After 12 years of teaching and being the mother of a 4 year old, I do NOT think it is basic instinct for people to interact and work as a group. This type of interaction is one that has to be taught at an early age and then practiced in order to be able to successfully work and contribute to the group.
Think about this.....as a baby/toddler/child, you are content with playing alone and not having to share your toys. We have to teach our children what it is like to play/work with other children--what the concept of contribution and sharing is and to effectively make it work in each situation. Each person, no matter what their age, naturally wants for themselves and what feels right to them--the ones that put other first and consider how things will affect others were taught to do so--it was a natural instinct to them. The individuals that are competitive and only want to be number one, no matter the cost, are behaving natural in their eyes. This was the instinct they were born with, and no matter who tried to teach them different, they continued with what was natural to them and their personality.
In today's competitive society and with people being "rewarded" for their competitiveness, it is harder to see people implementing cooperation. Competitive behavior comes at a high cost--win no matter how many people you physically or emotionally hurt. Think about a sports event that your child participates in or maybe you participated in and you heard the words, "win no matter what it takes." We just told our kids to hurt whomever (physically and/or emotionally) and don't bother being a team player--just as long as you win this activity. As a classroom teacher, I have to always keep in mind that some of my students are hearing this daily and it is my responsibility to fill that gap and teach them that working together--collaborating with one another--is more important than winning. If I can model and teach my students how to combine competitive, cooperation and collaboration, then maybe they will see that by combining the three you will make others happy and will have a better chance at accomplishing your goal.
Technology can be used to facilitate collaboration among learners by allowing them to connect with people that from all over, work collaboratively with those individuals and to form a sense of learning that may not have been possible without the use to technology. Rheingold (2005) recommends capitalizing on the luxuries of technology because they are easy to use, enable distant connections, use open-source software, promote group forming, provide self-instructions, and offer positive self-interest. All of this is true when it comes to collaborating online.
According to Burke, Lomas and Page (2008), "when people are asked to define or suggest collaboration tools, audio conference systems and videoconferencing software typically top the list, reflecting a traditional view that collaboration tools should mimic face-to-face meetings in front of a chalkboard." Although these are great tools and will continue to be on the top of the list, there are so many other collaboration tools that can be used like google docs, twitter, facebook, etc.
As educators we always need to keep in mind that we need to incorporate and teach our students the importance of collaboration, cooperation and then competitiveness. Without these three interacting--the classroom and eventually workplace for our students, will be nothing less than chaotic!
Resources:
Burke, M., Lomas, C., and Page, C. Collaboration Tools. Educause Learning Initiative, August 2008. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3020.pdf. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Module 2 Blog Comments
Here are the two blogs I commented on for module 2:
Cynthia Harris
http://everythingeducational.blogspot.com/
Adam Authier
http://mrauthier.blogspot.com/2011/09/educ-7105-module-2.html
Cynthia Harris
http://everythingeducational.blogspot.com/
Adam Authier
http://mrauthier.blogspot.com/2011/09/educ-7105-module-2.html
Monday, September 19, 2011
Module 2-Cognitiv-"ism" as a Learning Theory
WHAT IS GOOD FOR ONE, IS NOT GOOD FOR ALL!!!
Cognitive theory concentrates on how and why a person learns. The learner is simply viewed as an information processor--much like the computers in front of us. As a teacher, we input the information into our students minds, they process that information and then give us the output we desire. This process is repeated no matter what the standard may be........
In my opinion, there has been so much emphasis put on state standards and passing "The Test" that many of our teachers have forgotten the importance of teaching our students utilizing a variety of strategies/methods. When we are teaching our students we need to teach them using real-life scenarios--something they can take from our classroom and effectively apply to their daily lives. Within our classroom we have learners at a variety of levels, so how are we supposed to teach all of these learners the same standard? It will require some planning on the front end--but with differentiated instruction, the teacher will be able to do just that (no matter what level of learners you have). You simply take the standard at hand, and break it into "three different levels of learning". One level being for your upper students, the next for your average learners and finally for your below standard learners. With this type of planning and instruction--all learners can be met at their current level and we can spend more time working on the concept of "Growth" for each student, no matter what level of learning they are at.
As I stated earlier, there is so much emphasis put on "The Test" whether it be from the state or federal government, that we aren't able to consider each student as an individual and that each person learns completely different. At some point we have to look at changing the concept that all students will be able to meet all standards and instead concentrate on these students learning how to apply the learning in the classroom to their daily lives. We need to make a shift from inputting the information, allowing the learner to process the information and then give us the desired results, to one that allows the learner to explore the standard being taught, process the knowledge they gained from the exploring/researching, and then using that knowledge to produce a solution for the standard that was presented. If we can make the shift from the teacher being the one "giving the information" to the student "exploring the information" then I believe our students will become more thought provoked, successful members of society.
The following blogs were reviewed before making this post:
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/
Cognitive theory concentrates on how and why a person learns. The learner is simply viewed as an information processor--much like the computers in front of us. As a teacher, we input the information into our students minds, they process that information and then give us the output we desire. This process is repeated no matter what the standard may be........
In my opinion, there has been so much emphasis put on state standards and passing "The Test" that many of our teachers have forgotten the importance of teaching our students utilizing a variety of strategies/methods. When we are teaching our students we need to teach them using real-life scenarios--something they can take from our classroom and effectively apply to their daily lives. Within our classroom we have learners at a variety of levels, so how are we supposed to teach all of these learners the same standard? It will require some planning on the front end--but with differentiated instruction, the teacher will be able to do just that (no matter what level of learners you have). You simply take the standard at hand, and break it into "three different levels of learning". One level being for your upper students, the next for your average learners and finally for your below standard learners. With this type of planning and instruction--all learners can be met at their current level and we can spend more time working on the concept of "Growth" for each student, no matter what level of learning they are at.
As I stated earlier, there is so much emphasis put on "The Test" whether it be from the state or federal government, that we aren't able to consider each student as an individual and that each person learns completely different. At some point we have to look at changing the concept that all students will be able to meet all standards and instead concentrate on these students learning how to apply the learning in the classroom to their daily lives. We need to make a shift from inputting the information, allowing the learner to process the information and then give us the desired results, to one that allows the learner to explore the standard being taught, process the knowledge they gained from the exploring/researching, and then using that knowledge to produce a solution for the standard that was presented. If we can make the shift from the teacher being the one "giving the information" to the student "exploring the information" then I believe our students will become more thought provoked, successful members of society.
The following blogs were reviewed before making this post:
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/
Module 1 Comment Blogs
I commented on the following two blogs for the first module:
Marc Boese
http://mboese.blogspot.com/
April Carpenter
http://april-carpenter.blogspot.com/
Brandy
Marc Boese
http://mboese.blogspot.com/
April Carpenter
http://april-carpenter.blogspot.com/
Brandy
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Module 1 Blog Topic
1. What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
My beliefs of how people learn best is when they are allowed the opportunity to learn the topic using a variety of methods and are able to demonstrate that learning in the method they feel most comfortable. As a middle school technology teacher, I have found that my students learn the topic best if I allow them to "explore" the topic, work on the standard and then they are assessed using project-based learning. There are lots of learners that aren't good "test takers" (much like myself) but if you assess those learners using project based learning and ask them to produce something using their learning--you will see that the learner was able to grasp the concept and apply it to their daily lives. If you make learning real-life for the student and you allow them to take control of their learning, and allow them to see immidate results, you will see that the learners are more excited about learning and will be less likely to shut down when given a "job".
Today's students learn in a different manner than we did when we were their age. We can't expect our students to "check their technology at the door" and be successful. We need to allow them to explore the subject at hand using a variety of this technology. When we allow this type of learning, the students don't realize they are "learning" they see it more as "fun". We must face the reality which is, our students will be bored with lecture based learning, let them explore the topic using technology and be assessed using technology while we, as the teacher, serve as more of a facilitator within the classroom.
Learning theory plays a part in educational technology by providing various ways students can learn and the teacher can utilize that knowledge to help with differentiated instruction, which in the end helps ensure success for our students. Reality is that all learners do not learn the same way and will not be successful in the classroom if we think they do. There are lots of ways to teach the same standard to all of our students but using a method that allows the student to understand and apply that standard in a way they can benefit from it.
My beliefs of how people learn best is when they are allowed the opportunity to learn the topic using a variety of methods and are able to demonstrate that learning in the method they feel most comfortable. As a middle school technology teacher, I have found that my students learn the topic best if I allow them to "explore" the topic, work on the standard and then they are assessed using project-based learning. There are lots of learners that aren't good "test takers" (much like myself) but if you assess those learners using project based learning and ask them to produce something using their learning--you will see that the learner was able to grasp the concept and apply it to their daily lives. If you make learning real-life for the student and you allow them to take control of their learning, and allow them to see immidate results, you will see that the learners are more excited about learning and will be less likely to shut down when given a "job".
Today's students learn in a different manner than we did when we were their age. We can't expect our students to "check their technology at the door" and be successful. We need to allow them to explore the subject at hand using a variety of this technology. When we allow this type of learning, the students don't realize they are "learning" they see it more as "fun". We must face the reality which is, our students will be bored with lecture based learning, let them explore the topic using technology and be assessed using technology while we, as the teacher, serve as more of a facilitator within the classroom.
Learning theory plays a part in educational technology by providing various ways students can learn and the teacher can utilize that knowledge to help with differentiated instruction, which in the end helps ensure success for our students. Reality is that all learners do not learn the same way and will not be successful in the classroom if we think they do. There are lots of ways to teach the same standard to all of our students but using a method that allows the student to understand and apply that standard in a way they can benefit from it.
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