Module 4 Connectivism Mindmap and Reflection

After discussions with some of you, I revised my original mindmap to include more detail for some of the categories.  

Networks have definitely changed the way I teach and the way that I learn. My mindmap is composed of my favorites, however, there are so many that I used daily without even thinking about it. To reflect upon my favorite networks, I begin with my personal connections – facebook and pinterest. At this point, I still use facebook to keep up with friends and family and to form personal connections with other professionals. Pinterest is a network that I use in my daily life and for quite a while I thought it was for sharing fantastic ideas about decorating and cooking or fashion. I found out that this is a fantastic place to find some of my favorite lessons and projects to use in the classroom.
My favorite social networking tools that I use often with my fellow students, teachers, and my own students are the blogs and wikis. Until I started the Walden specialist program, I had not used either, and thought that my discussion drop box was really getting outside the box. The only connecting happening there was between myself and the student. Now, I am finding that the wikis and blogs are inspiring and motivational, encouraging my students to enter conversations for the first time ever. We are really learning from one another and the knowledge really does connect to real life when these tools are used correctly.
The major technology tools that I use in my classroom and teaching preparation are ITS Learning and Edmodo. The ITS learning is our new personalized learning system and the more I train on this program, the more I like it. It is so student friendly, and has chat capabilities, fantastic organizational capabilities, along with the technology that will identify personal needs for the students, allowing me to facilitate and monitor the learning as I should be doing! Edmodo is like a facebook for the schools and I have found more resources through connections on this site, shared apps with my students, and connected to several organizations through this one.
The Virtual tools are awesome and I am comfortable with the go animate site that allows me to create cartoonish lessons or turn group projects into animated discussions and presentations. This is a free site and has some interesting characters that can be selected. The students love to put themselves into another character's shoes and tape a debate or learning activity to present to others via our network or in the classroom. Noble is a virtual world that I am currently working with and its capabilities are amazing. I have quite a ways to go on this technology; however, the lessons in which I have participated create an unbelievable world of engagement. Students are able to create avatars and work together in protected worlds as they solve problems that are completely connected to real life situations.
As I share information about using one tool, another networking resource comes to mind, and as I read the blogs of my classmates, I see tools that I use often myself. There is no end to the digital tools and networking sites available to us and sometimes, the sheer quantity becomes overwhelming because I am anxious to try them all! I can see that our blogs this module will demonstrate just how effective the connectivist theory can be for growth in the area.

I commented on the following blogs:

 

http://loridodd.blogspot.com

http://lyndamarshallsblogpage.blogspot.com

Module 3 – Technology and Collaboration

I believe that we do have the basic instinct that leads us to interactions and collaborations with others. We are smarter in numbers and often learn from each other as we are collaborating. Wikipedia is a resource that is created by learners constructing meaning and sharing knowledge as they contribute to Wikipedia. Participants are definitely engaged in the process and build on the ideas of others as they add to the encyclopedia. There are unlimited web 2.0 resources as a result of this instinct and desire to collaborate and support others. Howard Rheingold's video was entertaining and engaging as he made some great points about how things are accomplished as people interact with each other to solve problems and create products.

Technology, used in K-12 education, was mostly used passively to process information, whereas now, it is often used to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Technology provides multiple ways to present information so that individual learning styles and choices are made available. "Technology can facilitate the collaboration process by linking together individuals who share a common interest and goal" (Brown). This collaboration is a key part of the constructivist approach to learning. Technology allows learners to build on their past experiences, construct meaning from information, solve real-world problems, and create exemplars individually or collaboratively. Technology also allows students to contribute at a time of their choosing, when they are feeling creative or when they are touched by an idea.

I found an extremely interesting article about a study completed on a school in California focusing on collaborative problem-based math and discussion based English leading to top SAT scores for entrance to colleges. The link is http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-research and the article is from Eutopia. Some of the strategies that are highlighted by these educators are approaches that I had not considered. These strategies are: "Consider classroom geography, focus on process, not the right answers, build in accountability to each other, let students teach each other, and encourage students to be in tune with each other" (Vega & Terada, 2012). I had never considered modeling examples of engaged listeners and feel this would be extremely beneficial for my 7^th grade students.

References

Brown. (n.d.). Calpro-Online. Retrieved from ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education: http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docs/brown/brown01_05.pdf

Vega, V., & Terada, Y. (2012, 12 5). Research Supports Collaborative Learning. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-research

 

 

I have commented on the following blogs:

http://loridodd.blogspot.com/ Lori Dodd

http://castanosblogs.blogspot.com/ Joseline Castanos