Post 1: Google Groups
William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” John Dewey said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
Meaningful learning does not begin with the student; it begins with the teacher. What is more, teaching is not just what the teacher does, it is the environment that exists between co-creators – teacher and student. Jonassen, Howland, Marra, and Crismond (2007) argue that the driving force of learning is “…the understanding of and effort invested in completing a task or activity” (p.2). I believe that this level of understanding and investment of effort begins with educators’ commitment to individual students; and therefore student success. Great teachers understand that, “Humans naturally work together in learning and knowledge-building communities, exploiting each others’ skills and appropriating each others’ knowledge” (Jonassen et al., 2007).
Take a look at this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mojHYBDM6iQ&feature=related
What do you think? Do you think the makers of this infomercial are mutually invested in the success of their students?
Jonassen (2005) suggests that, "Through experience and reflection, they reorganize and add conceptual complexity to their theories as they learn...Conceptual change occurs when learners change their understanding of the concepts they use and of the conceptual frameworks that encompass them" (p.4).
One of the web 2.0 tools that I use to help facilitate conceptual change is Google Groups. The bedrock of web 2.0 is the collaborative, interactive, and user-centered design that fosters the process that learners undergo as they engage concepts - using the web as a platform.
This instructional video demonstrates the power of web 2.0 via a Google Application to make the process of learning the focus of the learning community - hence facilitating meaningful learning.
Post 2: Google Docs
Solomon and Schrum (2007) state: "The Web 2.0 movement stems fromt he concept that the Web (rather than a proprietary network) is the platform on which everything is built and users control their own data" (p.46). Google Docs is a powerful web 2.0 tool that allows users to do exactly what the authors describe - control their data.
As a Google account member, you have the ability to create a document that can be edited, modified, and shared with other users. The tool is not limited to word processing; you can create and share slide presentations, spreadsheets, forms, or drawings. Templates are also available to choose from.
The power of the tool is that others can update the document from their own computers - even at the same time in real time. In an educational setting, Google Docs affords teachers and students with a forum to conduct synchronous and asynchronous communication. What is more, at any given time, that document can be accessed by both private group members and/or the public - depending on what parameters the owner (creator) 0f the document prescribes.
In almost every class that I've taken at NMSU, I have used Google Docs to collaborate within my virtual learning communities. This instructional video demonstrates how to create and manage a Google document.
Post 3: Skype
Marc Prensky (2004) argues: "the educational software we use...should be created by the 'world' mind,' should not belong to any of us, and should be available, for free, to anybody, anywhere, who wants to use it" (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p.71).
Although Skype is not educational software, it is within this framework that Prensky emphasizes - the 'world mind' - that Skype can be best understood. Communication and collaboration are two 21st century skills that are vital to a global economy. Acording to Solomon and Schrum (2007), the Theory of Connectivism is an approach to learning consideres technology as the key factor that propels prevaling learning theories into the digital age.
Siemens (2004) argues, "Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions..." (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p.40). Skype provides a platform or forum for the "diversity of opinions" to come together via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or video conferencing. VoIP is routing voice conversations over the web or through an IP-based network (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).
This is a powerful web 2.0 tool because it operated within the framework of interoperability and interactive information sharing. Teachers and students can chat with or without video about assignments; they can collectively brainstorm ideas, and/or reach beyond virtual learning barriers in online classes by getting to know one another via Skype. Information shared on Skype is never passive - it is always user-centered and collaboration based.
This instructional video demonstrates how to download and launch Skype; and how to make a Skype call.
William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” John Dewey said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
Meaningful learning does not begin with the student; it begins with the teacher. What is more, teaching is not just what the teacher does, it is the environment that exists between co-creators – teacher and student. Jonassen, Howland, Marra, and Crismond (2007) argue that the driving force of learning is “…the understanding of and effort invested in completing a task or activity” (p.2). I believe that this level of understanding and investment of effort begins with educators’ commitment to individual students; and therefore student success. Great teachers understand that, “Humans naturally work together in learning and knowledge-building communities, exploiting each others’ skills and appropriating each others’ knowledge” (Jonassen et al., 2007).
Take a look at this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mojHYBDM6iQ&feature=related
What do you think? Do you think the makers of this infomercial are mutually invested in the success of their students?
Jonassen (2005) suggests that, "Through experience and reflection, they reorganize and add conceptual complexity to their theories as they learn...Conceptual change occurs when learners change their understanding of the concepts they use and of the conceptual frameworks that encompass them" (p.4).
One of the web 2.0 tools that I use to help facilitate conceptual change is Google Groups. The bedrock of web 2.0 is the collaborative, interactive, and user-centered design that fosters the process that learners undergo as they engage concepts - using the web as a platform.
This instructional video demonstrates the power of web 2.0 via a Google Application to make the process of learning the focus of the learning community - hence facilitating meaningful learning.
Post 2: Google Docs
Solomon and Schrum (2007) state: "The Web 2.0 movement stems fromt he concept that the Web (rather than a proprietary network) is the platform on which everything is built and users control their own data" (p.46). Google Docs is a powerful web 2.0 tool that allows users to do exactly what the authors describe - control their data.
As a Google account member, you have the ability to create a document that can be edited, modified, and shared with other users. The tool is not limited to word processing; you can create and share slide presentations, spreadsheets, forms, or drawings. Templates are also available to choose from.
The power of the tool is that others can update the document from their own computers - even at the same time in real time. In an educational setting, Google Docs affords teachers and students with a forum to conduct synchronous and asynchronous communication. What is more, at any given time, that document can be accessed by both private group members and/or the public - depending on what parameters the owner (creator) 0f the document prescribes.
In almost every class that I've taken at NMSU, I have used Google Docs to collaborate within my virtual learning communities. This instructional video demonstrates how to create and manage a Google document.
Post 3: Skype
Marc Prensky (2004) argues: "the educational software we use...should be created by the 'world' mind,' should not belong to any of us, and should be available, for free, to anybody, anywhere, who wants to use it" (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p.71).
Although Skype is not educational software, it is within this framework that Prensky emphasizes - the 'world mind' - that Skype can be best understood. Communication and collaboration are two 21st century skills that are vital to a global economy. Acording to Solomon and Schrum (2007), the Theory of Connectivism is an approach to learning consideres technology as the key factor that propels prevaling learning theories into the digital age.
Siemens (2004) argues, "Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions..." (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p.40). Skype provides a platform or forum for the "diversity of opinions" to come together via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or video conferencing. VoIP is routing voice conversations over the web or through an IP-based network (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).
This is a powerful web 2.0 tool because it operated within the framework of interoperability and interactive information sharing. Teachers and students can chat with or without video about assignments; they can collectively brainstorm ideas, and/or reach beyond virtual learning barriers in online classes by getting to know one another via Skype. Information shared on Skype is never passive - it is always user-centered and collaboration based.
This instructional video demonstrates how to download and launch Skype; and how to make a Skype call.
Conceptual Change: All three web 2.0 applications support Jonassen's (2005) premise: "Conceptual change arises from the interaction between learners' experiences and learners' conceptions while engaged in problem solving or some higher order cognitive activity" (p.5).
What are higher order cognitive activities? Bloom's Digital Taxonomy catagorizes them as the following: http://schaefferyouth.pbworks.com/f/Blooms%20Digital%20Taxonomy%20Pic.png
All three applications that I discussed and demonstrated operate within "Creating" in the digital taxonomy, which is at the top of the higher order thinking skills - to inlcude:
Generating/creating new ideas,
products, or ways of viewing
things (Putting
together/combining ideas,
concepts or elements to develop/
construct/build an original idea or
engage/stimulate in creative
thinking).
Designing, Constructing,
Planning, Producing, Inventing,
Devising, Making, Building,
Programming, Filming,
Animating, Blogging, Video
Blogging, Mixing, Remixing,
Wiki-ing, Publishing,
Videocasting, Podcasting,
Directing/producing
"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change."
~Carl Rogers
Web 2.0 teaches learners how to learn and change.
