Digital Citizenship: It’s More Than a Poster! Let me begin with a huge disclaimer.. These posters are not intended to substitute for true, open and honest discussions with kids, nor are they meant to replace the daily modeling that should be taking place in showing kids how to be a great digital citizen through our own actions. I’ve always been open with students. The Future of Learning in a Networked Society “This is the first generation of people that work, play, think, and learn differently than their parents … They are the first generation to not be afraid of technology. It’s like air to them.” – Don Tapscott This powerful video has some of the worlds best educators and thinkers outlining their view on the ‘future of learning in a networked society’, including the likes of Stephen Heppell, Sugata Mitra, and Seth Godin: YouTube: The Future of Learning, Networked Society Again, here are a few choice quotes that I like from the video, but watch it yourself for their context and many more I didn’t have time to write down: “We are probably at the death of education right now. Thank you to Grianne Conole for tweeting this earlier today.
Change Magazine - September-October 2010 by Cedar Riener and Daniel Willingham There is no credible evidence that learning styles exist. While we will elaborate on this assertion, it is important to counteract the real harm that may be done by equivocating on the matter. In what follows, we will begin by defining “learning styles”; then we will address the claims made by those who believe that they exist, in the process acknowledging what we consider the valid claims of learning-styles theorists. What is a Learning Style? The claim at the center of learning-styles theory is this: Different students have different modes of learning, and their learning could be improved by matching one's teaching with that preferred learning mode. The most popular current conception of learning styles equates style with the preferred bodily sense through which one receives information, whether it be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (for some reason, no one claims that there are tactile or olfactory learners). Why Should College Educators Care? 1.
We Should Be Doing More Than Teaching Digital Citizenship The quote above is one of my favorites about digital citizenship. My classroom is a global classroom but I don’t “teach” digital citizenship. My students are actually digital citizens and we learn about the digital world by being a part of it. I feel most of the issues kids have online with bullying, racism and inappropriate posting come from a lack of experience in the digital world. If you think about it the digital world is a very abstract concept, especially for young kids. How do you plan to give your class experiences being digital citizens this year? Here is the map of connections my class made last year Like this: Like Loading... Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge Stephen Downes October 16, 2006 I have a lot of mixed feelings about this paper but it is an honest and reasonably thorough outline of my views. I hope people find it interesting and rewarding. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the thinking behind new e-learning technology, including e-portfolios and personal learning environments. Parts of this paper are drawn from previous papers (especially Connective Knowledge and Basics of Instructional Design, neither of which are published). The Traditional Theory: Cognitivism The dominant theory of online and distance learning may be characterized as conforming to a ‘cognitivist’ theory of knowledge and learning. In other words, cognitivists defend an approach that may be called ‘folk psychology’. One branch of folk psychology, the language of thought theory, holds that things like beliefs are literally sentences in the brain, and that the materials for such sentences are innate.
Why Connectivism is not a Learning Theory « A Point of Contact Firstly, the question of how to label Connectivism is an important one because this affects how people connect with the theory. As a relatively young theory, its growth, acceptance, employment and how people actually understand Connectivism all depend partially on how it is represented. Representing a theory inaccurately limits the quality of the potential connections made with that theory, an insurmountable obstacle for such a theory that is concerned with the creation of successful networks and connections of specific quality to support this success. Secondly, to be clear, my position isn’t one of anti-Connectivism. To say that Connectivism is not a learning theory is not to devalue the theory. Education is Intention There are any number of network types in the world: Restaurant Franchises, Delivery Networks, even Networks of Excellence. Distribution follows Distinction That knowledge is distributed is one of the key characteristics of Connectivism. Representation Matters Like this:
Digital Media Can Change Learning. Here's An Example. Digital Media Can Change Learning Digital media is really more powerful than we’re giving it credit for. And it already gets a lot of credit. While “social” media gets all the praise, social media is itself digital, with the digital versions of films, music, magazines, images, and other stuff holding inherent characteristics that allow it to be shared, saved, and searched in ways that physical media simply can’t. This is not to say that digital media doesn’t have limitations of its own, but it’s easy to miss how simply being digital has changed the information, entertainment, and connectivity we crave as human beings. While there is obvious overlap between the two, digital literacy is different than standard literacy frankly because understanding is about context and the context of digital and social media is almost impossibly wide and often frustratingly whimsical. Why Digital Media Works In Learning And so much of this approachability has to do with tone.
Connectivism: Its place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology-enabled learning | Bell Special Issue - Connectivism: Design and Delivery of Social Networked Learning Frances Bell University of Salford, United Kingdom Abstract The sociotechnical context for learning and education is dynamic and makes great demands on those trying to seize the opportunities presented by emerging technologies. The goal of this paper is to explore certain theories for our plans and actions in technology-enabled learning. Keywords: Theory; learning; implementation; research; evaluation; connectivism; actor-network theory; social shaping of technology; activity theory; zone of proximal development; change management Those who struggle to create an adequate theory of learning must admit that the process is much like stumbling in the dark. Introduction From its origins as a network for sharing data and software amongst scientists, the Internet has become commonplace in the developed world and is growing rapidly in developing countries, as shown in Table 1 (Internet Usage Statistics, 2009).
Connectivism as Epistemology Responding to questions from Vance McPherson 1) What is your response to Rita Kop's suggestion that connectivism is a new epistemology but not a new learning theory? As I understand Rita, she understands the pedagogical aspects of connectivism to have already been present in constructivism, and hence, connectivism is not proposing something new when it comes to giving guidance to instructional staff. Connectivism is *definitively* a learning theory, or more accurately, incorporates learning theories (specifically, theories about how connections are formed in networks). But all of that said, whether connectivism is a *new* theory of epistemology or pedagogy is irrelevant to me and I don't spend any time worrying about it. 2) My understanding of connectivism is currently as both epistemology and learning theory, which presupposes that it has ALWAYS been correct and is not contingent upon modern technological developments to "work." Other aspects of the theory change over time. 3) M.
4 Steps To Take Digital Visual Notes Visual notes–also know as Sketch notes–look cool, but they also contain considerable cognitive potential, forcing learners to combine both left and right-brain approaches while internalizing often complex ideas, and then turning those ideas into visual narratives. We’ve covered how to take visual notes on the iPad previously, and looked at making student thinking visual as well. The presentation below from Rachel Smith offers 4 basic steps to take these steps further and create visual notes. The most important idea she covers is probably layers, which give users the ability to move images and ideas around independently, while also creating a certain depth of field “order” or sequence. They’re really not as complicated as that sounds, and while good old-fashioned pencil-and-paper is ideal in many cases, sometimes–especially when you want to revisit notes to revise them, and then share them with the world, digital visual notes might be the way to go. 1. 2. 3. 4.