Connectivism

My networks have helped me by providing access to tools which enhance my skills. There are several tools I concentrate on because they provide the simplicity and quality- enhancing traits to help my students make their own personal connection to my content. One of the greatest thing I can contribute to my network contacts is I know my successes and near-misses are shared by others and together we are making a difference.

The digital tools which facilitate learning for me are resources which provide opportunities to be creative. For example www.blabberize.com provides an oral study guide with a visual twist to help trigger my learning curve. This website has many short videos I can browse to use or to get suggestions.

When I have questions about new knowledge I go to the youtube web site. It seems as though there is a visual presentation on almost every possible situation. This is an exaggeration, but the site has millions of learning videos. For example, I was watching a movie with a scene of how to opening a car door with a tennis ball and for fun I searched for the video and it was actually posted. When my little video helper is of little help, I try searching blogs or various educational sites such as EDUCASE and Kathy Schrock.

Here’s a link to browse my suggestions http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/

I thought this blog provided some very interesting information to consider

http://www.netfamilynews.org/?p=30288

Module 3

Jasmine and Gary were the two blogs I provided responses to. Each was very enlightening with very knowledgeable insights.  

Collaboration

The information on collaboration can be found at the following link

http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/collaboration/MAW_WP.pdf

Rheingold’s video was very funny. It funny how easily new innovations can be viewed at fresh innovations.

I believe there is a basic instinct in humans to interact and work as a group.  Of course, this does not mean an individual cannot be anti-social or prefer to spend time alone.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a detailed explanation of the impact of belonging. Working as a group could be a one time event, but humans repeat the action. Even when the end result of a group activity is disastrous, this will not prevent individuals from visiting group ventures in the future. Humans are like moths attracted to the intoxicating light of working with others.  

How would technology help me facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles? There are many subtle ways the wonderous web 2.0 tools can help, but I will just offer three.  I have decided to create a study guide to help my students understand how various forms of government impact citizen participation. An interactive component of the resource would be much more engaging and provide a learning experience students can connect with. Technology can help me in various ways to ensure the information exchange is two-way and relevant. For instance, I could Google Docs to share spreadsheets, Vyew to capture a screen or Thinkature for visual communication.

Here is a link about homo sapiens. It has a very interesting point to consider from the first line.

http://human-macroecology.blogspot.com/

I came across this next blog as I thought of how to answer the prompt

How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?

http://andrewhickman.edublogs.org/2011/02/22/constructivism-and-constructionism-in-the-classroom/

Here is a video of a social studies classroom with students taking ownership of their learning environment

http://youtu.be/p6pFMPSWBds

(2006, March). [Meetings around the world: The impactof collaboration on business performance]. Retrieved April 13, 2011 from http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/collaboration/MAW_WP.pdf
 Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

module 2 posting

Jamie's blog was interesting. I thought I had added the second posting as required. Fortunately, I am a follower of Jamie's blog, so locating my response was not that difficult.

module two posting

I became a follower of my classmate Lamont's blog, but did not see my posting. Of course, I am not happy since I thought my original posting was pretty good. But not to worry I have fixed this small glitch.

module one posting

I became a follower of two of my classmates.
The link for Sullus' blog is http://sullusteagueeduc-8845.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The link for LaKeisha's blog is http://sullusteagueeduc-8845.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
I responded to Gary's blog. His blog can be found at the following link
http://mraedcu8845.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/module-1/#comments
I responded to Kathi's blog. Her blog can be found at the following link
http://klmiddleton.blogspot.com/