ITEC 830 - 5 Frame Story

VoiceThread - 5 Frame Story

Please follow this link to view my story in VoiceThread:

http://voicethread.com/share/230409/

Learning for the 21st Century

This was my first time using CMap Tools. I thought the interface was easy to use. However, I wish the canvas size was a bit larger. I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the best way to orient my map. While I like visual organizers, I felt that the article was pretty linear in nature and if I was going to summarize or take notes on the article, I would have preferred to make an outline.

Here is my map:

Guest Speaker: Dr. Curt Bonk

It was great to see how Dr. Bonk used Web 2.0 tool in his lecture. I learn a great deal by watching how others use these tools to instruct.

I wish he had a chance to talk about his research a bit more. I am really interested to hear about his research in game-based instruction. I think gaming will be influential in how we instruct and assess our learners in the future.

On a side note, thinking about dissertations for a Ph.D. or our 894 projects. I wonder if the assessment will change to accommodate a more 21st Century approach? We encourage collaboration and group projects in our classrooms and identify these as key skills for the 21st Century. Furthermore, many recent learning theories suggest that knowledge occurs through construction or connecting of information, which would require collaboration. However, our 894 project is an individual task. Wouldn't a group project be more aligned with our teachings and where Instructional Technology is headed? Or is it too difficult to assesss?

Emerging Technologies for Learning

Diana Oblinger discusses the characteristics of the Net Generation and looks at the implications these students will have in the classroom. Students of the net generation are multi-taskers, multi-users, multi-media savvy. These students expect to be creators of their knowledge. The classroom is just one place to collaborate and connect their knowledge with their peers. The teacher is a facilitator guiding and helping to contextualize their nodes of information into a meaningful piece of knowledge.

It was interesting to read this article in comparison to the article about the Net Generation that we read in Fall 2007. The characteristics of the Net Generation has not changed, but it is fascinating to see how many Web 2.0 have evolved or been created to address their needs and the new learning styles of society. We expect immediacy when we desire information. We want to Google or Wikipedia or chat with experts when we need answers to our questions. In order to organize all these tidbits of information, we need visuals or graphic organizers to help us put these thoughts in order. There are so many social-networking tools available and many more aimed towards learning groups, such as Nings.

Emerging Technologies in Education

In "Emerging Technologies in E-learning," the authors provided a fairly comprehensive overview of the various Web 2.0 tools available. The authors summarized each tool, provided examples of how the tool is used, and how the tool may be applied in an educational setting. I agree with the authors that Web 1.0 was focused on consumers and web 2.0 is focused on people. Moreover, that many of the LMS systems are more Web 1.0 in their design as these systems do not allow for collaboration but are more of a organizational and distribution tool for the instructor.

While Web 2.0 is focused on collaboration and creation, I wonder how Web 3.0 will lend itself to the ideas of connectivism. With so much information overload, I feel as though I am just acquiring disparate pieces of information. Am I forming nodes without context? How will technology change to strengthen or facilitate the the ties to connect these nodes? I find that this is a crucial element to gaining knowledge and understanding. After I acquire a piece of information, I cannot truly understand or realize the full potential of this information until I see how it relates to the other information in my head. I need to understand the information in a context that is relatable. How can technology help facilitate these connections when they are so personal and unique to each individual?

Class Notes and Thoughts (September 11, 2008)

George Siemens - Connectivism Class
Diversity of opinion and various perspectives helps to create knowledge

Education in the Digital Age

• Comes from all over
• Process
• Identify the Point of View
• Selectively Determining Who do You Trust
• Our perspective can become more narrow because we will subscribe to like minded people

During the simulation exercise we were asked to respond to our classmates' blogs. I responded to Ethan's blog, which was a little strange since he was sitting right next to me. In reality, I would have just read Ethan's blog and then turned to him and shared my comments in person. I wonder if this is the norm in the digital age? I often get e-mails from my co-worker who is just a few feet away from me. When I visited the Googleplex, I was amazed at how quiet the office was. There were no phones ringing or little murmurs of office chatter. Instead, the sound of continuous clicks from a sea of keyboards. I think everyone was chatting online or corresponding my email. Perhaps, this is the new way of communicating. I wonder how this will change the dynamics of a classroom? It may result in a quieter classroom, but will students be any more focused?