So this week stretched my boundaries a little bit with some of our learning.    I’ve always been a viewer of podcasts, but never participated in them because I don’t like to hear myself on audio recordings or see myself on tape.  This week I have to go outside those comfort zones to complete my podcasting assignment.  But it will be good for me to have to explore and use new tools.

And for those of you who have children, you can totally identify with my thinking about the Disney show “Good Luck Charlie” this week and the video diary series that Teddy was making for her baby sister.

Now on to the directed questions about some great stuff we read and watched this week!

• What types of learning outcomes/goals are being supported by these various media?

In the first article, their were several learning outcomes supported by the podcasts:   Teacher-education centered (math tutoring videos I took on statistics come to mind), marketing driven and technology driven (anything about an I-phone feature or new feature of a phone comes to mind and fits these categories), and service driven (mission focused and cause focused podcasts).    They didn’t mention entertainment podcasts, but there are quite a bit of those out there too!  My daughter is a huge Vine fan, and she sees hysterical things all the time.

• How are these media being used to support formal and informal learning?

I think we’ve seen both examples of this in this weeks videos and learning,   The humor based video that was presented in the Flickr article I think was more an example of informal learning.  I watch videos on YouTube all the time to learn tips about dog training and scrap booking tips and ideas – which I consider informal learning as well.   Formal learning takes place more through things like “Podcast University” where you can actually engage in an entire series of videos to learn a particular topic like a language or a skill.   I consider these more formal because they are structured like lessons;  they have an introduction with objectives, cover a series of topics that build off each other, and provide practical examples of how to use this  knowledge in a real world setting.

I can’t wait to see what podcasts my other classmates post this week, and see all their video editing talents and get some great ideas for the future.  Mine isn’t going to be all that elaborate, but you have to start somewhere, right!  ??

I learned a lot of new things through the readings of this week, and the in class activity of last week regarding Wikis.   One of the new term s I learned was “computer-supported cooperative working” (CSCW) as it describes the construction of Wikis.  I like the idea of “social software” versus what we usually hear as “social networking”.   But the reading does bring up one of my concerns about blogs and Wikis;  and that is that blogs are usually from a very personal perspective and take on a diary format, and the the author of Wikis are not necessarily the subject matter experts.   Who has heard in a course “Wikipedia is not a legitimate research source”?

The first article does do a great job of pointing out the cognitive processes that that take place as knowledge is shared, and the idea of an individual’s knowledge space and how others can build on that

The four processes of knowledge building, as well as the motivational processes of knowledge building definitely help me to see it in a new light, and I found those concepts very well stated and explained.

I was further intrigued by the second article that actually talked about a curriculum being put in place to help develop the material.  I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Wiki where that structure has been apparent to me.    The idea of a “classroom” wiki is going to be something that I can watch develop through this course, and maybe that will make the difference in how the material comes together.

Haven just gotten my feedback about my Wiki project this week, I look forward to seeing how it can be more of a teaching tool with the feedback of the instructor, and help with constructing my material.    I think it will give me a fresh perspective, and provide me the ability to use Wiki in a new format in the adult education groups I  teach.

• What is your sense of how knowledge building could occur in wikis?

I believe I answered this question a bit earlier when I said that I typically have viewed Wiki’s as more of a blog format and not a building of knowledge off of each other.  Through the first article, and the four points made about knowledge building, I can see how delving into other’s knowledge through externalization can really have an impact.  The motivational factor plays a bigger part than I realized as well.

• What do you perceive as the validity of the knowledge and the knowledge building processes on wikis?

Looking at the graphs and images in the first article, replicated below, I now have a better understand the difference between blogs, and wikis and how the cognitive knowledge building is much different, which enhances their validity to me.

Although my post is late and I probably will not receive any credit, I still want to make my comments regarding this week’s interesting material. I’ve heard so much about the Khan institute, and I thoroughly enjoyed the video presentation by Salman Khan. It was very simple learning fundamentals presented in a really new way! It seems very logical when you listened to the building blocks framework, but yet clearly it’s taking off in the format presented by the Khan institute like it’s something unheard of before.

There were some points in the reading article, Chapter XXIII Web 2.0 Technologies as Cognitive Tools of the New Media Age, I slightly disagree with but I think I can address that by answering the questions below.

What do you see as the most important areas of professional development for educators to become 21st century educators?

I think the Khan academy video used words like “intuitive learning”, and “flipping the classroom”, and using benchmarks in the classroom to monitor progress. I heard reference to letting individuals learn things at their own pace by using pause  and rewind, but then using the classroom time as more of a way to allow the learners to demonstrate the knowledge. There was also a reference to bench marking where everyone in the class measured as to where they were in the learning curve or mastery of the material. The idea behind that is for those who are more masterful to be able to assist those who were struggling, or for the instructor to give those individuals more attention. But I haven’t answered the question per say yet. I think areas of professional development for educators is not so much being able to present the information live, but to be able to present the information in a structured way so that individuals can learn it through media at their own pace, and be able to rewind, repeat, and refresh the learning as necessary. The educators also need to understand what how the building structure of knowledge needs to take place off  the fundamental building blocks, and what the paths are that will get them to the higher level of learning.  What are the basics they MUST have before moving on. For as poor of an analogy as it is, the educator becomes the “traffic cop” for learning for students: when they should stop, when they should slow down, when they should go, and in which direction it’s safe to go next.

What are specific steps you would consider as part of your effort to become a 21st century connected educator? Specifically, how might you think practically about integrating technology in your classroom or context?

For me, I think I’m doing what I need to do as an educator by taking courses just like this one! I’m discovering more about what works and doesn’t work among today’s technologies and evolving learning population.  Every lesson I’m developing a better understanding of how things like tagging and search-ability contribute to knowledge, and can be supported by collaborative tools like Diigo and Voice Thread, and the course Wiki will help me further expand this knowledge. I’m also networking with other individuals who have more hands on knowledge with these types of tools, and I’m developing an arsenal of resources that will keep me up to date and on the cutting edge of all these things! Things like folksonomy are new ways to work with material for me, and I believe that “teachers technology capability was (is) a fundamental predictor” for success. Regarding the the comment that cognitive tools change knowledge construction, I’m not sure I totally believe this. I think we all have our basic foundations of how we learn, but would agree that perhaps the “order” of the way we construct may be changing.

It’s an exciting time to be an educator!

Diigo let me down this week:( I’m so sad about that. But maybe it wasn’t Diigo; however this is my ongoing love affair with technology tools! I find something that I love, think it’s cutting edge, start to contemplate all the great ways I can use it, and then I learn the truth. Usually the truth is that it costs money, or it isn’t compatible with my PC or tablet, or that it isn’t secure. I guess that’s why they do BETA testing. But I digress…

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I continue to be pleased with how all the courses I’ve taken so far at the World Wide Campus continue to integrate and show themselves in the other course I’m taking – and this week it was my EDPSY course.

Also, as a Mom of four, I want to say that the first article that we read, and the reference to the “why” question totally resonated with me! And I fully agree that kids learn the most in life by asking that question!

Now, onto our topics of the week:

In what ways do the texts envision a new framework or ecology of learning? I.e., what are the basic tenets or requirements of new learning environments?

The ecology of learning today is fluid, and changing. The texts point that out, and it’s very true. The other point they make is that learning of today takes place in multiple places outside of the traditional classroom. Yes, there are building blocks to todays learning as well. Learning objects, courseware, podcasting, and online learning are a big part of learning environments today. Open source software, and file sharing is almost required in learning of today, along with blogging and RSS Readers. And yes, the student population, or the target of learning is shifting every day, but the new ecology of learning has the ability to reach all learners, or at least a broader audience of learners. And as the first article points out, cultivation of learning, and collective discussion about learning, and the ability to ask “why” and get multiple responses from many different learners who can share their experiences is a huge part of the ecology of learning in our culture today. Learning through life, and “googling” suggestions and taking advantage of what other people have learned and experienced is almost mandatory in the learning environment of today.

What aspects of the theories and perspectives put forward by the authors most resonates with your own view of learning; and conversely, which aspects do you find more challenging in reconciling with your view?

Shared learning, being able to cultivate the learning based on life experience and the experiences of others, well, that is the key for me. I also really love the diverse populations of learning that I can be exposed to through the world wide campus, which I think proves that I am a fan of the new learner population. As a trainer by trade, and a Captivate user, obviously I’m a fan of the technology that is in use by today’s learners. And as I mentioned in my intro, I’m a huge fan of technology; and it’s trail and error all the time!

So challenges that I find within these new parameters of the learning environment? I guess my being fan of technology I struggle with those who aren’t, and trying to make the classroom work when we have that dichotomy. As a Mom, I struggle with spell check and grammar editing doing the work for my children in the classroom, so to that point the “googling” of every answer is a challenge for me. There needs to be a definitive source. In my day and age, it was the encyclopedia. Now, it’s whatever source the children can find. Don’t get me wrong, I think that todays technology gives children access to more information, but they shouldn’t be able to type a question into a search engine and have information thrown at them so they have to do no intuitive work on their own. Overall though, anything that stimulates curiosity, and provides the people with more information to grow from, is a positive part of learning in my mind. I just want to make sure that if the internet were to turn off tomorrow, my children could be successful in life without it.

What I look forward to even more than writing these blog posts in this course, is the different opinions and feedback I get from my team mates! With teachers and people with other occupations different than my own in my group, I always learn through their comments. I guess that’s “cultivation of learning” at it’s best!

Wow, there was so much I loved about this weeks learning! But admittedly, I missed Diigo:( I wanted to download my PDF and mark on it, and I found out I couldn’t without a $40 per year account. Bummer! However there were a lot of different types of information presented this week in many different ways, so I still got a lot of great knowledge!

My favorite part of the first video, Networked Student, was the presentation style. It reminded me a great deal of a tool we have been exploring at work called Video Scribe. But this is slightly different, and I found it very engaging. I also really appreciated how the video focused on a particular learning style, “connectivism”, and integrated examples of blogs, RSS Readers, Podcasts and Virtual Bookmarking into the presentation so you could understand from a practical aspect how these tools can be used.

In the second video, Rethinking Learning, I really liked hearing live from John Seely Brown and seeing who this expert was! I found it very intuitive for him to talk about individuals being measured through present day gaming. The learning production idea ties in nicely with what we discussed last week.

And now to focus on more of the discussion topics.

What are the ways in which the learner role is being conceptualized within the context of Web 2.0?

The learner is much more responsible for their learning, and needs to be active and engaged in a multitude of ways. The network that they are a part of, how they expand it, and their own social presence have become integral to their learning. They also need to determine their own interests and passions, and connect with individuals that share those. Both in class learning, and out of school learning have become equally important to the learner and the learner needs to understand that and maximize both for all around success. A real life example of this is really presented well in the Case Study that was contained in Connected Learning by Ito, et. al.

Is it different from how it has been conceptualized in the past, and why?

I think the answer to this question is an absolute yes, and what I think is the most different, in addition to what I described above is the feedback factor. The article Becoming a Networked Learner by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli, discusses a balance, and quality over quantity regarding this feedback process. I think this is very different than the old standard classroom learning where people were drilled over and over again on the same facts or information, and simply got feedback that their response was right or wrong. There was less dialogue and opportunity for the learner to personalize the content and process information in their own way, or for reflection on what was learned.

Especially, how do you see the role of teacher as learner and what challenges and opportunities are possible?

I liked how the Networked Student discussed the teacher as the learning architect, and I think this is a good way to describe the new educator’s role. In the past the teacher has simply been a provider of information and an individual who measures the learning based on a standard test format. The teacher of today needs to be much more connected to the learner, and be open to processing learning as the learners do. There can no longer be one way to interpret things, and the teacher needs to be willing to engage in discussion that allows the learner to make the most of the learning in their own way. They also need to be open to learning new tools, as is discussed in the Becoming a Networked Learner article we read. The instructor should have a passion for the topic, and also be exploring and learning new ways to get more information and share it. The challenges include teachers who have to be much more engaged, and therefore can manage smaller groups because of the level of interaction required. Another challenge can be the measurement of this learning, when it’s open to so many different ways of interpretation and processing by each student on an individual basis. Opportunities include daily learning, always being exposed to new tools for learning, and the ability for the teacher to expand their own personal network through all of these avenues.

What do you see as challenges to implementing this view of the learner in formal and informal contexts?

The first video we watched made the observation that a lot of blogs are more personal opinion than fact sometimes. I think this can be a challenge with informal learning, because perspectives can be skewed, and information interpreted the wrong way. There was another mention in one of the articles regarding the need for a well-developed sense of direction that is required. This might not always be the case for learners who are providing feedback, which again, might water down the content. In formal learning, a lot of the challenges I mentioned above, such as measurement and classroom management. I also think that the face-to-face interaction that is still necessary needs to be kept in mind, because there still has to be some structure to the learning, and it can’t all be a social and purely virtual process. The new learner might tend to avoid this face-to-face interaction, though technology has brought it to us in new ways.

As both a learner and an instructor I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in education!

I guess I didn’t read the directions very well at first, and didn’t put any text with my Wordle. Some of the key words I used in it were flexible, collaborate, and independent. I want my learning to have structure and a designed path to completion, but I also appreciate the flexibility of being able to move around somewhat within my own discretion based on what else is happening in my life at that moment in time. Maybe I can’t be on my PC, but can be on my tablet, so I want that flexibility. The word self-paced also contributes to that idea, which you will also find in my Wordle design. Collaboration is key to me also because I like to ask questions and reflect, and without other classmates to bounce ideas off of the burden of my questioning falls on the instructor, who probably doesn’t have time for that among all the other classmates. Independent reflects again my desire to move at my own pace to some degree, and to not be forced to work with others all the time. What if I’m aligned with a group and we are in conflict of opinion for the entire semester, or have different works styles? I have to deal with that at work, so I don’t want to be obligated to deal with all the time in coursework too. Timely feedback is in there also, as is the word foundation. I want to know early on if I’m clear with my understanding of the basic concepts (which is also in there), or the expectations, so that if necessary I can course correct in a timely manner. It’s important to know that this my learning philosophy now, which has evolved over time, and I only fully understand it now as a grad student in my “40’s”. But my motivation is different now than it was in high school, and that plays a big part! I’ve also developed as a trainer of adult learners in the work force, and that has helped me understand my learning philosophy also, based on watching others.

First, to my team, apologies that I’m late with my blog this week. Life is throwing me curves lately! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working in Diigo this week, and it provides me another great example of ways we can use technology to collaborate and share ideas and thoughts. We all started with the same article, and yet through all our comments and highlights we wound up with a lot of great perspectives and elaboration on some of the basic ideas. It was a great way to get started in the course – seeing all the different perspectives that were shared. Candidly, I enjoyed the first article, Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0 by John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adler much more than the second, Learning, Working & Playing in the Digital Age by John Seely Brown and and felt it was much more down to earth and readable.

 Our reading this week focused on collaboration, owner owned and cultivated content, and social learning which I think are some of the primary ways learning is presumed to occur on the Web. I also think there was a lot of focus on asynchronous learning, self-paced learning, interactive learning and blended mediums. I can say that as a non-traditional student, who got her undergraduate degree in her 40’s and will complete her graduate degree in the same “decade”, that I have truly seen learning evolve in all of these ways. For example, as an undergraduate we did a lot of “group work”, and I hated it, because it involved me giving up a Saturday or Sunday with my family to go to the school library and work on a project. Most of my classmates lived on campus, showed up in altered states, and then returned to a party after that. Part of what I’ve enjoyed so much about being involved in the world wide campus is the self-paced ability, yet just as much collaboration, and true appreciation for the fact that we are all in different life phases.

From the second article, I was very intrigued about the “systemic perspective” that is viewed across all levels of learning; from k-12 to corporate and ongoing learning. I think that’s a valid point, and as Web 2.0 technology evolves I believe the assumed standard from my grade school of textbook, note paper, chalkboard and teacher lecture that we all knew will evolve into a newer format of online articles and virtual texts instead of printed texts, use of collaborate tools like Diigo instead of chalkboard, video lecture instead of teacher lecture, and PowerPoint and word documents.
 

I think I addressed some of this in my earlier point, but the learner is much more responsible for their learning than ever before. They need to find their interests and what they want to specialize in as was talked about in the first article. They also need to share the information via blogs and discussion posts, which is the equivalent of raising your hand in class from years ago, but now it’s not optional. I think the instructor is no longer a referee or timekeeper for the learning like they used to be in the classroom environment, and the responsibility for them to develop meaningful, interactive content, with a method of learners to prove they have mastered content is much more challenging. The textbook can no longer do the work for them. As more of a personal observation, I think teachers used to test knowledge once, and not require a lot of application of knowledge or building on knowledge. I think the new technology allows for that almost seemlessly.

My learning philosophy, which is strongly based on interaction, rephrasing and structuring of content on an individual basis, and adapted to individual learning styles, tells me this is completely doable. BUT I think the instructor is no longer the underpaid teacher in the classroom making less than she deserves. That role means more now. And the learner, who pays $1,200 course will demand it.

I can comment on this as a learner, and as a learning designer. I can also comment on this as a mom of learners. A few things that were commented on in this week in articles by fellow students, and also on teammates blogs, struck some chords with me. First, was the need to think about the basics of grammar. If we are going to use informal social learning more, than we need to remember that we first need to have children understand proper grammar. This isn’t so much critical in higher education, but the need to be able to write a proper sentence, or format a letter without the aid of technology, or look up a word to verify it’s spelling without spellcheck are critical in k-12, and we can’t let those be completely diluted in the world of technology. Also, we need to still place value in one on one interaction, direct and timely feedback on performance, and learning that involves “doing”. If someone needs to learn how to make rocket fuel, for an exaggerated example, they can’t just watch a video, or click on interactive steps and assume they totally understand it. They also need to be able to try and make it in the lab, and see what happens if you mix it the wrong way, what the reaction is, etc.

I’m sure you all can guess the words that will show up in my learning philosophy wordle, can’t you!? Thanks for reading!