Mod - 4 Connectivism

**** I POSTED TO CAROL LEE & CHARITY MORAN'S BLOGS. THE URLS ARE BELOW: ****

http://carollee387.blogspot.com

http://msmomo-educationaltechnology.blogspot.com/





I do not know if you will be able to really see the jpg. so I am also including the URL address to my mind map: http://mywebspiration.com/view/418402a729b

When ever I am learning something new or I have a question about something I will go to the internet and search for the information that I am seeking. I will utilize Google, Google scholar, you tube, teacher tube, and the Walden Online Library. Through my degrees at Walden I have learned to utilize several tools that help me to collaborate and facilitate my learning. These tools include wikis, Skype, Blogs, and EDU 2.0 amongst others. These tools help me on my learning journey and they are very convenient and easy to use. Over the years as I have added more and more digital items to my network it has changed the way I think and the way I learn as well. I no longer have just a few options at my finger tips but an endless amount to pull from. It has changed the way I think and that has changed the way I learn.

****************** I REPEAT MYSELF ******************

**** I POSTED TO CAROL LEE & CHARITY MORAN'S BLOGS. THE URLS ARE BELOW: ****

http://carollee387.blogspot.com

http://msmomo-educationaltechnology.blogspot.com/

Mod 3: Collaboration

I believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group”. You can see it in just about every profession out there. There are prime examples in business and education when groups of people need to collaborate to get something accomplished. There is a need to pick other’s brains to come up with the best idea possible to get the job done. Rheinhold stated that people have been working together for a very long time and have had to work together in groups in order to get the job done (Rheinhold, 2008). For example hunters and gatherers had to work together when taking down a huge animal for the tribe. People have an innate need to work together, live together, and socialize together - it’s biblical. Really we have seen the constructivist theory at work for a very long time when it comes to communication and collaboration among groups of people - as the commercial says “So Easy a Caveman can do it” and they were within their familial units.
Technology can facilitate collaboration in so many ways. I my self have utilized web-quests in the classroom with groups of about 3 - 4 students each depending upon the assignment. Students love being able to utilize technology to learn and collaborate with each other. I have also utilized e-mail with our Flat Stanley projects and collaboration is instant with partner classrooms in the project. Collaboration and technology go hand in hand and with the onset on social networking sites, texting, and wiki usage, there really is no separating the two of them.

Reference:

Rheingold, Howard. (2008). Way-New collaboration. Retrieved April 14, 2010 at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html