Inspiring Students

I found the article "Pictures Across The Curriculum: After The Tourists Have Gone" in ICT in Education Blog by Terry Freedman very interesting. Having studied creative writing and studio art during my undergrad, I am very familiar with the idea of bringing in outside stimuli  (in this blog's case a photograph) into the classroom to inspire conversation or creativity.

However,  Terry Freedman takes this idea well past the arts and, for example,  discusses how using a photograph could help focus conversation in a unit on economics. He asks in regard to his random picture of boats on a river,  what sort of industries might be in this region?

Freedman's main point appears to be that a teacher needs to provide some impetus to get the conversation started, something for students to focus on.

I took the above picture while on holiday in England. This bird was so friendly and desensitized, that not only did it sit on our car while we were inside...but the bird ate some bread out of my hand while sitting right there on the side mirror! Perhaps this picture could be a good way to start a conversation on how urban centers, urban crawl, and other human activities are affecting wildlife.

Mod 4: Ning Groups

This part of the module, is focused on Ning. I looked at some of the groups that our professor indicated might be beneficial. I googled EUROCALL to see what they are about. It wasn't immediately obvious to me on their specific Ning page.  I looked them up because "EURO" is in their name, and I eventually want to move to Europe...so far, I've only visited Northern European countries, I love the cultures. And I love some of the things European Union does that the US doesn't. So, if I want to teach ultimately in the European Union, it would be good to me to be connected with European learning programs, etc best I can.

Another reason why Eurocall would be beneficial to me is because it focuses on computer mediated language learning. I want to teach English as a foreign language, and so, learning about how to bring technology into the classroom will be beneficial (why I am taking this class)...even more beneficial is to get an understanding of the European viewpoint of using technology in a language classroom and what kinds of technologies are used. Also, a cool thing they have on their Ning is a page for blogs. They have these articles on upcoming events, symposiums. Awesome for learning from peers and networking!

But the best thing about Ning, potentially for me, might be networking. I have a very hard time introducing myself to complete strangers, to whom I have no connection...particularly for a business purpose. The thought makes me sick. But, belonging to an online community is a good icebreaker, a good connection, and provides a way to meet and interact online--not always face to face.

Mod 4: Connectivism Analogy

In George Siemen's article "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age" he proposes that many of our Western, traditional theories (cognitivism, behaviorism, and constructivism) of learning are outdated by the boom of our technological and informational age.

A quote from the article, that seems to sum his point is, "John Seely Brown presents an interesting notion that the internet leverages the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few. The central premise is that connections created with unusual nodes supports and intensifies existing large effort activities. ... This amplification of learning, knowledge and understanding through the extension of a personal network is the epitome of connectivism." Nodes are defined by Siemens as anything that connects and shares information, such as a person, a computer or database within a network, etc. "Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity." (For a more digestible introduction watch some of Siemen's You-Tube videos.)  A quote from this You Tube video states, "The network becomes the learning, the network that learners create."


One way to view learners through this theory is that they are not autonomous, together with technology learners create and use knowledge, and so an individual learner is like a puzzle piece.  No one person has all the information they need in life, in their careers, so we rely on a network (interconnected puzzle pieces) of others. 

Mod 3: Continuing Blogging

I watched the You Tube video Educational Change Challenge by Darren Cannell, where the author is discussing how our educational system has been essentially structured the same way since the Industrial Revolution. And that this system no longer works because it no longer reflects the world we are living in. Cannell used the picture to the right to represent this disconnect between schools and the world outside.

One problem that Cannell cites is how we structure the classroom: 1 teacher; many students; all the students must learn at the same rate. He quotes George Evans in saying, "Every student can learn. Just not in the same day or in the same way." Throughout his 2 minute video Cannell quotes many other people.

The other main problem that Cannell addresses is that our schools do not have a clear vision of what school is for. And he states that "teachers need to exist in the space the students exist, understand their culture; you have no credibility if you are not where they are." He addresses exactly what our class, as shown in the syllubus, is designed to address, students are living in a digital world, and we need to bring that world into the classroom in order to stay relevant and innovative.

He ends his post asking, "Am I creating life long learners? And am I preparing them for my age or theirs?"