Week 8 Connectivism and Constructivism

Acquiring knowledge is similar to building a house, it must begin with a solid foundation.  Connectivism and Constructivism both look to build upon the solid foundation to create a continuous learning environment. Constructivism is a must larger process with the end result defined and preventing any significant changes from occurring once the project has begun.  When relational data bases were first created they followed the contructivism philosophy because there could not be any changes to the structure once it was created.

Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks offer five key principles of constructivist learning theory below. These would be used to guide curriculum structure and lesson planning.

. Pose problems of emerging relevance to students.

. Structure learning around primary concepts.

. Seek and value students' points of view.

. Adapt instruction to address student suppositions.

. Assess student learning in the context of teaching.

Connectivism is more like an Excel spreadsheet, which accommodates the addition of rows and columns any place within the spreadsheet at any time.  Connectivism is more like planning a cross country trip where we decide what, where and when we will visit during the planning process. However, once we get going we run into reality of detours, seasonal hours and life.  Life is the important piece in the connectivism puzzle because it allows for the changing of the program on the fly, just like our Excel spreadsheet.  If we encounter a flat tire next to a dude ranch, we could find it an interesting and convenient addition to our journey, especially if, we need to wait for a repair.  Connectivism allows us to change, to accommodate our existing structure, and add new items, to remove the obsolete, or move beyond something we once found interesting.

The Element

I think the Element by Sir Ken Robinson also includes connectivism theory in his book.  Sir Robinson explains that sometimes we need to change our group, our community, to move forward.  The Element provides many great examples of people with incredible talent that could have been easily overlooked.  However, the passion for their talent drove them to excel and success was often realized after the connection occurred.

Week 8 Skype Conversation

Iphone 4

It is not uncommon to experience technical difficulties when trying new technology or even just using a different piece of equipment. Dan and I had this experience on Saturday during our Skype call leading us to explore the instant messaging feature which works quite well for trouble shooting microphone problems. Upon overcoming the bad microphone we encountered a significant delay or latency and frequent static noise, prompting Dan to reach for his Iphone. I must admit I am jealous and cannot wait for Verzion to release their version of the Iphone in just a few weeks. Dan used the very clean and clear iphone microphone for a great call focused on troubleshooting in the classroom.

Dan and I are both responsible for computer lab maintenance and repairs with limited support services.  We discussed the impact machine failures have on the classroom and content we teach.  We often trouble shoot machine failures in the lab with students because there is a lack of backup or replacement equipment.  What is the correct choice in that situation?  Fix the problem so everyone can get to work or have one student unable to work?  This is a real problem for many classroom teachers. 

A major difference in the labs Dan and I use is the student login process and servers. Dan’s students all have their own network account were my student’s login as a general student with no tracking or accountability.  Dan’s school is using a windows 2003 server environment and my school does not have a dedicated server.  My district uses servers for student portfolio work shared by all thirty plus school buildings.  

Lacking a school server and network accountability means teachers do not have work accounts to store  and access work, preventing student work from being electronically corrected without going to each individual machine in the lab.  The lack of a network environment where each person is identified and accountable is a disservice to the students and limits teachers from viewing student work in process from their desktops helping to ensure ethical student environment. 

Another less obvious issue with our student portfolio accounts is access.  Frequently, one or more of the servers will be unavailable, sometimes for a few days making it a poor choice for storing daily work in process.  Our portfolio design prevents student access to work and materials from outside the school building.  I'm sure that we have all be able to revise a PowerPoint, Excel, or Word document for another project because we kept and accessed it for modification, which I think our students should be able to do as well.

Sharing of issues, resources and workarounds gave both of us some ideas to explore in the classroom.  I created a shared folder for Dan within my Google docs account to better assess how this option could be used for his students.  Also visit the Google Doc Community on YouTube for help and ideas from the whole community of google doc users.  Dan gave me some ideas on using Dropbox although it could be an obstacle without network logins with scripts connecting to a unique dropbox for each student.  Dan also faces the issue that students cannot easily access their work from outside of school. The lack of student email accounts makes the tracking of student work activity within a wiki impossible. 

We both agreed some of the network settings and maintenance could be done on the local machine to alleviate network login problems.  I have found that obsolete software and hardware can be an issue to identifying and correcting problems prompting a suggestion to view Windows lifecycle data sheet to verify the latest service pack for the product and/or the product retirement date. Another good resource for classroom teachers trying to resolve issues is Tech Republic   a website devoted to resources for IT professionals.  I also use box.net  offering free 30 day trails with many of the same share features as Google but an added option of commenting on a document without modifying it.  I found the comment feature great for notation on grading of individual documents.

Week 7 Technology and Standards, is it the technology that drives the project or the project that drives the technology?

Teaching accounting, introduction to business, careers, study skills, and economics which adapt well to projects woven of content and technology.  These courses content drives the technology with accounting utilizing calculators, spreadsheets, accounting software, and at times tax research. Projects expose students to the technology of the field which in my area is the content. Student’s technology thinking should focus on selecting the right tool for the job similar to selecting the appropriate outerwear for the conditions. The thinking process associated with selecting the correct tool should be modeled in the classroom.  Since I worked for over 25 years in the private industry working in technology I am able to share what was and what is currently going on in the field.  However, when I step into the lab for computer instruction my philosophy changes to reflect the uncertainty.

Teaching Internet Communications Technology (ICT) explores computer, software, hardware, Internet, researching, critical thinking skills, and many other resources.  I cannot stop with simply teaching students how to use a program; I want them to understand the potential for a variety of other applications.  We are preparing students to fill jobs that have yet to evolve and certain to include technology.  We need to teach for today, but open our lessons to what is new or possible tomorrow.  Our students must compete now and be ready for the challenges of the future. 

When teaching in the computer lab it really is about exposing students to new ways of doing and thinking.  Teaching students to be critical of information they retrieve from the Internet is vital task but, only the beginning.  Our students need to know that using a product like Read Please (and reading bar) can improve comprehension, increasing their knowledge and ultimately improving their grades.  Exploring Project Gutenberg, the digital book index, or the audiotext for those who prefer to listen exemplify the options students have available.  Are all students aware that books written before 1927 do not have copyrights and many are available in alternative formats for free online?  Does it matter if it happens in computer class?

Staff who embrace living with technology need to demonstrate that aspect to students by sharing new tools.  When teaching computer skills it should be the technology that drives the instruction.  When I was commenting on Filip’s social bookmarking blog I used the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,”  which applies to technology in general.  We become so comfortable with our way of conforming to tools available we may not seek new or possibility better solution.

Capelle says, “While this willingness to explore technology is admirable, it is also a case of focusing on the tool, and not on what the educator intends to do with it.”  I think that educators are correct in taking new technology and applying it to content, after all that's what business and industry do with it.  

Week 7 Thoughts on Chapter 3 of Web 2.0 new tools, new school

First item to really get me thinking in chapter 3 was on the first page!  Steven Downey stated , “Web 2.0 is not a technological revolution; it is a social revolution…..”  Reflecting on the changes in the hardware and software industries over the last 10 years lead me to believe software manufacturers had a major role in today’s outcome.  Remember when Microsoft  released the Millennium (ME) operating system?  The cost of the program was a little over a $100 or $59 for the upgrade.  When XP hit the shelves in 2003 it was $199 for the package and $99 for the upgrade.  Does that mean the cost of developing an operating system doubled in just 3 years?   Hardware was expensive and software was in many instances, even more costly than the hardware.  People spend a lot of time and money developing software that made our lives easier and we paid for their efforts.  

Software manufacturers with Microsoft leading the charge developed new procedures for the installation of software, a registration code generated from a product key or serial number was necessary for installation.  We all can appreciate that fact the companies need to be paid for their products but, these companies lost sight of their customer’s frustration from costly products to daunting installation tasks that frequently required a call to the manufacturer for an override code.  Software manufacturers had created a way to prevent people from sharing  or pirate the software they purchased.  Yes, the software license was for use on one computer, but some of the software was used infrequently making it easy to share with friends for both limited use and evaluation.   People began looking for easier solutions and Freeware and Shareware began to rise in popularity and shift began.

“It (Open Source) enables the Web to shift from being a medium in which information is transmitted and consumed into being a platform in which content is created, shared, remixed, repurposed, and passed along,” states Downey.  The quality, quantity, and variety of software programs available for free is amazing and a credit to the web 2.0 community.  Web 2.0 makes trying and doing things easy and affordable. I hope it will aid in reducing the impact of the digital divide.