Week+One

Our learning this week covered readings and videos on:


 * Constructivism** - "Although not so much a theory of teaching as of learning........... Constructivist teachers organize information around conceptual clusters of problems and questions as opposed to facts in isolation. Activities should be authentic (tasks should be relevant or of emerging relevance to students). Such activities are often problem-based rather than drill-and-practice." "Constructivist teachers allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content. " "Constructivist teachers encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other." "In a constructivist classroom, students are more actively involved than in a traditional classroom. They are sharing ideas, asking questions, discussing concepts, and revising their ideas and misconceptions." (Sprague and Dede - 1999)

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 * Connectivism** - George Siemens shared his views on Connectivism. The nature of knowledge is changing. He talks about a network model of learning where the learners themselves and the connections then form with others and other sources of knowledge such as a database is the essence of learning - the network becomes the learning. Learning is not just in the head of an individual. Knowledge is about the distribution across the entire network. It has two components: the internal neural network and the external network that we create when we form connections with each other. Knowledge exists outside of individuals and is a function of the network itself.

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 * Cyborg Theory** - Connecting Technology and the Human Body. Implanting chips in out brains and connecting technology to our nervous systems. The first experiment used Neural signals to control things on his computer. His second experiment gave him extra senses - like sonar. His third experiment was connecting human cyborg to human cyborg. He then talked of the next steps of linking the human brain with technology. His implications for education are that the education system will completely change when we can download directly into our brains what we need.

I was surprised to refresh my understanding of constructivism. I have always thought of it as student centered and the teacher as the facilitator but my definition was refined with this weeks readings and videos. I had not heard of either Connectivism or Cyborg Theory. I found them both interesting and a challenge to digest. I am not sure I fully understand Connectivism and I am curious to further explore the expanse and depth of Cyborg theory. Is it being done by others or just Professor Kevin Warwick, the one we listened to from The Institute of Cybernetics/University of Reading?

I also enjoyed readings from our books. I have studied Marzano's strategies and I am anxious to continue our studies as he connects them with technology. I really liked studying the chart on page 13, it helps to make sense of technologies role in connecting to Marzano's strategies. The Web 2.0 book was great. The implications for Web 2.0 is vast. I think we have barely tapped the surface of where education with be able to go with these technologies. I am excited to continue our learning on this topic.