EDUC 8845 Mod 4

 

The Map:

 

 

The Discussion:

Building networks and becoming more tech savvy has changed my role from a traditional student to an online student.  With the evolution of the web, I now have access to much more information (Wiley, 2006) that I would have had at any single library I was associated with in my educational pursuits.  Further, some weaknesses are shored up by the software applications like MS Word and Zotero in making the ideas in my mind more acceptable in form to others in the scholarly community (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).  Having access to this resource makes it more difficult for one to know all, but allows many more to get what they need as they need it (Drexler, 2008; Moller, 2008; Siemens, 2008).

The digital tools that best fit me are those that simplify the educational process.  As a visual learner, I like to be able to see things and creating videos and power point presentations is a special treat that was not part of the mix in my secondary and undergraduate years.  I have also become more adept at cooperative learning, having this style (Resta & Laferrière, 2007) more available through technology and the reduced cost of technology (example in this course of simply calling and texting to coordinate collaborative work, the lack of long distance charges makes that possible).

Searching out the answers I seek can be fun or overwhelming.  When I have a question I can access resources through searches in the Walden library for articles, look on the web for answers or even click on the question mark in MS Word that spawns a search window with access to stored resources on my laptop or online if connected to the internet (Moller, 2008). When working with other students on the same project, collaboratively or not, discussing the options through chats and emails oft times helps me locate a source that I can use like the example below by Drexler (2008).

References

Drexler, W. (Writer), & Drexler, W. (Director). (2008). The Networked Student [Motion Picture].

Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. Unpublished Paper.

Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Resta, P., & Laferrière, T. (2007). Technology in Support of Collaborative Learning. Educational Psychology Review, 19(1), 65–83. doi:10.1007/s10648-007-9042-7

Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

Wiley, D. (2006). Open source , openess, and higher education. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 3(1).

EDUC 8845 Mod 3 Blog Post

EDUC 8845 Mod 3 Blog Post

In his talk Rheingold (2008) gives us examples and reasoning to support the innate nature of people to band together for a common goal.  The goal need not be stated, or it can be, but together we develop synergy that increases yields. 

He used Wikipedia as a prime example of modern collaboration.  Each person with access to the web can participate, give a little or a lot, and the collective benefits where all can search and find information.  This type of cooperation, voluntary, does seem to support the idea that we can band together and create something without some specific remuneration for the act.  This would violate the tenets of capitalistic theory, wherein Adam Smith(1776) said we all act in our own best interest and the collective becomes the invisible hand that creates our society and social systems.

Using this idea of technology to expand the opportunity for collaboration we can become a society somewhat different than the model of Mr. Smith.  Now we can collaborate over distance and irrespective of time.  Does this diminish the profit motive of self-interest?  Where one might suppose so, it is increasingly becoming apparent we will participate through blogs, wiki’s (Wheeler, Yeomans, & Wheeler, 2008) and other types of cloud computing that allow us to interact over cyberspace.

Giving students access to this type of collaboration will allow more discovery and can integrate multiple disciplines (Brown, Brown, & Merrill, 2011).  The opportunity to bring together ideas and concepts takes collaboration to new levels that make sense for the workplace today’s students will see.  We can create the environment where collaboration occurs (Sullivan et al., 2011) or simply set the parameters for the final projects.  Either way, or multiple others, there is potential for the students to learn and teach each other, may us too!

 References

Brown, J., Brown, R., & Merrill, C. (2011). Science and Technology Educators’ Enacted Curriculum: Areas of Possible Collaboration for an Integrative STEM Approach in Public Schools. Technology & Engineering Teacher, 71(4), 30–34.

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Smith, A. (1776, 1904). Wealth of Nations. Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html

Sullivan, F., Hamilton, C., Allessio, D., Boit, R., Deschamps, A., Sindelar, T., Vargas Ramos, G., et al. (2011). Representational guidance and student engagement: examining designs for collaboration in online synchronous environments. Educational Technology Research & Development, 59(5), 619–644.

Wheeler, S., Yeomans, P., & Wheeler, D. (2008). The good, the bad and the wiki: Evaluating student-generated content for collaborative learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(6), 987–995. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00799.x