Monday, August 20, 2012

Learning in a Digital World


I believe every student learns differently. For example, one student may learn better by watching a factual movie, whereas another student may benefit from listening to a song with facts presented as lyrics. I believe that every student learns to the maximum possible capacity when the method that best serves them is used while all the other methods are used in conjuncture as well. I think it is critical and non-negotiable for lessons to include visual, auditory, and tactile learning. By planning lessons that use these strategies, students can actively participate in lessons and therefore learn (Driscoll, 2005, p. 156). This is also known as Situated Cognition. On the same hand, lessons can relate to past experiences, this is known as Schema Theory (p. 126). I personally believe in every learning theory, assuming a variety of methods are used. I also believe in connectivism as a learning theory, which is when learning occurs when a student interacts with a network. According to Davis, Edmunds, and Kelly-Bateman (2008), connectivism is a type of learning that can occur within a socially and technologically enhanced network where the learner recognizes and interprets patterns.

 Technology has influenced the way I learn by providing easier and faster access to information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012.). In the past, gathering information involved finding time to go to the library, trying to think of the right key words to look up information, locating the right books, and then scanning them until finding the right information. The search took up more time than reading and retaining the information. Additionally, there was always information that could not be found in books. For example, unless someone wrote a book on how to fold a pinwheel, the way to learn involved finding someone who could make one and asking. With technology, information is delivered within seconds. However, there is little involvement in tactile learning on basic computers. Here is an example of a video that explains the use of a program that can be learned online, http://youtu.be/PI9EyGPe-oo it is visually and auditorally stimulating, but the extent of tactile learning is the use of the keyboard and mouse. That is where the SmartBoard and various other expensive technologies come into play, in order to make technology more tactile. The expense is pointed out because many schools and homes cannot afford them. On the other hand, how technology is integrated needs to be carefully considered. In this video, examples of technology integration are used in several subjects: http://youtu.be/Dsif-1dqPho. Although this video is meant to show how much faster students can do work, it also proves that long-term objectives of lessons may not be reached due to technology. For example, in the scene where one student is solving a complicated mathematics problem on paper and another is using a calculator, the one with the calculator is showing his ability to punch information correctly into a calculator. He is not showing his understanding of how to solve the problem. With that said, I believe technology should be integrated into lessons, but it is also critical that children be involved in group work that minimally uses technology. Students need to develop socially appropriate skills. Technology is not helping students develop the critical skills they need to interact with each other.
Resources
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. Emerging perspectives on
learning, teaching and technology .

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2012). Connectivism learning theory. Baltimore, MD, Author: George Siemens

Sunday, July 29, 2012

New Technologies


            It is not uncommon for people in the workplace to have low self-efficacy in experimenting with new technologies. According to the research by Little and Housand (2011), teachers' self-efficacy is determined by how comfortable they are with technology and their ability to give instruction (p. 30). If teachers have not had a great deal of professional development in this area, it is likely they will be uncomfortable. There are plenty of times that I have been in situations with people who resisted using technology. One time, I was placed in a group with two other teachers to give a presentation to the school on a familiar academic lesson. We were required to incorporate technology. We decided we would do this through the use of a Microsoft Power Point presentation. Even after explaining the use of the program to one of my partners, he still refused to use it, and asked me to complete his portion of the power point. I did it, while trying to explain what I was doing, but he just kept repeating he would never be able to learn it. I then had to go over it with him, explaining how we would present it while he was speaking, and I had to agree to be the one to click the button to go to the next slide.
            This teacher was willing to help with the project, did plenty of research for it, and wrote up a long lesson plan and speech. However, the prospect of using technology was not met with excitement. This person has no interest in using new technology because he does not use it in any other aspect of life. He has a work email, which he has one of his teacher assistants check for him. He does not have a computer at home and does not use a cell phone. He was able to graduate from college and have a number of different jobs that never needed a computer. As a result, he does not find importance for learning it. Using a computer and interacting with the different programs can be overwhelming, especially if a person attempts to do it and finds it difficult.
John Keller’s ARCS model stands for attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (Driscoll, 2005, p. 333). To gain the attention of this individual, "called an attitude of inquiry," I could have searched online for a computer program or website that would help during one of his class lessons (p. 334). It would need to be something that would enhance his lesson while requiring very little work for him related to the computer. This would capture his attention in terms of the benefits of using a computer. Additionally, seeing that the students can learn more if technology is integrated, would help him to achieve personal goals of helping the students get to a higher level (p. 335). If that situation is a positive experience, he will gain more confidence using technology (p. 336). From that, he may choose to see what else he can do with technology. Generating satisfaction is not something I believe will happen immediately with this individual. Overtime, if he continues to have success with using technology in his lessons, knowledge will be “accumulated” and "become useful" (p. 337).

Here is an interesting interviewwith John Keller
Here is a simple guide and practicefor using the ARCS to assist with learning


Resources
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
Little, C.A. & Housand, B.C. (2011, October). Avenues to professional learning online:
Technology tips and tools for professional development in gifted education. Gifted Child
Today. 34(4), 18-27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Mindmap

There are many times throughout my life that I "interact and work as a group," with other people through technology (Rheingold, 2008). Networking has changed the way I learn because at the click of a button I can instantly find information I need to increase my knowledge. Additionally, if I do not understand the information, I can find more information quickly that can support the new information I just gathered. I can also find information that contradicts and doubts the information I found.
As a basketball coach and director, in a sport that is constantly changing, it is beneficial that “everyone can have a voice and we can digitize” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012). In the past, only few people were fortunate to learn from the greatest coaches in the world. Now, the greatest coaches in the world can be accessed quickly through instructional videos provided on YouTube.com. Additionally, people who discover new moves can record them and instantly share them with everyone in the world. This has changed the way I create my own techniques with the information I learn from everyone else. I can also send my players the links so they can see drills from home and practice them. If I have questions I can also type key words from the question into YouTube and videos that relate appear.
Because YouTube.com was the best tool to facilitate learning about basketball, I decided to use it as a network to increase my knowledge as it pertains to education.   Although education does not have as many resources through YouTube as basketball does, I have been able to learn several methods of behavior management for the classroom through videos of Richard Lavoie. I can also see how other educators incorporate technology into their classroom lessons. There are also students who use YouTube for class projects and it is interesting to see their results.

Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (2012). Connectivism learning theory. Baltimore, MD, Author: George
Siemens

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Collaboration


After giving this considerable thought, I do believe humans have a basic instinct to "interact and work as a group," but humans are sometimes persuaded to act differently due to environmental factors (Rheingold, 2008).
For example, two adults may seek each other to spend a lifetime together, working as a team, and collaborating on all decisions. However, cultural values from the environment they grew up in may influence these individual into fulfilling roles that take them away from collaboration. For example, a woman being set in the role of a housewife and making all of the decisions that relate to cooking and cleaning.
Technology can facilitate collaboration among learners based on the constructivist principles through the use of the Internet. Chat rooms can be used to exchange ideas quickly with people who are separated through time and space (California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project, n.d., p. 43). Concept maps provide a visual representation of what someone is trying to explain. They allow people to add their opinions and validate or invalidate what someone else shared (California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project, n.d., p. 44). Technology can also facilitate collaboration by using social media sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. Both would allow for ideas to be collected and commented on. Because of features like “undo,” people can work on the computer on a project together and easily make changes.
Rozenszayn and Ben-Zvi (2009) conducted a study to determine if collaborative learning was a meaningful learning tool in a science classroom. Their research found that students were able to learn from one another and teach each other, which proved to be beneficial for learning (p. 124). However, all partners were paired up by their teacher in developmentally appropriate groups. It is hypothesized that if the students were paired with other students who were not around the same intellectual level, not as much progress would be made. Additionally, the students identified five criteria that needed to be present in order for collaborative learning to be successful. The criteria were "interdependence between group members for reaching a mutual goal," "collective responsibility of group members concerning difficulties," "reciprocity between group members in the form of oral explanations... geared to solve problems," "social cooperation skills," and "social processes need to be defined in advance" (p. 125). If these factors could be fulfilled, learning with other students is possible and productive.
This YouTube video, created by the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado at Boulder, shows how group work can enhance a lesson. One student explained, "when I am not learning something or I am not getting something, by working in the groups I am able to experience it through a different way. [I do this] by seeing how other people are thinking about it so that I can better understand the concept rather than the single way [the professor] explained it."

Resources

California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project. (n.d.). How does technology facilitate constructivist learing? Retrieved from: http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docs/brown/brown01_05.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

Rozenszayn, R. & Ben-Zvi, O. (2009, December). When collaborative learning meets nature: Collaborative learning as a meaningful learning tool in the ecology inquiry based project. Res Sci Edu, 41, 123-146. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Cognitivism as a Learning Theory


Theories are like windows in a house, where you can look through multiple windows into the same room and get a different view point from each window taken from this YouTube video 

I agree with Bill Kerr's (2007) observation, "these _isms do not stand still." In other words, they cannot be used solely. I personally cannot agree solely with Behaviorism, Cognitivism, or Constructivism, because there are some parts of each with which I do not agree. This reminds me of Rick Lavoie, who holds three degrees in special education. I believe his teachings of behavior management for the classroom are brilliant and most of my classroom structure is based on his philosophies. I state most, because the more I learned from him, the more I realized all of his techniques would not work in my classroom. That does not mean his ideas, techniques, and teachings are any less valuable. Perhaps in a different setting all of his philosophies would apply. There are too many factors that influence the classroom to determine why not all are possible: the students, their background, their disabilities, their behavior problems, the teacher, the support staff, the administration, the physical structure of the classroom, and so forth.
Karl Kapp (2007) agreed with Bill Kerr's ideas when he wrote, "Cognitivism doesn’t explain 100% how humans process information and neither does Constructivism or Behaviorism. What we need to is take the best from each philosophy and use it wisely to create solid educational experiences for our learners." This is what I have been doing thus far, taking what works for me the most and using that. However, in order to determine what that is, it is critical to learn all of the aspects of the _isms.
Karl Kapp (2007) summarized that lower level learning could be related to the Behaviorist approach, rule-based learning related to Cognitivism, and problem-solving related to Constructivism. This gave me a greater insight as to why all of Rick Lavoie's behavior techniques do not work in my classroom. I have an ungraded classroom of varying developmental levels and learning needs. Rick Lavoie’s techniques help the behavior management of those who are on the rule-based learning and problem-solving learning levels. Those on the lower level learning would require more of a behaviorist approach, which is not fully appropriate for Rick Lavoie's philosophies.
Here are some video clips of Rick Lavoie:
Motivational Breakthrough: http://youtu.be/ByjSIcIyDN4 
Social Skills and Learning Disabilities: http://youtu.be/ODxwotH5IEo
 
Resources
Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web
log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/
Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Teacher Metaphors

In Siemens’ (2008) “educator as a master artist” metaphor, he lists the example of how an art studio allows artists to view other people's work and therefore learn from their styles in addition to just the teachers (p. 15). This can be related to many classroom activities. For example, when students read journal entries aloud in the morning or when they create posters to represent information they learned and then look at each other’s posters. This type of learning is beneficial for the visual and tactile learner. Those who do not learn that way cannot benefit from that type of environment. A complete classroom would use this technique as well as others to create well-rounded lessons.

Siemens' (2008) metaphor of an "educator as a concierge" reminds me of John Dewey’s
(1938) ideas of traditional education. Dewey believed the teacher needed to introduce students to new materials and therefore allow them to experience new things. The concierge, like one at a hotel or mall, directs visitors to new things. They act as a guide and explain information, but are not there when the person actually leaves and tries these new things. There are some classroom activities that model these types of activities. For example, a science teacher introducing the concepts behind deoxyribonucleic acid would not actually replicate DNA in front of students, but those students may become intrigued by the information and choose to become scientists when they are older. This concept in the classroom applies to some topics, but not all.


Siemens’ (2008) metaphor of an “educator as a network administrator” is more developed than the concierge example because in this description the teacher is introducing new concepts to students, but is also helping students to draw connections with those new concepts (p. 16). In Siemens' (2008) metaphor of an "educator as curator" the teacher opens up learning opportunities for students to be exposed to new concepts (p. 17). In both of these metaphors, the teacher is not giving students the opportunity to physically engage in real-life learning situations that can later be applied to the community.  
“Educator as a master artist” best describes the role I believe an instructor should take in a digital classroom or workplace because it allows the opportunity for hands-on activity (Siemens, 2008). Being told how to use a piece of technology is far different than actually being able to use it. Students need the chance to use it, make mistakes, and learn how to correct those mistakes.

 I think the better metaphor is an educator as a coach. Coaches not only give verbal instruction, but they demonstrate drills, which provide visual learning. Coaches then allow the players to give the drill a try before proceeding. Additionally, they have players record information they learned into notebooks so they do not forget it. This incorporates every aspect of learning. Coaches are constantly motivating players by encouraging them to continue when they do something positive. They use a variety of motivational techniques to eliminate poor performance.

More examples of how a teacher can be like a coach are provided in this video presentation: http://youtu.be/M0DIJq32MbY

 Here is a slide show presentation that provides teachers as metaphors to other roles: http://www.slideshare.net/bcole/teachers-and-teaching-metaphors-presentation


Resources
Dewey, J. (1938/1997). Experience and education. New York, NY: Touchstone.

Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for
educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf