I appreciate that we start the class off with a group exercise. We were assigned numbers and had to find the other persons in class with our same number. When Professor Foremans asked us how we found each other it really made me analyze our process. In Siemens article, he points out that the pipe is more important the the content going through the pipe. Looking at our process made me more aware of the steps, which can then be improved or removed to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
In addition, Social networking is changing and facilitating how knowledge is shared and created amongst us. It would support the theory of connectivism and its tenets that "nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning" and "learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions." If the next generation is constructing knowledge in this way, then social networking is a necessary instructional tool.
Blogs allow students to express their thoughts, but it also verbalizes their learning process. It is a great assessment tool for teachers as well as for the student as they have documented the process. In the digital age, focusing and teaching process is stressed more than content mastery. Blogs also allow students to hear and exchange ideas with other students, thus collaborating and constructing knowledge as a class.
Teachers can post homework or assignments online in the blog or a class wiki. Moreover, I think social networking has really impacted how teachers grow and develop their skills in the classroom. Resources can be shared amongst teachers within content areas. But now social networking facilitates cross curricular activities in the classroom supporting content redundancy and strengthening the connections between these content nodes within students' minds.
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