Connectivism | Learning in the Future Overview Connectivism has been developed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes based on their analysis of the limitations of traditional learning theories to explain the effect technology has had on how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn.[1] According to co-developer Stephen Downes (2007), connectivism posits that “knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks.[2]” As with constructivism and active learning, connectivism theorizes that knowledge is not acquired, as though it were a thing. Knowledge is the set of connections formed by actions and experience. In connectivism, there is no real concept of transferring knowledge, making knowledge, or building knowledge. Networked learning and connectivism Networked learning is a subset of connectivism, which consists of eight attributes [3]: Principle 1: Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. Resources References
Big Thinkers: Judy Willis on the Science of Learning Judy Willis: Hi, I'm Judy Willis and I am a neurologist. I've been a neurologist for 15 years and after the 15 years my patient practice really changed. I started getting so many referrals for kids whose teachers thought they had ADD, obsessive compulsive disorder, staring spells, seizures petit mal epilepsy, and the increase was huge and yet the kids had no greater incidence of it. The problem was that the way they were being taught was lectured. There's a part of the brain that is an emotional filter. So if a person is in a state of stress, the amygdala gets highly active. So we need to keep that switching station in a state of low stress. So if there is something new in the classroom, a new picture, a great bulletin board, something that's interesting, something that captures their curiosity. So how do you get students to focus their attention? The other one I'll use is color. But there's one particular requirement: you must participate. What else does a videogame do?
7 Speed Reading Tricks by a Former Book-Hater I was never a big fan of reading… I blame it on the education system, of course. (Well, it can’t be my fault, can it?) You see, it’s difficult to enjoy reading when every book your teacher throws at you is of no interest to you whatsoever. So I hated it. It was a chore, not a pleasure. Then I finished school and went my own path. It is obvious that there are only so many hours in a day, so if I want to be able to read more I have to learn to read faster. 1. This is the thing that really slows us down. 2. The idea is simple. 3. This may sound obvious but it’s worth mentioning here. 4. Here’s what you do: start reading each line on the third word, and end each line on the third word from the end. As an example consider such a line of text: “Marry had a little lamb but she ate it for supper.” The words in bold indicate the focus points. 5. The easiest way of doing this is to read from a bigger distance (like 2ft). 6. This is a very common problem. 7. That’s it for this list.
Pourquoi le Mindmapping est-il si efficace pour étudier ? Pourquoi dit-on que le Mindmapping peut aider les étudiants ? Est-ce vraiment si efficace ? Et si oui, pourquoi ? A ces questions, on peut répondre sans hésitation : OUI, le Mindmapping est une méthode efficace pour étudier. La vue : le sens dominant d’une majorité de personnes Une étude de Linda Kreger Silverman, Docteur en psychologie de l’Université du Colorado, menée sur 750 élèves, a démontré qu’environ 30% d’entre eux utilisaient fortement le canal visuel-spatial, 25 % d’entre eux utilisaient principalement le canal auditif-séquentiel, et 45% utilisent les deux ensemble. Ce qui veut dire que l’enseignement actuel, basé principalement sur les mots, répond vraiment aux besoins de 25% de la population scolaire! Répartition des canaux sensoriels dominants Une méthode qui sollicite tous nos sens ! Par son utilisation de mots-clés, d’associations et de relations entre les concepts stimule également l’utilisation du canal auditif et de l’intelligence verbale. Vous avez aimé cet article ?
What schools need: Vigor instead of rigor - The Answer Sheet This was written by Joanne Yatvin, a veteran public school educator, author and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is now teaching part-time at Portland State University. A version of this was originally published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. By Joanne Yatvin Though my years in the classroom are long past, at heart I am still a cranky old English teacher who bristles at some of the neologisms that have crept into public language. I never tack “ly” onto ordinal number words, or say “myself” when I mean “I” or “me.” Even so, I remain politely quiet when others commit such grammatical transgressions. Part of my reaction is emotional, having so often heard “rigor” paired with “mortis.” Now, more than ever, “rigor” is being used to promote the idea that American students need advanced course work, complex texts, stricter grading, and longer school days and years in order to be ready for college or the workplace.
7 Ways to Combat Your Own Cognitive Dissonance “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against the core belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit with the core belief” –Frantz Fanon In a world where disconnection is rampant dissociation, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to navigate the unhealthy waters, and even more difficult to discover healthier waters. We often cannot even see how things are connected because we are so far removed from any sort of healthy community. As it stands, cognitive dissonance is a formidable adversary. 1. “If you understand everything, you must be misinformed.” Answers are for laymen. The first step toward gaining wisdom: question everything; the second step: question the answers. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. “Ever tried.
Strategies Quick Learners Use To Pick Up Anything Note: "Types of Creative Thinking" This article doesn’t focus on ePortfolios but rather this woman’s approach to creativity and how/why creative thinking is important for students to practice: Convergence and divergence – two necessary types of thinking for being creative: Partly because it is tied to the profitability in business, a great deal of effort has been put forth in defining creative problem-solving and in training folks in how to do it. Definitions of divergent thinking usually include the ability to elaborate, and think of diverse and original ideas with fluency and speed. Convergent thinking is defined as the ability to use logical and evaluative thinking to critique and narrow ideas to ones best suited for given situations, or set criteria. Unfortunately, too often the processes involved in schooling concentrate on convergent thought, and ignore or undervalue divergent thinking. Like this: Like Loading...
Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Summary Being in a state of flow is when you’re fully immersed in a specific task with a seemingly inexhaustible amount of focus. Five hours may zip by and you hardly even notice. I’ve experienced flow on many occasions, such as when I get “in the zone” and program for 8 hours straight, or when I get consumed reading about a topic I find particularly interesting for a solid day. In an effort to read up more about flow—primarily the pros and cons, and how to achieve states of flow more often—I read Finding Flow by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (apparently it’s pronounced “chicks-send-me-high”), who first proposed the whole idea. What follows in this post are my rough book notes. Chapter 1 – The Structures of Everyday Life Psychic energy: mental awareness/attention/focus; a limited resource. Work, maintenance, and leisure take up most of our psychic energy. Chapter 2 – The Content of Experience All emotions are essentially either positive/attractive or negative/repulsive. Work vs leisure vs maintenance tasks.
Exploding Myths About Learning Through Gaming : NPR Ed "What makes a game fun is not that it's easy," says Greg Toppo, "but that it's hard." Smcgee/Flickr hide caption toggle caption Smcgee/Flickr "What makes a game fun is not that it's easy," says Greg Toppo, "but that it's hard." Part of our series of conversations with leading teachers, writers and activists on education issues. If you had to pick the most promising — and possibly most overhyped — education trends of the last few years, right up there with the online college courses known as MOOCs would almost certainly rank this one: Game-based learning shall deliver us to the Promised Land! But between hype and hating lies the nuanced discoveries of veteran education reporter — and former teacher — Greg Toppo. You argue in your book that what can look like escapist fun in fact offers opportunities for deep concentration and learning. I think the thing we need to understand first is a basic idea: What makes a game fun is not that it's easy but that it's hard. Greg Toppo. Twitter Pinball.
Rethinking thinking - Trevor Maber An excellent way to better understand the Ladder of Inference is to work in a small group and talk about a pattern of behavior that everyone can relate to. Some examples (in addition to the parking lot example) include: someone cutting in front of you in a line at the store; a friend or family member who is always annoyingly late; or someone who leaves you disappointed because he/she breaks more promises than he/she keeps. As you each share your experience, focus on what assumptions are at play, the conclusions you are each drawing from those assumptions, and what emotions you feel as a result. What are you seeing and learning as you hear how different everyone’s ladder can be?