build and hunt as a way of survival. In today’s society, technology should make collaboration among people more successful; however I feel that universal collaboration depends on the people who are collaborating. All humans are capable and are able, but I see many that simply do not work successfully, for a number of reasons, with others or feel they work better on their own.
I see Rheingold’s (2008) point about Wikipedia being an example of widespread collaboration; however I have always been taught that this is not a reliable source and it not acknowledged by colleges as a reliable source over and over. I feel this is a confusing message to send out.
How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
Currently in my classroom there are a variety of methods that are incorporated to promote collaboration. My students frequently use blogs and wikis to communicate and share information for school projects. My students are still fairly young and of all the collaborative technology these have been the most successful. These tools allow students to work socially and collaboratively to gain knowledge for a given goal. Outside of the school setting many students choose to use other social media networks to communicate and collaborate. These sites are not allowed in the classroom, but I constantly see positive aspects of my students interacting with their peers through social networking.
Find a current research study that has been conducted in the last 5 years that supports collaboration as an effective tool for learning. Include the link and reference for this study in your blog.
I came across these articles in a previous course and the information in the journals shows how wikis are used to promote and evaluate collaboration in groups.
Trentin, G. G. (2009). Using a Wiki to Evaluate Individual Contribution to a Collaborative Learning Project. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(1), 43-55. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Allsop, Y. (2011). Does Collaboration Occur when Children Are Learning with the Support of a Wiki?. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 10(4), 130-137.
Additional Information- There is much information about humans being social beings. See the links below for additional articles that support this.
The Anthropology of Belonging: The need for Social Inclusion.
Humans as Social Creatures
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