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
Tom,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting Zotero: http://www.zotero.org/
I was unfamiliar with this tool. This would be a great organizational tool for high school research papers. I am going to share this with the rest of the staff at work. Have you located resources to use with younger students who are unfamiliar with many of the tools you discussed?
Thanks,
Dave Harms
Tom,
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point in reference to Facebook collobaration. I attended Devry and they use Facebook a great deal to help the alumni advise the current students on best practices, ect.
@Dave - I'm having some trouble getting my head wrapped around the K-8 brain when it comes to tools. I've been in higher ed a long time now. Do you have any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteKathi - Facebook is a great tool for collaboration. This is especially true when combined with google apps. Facebooks main problem is there are no voice apps. However, combined with skype this could really be a big win.
When you spoke of shared solutions and solving problems I thought about my recent exploration of remote desktop technologies. My daughter was away on vacation and had her laptop with her to continue to do her assigned college work. She encountered a glitch on her computer and called me for assistance. Through the use of remote desktop we were able to collaborate and solve her technology issue. Back-in-the-day, this would have been a complete disaster and would have taken a week at the repair shop to fix a software incompatability issue. We used Skype to talk to each other and the remote desktop feature offered by Windows and had the problem solved in less than ten minutes. All from the comfort of our current location.
ReplyDeleteElaine Gagne