Module 6 Blog Responses-Sara Becker

I responded to:
Lou- http://educ7015.blogspot.com/2011/08/module-6-blog.html?showComment=1314457522084#c1965200635121578489

and

Roxanne- http://learningtheoryedtechrwright.blogspot.com/2011/08/learning-in-digital-world.html?showComment=1314458523071#c3639900696367943473

Module 6 Blog- Sara Becker

Learning in a Digital World

I believe that technology has had a positive impact on my learning. In an online environment, I think I tend to enjoy collaborative learning much more than I do in a face-to-face environment. Maybe it's because the online environment enables you to connect with others that have much more varied experiences than those that you might interact with in a face-to-face environment. Whenever I engage in learning in a face-to-face environment, I feel that I would much rather work independently rather than as part of a group.

What I think is crucial and non-negotiable in teaching and learning is encouraging students to utilize critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills to really examine the world around them. I also think relevance is essential in teaching and learning. Driscoll suggests that an essential part of learning to think independently is critical and creative thinking where learners are seeing things from a different perspective and providing a new insight or approach to a problem (2005). I also believe that the role of the instructor must change when we encourage students to utilize critical thinking skills. The instructor really needs to put the control of the learning in the hands of the students. Siemens proposes several metaphors for the role of the instructor (2008). Of the metaphors proposed the one that best fits my idea of the role of the instructor is that of instructor as Network Administrator. In this role, the instructor encourages learners as they encounter new information to critically evaluate the role of that information within their own learning network (Siemens, 2008). Learning becomes more self-guided or self-directed and the educator can assist the learner when they have gaps in the information that they need to continue learning.

References:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf

Module 5 Responses-Sara Becker

I responded to:
Lou: http://educ7015.blogspot.com/2011/08/module-5-blog.html?showComment=1313161576469#c3482503443518022023
Roxanne: http://learningtheoryedtechrwright.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-technologies.html?showComment=1313161822452#c3592882271488985296

Module 5 Blog-Sara Becker

When my school installed Promethean ActivBoards a few years ago, most of the teachers in the school were excited and more than willing to learn the technology associated with it. Many of them would seek out ideas beyond just the regular training on how to better and more effectively use it in the classroom. One teacher however, was highly resistant to the technology. She even "volunteered" to be without an ActivBoard in her classroom, however, she ended up with one anyways. Every year the staff is offered re-fresher training and other things to help them use the technology more effectively and every year she just continues to push back against the technology. Her general attitude towards it is that the technology is hurting the brains of the students and that there is simply no use for it in the classroom.

Using the Keller ARCS model, I would enhance the relevance of the technology to her as a science teacher (Driscoll, 2005). There are so many tools and simulations that she could use with her students to enhance her instruction and really engage her students in learning. I think this would also help to build her confidence in using the technology. As she sees it assisting her students in learning, she will be able to increase her use and proficiency with the technology. Perhaps as she uses the technology in the classroom with greater and greater success, she will eventually begin to seek out additional supplemental trainings like many of the other teachers in the school already have.

References:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Module 4 Responses

Sabrina: http://smcdow.blogspot.com/2011/07/module-4-mind-map-networks.html?showComment=1312126366771#c4848702539173288493
Lou:http://educ7015.blogspot.com/2011/07/module-4.html?showComment=1312126855822#c180916343870593031

Module 4-Sara Becker

How has your network changed the way you learn?
I have so many resources I can use to access information that I need or want. Social networking allows me to reach out to people with similar interests to find answers to questions. My personal learning network is based on specific interest groups that I follow or have joined. I can use these networks for a variety of answers as well. My professional networks are networks of teachers and other educators with an interest in technology. Specifically, I belong to a ning for my local chapter of ISTE. This is a bit like a social network but geared towards members of MSET and educators with an interest in using technology in education.

What digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
The tools I mostly use for learning are blogs, wikis, and message boards. Many of the ones I use are very active and provide me with an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with others who are trying to learn more as well.

How do you learn new knowledge when you have questions?
Typically for more surface topics, I will use a search engine like Google. From there, I would visit one of the sites in my personal or professional learning networks to extend my learning further and see what knowledge and expertise other people would be able to offer.

Module 3 Responses-Sara Becker

I responded to:
Roxanne: http://learningtheoryedtechrwright.blogspot.com/2011/07/collaboration-module-3.html?showComment=1310872980714#c127165936554780011

and

Alexandra: http://edutechtalk.blogspot.com/2011/07/constructivism-at-work.html?showComment=1310873358388#c7008065114320170228

Module 3 Blog-Sara Becker

Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia? 


I would agree with Rheingold. I think for the most part, we are social creatures. This idea works well with a constructivist theory of learning which implies that learning is a communal activity (Driscoll, 2005). I think that collaborative learning opens us to a variety of ideas and experiences. Collaboration allows us to see the perspective or point of view of someone else. It makes me think of the Blind Men and the Elephant, that if they had all worked together, they would have come up with the correct solution.


How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?   


Wikis, blogs, Googledocs, and Skype are tools that allow for a collaborative learning experience. Web-based collaborative technologies provide "problem scaffolding" by allowing access to experts and online support (Driscoll, 2005). Being able to interact with diverse groups of learners and knowledge experts allows students with the opportunity to add to their experiences and their learning. Collaborative learning is active in nature which is key to constructivist theory.


Find a current research study that has been conducted in the last 5 years that supports collaboration as an effective tool for learning. Include the link and reference for this study in your blog.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VDC-51PGKV0-1-1&_cdi=5979&_user=7754736&_pii=S0747563210003614&_origin=&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2011&_sk=999729997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkWW&md5=f9b0fe5cc8acedc8c4d01d9523d6491b&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

References
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.


Lee, S. & Tsai, C. (March 2011). Student's perceptions of collaboration, self-regulated learning, and information seeking in the context of internet-based learning and traditional learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(2), 905-914. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VDC-51PGKV0-1-1&_cdi=5979&_user=7754736&_pii=S0747563210003614&_origin=&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2011&_sk=999729997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkWW&md5=f9b0fe5cc8acedc8c4d01d9523d6491b&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

Module 2 Responses- Sara Becker

I responded to:
Sabrina: http://smcdow.blogspot.com/2011/07/cognitivism-learning-theory-module-2.html?showComment=1309700579590#c3813545889981119468
Roxanne: http://learningtheoryedtechrwright.blogspot.com/2011/06/learning-theories-and-cognitivism.html?showComment=1309701104999#c4527480599652716223

Module 2 Blog-Sara Becker

Bill Kerr suggests that learning theories are open to change over time through people's ideas and research about learning theory (Kerr, 2007). I found myself agreeing with Kerr on this point. As we have read about different learning theories in our course text, they have all evolved and changed from their initial state.

Kerr also suggests that each of the learning theories should be used in combination with other learning theories rather than as a stand-alone method for designing instruction (Kerr, 2007). Again, I found myself agreeing with him. When we think about the students in our classroom, we know that they all learn in different ways. If we teach to just one learning style, then we are not truly reaching all of our students. Likewise, to focus solely on a single theory of learning and ignore the rest would likely result in poor instructional design and planning. We need to consider many different learning theories when planning instruction. It cannot be one size fits all. I think if it truly were one size fits all, there would not be the variety of learning theories that we are able to explore and study.

Karl Kapp responds to Kerr's blog by exploring this idea even further. He suggests that lower-level learning requires a behaviorist approach. Cognitivism is best suited for rule-based learning and Constructivism should be used for problem-based learning and collaborative learning (Kapp, 2007). I thought this was an accurate synthesis of Kerr's assertion that we need to draw from many "_isms" when designing instruction.

References:

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/

Responses to Module 1

I responded to:
Brandi-Blog Attack- http://ballinteach44-atl.blogspot.com/
Alexandra-Edutechtalk-http://edutechtalk.blogspot.com/

Module 1 Blog-Sara Becker

George Siemen's offers several metaphors of educators in his paper. First is the educator as master artist where the instructor is there as the expert to provide feedback when a student has demonstrated excellence, but peer-to-peer learning and feedback is strongly encouraged. The educator as network administrator is when the teacher is there to assist learners making connections and building a personal learning network with peers. Most of the learning occurs within the personal learning network with the instructor there to provide assistance when necessary. The educator as concierge is when the instructor points students towards resources that they may not have been aware of otherwise.The educator as curator is when the instructor sets up the environment to maximize learning but lets the learner explore without boundaries (Siemens, 2008).

Of the roles that Siemens mentions, I think the one that best fits a digital classroom is a combination of the educator as network administrator and the educator as curator. I think an instructor in a digital classroom should set up the environment to maximize the amount of learning that occurs, but should also encourage collaboration with peers in a learning community. I think there are times when the instructor should be able to step in and guide learners in one direction or another, especially if the learner is at a standstill, making no progress. I think collaboration and exploration are both essential in an online classroom, so a combination of the two metaphors would be most appropriate.

References:
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf