Technology for Social Learning

In this week's video on Social Learning Theories, Dr. Orey describes social learning as occurring when students are actively engaged in conversation while constructing knowledge and artifacts. Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs allow users to collaborate on editing and viewing conversations and documents. What makes this technology advantageous is that the users need not be together physically in order to work and learn together. In addition to collaborating to create knowledge, building web sites and multimedia projects have the added advantage of constructing a digital artifact which can be shared with an audience outside the classroom. Working as a team with web quests to find and validate answers to questions students are operating within Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. The article on Social Constructivism at the Emerging Perspectives web site states that children develop thinking abilities through interactions with adults. Through the internet, students have instant access to experts in any field and can learn from these highly qualified more knowledgeable others. Connectivism, a new theory to describe learning in the information age, is the use of technology to seek out knowledge that others are willing to share. Unfortunately, all the information on the internet is not of an academic nature, and as educators, along with teaching students to find information, we must teach them to also be critical consumers of education, capable of seeing through bias and commercialism to find the truth as it is constructed through our social interactions.

VoiceThread

Here is a link to my first attempt to create a VoiceThread. I am sharing a situation that I encounter daily in my classroom. I think it is a fairly universal situation, and constant vigilance on the part of classroom teachers may be the only cure.

http://walden.voicethread.com/share/3755404/

Constructi(v/on)ist

I completely agree with the first sentence in chapter 11 of our text which states that generating and testing hypotheses are often connected to science class. Other examples given expand the concept to include using spreadsheets for a math or accounting class, and a strategy game for history class. These ideas are great if one happens to be a science, math or history teacher. So what about foreign languages? I am completely failing to see how I could integrate generating and testing hypotheses together with technology into my classroom. Maybe I could come up with something if I contemplate the topic for another few weeks. I visited the other project-based learning resource sites listed and still failed to find an idea I thought might be incorporated into my own classroom.

The compound interest spread sheet, the acid rain experiment and the history strategy game are all examples of constructivist learning because the students are constructing meaning through experience and not creating an artifact. The spreadsheets were pre-formatted; the students did not actually create them. Nor do the students actually create the acidic water or the strategy game.

In searching the pbl-online site for project ideas for foreign language class, the only search result was for debates. I suppose that might work if the debate was conducted in English about a historical or contemporary political topic. I participated in debates using the second language in a 300 level course at the university and found the experience challenging. Debates are another example of constructivist learning; constructing meaning through experience.

One example given by Dr.Orey in this week's video that is highly flexible and adaptable to almost any subject area is a Power Point presentation. I would consider creating a presentation with Power Point to be an example of both constructivist and constructionist learning theory. The students are constructing meaning through the creation, presentation of their own, and viewing of others' projects. The students have also created a digital artifact which they can share with peers or with a larger audience outside the classroom.

Cognitivism

Our theme this week is cognitive learning theory. The assigned readings from our text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007), discussed the use of questions and advance organizers. These tools are useful in that they activate the background knowledge onto which we may hope to build new information. In the course video Cognitive Learning Theories, Dr. Orey explained that it was important to make many connections between old and new information (Laureate Education Inc., 2007). Activating background knowledge gives the students an appropriate place to attach new information which will hopefully help them in recalling that information later. The piece from this same chapter about students creating an artifact in the form of a travel brochure before taking a field trip is an example of what Patricia Wolf explained in the video from week one; a hands-on experience necessary to create background knowledge where none existed before. Giving a context to support new information gained from the actual field trip. The second chapter, Summarizing and Note Taking, was about teaching students to sift through unnecessary information to find the essential ideas and major themes. I think I remember Patricia Wolf comparing the brain to a sieve which constantly filters out irrelevant input. Teaching students to purposely filter information helps make the essential material more clear; part of the first requirement for meaningful learning as given in The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Use Them. The combination notes created with Power Point are an example of Paivio's dual coding hypotheses that information is stored as both images and text (Laureate Education Inc., 2007). Creating more connections increases the likelihood of the information being more easily retrievable in the future. Connections, connections, and more connections.

In our course video this week, Dr. Michael Orey explains that Behaviorist theory developed by BF Skinner is based on operant conditioning. An individual responds to the environment, and if the response is reinforced, it is more likely to be repeated in the future. Chapter 8 in our text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works describes the use of rubrics with which students self-evaluate the effort they put into a course. The effort grade is then compared to a formal assessment grade. In keeping with the behaviorist theory; the teacher is trying to identify behaviors associated with effort. The effort theoretically should be rewarded in the form of a good grade on the exam. The purpose of the rubric is to bridge the gap in time and space between the effort behaviors and the student receiving the grade, which is to say that it helps the students see the correlation between the behavior and reward. If the correlation is not evident individually, it should be apparent in the form of group data. Chapter 10 in the same text gives examples of various technologies which provide drill and practice exercises to deepen understanding and proficiency. The multimedia examples include several educational games and tutorials. As learners interact with the program, they are given opportunities to respond to stimuli in the form of questions or scenarios. Correct responses are immediately rewarded with reinforcing feedback, while incorrect responses direct the learner to reevaluate their choice. The technology has the ability to meet each individual’s personal learning needs with the pace of the lesson and instant reinforcement; something that is impossible for one teacher in a traditional classroom full of students to accomplish. In both strategies, learners are being reinforced for appropriate responses, which in essence is the basis for Behaviorist learning theory. Technology assists in this process by providing more individualized reinforcement in a timelier manner.