Learning in a Digital World

As a lifelong learner, I believe technology plays a major part in my learning experience.  Using technology, I am able to connect and collaborate with other scholars who may or may not have the same views/opinions that I may have.  I am able to share my thoughts/ideas with others, and gain a better understanding of concepts that I struggle to understand.  Having the ability to learn with and from others using technology has broaden my horizon, and has made me a better person/educator.  Learning through an online environment has change the way I view education.  Not only am I able to learn from others, but I am also building meaningful relationships through various technology devices.  I have the flexibility of setting my schedule to meet deadlines within my coursework as well as attend classes (online)and collaborate with classmates on a daily basis without having to fight traffic, smile.  I am able to achieve my goal of completing Graduate School, and gain the experience necessary to assist me in being successful in my career.  Online learning environments are different from face-to-face learning environments because they provide you with opportunities to maintain a full-time job while attending college, and they teach you how to multi task unlike a regular classroom setting.  In an online ;earning environment, you have options to use several different  programs to maintain files and email in order to be successful in your studies . The course work is distributed online through email or posted on websites. The Internet is ideally suited to bring together all kinds of learning tools. Papers and assignments are submitted by email. The entire learning process is online.

My philosophy of learning is children learn as a whole person.  They develop and learn through interacting physically, socially, emotionally, morally, aesthetically, and cognitively.   Learning occurs at different rates and styles for all children.   Learning is a process that enables an individual to construct their own views of the world, and it must be meaningful and relevant to the students’ interest.  Learning consist of hands-on experiences which challenge individuals to develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills that will prepare them for real world situations.  Learning should motivate,inspire, and be engaging to all learners.  In teaching and learning, student learning should be the focus in the classroom environment.  What is critical and non-negotiable in teaching and learning?  Using flexible teaching strategies that will accommodate all students to be successful in their academics is vital in teaching and learning.  Educators must develop and teach classroom curriculums that promote self-directed learning and  provide continual evaluations to assess their students to ensure they are learning theintended concepts.  Learning should be student-centered, and it must guide them to utilize prior knowledge skills to scaffold new information.  Teaching and learning should provide students with opportunities to interact and collaborate with their peers to develop their social skills.  Teachers must also incorporate the use of technology into their classrooms to aid students in finding information and understanding it through the learning process.  The use technology  enhances learning, and learners are connected to various resources needed to link information together.   According to Driscoll (2005), learning is a persist change in human performance and performance potential.  This focuses on views of behaviorism, cognitivism, and contructivism theories.  These theories view learning is acquired through either reasoning and/or experiences. 

References

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

I responded to the following classmates’ blogs:  Dorothea Nelson @  http://dorotheanelson.blogspot.com/ and Sandra Longan @ http://sandralogan.wordpress.com/.

Module 5: Using new technology and software within the classroom setting!

Before enrolling into Walden's Education Technology Program, I wasn't very familiar with implementing technology devices and software into classroom curriculums.  However, now that I have become more familiar with implementing and using technology and software, I am constantly encouraging my colleagues to think "outside the box" and use technology within their class lessons, activities, and projects.  On the other hand, I have one colleague who refuses to use any technology within her classroom, and at times, it is very difficult for us to collaborate on lessons together.  I have offered to assist her in learning how to create lessons, tasks, and other activities using devices such as "clickers", blogs, wikis, Googledocs, etc., but I have been unsuccessful.  As a result, I developed a Study Guide that incorporated using the “clickers”.  The students were very involved in the activity, and my colleague was impressed as well.  She enjoyed the activity as much as the students did, and she wants to learn how to use more technology within our classroom curriculum.  I am very excited to see that she is more optimistic in implementing other technology devices and software within the classroom.  She is actually planning to teach a lesson using blogs with our students.  KUDOS to my colleague to stepping out of her comfort zone to ensure that our students gain an opportunity to access technology within their learning environment.


I posted comments to the following classmates' blogs:  Segla Kossivi @ http://skossivi.blogspot.com/2012/11/new-technologies-in-classroom-new-york_3880.html#comment-form, and Brandy Hiett @ http://bhiett.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/john-kellers-arcs-motivation-model/#respond.

Module- 4: Shannon's Network

Networking is essential to me whether it's Professional and/or Personal.  Networking has provided me with opportunities to connect and collaborate with other colleagues, friends, family, classmates, and parents.   I am able to read others' posts as well as respond to their posts.  I am able to learn new information and obtain clarification when I do not understand new content and concepts.  I feel very comfortable asking questions and asking for assistance.  Blogs, wikis, Blackboards, Facebook, and Skype best facilitate my learning. 

I have responded to Danita's blog @ http://danitaspot.blogspot.com/2012/10/module-4-connectivism.html?showComment=1351463463164#c8175019480790982063 and Dorothea's blog @ http://dorotheanelson.blogspot.com/2012/10/connectivism-my-personal-technological.html#comment-form.

Collaboration

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?

After listening and watching Rheingold’s video, I do not believe that humans have a basic instinct to interact and work as a group.  Socializing amongst others is a skill that must be developed over time.  Collaboration occurs when a group of people work together to obtain a specific purpose.  I do feel that in order for a group of individuals to work together on an assigned task all members must be involved in the assigned task, and each member must contribute in the assigned task.

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

Technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles by allow students opportunities to develop higher-order thinking skills, define problems, evaluate information, solve problems, and make conclusions based on the information retrieved for their research.  Technology assists learners to processing new information, gather information, find answers about the information, and to collaborate with others to apply what has been learned.  Technology provides opportunities for learners to demonstrate their understanding of learned skills.   Technology allows students to experience more diverse and socially rich learning contexts through emails, social media sites, and other telecommunication devices.  Using technology learners are able to communicate with others groups of people from around the world, gather research, discuss the research, and work collaboratively and cooperatively.

•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.

The research study that I found was conducted in 2009 entitled, “The Impact of Online Collaboration Learning on Educators and Classroom Practices.  This article can be found @ http://www.cisco.com/web/about/citizenship/socioeconomic/docs/Metiri_Teacher_Collaboration_Research.pdf.

This research study was conducted to determine if students were more successful in their academics when their teachers participated in long-term, collaborative, whole school professional developments compared to those teachers who worked in isolation to teacher their students.  The results yielded that those students performed better academically when their teachers worked collaboratively with other teachers in planning and teaching classroom lessons, activities, etc.  Students feel their needs were being met by all their teachers, and they feel a sense of comfort in their teacher’s classrooms.

Reference

Metiri Group, (2009).  The impact of online collaborative learning on educators and classroom practices.  The Cisco Systems.  Cisco Public Inc.  San Jose, CA.    Information was retrieved on October14, 2012 from http://www.cisco.com/web/about/citizenship/socioeconomic/docs/Metiri_Teacher_Collaboration_Research.pdf.

 

I replied to Dorothea on Danita Dean’s blog @ http://danitaspot.blogspot.com/ , and I have responded to Kristy Burrough @ http://kburrough2012.blogspot.com/2012/10/collaboration.html#comment-form.

 

Cognitivism as a Learning Theory

What should we do about-isms?  According to Bill Kerr (2007), -isms are offering something useful without any of them being complete or stand alone in their own right.  As I continue to study the learning theory, I realize that behaviorism, constructivism, and cognitivism are all a part of the learning process.   In order for educators to ensure their students are successful in their academic setting, they must teach them how to develop their cognitive skills such memorizing and recalling information to formulate responses necessary to begin the thinking process.  Once those cognitive skills have been developed, students can then begin to analyze information which enables them to solve problems and formulate answers to real world situations.  Students will then be able to develop and apply their collaborative skills in social arenas which will aid them in mastering and conquering their and creative skills.  This process will eventually guide students to become independent, self-confidence learners within the world.  Of course, educators must keep in mind that all students learn differently and at different rates, so offering creative and flexible learning activities within their classroom curriculums will aid them in meeting all the needs of their students.

According to Karl Kapp (2007), learners are complex information-processing systems who must first understand how the human brain processes information.  As educators, we must take and use elements of all the –isms to create engaging, life-learning experiences within our classrooms for our students.  If students are not able to comprehend information in a timely manner, we must redesign our lessons to accommodate their learning styles to aid them in being successful and productive individuals.

References

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved on September 26, 2012; from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html.

 Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved on September 26, 2012; from http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/.

I responded to David Phenix’s blog @ http://davidphenix.blogspot.com and Renee Johnson’s blog @ www.uga9904.blogspot.com.  

 

What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?

Learning is the process of drawing connections between what is already known, learned or understand and new information.  When learning occurs, people are encoding and storing information in memory, processing, categorizing, and clustering information that will be applied at the appropriate times and situations.  Using prior knowledge skills are very vital to the learning process, and in order for learning to occur, facts, concepts, and ideas must be stored, connected to other facts, concepts, and ideas must be built upon.   I believe people learn best when they are motivated to learn, have hands-on experiences, receive feedback, and are able to understand what they have been taught.  When children and adults are motivated to learn, they are more receptive to engage and participate in learning new concepts.   Motivating people to develop and use new skills tends to be easier if they want to learn the information.  People tend to focus more when they want to learn versus being forced to learn.  Hands-on experiences provide an opportunity for people to practice new skills by trial and error, making mistakes, and by be active involved in their learning experience.  People also learn from feedback whether it’s positive and/or negative.  The way other people view our ideas, actions, etc. plays a vital part in how we learn.  Often time people are judged by the actions and what they say which eventually effects how they learn new skills.  Lastly, in order for people to learn, they must understand/grasp what they are taught.   People must sort out what is important to memorize and retain, and differentiate between what is useful to build upon versus what is not important to store in our brains. 

The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is the study and practice of facilitating learning to improve an individual’s performance by using various technology resources such as software, wikis, blogs, internet, etc. to enhance and develop the human’s capabilities.

Reference

Hilgard, E.R. & Bowers, G.H.  (1975). Theories of learning.  Englewoods, Cliffs.  Prentice-Hall, Inc.


I posted to the following people's blogs: Tiffany Thompson @
http://thompson7105.blogspot.com/2012/09/module-1-assignment_16.html?showComment=1348426045001#c8380135381350926195 and

Karen Tino @ http://ktino1.wordpress.com.