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Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

I think a majority of students construct meaning through social learning but a smaller number of students prefer different methods. A vast number of students learn more effectively when they are allowed to use collaborative practices because they are able to interact with other students and share ideas (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007, p. 139). I implement this practice about once a week in my classroom and have seen students succeed in collaborative activities where they may have failed in other activities. I have also seen some students who prefer to work by themselves and do quite well. Social learning is of the utmost importance but I believe that everyone is different so not everyone constructs the same meaning through social learning.

Implications of adopting social learning instructional practices and integrating technology tools that support and facilitate social learning are very great. By implementing these practices, educators are allowed to reach more students and allow all of them to learn interactively. Most of our students are very familiar and comfortable with technology so using it in various ways should also help students retain information better and make the learning process more relevant. Some technologies that has helped me facilitate social learning in my classroom are wikispaces, blogs, and podcasts. The students seem to enjoy these activities more and therefore retain more of the content.

Jonathan Garrett

Resources:

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructionism Strategies

Dr. Michael Orey did an excellent job in illustrating effective constructional learning strategies inside the classroom. The construction of a picture or idea in our minds is the basic notion behind constructionist beliefs. Students working with materials and an idea in order to achieve an end goal constitutes basic constructionism practices (Laureate, 2009). Dr. Orey also discussed that the work of Piaget was a predecessor to modern constructivist ideas and that students must be involved in building ideas in order to learn and build from knowledge. Technology plays an important role in this approach because so many programs, such as PowerPoint, require students to work with a topic and slowly build and create a final product. With the physical construction students are mentally constructing ideas and notions about the topic. Seymour Papert purported the more involvement with an idea, the more building of knowledge (Laureate, 2009). Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski added to this point with the description of a high school history teacher’s classroom which used two methods to teach WWII. The first was a straightforward method, recognizable to almost anyone. The latter method was an interactive web approach utilizing a game. The teacher found that the students who had more interests in the game and performed as certain leaders did in history retained more information and performed much better on the assessment (2007). This example greatly supports the theory of constructionism because the students who had a more hands-on lesson and interacted with the game performed better than students who were just lectured to. I had a similar experience when teaching the executive branch of government. Two classes were allowed to create their own ideal presidential candidate. The students picked what race, party, religion, and stance on important issues their candidate would take. These students were more successful with the executive branch because they were allowed to construct their knowledge of the office of the president.

Jonathan Garrett

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 7. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognative Learning Theory in the Classroom

After completing this week’s learning resources a few thoughts come to mind that connect some instructional strategies I use in the classroom to principles of cognitive learning theory. One method I implement and supports cognitive learning theory is the use of multimedia mapping. I recently assigned a project where the students had to find advertisements from special interest groups and annotate it using a myriad of programs. Their annotations had to highlight some of the key aspects of special interest group advertisements and their images had to contain at least 4 examples of these aspects. The students highly enjoyed this assignment and are extremely sharp when it comes to special interest groups. I attribute this to the fact that multimedia learning allows students to “both activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to help them understand new information.” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) This vivid connection supports the beliefs of Dr. Michael Orey, an expert in cognitive theory, as well. Orey stresses that for learning to be significant multiple senses must be integrated in the activity or presentation and ideas must be connected to other ideas. (Laureate, 2009) This learning activity exemplifies my best efforts to keep content relevant and fresh as long as educators’ best practices. Hopefully the integration of picture and words and the manipulation of both will aid my students now and in the future connect cognitively to the topic.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 5. Cognitive Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorists Learning Through Educational Technology

Behaviorist learning has a place in today's classroom. Behaviorism concentrates on actions that are measurable and can help keep track of a student's progress (Laureate Education, 2009). This allows students to set goals and actually see that they are making progress in a particular area. This is very relevant today because technology can be used to integrate behaviorist learning in the classroom. Students can complete online tutorials in areas where they need help and they can receive feedback on their answers. Also creating an effort and achievement spreadsheet to help students see areas they need to improve and help them associate their effort to their achievement. Behaviorist learning can be very useful in today's classroom if it is used for just more than just drill and practice and used to help students improve. Behaviorist learning in todays classroom takes advantage of the technology available and keeps students interested because they can physically see where they have made improvement.


References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2009. Behaviorist Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author

Reflection

Working on a graduate degree at Walden University has greatly advanced my skills in technology. It has opened up my eyes to a whole new world and helped me go about finding ways to expand my technology skills. This degree program has allowed me an opportunity to set long term goals to increase technology usage and integrate technology goals into the content standards set forth by the state. By continuing my studies at Walden I hope to become a teacher that can prepare my students for the 21st century workplace.

Through my studies at Walden I have learned many new skills such as creating a podcast, creating a wikispace and developing a blog. I have learned to use these in my classroom to enhance the learning of my students and make class more relevant to my students' lives. I have also learned to use these tools for my own personal benefit. With these new technology skills I have learned that I can collaborate with other teachers and get new ideas to constantly update my teaching strategies to adapt to my students' ever changing lives (Richardson, 2009). My new technology skills have allowed me to give my students the skill of collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, leadership, and creativity that they will need in the future (Laureate, 2008). Learning these new skills have made me more comfortable with technology and I feel comfortable using these with my classes. This skills have become quite invaluable in my pursuit to educate my students for the 21st century workplace.

There are many ways I can continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement. First, I believe I must be up to date on current technologies and become familiar with using them. By knowing about the newest technologies available I will be able to brainstorm ideas about using them in my classroom. Second, I must continue to collaborate with colleagues and exchange ideas about using new technologies in the classroom. By communicating with various teachers I can gain valuable information and begin to modify my lessons according to what has worked for others and what fits best with my students. Third, I must keep up with current research on what technologies are reaching students. By staying informed on current research I can use technology methods that have been proven and this will make me more confident in my lessons. All of these different ways of expanding my knowledge of technology will allow me to increase student achievement and allow them use technology that they will be required to when they enter the workforce.

There are a few steps that I can take to transform my classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals. One long term goal that I have set to achieve this is by allowing students to submit their assignments on wikispaces and blogs. I plan to post assignments on the wikispace and have students submit their assignments here. On the classroom blog students will be able to comment on other students' work and give suggestions about the assignment. I also plan to use blogs and wikis to allow students to work together on projects. This way they are collaborating with each other and become comfortable communicating through these means on more than just a social level. My second long term goal that I have set to achieve a seamlessly integrated classroom is by having everything available to my students through digital means. By posting all assignments on a wikispace or blog my students will not fall behind if they miss a day of school. This helps them use technology and helps with student achievement because they will have no excuse for missing an assignment. Also, this will allow me to have a legitimate assignment for my students if I have to miss a day of work. I can post podcasts to the blog and wikispace as a classroom assignment and have a usual assignment posted on the blog and wikispace. I hope to have my students so used to these types of assignments that if I do have to miss class they will not notice that I am absent.

Overall, my Walden experience has helped me become more technology savvy especially in my teaching practices. It has helped me with student achievement because my lessons are more relevant to my students. It has helped me prepare my students for their future in the American workforce by allowing them to use new technologies for something other that socializing. I feel far more prepared to help my students enter the 21st century than I did when I began this program. Hopefully I will one day master these teaching practices and become the best teacher my students' could ever have.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2008. Skills for the 21st Century [Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Podcast in the Classroom.

Podcasts are a resource that teachers can begin to take advantage of in the classroom. Most students are surrounded by technology and teachers need to take advantage of technology that is available to them. With podcasts a teacher can supply students with information through a media students are comfortable with. With advances in technology teachers are doing a disservice to their students iff technology is not utilized in the classroom.

I have been required to record a podcast and put it onto my blog. It is the first one I have ever done. Here it is.