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