Tools, Techniques, and Technology

As the world shifts to networked knowledge and learning (Siemens,2008)Education Technologists have some of the coolest tools of the trade. We get the privilege of bringing everything from hardware to cloud computing into the learning equation. The best application of technology are in the areas of collaboration, communication, and content.

Collaboration tools are particularly valuable in applying social-constructivist methods. Using tools such as wikispaces, google sites, and zotero allow students to compare thoughts and ideas on the same document in order to solve problems and come to shared solutions. Collaboration is a building process rather than a cooperative effort. This will require the group to rely on each other. Some requirements for the group effort would require collective mind-mapping, and shared decision making in a positive environment (Pitler et. al., 2007).

Communication tools such as Skype, Google Voice, email and Elluminate allow for swapping of ideas, during the creation of content. In combination with collaborative tools, the communication tools allows for more effective decision making and transferrence of ideas. These ideas can then be posted to the collaboration space for integration into the shared knowledgebase (Pitler et. al., 2007).

Content tools such as blogs, LMS such as moodle, and websites are great for providing elements of reciprocal teaching (Pitler et. al., 2007). This particular blog post is a great example. I am providing my own summary of information regarding tools, and with any luck you will feel inclined to provide feedback.


References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum

Assessment of Learning Communities

What is an Online Learning Community? The commonly used explanation is a group of people who come together to learn particular topics, using the power of social structure, a la Vygotsky to create greater meaning through that social experience. However there is more. but how do we measure this advantage?

The internet creates an amazing way to develop community at great distance and a function that allows us to share ourselves as more than the written word, while allowing us to share thoughts at almost the speed of those thoughts. Our students, in the course of building communities in this medium, will bring a wide array of skills and knowledge to their communities. How do we measure relative learning and synthesis in collaborative space?

In a post from Jonathans Blog, an educator and blogger from the UK, it is necessary for each member of a community to personalize a space of their own in order to become an individual within that community. This is echoed by Pallof and Pratt (2008). However the individual is part of a group, and groups judge themselves for effectiveness as well as the teacher.

According to Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) one of the main roles of the community is peer review. Instructors must develop a structured approach to community building for the students to follow in order to build context for review. The community must know the criteria in which to review their fellow students. Rubrics can be powerful tools in such a situation (Edwards and Edelstein, 2002). In this way, both students and teachers have fair and equitable measures by which to grade and assess the learning activities of the community.

There are questions regarding whether students should be required to work in a group. If the course is designed using socio-constructivist principles I would definitely require it of all students.

However this poses Siemen's biggest questions: How do we measure students as a group, when they have disparate skills? Can we change our academic position of grading individuals to grading their relative contribution to their learning communities?


References:

Edelstein, S.,Edwards J. (2002).If You Build It, They Will Come: Building Learning Communities Through Threaded Discussions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume V, Number I, Spring 2002. Retrieved from: http://distance.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html

Furness, J.(2008).Online Learning Communities for pupils, parents and teachers.Jonathan's Blog. Retrieved from:http://www.jonathansblog.net/online_learning_community_software_schools_vle_facebook_solution

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Principles of distance education: Assessment of collaborative learning featuring George Siemens [DVD]. United States: Walden University.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Story Board - Jono Bacon Community Builder

The topic for the video presentation is Open Source and Open Education. This has always been a passion, and so is a wonderful opportunity to bring all of my interests together. The speaker to be introduced is Jono Bacon, a leader in the Open Source software community. He is well known for building the community of developers at the Apache Foundation and writing the book Art of Community which is available for download as pdf under the Creative Commons license.

I could not get my storyboard to format properly within this blog so I have posted it on my wikspace of the same name. You can find it here: http://incitefultechnology.wikispaces.com/
The video will be created with almost all open source tools. The only non-open source tool will be Window 7 which is on the laptop.

The Storyboard was created in OpenOffice Write, sound will be captured using Audacity, video will be captured using my iPhone. I haven't chosen a video editor as yet, however it will be open source as well.

If you have any questions on using these resources for your own work, please let me know. You can contact me via:
email: thomas.jacobs@waldenu.edu

I look forward to your suggestions and responses.

Tom