FINAL THOUGHTS ON EDUC 6711

My personal learning theory developed a few weeks ago stated that students learn through hands-on experience and visuals as well as modeling.  I still believe in all of those, however after having been exposed to the content of this course I need to revise some of my beliefs.   I believe that it is important for learners to be exposed to a variety of instructional strategies that align with different theories.  The teacher needs to consider the particular topic to be taught, the learning styles of the students, the limitations that they face, and the resources available to make a decision as to what strategy to use.  The lesson must be engaging.  Given the digital age that we now live in and the immersion of our students in the technology, it is important for technology to be used as a learning tool to get them actively engaged in their own learning and allowing the students to develop essential twenty-first century skills.  Technology also provides more avenues for use of visuals which I firmly believe is an essential element of learning.

As a result of my exposure to this course one of the immediate adjustments I would have to make is using technology as a learning tool rather than an instructional tool.  The focus has always been on the instructor working the technology while lecturing or teaching, but it is important to place the technology in the hands of the students ad have them actively engaged in the use of the technology (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  

Two technological tools that I would like to use are the voice thread and animations.  Voice threads give the students the opportunity to express themselves and showcase their work in a new and unique way.  It provides the opportunity for them to hear themselves and listen to their thought processes, which is pertinent for them to develop their skills as learners.    Teaching geography involves the teaching of a lot of processes and I would love to explore the use of animation software to represent those processes.  It would allow the students to construct their own meaning in an engaging activity, one that would create an episodic and emotional memory which is an important catalyst for learning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).

Nine clusters of instructional skills were presented during the duration of the course.  These strategies are not new to me, however exposure to the materials presented in this course has provided clarity in their use and implementation.  The ability to use technology as a tool while incorporating these strategies provides a fresh new perspective to the teaching using these strategies. 

Two long-term goal changes in relation to my instructional practice are to deepen my technology skills and creating an atmosphere in my school that fosters technology integration.  To deepen my technology skills I plan to use the text provided in this course and also attend workshops available to me.  There are so many applications to Microsoft Word and Excel programs that I now realize that I am unfamiliar with that can be used to create engaging learning environments.  I received some interesting recommendations on how to make my classrooms more technology friendly from my voice thread assignment which I plan to explore and implement.  Hopefully once the costs are explored it will be a project that my school can fund from its own resources.  I also intend to explore the possibility of accessing a Smart board for my school and getting trained in using it.  I will explore the possibility of obtaining grant funding for that project.

My experiences participating in this course has been life-changing.  I complete it with a new perspective on how technology can make a difference in the classroom.  My perception of using technology in the classroom was teacher-centered, however I have learned that I need to place the technology in the hands of the students for learning to take place.    I look forward to the next course and to learning more.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program thirteen: Technology: Instructional tool vs. learning tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program two: Brain research and learning [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

CONNECTIVISM AND SOCIAL LEARNING

Dr. Orey in the web video produced by Laureate Education, Inc. (2011a) describes social learning theory as the social dimension of constructivism where students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others.  He goes on to explain that the learning occurs within the child’s zone of proximal development with the assistance of ‘a knowledgeable other’ who helps the child to construct meaning to the concept or skill at the time.   

An instructional strategy that embeds the use of this theory is cooperative learning, which is defined as “a teaching strategy which allows students to work in small groups with individuals of various talents, abilities and backgrounds to accomplish a common goal” (Palmer, Peters & Streetman, 2003, p. 2).  Cooperative learning works on the premise that students will be more motivated to learn because they perceive their success or failure as being dependent on their working together as a group, that it promotes critical thinking skills and that discussion helps the students to clarify concepts and ideas (Palmer et al., 2003).

Technology can play a vital role in facilitating group discussions, by allowing them to communicate outside the boundaries of time and space.  Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) describe how multimedia, web resources and communication software facilitate cooperative learning.  The use of multimedia to create artifacts such as movies creates a social learning environment where students not only work together to create the movie but to participate in the teaching process by providing feedback to classmates.  The web makes experts more accessible to students while ‘keypals’ allow students to collaborate and correspond with students from around the world, thereby providing opportunities to broaden their perspective of other cultures (Pitler et al., 2003).  On-line collaborative sites also foster social interaction in the form of bookmarking sites such as delicious and course management sites such as blackboard which we use for this course..  These sites allow for the creation of on-line communities where information is created and shared.

 George Siemens in explaining his theory of connectivity says that we’re dealing with complex environments that are systems based, where education is impacted by multiple factors such as abundant information and the primary use of technology (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  This environment forces the learner to create networks to navigate his or her learning. 

The use of multi-media, web resources for collaboration and communication and the creation of artifacts, as well as for sharing of information all fall in line with the social principles of learning.  They all involve the construction of knowledge that is student-centered through dialogue with peers, experts, parents or the wider community.

Voice threads are also a great way to foster social learning.  Here is the link to my voice thread.

https://walden.voicethread.com/share/4099593/

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program nine: Connectivism as a learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Palmer, G., Peters, R., & Streetman, R. (2003). Cooperative learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

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