wesleyp's blog

Here is my final research paper! The foundation of this paper is my 6010 Lit Review on web based e-learning for franchisees and I incorporated some of the psychological and cognitive perspectives from this course!

Parsell_6820Research

There were a lot of good points brought up in this discussion, and it was a great reading Knowing Knowledge by Siemens.  I think the whole class had a lot to contribute, and it seemed like the majority of us agreed on the discussion questions. Breanna suggested a reading by Yochai Benkler called a Wealth of Networks that I downloaded, and I am interested in working my way through that. Luckily, it’s only about 500 pages…..
1. How are communities of learning the same or different in comparison to connectivism?

I agree with Bre that communities of learning are evolving their ways of acquiring information and thinking in new ways. It’s been years in the making, but it is obvious people are becoming more proactive towards learning and striving for bigger and better ways to educate and be educated.
2. Do you believe connectivism and the abundance of information has stifled or nurtured creativity and inventiveness. Explain.

I think that the abundance of information allows people to be more creative than ever. With new tools to use and platforms to collaborate with others, I think everyone is learning to use the right side of their brain a little more often.

Eric brings up a good point about self-discipline and not getting distracted by all of the new media, but I think it can all be managed by finding a method of sorting all of the information in a useful way…. aka, a PLE =)

Matt did a nice job summarizing this article and coming up with some thought provoking questions. This article was difficult to read, let alone summarize, but I think Matt covered the main points.

I think the best summary of the article is  “Activity is enabled by intelligence, but not only intelligence contributed by the individual agent. When intelligence is distributed, the resources that shape and enable activity are distributed in configuration across people, environments, and situations. In other words, intelligence is accomplished rather than possessed.”

1) Describe your opinion of the “effect of technology” vs. “the effect with technology” on intelligence?
Effects of technology are advanced tools and new software  that aid in learning or provide a platform where learning can take place.

I think Misty hit it on the head when she said “The effect with technology on intelligence is that with these new tools learning potential is endless to what the learner makes it.” The platforms and tools have evolved so much with advances in technology that learning can be more effective and efficient.

2) How do you believe that the “Zone of Proximal Development” theory as described by Vygotsky has evolved with the introduction of technology?

The Zone of Proximal Development has evolved with technology in a way that the learner can seemingly do more with less help.

It was great to review the PLE’s of fellow classmates. I learned a lot about methods others use, and I got to see a lot of similarities, which was reassuring. I also found it interesting to see the same software used by myself and others who are just getting started in the program, and our classmates who are well over a year into the program. It was evident that we will continue to build our PLE’s over time, but it also shows how important it is to get organized early.

I am a PC user, which limited some of the options I have, but I do hope to be a MAC user in the near future when I can afford one. I was very intrigued by the Spaces and Time Machine tools that Aaron demonstrated. I also may consider Drop Box, which both Frank and Aaron use.

Ian & Rachel both showed how in-depth Google Reader can get, so I want to continue to use that and learn more about sorting my feeds and developing a better organization method within Google Reader.

I liked how Ian utilized YouTube to post his video, and as much as I visit YouTube, I’ve only ever posted a couple videos and they were class projects. I hope to use it more in the future.

I enjoyed seeing both Ian and Rachel use TweetDeck. I have used it in the past, but chose to demonstrate CoTweet as I was hoping none of the classmates had seen it yet.

Google Chrome is a browser that I saw in multiple videos, and I may consider giving it a shot again in the future. I used it when it was first released, and I ended up back at FireFox.

Ian demonstrated StumbleUpon, which I’ve visited, but never created an account. I will definitely look into using that in the future as a resource.

As for final thoughts, I am very happy with my PLE, and while I know it will always be changing and evolving, it is nice to see that I am using a lot of tools that my classmates are using. It is reassuring that my methods are also useful to others, and I hope to continue sharing the tools and resources that I use with others to help them organize their “digital lives” and develop their personal learning environments. I will be checking out some of the tools shared by my classmates in the near future (well, the PC and web-based ones at least).

I think that Misty did a nice job summarizing this week’s reading.

“The main argument of this article is that human living systems are open, dynamic, intentional systems and,
therefore, are capable of building ever more complex behaviors through self-organization and self-direction.”

The authors of this article discuss their beliefs on how “giftedness” evolves over time, and is NOT something we are born with. I personally believe that the potential for giftedness may be partly genetic, but like an idea, it means nothing unless put to use. This potential can be revealed with further education, mentors, teachers, experiences, and so on.

—My responses to Misty’s questions—

1.Do you agree that giftedness is made, not born? Why, please explain.

For the most part, I agree that giftedness is made, not born. I agree with some of the other classmates in the sense that some aspects are genetic, but I think the “potential” for giftedness is a large portion of the genetic aspect. I think in the long run, it is utilizing both what you were born with, the skills that you acquire and how you put everything to use.

2.Are Dai and Renzulli onto something with their theory and indication that gifted development and delivery needs further research.? Please support your response.

Again, I agree with my classmates that “giftedness” can be situational unless specifically defined. Further research is definitely needed, but this may be a worthwhile topic.

Hi Everyone –

Here is a two-part screen cast of my personal learning environment! I hope you all enjoy the tour and I look forward to yours.

http://www.screencast.com/t/Bonuv7LFnHKt

http://www.screencast.com/t/widnoZsg

I think that Frank did a wonderful job summarizing the article on Universal Learning Design.

I think Universal Learning Design can simply be defined as  “Focusing research, development, and educational practice on understanding diversity and applying technology to facilitate learning.”

I think that the following statement is important “UDL provides a vision for breaking the “one-size-fits-all” mold and therefore expands the opportunities for learning for all students with learning differences,” but I also think that it is important to not only highlight the fact the UDL helps students with learning disabilities, but ALL students. Making easy to remember connections in the material and engaging students in the content they are studying is important for everyone.

Voice Thread Debate: Is Google Making Us Stupid? Final Thoughts

(A) Current views (as a result of researching and listening to arguments on both sides) on the real effects on Web use on thinking and learning.

After researching and refuting this topic for a week, I am not any closer to taking one side or the other. While I do believe that the internet is an absolutely powerful resource, I do find it equally distracting. While clearly the internet has positive effects on our brains and the availability of  information, I think we also have access to just as much counter-productive material. I have yet to sit down at the computer with the intention of completing my homework and not wandering off to check my fantasy football team or reply to some emails. I wouldn’t say that Google is making us “stupid,” but it is most definitely challenging our self discipline.

(B) potential strategies for learning designers to use to ensure that the products they create are truly beneficial for the learners who use them.

I think that the most important aspect of creating truly beneficial products for learners is to keep them motivated and engaged. Keeping learners engaged does not just have one solution, but I think that providing a handful of proven resources would be beneficial for getting them started, then encouraging them to analyze the “quality” materials before moving on and searching for additional resources on their own. This allows them to see examples of what to look for before going out on their own. I know that when I was first told to write a lit review, I had no idea where to start. Once I was given theses and example resources, I knew what to look for and how to move on independently researching my own topic.

Please also share some reflections on what it was like to try to collaborate with teammates online, your role in your team’s efforts, and any ideas or suggestions you have for making this project even better for future students.

First and foremost, I think that there needs to be more time (at least 2+ days)  between rebuttals. Coordinating schedules for 6 people who all have different classes, jobs and obligations was nearly impossible. Our group worked best divided into “sub-groups.” For the initial post, I helped organize research. This was surprisingly difficult without synchronous communication with the group member who found the resources because it was difficult to follow their train of thought. On the refute, I did research and helped organize the information for the voice thread. This was painful because in order for Rachel to have the most time for recording, I worked from 12am to about 3am Monday night.

I liked the article, and there was a lot of good information available. There were many avenues that both my team and the opposing team could have taken their arguments, so the final result was interesting.

One final suggestion for the future of this assignment, I would encourage adding more points. There were A LOT of hours put into this project between our team members (some more than others), but I would like to see more of a reward for the hard work. Maybe change the points available from 25 to 50?

Last week’s reading was chapter 2 & chapter 3 of “On Intelligence.”  It focused on defining intelligence, the neocortex and the connections and functions that occur inside the brain that are critical to understanding how the human brain works. This week we followed up by reading chapters 4 & 5, and here are some key points:

Memories are patterns, and the brain remembers only the important relationships, not every detail.

Perceptions are influenced by memories, and the brain is always making predictions about what may or may not happen in the future.

Hawkins views intelligence as the ability to remember patterns and make sound predictions.

In addition to last week’s chapters, I found 4 & 5 to be very interesting. I have no personal interest in studying the human brain, but I am always intrigued by others’ research on how it functions.  I agree with Hawkins in the sense that an aspect of intelligence is making connections and predictions, but I also believe it is taking what you’ve learned or remember from the past and making the information relevant and applying it in new ways.

Chapter 2 & 3 of “Neural Networks & The Human Mind” were both very interesting. They focused on defining intelligence, the neocortex and the connections and functions that occur inside the brain that are critical to understanding how the human brain works. Ian did a great job summarizing the chapters and prompting discussion questions, and my replies are below.

I think to be an effective learning designer, one needs to know at least a little bit about intelligence and the general functions of the brain. I think Aaron makes a great point when he talks about utilizing teaching techniques that work in patterns, the same way the human brain does. In my personal experiences, repetition through the use of note cards or listening to my material on my ipod has helped me when studying large amounts of information because it creates study patterns.