Module 4 - Connectivism

My network has changed the way I learn by providing almost instant access to information. In my academic life, I can communicate with students and facilitators alike through discussion thread, chat, and e-mail. In my professional life, I am connected with peers in working groups to solve problems and complete projects. In my personal life, I stay informed about politics, breaking news, and entertainment. I am almost always connected. The smart phone is now a connected device. It is used less for telephonic communication and more for staying connected to the internet.

The digital tools that best facilitate learning for me are search engines, if they can be considered digital tools. And immense amount of information is available anywhere and anytime. Before I owned a connected device, I would have to wait to get home or to work to access the web. Now, if I have my connected device, information is immediately available.

I learn new knowledge when I have questions by asking the people that know about the topic. If that is not possible, I search the web for trustworthy sites. I access the Walden Library for scholarly articles. Simple stated, I ask questions and search.

Module 3 - Constructivism

I do not believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia. The question is too simple to be answered simply. Some prefer to work alone. Some do their best work alone. Some cooperate because they have to. Some cooperate at work because they have to in order to meet the mission. Some cooperate in their relationships because, quite simply stated, it’s easier. Some cooperate because they depend on others for support. But there are plenty of folks, if given the choice, that would simply prefer to function alone.

Technology can enhance the collaborative process by allowing diverse groups to get together, anytime. In classroom collaboration, all must be present synchronously. Technology allows collaboration that might not have been possible. Diversity is possible as individuals from around the country work together.

This article highlights a series of activities studying the use of web tools for collaboration focusing on the use of, and potential for, collaborative tools by staff working in business and community engagement.http://www.netskills.ac.uk/content/projects/jisc-bce-collab-tools-study/jisc-bce-collab-tools-study-report-final.pdf

Reference:
Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file].

How I believe people learn best

I believe people learn best by doing. The importance of practice is to learning when studying the tenets of behaviorism, cognitive information processing (CIP) and situated cognition. From a behaviorist viewpoint, behavior can be modified by using reinforcement and punishment. As the learner practices a new procedure, reinforcement is used to maintain the desire behavior. Punishment is used to discourage unintended behavior.

One of the instructional implications of CIP is “to arrange extensive and variable practice (Driscoll, 2005, p. 104). In fact, the author begins the paragraph on Arranging Extensive and Variable Practice with the well-known saying of “Practice makes perfect”. Automaticity is one of the concepts of attention, which has its place in sensory memory, or short-term memory.

Practice, in the context of situated cognition, comes in the form of communities of practice, or learning communities. Learning communities are where the teacher and learners work collaboratively to achieve learning goals (Driscoll, 2005). Learning communities accept the fact that all learners have different experiences and interests that they bring to the classroom.

References:

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. (3^rd ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.