ED 2203 Networked Learning Exam
Question 2:
“A social constructivist learning approach” has been proposed as a way to think about learning using social networking technologies (hardware and software). Connectivism and Constructivist Learning have also been proposed as a way to provide a theoretical basis for online learning. Having experienced a semester of learning in the Web 2.0 environment and been involved in learning using these methodologies, what do you see as the key issues for the teacher in the following areas:
a) The way in which the teacher conveys new information.
Web 2.0 is an excellent source of introducing students to a new topic or information. For example, if I were to introduce a new unit of work to students based on Shakespeare I might show them a YouTube clip like the one below:
Starting this way is entertaining for the students and it catches their interest. A teacher could also ask the students to display their current knowledge of Shakespeare through a blog instead of the traditional mind-map or class brainstorming activities. Perhaps they could share their ideas through Facebook or Myspace as distinct from the teacher writing the class’ ideas on the whiteboard in the classroom.If teacher and students have a del.icio.us account, the teacher could post websites that are relevant as an introduction to new information. I have found and posted a couple of good Shakespeare webistes at http://del.icio.us/Jean87
b) The encouragement of collaboration among students.
The most obvious way to engage students working collaboratively is through working on a wiki. Wiki’s enable the simple organization of work, multiple pages can be created with a home page and the ability to post video clips, pictures, games etc. As an example, I set up a wiki with three other people at http://uniblog.pbwiki.com
Web 2.0 provides countless other forms for students to interact with each other. Facebook and Myspace are just two examples that enable students to communicate with each other when having to work together. The easy access to other students encourages students to work in groups as they know they can communicate outside school and the awkwardness that may be present in school social groups is removed.
On-line technologies can be used to develop interactive and collaborative communication. Collaborative communication and learning can be between learners and instructors online at the same time or using electronic forums to teach and learn in their own time. Being online at the same time does not take advantage of the flexibility of online access. For this reason, students should be encouraged to use the internet at home as well as in the classroom. This is especially useful for students learning through a distance education system because online learning is adaptable to learners’ needs and circumstances. It has the ability to give learners the opportunity of working outside educational institutions such as schools and universities. All students can apply Web 2.0 to access information and incorporate knowledge and technologies into class work, homework and assessments. (From my essay found on this blog below.)
c) Classroom management methods.Using Web 2.0 in the classroom gives students a lot of responsibility. The teacher has to make it clear that they trust the students to use the technologies for appropriate reasons but teachers should always keep a record of students’ web addresses for their blogs, wikis etc so that they can monitor their use.
This giving of responsibility is good for students’ morale’s. Letting them own their own space within Web 2.0 gives them a sense of ownership. A great site for this is iGoogle. (at www.igoogle.com) This site can work as a home page. Students can customize the site to suit their interests, adding tabs such as sport, entertainment etc. As an example, my iGoogle page has tabs which give me easy access to Facebook and Myspace, teaching resources, social networks, and lighter things like games.
When using Web 2.0 as part of class/ home work, there should be an equal amount of group and individual work. This is so students do not always rely on other students to organize and complete work but also enables them to collaborate with others and form social networking skills.
Group work in the classroom is not always productive so group numbers and members need to be monitored so that maximum productivity is obtained.
d) Ensuring that learning occurs at Bloom’s higher levels.
To the left is a diagram of the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy. Creating is the least challenging of tasks. Understanding and remembering result in deeper learning. For this reason the creation of a blog or wiki alone is not sufficient for a students learning. When a student uses Web 2.0 to learn they must also show an application of what they know, understanding, and remembering. A good example of this may be what I am doing now, an exam posted on a blog and using other web 2.0 technologies. This results in students applying their knowledge, having to understand the information and recreating it so others can understand, and shows a remembering of information.
Connectivism is a good example of learning at a deeper level like the understanding and remembering levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Web 2.0 is an online source of information and therefore becomes one of the principles of connectivism in that it is a non-human appliance. In an article called “Connectivism”, by George Siemens (2005), other principles of connectivism are outlined. Siemens says that connectives are important in the learning process as new information is continually being acquired by the brain and the ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. Principles of connectivism that apply to Web 2.0 include the process of connection specialised nodes or information sources; nurturing and maintaining connections to facilitate continual learning; and the ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts. All this can be gained by the use of Web 2.0. Its size and easy access ensure it is an essential information source and learning resource. (From the essay I wrote located on this blog.)
ED 2203 Networked Learning Exam
Question 1:
a) Learning project web address: http://msouthet.wordpress.com/
b)Discuss five of the key issues you had to struggle with to get this project to work.
i. My first issue was to think of a suitable topic within the English syllabus to transfer to an assignment using Web 2.0 and enabled parent participation. I decided to create a topic on Shakespeare because the majority of people (i.e. parents) would be familiar with it and I knew there would be plenty of resources to be found on YouTube etc.
ii. My second issue was deciding whether to have the students use a blog or a wiki. I thought a blog might be easier for them but because the assignment was going to consist of several parts, a wiki would therefore be more appropriate in terms of the organization of the assignment on several pages.
iii. My third issue was the actual setting of the project. I wanted it to be aimed at deeper learning and the encouragement of developing own opinions and ideas of a text. With this in mind I decided to have three parts to the assessment. The first aimed at having the students develop an understanding of Shakespeare by evaluating themes, characters, and the language of the texts. The second part revolved around the students giving their own opinion of the text and viewing the opinions of educated critics and the student’s parents. The final part asked the students to evaluate all the opinions, comparing and analyzing them.
iv. The fourth issue concerned how I would present this project as my own assessment. I set up a new blog using the name ‘Ms Outhet’ as though it were a blog I would use as a teacher and communicate to my students through.
v. The final issue I had was developing a timeline for the students to follow in their completion of the project. I do not think I would have normally thought to add this in to an assignment notification. I think I would let students come up with their own structure as a part of developing their own learning skills.
c)
Evaluate the worth of the collaborative nature of this project in light of the motivation that comes from within the person. I believe my project has a worthy collaborative nature. This is because not all the project relies on the entire group working together. It gives students individual activities to complete as well as group activities. Thus students who like to have power and control are not intimidating their group members in all aspects as well as enabling less power oriented students to work freely. The teaching of parents by students how to use a wiki also enables students to interact with the project and take responsibility. It is still a group project so students are able to interact with each other and gain encouragement and fulfill their natural roles as social beings.I used http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Dreikurs,_Rudolf in the forming of my answer to question 1 c).
ESSAY!
ED2203 Networked Learning
By Jean
Web 2.0 is essentially an increasing range of software that supports a variety of technologies for open and collaborative communication, learning and creativity.
Web 2.0 consists of a browser based platform. A browser is a program for viewing web pages such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. The web browser is not only the way to view web pages, but also a package for downloading files, viewing news feeds and much more. The platform operates on open and collaborative principles and communications are the key applications. Different browsers are used for different tasks. Internet Explorer (IE) is the most widely used browser according to Buckley & Clark (2007), however their opinion is that it is not as good as Firefox and Safari. Firefox is an open-source web browser. Open-source is an idea where the source code for computer programs should be made freely available to others. Being freely available means products that are open source are not sold but given away. Firebox has a built-in Google search box, address bar searching which can be customised and excellent privacy and security. It also has a huge range of features and for all these reasons it is ideal for use in computer-based classrooms.
Web 2.0 consists largely of social networking technologies. This includes personalised and open collaborative knowledge spaces such as wikis in which a group of people set up an open-source, editable webpage to share information. The best known of these is the multi language Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia” which is written by millions of contributors. Wikipedia articles have a “copyleft” licence, which means they are freely accessible forever. Problems exist with other information sources because of copyright. Copyright is a legal principle which protects the right of the original producer of a work. The use of digital technology in the distribution of work has allowed the infringement of copyright law. The author of Blogging, Nat McBride (2006), refers users of Web 2.0 to the Creative Commons organisation which tells people how to manage their own rights and understand the rights of others.
The social networking aspect of Web 2.0 also enables the user to access people as well as knowledge. Using sites such as Facebook and Myspace, people can interact with others, sharing information and building relationships. For students, this can occur outside the formalities of the classroom and enable them to communicate with others at any time. Within Web 2.0 people become a combination of consumers and publishers of content and services in that they can search for information for their own use and transfer original information to websites. Such people are called Produsers.
Wikipedia is an example of contributing original material to a website. Other technological examples of the individual as a publisher are email, online discussion forums and blogs. Blogs are simply personal web pages that read like a diary. As well as those Web 2.0 social networking technology already mentioned there are YouTube for sharing videos, Flickr for sharing photographs, del.icious for sharing websites. Podcasts are audioblogs in the form of an Mp3 file.
Web 2.0 is an online source of information and therefore becomes one of the principles of connectivism in that it is a non-human appliance. In an article called “Connectivism”, by George Siemens (2005), other principles of connectivism are outlined. Siemens says that connectives is important in the learning process as new information continually being acquired by the brain and the ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. Principles of connectivism that apply to Web 2.0 include the process of connection specialised nodes or information sources; nurturing and maintaining connections to facilitate continual learning; and the ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts. All this can be gained by the use of Web 2.0. Its size and easy access ensure it is an essential information source and learning resource.
Some of the most popular and successful innovations of both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, owe this success according to Tim O’Reilly (2005) to having “embraced the power of the web to harness collective intelligence.” He sees “hyperlinking” as “the foundation of the web” as the new content of new sites is added in to the web.
On-line learning depends on the effective communication of human knowledge. Effective communication depends on having two-way communication between teacher and learners, and among learners themselves. To be effective, online learning must respond to the social situation of the learners and should involve them actively in the learning process. On-line technologies can be used to develop interactive and collaborative communication. Collaborative communication and learning can be between learners and instructors online at the same time or using electronic forums to teach and learn in their own time. Being online at the same time does not take advantage of the flexibility of online access. For this reason, students should be encouraged to use the internet at home as well as in the classroom. This is especially useful for students learning through a distance education system because online learning is adaptable to learners’ needs and circumstances. It has the ability to give learners the opportunity of working outside educational institutions such as schools and universities. All students can apply Web 2.0 to access information and incorporate knowledge and technologies into class work, homework and assessments.
M.S. Bowles wrote in 2004 that his form of learning “supports and educational philosophy in which learners are active players in the process of learning.” (P 6.) Bowles then also lists the top four benefits of on-line learning. They are “Learner control; accessibility from everywhere provided learner has internet access; availability on demand; offers) personalised learning.” (p 6)
Web-based training means that Web 2.0 is an educational medium. It transfers information and knowledge quickly on time at any time. It requires electronic exchange of information from the teacher to the student.
Bowles says that on-line learning is “most effective when it is employed within a framework off ‘co-operative goal structure’ whereby individual students can attain their personal objectives only if they work with their fellow students towards shared goals.” And “teachers need to take an active role in the creation of a socially cohesive group.”(p 107) However, he also points out that “collaborative learning places responsibilities on learners as well as facilitators.”
If web-based learning to be effective its outcomes must be evaluated by studying students’ satisfaction, their learning results and their post study use of what they have learned. To learn the effectiveness there should be standards in relation to learning objectives and learning technology.
For teachers, Web 2.0 offers the ability to log students into ‘classes’, establish work groups, manage interaction between students and receive feedback. For example, if a class task was to incorporate work into a wiki, the teacher would have ready access to observe the progress of the task by viewing the web site. From the feedback, the teacher may also find that a new classroom management strategy is required, or that classroom rules will need to be different. Teachers of distance education students would have to remember that many of the students may never actually know each other.
Web 2.0 supports a variety of technologies for open and collaborative communication, learnignand creativity. It consists largely of social networking technologies and can bedome a principle of connectivism. On-line learnig and Web 2.0 are effective in the classroom in encouraging effective communication and promoting students’ active participation in their own learning.
References
Buckley, P. & Clark, D. The Internet. Penguin Books, London, 2007.
McBride, N. Blogging. Hodder Education, London, 2006.
Bowles, M. S. Relearning to E-Learn: Strategies for electronic learning and knowledge. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne,2004.
Siemens, G. 2004, ‘Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age’, eLearnspace.
(http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm)
O’Reilly, T. 2005, What is Web 2.0, design patterns and Business models for the Next Generationof Software.”
(http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228)
25/10
Semantic Web
- different to google; searches for ideas, structures, and sentences, rather than words.
- searches for meaning
Commercialisation of Web
iGoogle – ideal for students to have their own iGoogle space so they have something that’s their own in cyberspace.
What is Web 2.0
This video hosted by Andy Gutman defines what Web 2.0 is and how its impacting the world.
ED 2203 project
Develop a learning project using Web 2.0 technologies.
- Must have some completion done at home
- Must have parent involvement. Thus parents will understand the modern learning that is being used in school – students learn by teaching someone else.
- Construct in a way that parents must contribute – teacher to parent communication about project.
- Assume parents are willing but have little knowledge/experience with Web 2.0.
Aim at grade 7 or 8
Group work – no more than three = three families. Possible grouping by linking of parents. therefore motivated by need to produce equal work as other parents.
Find out by researching how parents are involved in the education of their children. When you find a good website post it on del.icio.us
use article by Sara Bradshaw from http://www.cs.tcd.ie/Sara.Bradshaw/portfolio/research/respaper.doc
Make sure project fulfills Board of Studies outcomes and objectives
Use Blooms taxonomy
Use Gardners Multiple Intelligences – analytic, introspective and interactive
Establishing community of learning between 3 students and their families
Students should not spend more than 6 hours on the project
Action Research
from: http://education.qld.gov.au/students/advocacy/equity/gender-sch/action/action.html
The action research process is well established as an excellent approach to understanding and acting on issues in schools, including those concerning gender. Action research is a simple, effective tool for schools wanting to constantly improve their work on issues of their own choice.
Teachers, administrators, students and others can fully own and drive the action research process. Participants choose a focus, gather data, reflect on and share their findings, plan for action, carry it out, check their results, and plan for further action. This cycle of steps – act, observe, reflect, plan – supports ongoing improvement, validated by collecting and evaluating local data.
Find out more about action research:
- The advantages for school communities.
- The action research cycle.
- Getting started.
- Teachers talk about action research.
- Tools for data gathering.
- Useful resources.
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Read how Waterford West State School got started with action research. |
Article about how teachers cope with Web 2.0 technologies in schools
Chronicle of Higher Education; 7/6/2007, Vol. 53 Issue 44, pB4-B4, 1p
September 13th, 2007
The article offers the opinions of several academics regarding a claim that collaborative online services and user generated sites like Slashdot, Digg, Myspace, Blogger, Youtube, and Wikipedia, are bad for society. Michael Gorman, former president of the American Library Association and the recently retired dean of library services at California State University at Fresno, made the claims against Web 2.0 sites in a series of postings on the Encyclopedia Britannica Online Web site. The article presents opinions from scholars that agree and disagree with Gorman, some of the scholars featured include Meredith Farkas, professor at Norwich University, John Miedema, professor at the University of Western Ontario, and Clay Shirky, professor at New York University.
Article on the psychology of learning in a connected way online
This Article was found using the database PsychINFO. Its a helpful research document in determining how people learn online. The document was compiled by Kurubacak, Gulsun
Building knowledge networks through project-based online learning: A study of developing critical thinking skills via reusable learning objects.
The main purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the main characteristics of project-based online learning (PBOL) to promote learners’ critical learning skills through reusable learning objects (RLOs) from global online resources. Based on the main purpose of this study and the concerns, the key research inquiries are: (1) How does a PBOL environment improve the learners’ critical thinking skills via RLOs? (2) What are the patterns of the learners’ critical thinking skills in a PBOL environment when they focus on building and delivering RLOs? and (3) What are the learning impacts and communicational outcomes of a PBOL environment on the learners’ critical thinking skills when they work with RLOs? This is a qualitative case study that utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data to provide detailed information to the researcher for the data collection. The research site was the Designing and Delivering an E-Learning Environment graduate course at the Department of Distance Education of Social Sciences Institute in the large urban and government-based University in the Spring Semester 2004. There were totally 11 learners (three of them were men and the rest of them were women) in this course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)(from the journal abstract)
To access the article in full go to: Computers in Human Behavior
