W3 Reaction Paper (due Feb 3, as comments)

For the past two weeks, we have reviewed major trends and issues, such as learning 2.0, trends in education and society, and online rights and safety. Those topics were to answer the question of WHY before we move onto what and how.

The following questions do not have any right or wrong answers; however, you should avoid naïve or over/rosy-generalizations. Your response should be about half a page (200-300 words). Discussing with others is fine, but your answer must be unique and any opinions or generalizations much be backed up by relevant materials and resources that you will include at the end of your response (resources do not count towards your 300-400 words). Reviewing related materials can greatly help. Make sure to address each questions concisely but thoroughly:

1. What is your perception/knowledge of the Web as teaching (or learning) tools now and how has it changed since this course began?
2. Assume your colleagues or supervisors are skeptical and cautious about the proper use of information and resources on the web (especially regarding either safety or copyright). How will you resolve that challenge?

50 points total.

1. Clear and concise capturing of major benefits/strengths of the Web for teaching/learning (30%)
2. Use of relevant materials (minimum 2) to support views (30%)
3. Flow and cohesion (20%)
4. No naïve or over/rosy-generalizations (10%)
5. Accuracy of grammar and spelling (10%)

Submit your paper as a Comment to this blog post.

 

Example:

My understanding of the web as teaching tools is that tools, such as xxx are readily available for teachers to use in the classroom as well as outside the classroom. They can motivate students more with resources that show the application of contents, and engage students into active and reflective learning. For instance, Brown and Adler in their article, entitled Minds on Fire, show many web projects where teachers make the best use of resource-based, inquiry oriented, and cooperative learning environments. Unlike past teaching that heavily relies on textbook and knowledge transmission (as seen in Wesch’s video, Machine is Us/ing Us and Information R/evolution), web tools provide greater opportunities for students to search, share, and discuss related materials easily and publish work in view of audience outside the classroom.

Richardson (2009) also points out, work remains after the course and these artifacts can work as resources for future students as well as their portfolio that can grow over time… However, care must be taken for online safety (or identifies) because xxx indicates that students are using popular social networking tools with little parent or teacher guidance… Unless teachers pay attention to the issue of fair use and the existence of sources (can add related sources, such as Creative Commons) to support your view or as a resource), students may impinge on copyright without knowing or reinvent the same work ....

W3C1 Rights and Safety

Class discussion

Create a Google account (choose a login and password that is different from your university ones, and send your gmail address to hrdswon@gmail.com). The topic of online right and safety is thorny. Issues related can impact any individual and workplace substantially, and you will see many powerful arguments and evidence for using web 2.0 tools as well as against it. I believe, debates on whether the Web is safe for kids, or whether one should participate in Facebook or not, or whether companies must ban or monitor can completely miss the point. Any workplace must proactively plan, manage, evaluate, and improve practices of profiling/privacy and fair use/copyright when using web technologies. Don't forget to complete the reaction paper on trends and issues by 2/05 Su midnight by checking the next post.

1. Be aware online filter bubbles (Eli Pariser, TED 9 min)
2. In Defense of Open, Online Communication in Education by Jason Welker
3. The Online Amplification Effect by Margaret Soltan (many examples that show how stories can spread rapidly and affect individuals and workplaces)
4. Copyright-Friendly and Copyleft Images and Sound (Mostly!) for Use in Media Projects and Web Pages, Blogs, Wikis, etc. by joycevalenza - as an IDT major, if you want to share your work more with others or like to use their work properly, you must read this and also check the video on the top (3 min video)
5. Recut, Reframe,Recycle by the Center for Social Media at American University - Did you ever wonder about whether you can use commercial work in your video or school project? Check the short video on fair use (about 4-5 min)
6. Time to Get Scared, People? by Tony Hirst. Be sure to read the comments as well. (Google has an app that synchronizes friendship/network from several different applications.

Further resources

• Best practices for managing your online identity by claimID
• The complete guide to building a digital footprint by David Truss
• Unmasking the Digital Truth, a wiki by Wesley Fryer (exemplary laws/rules that administrators must know)
• Creative Commons & Educause’s 7 Things You Should Know About Creative Commons
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Next Vista for Learning (free educational videos on various subjects)
• Firesheep should get your ATTENTION: Open Public Wifi Dangers are REAL by Wesley Fryer (includes laws and rules more than CIPA mentioned by Richardson)
• Nicole McClure and Joe Madaus will share with us the use of technology for universal design in instruction
• Admissions of Guilt by Terry Calhoun

W2C2 - Learning 2.0

Class discussion

#1~3 below illustrates emerging/promising practices and challenges surrounding education. #4 embodies the power of experiential and hands-on learning driven by authentic and relevant tasks.

1. Information R/evolution by Michael Wesch (under 6 minutes)
2. What is Web 2.0 by UTech (under 6 minutes)
3. Learning to change - Changing to learn (5 minutes)
4. From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-able: Learning in New Media Environments by Michael Wesch (15 min for reading plus a 20 minutes video inside the reading)

You will see that media always portray brighter pictures for technology, when the reality of tech integration for teaching/learning and impact is complex, dynamic, and disappointing. I claim, technology is only as good as the people behind it. People balk about something as the next killer application, much less discussed among practitioners is which instructional design and learning theories should apply to guide the use of media (because those two drive what people do with tech).

As/after you review these materials,we will discuss:

• What is learning at its core? How one should learn?
• How learning will become different because of the Internet?
• Should any workplace or school formalize web tools/services into curriculum?
• If you are an ID person or one with expertise in instructional technology, what are the implication of trends and issues reviewed by these materials?

* Week 3 reaction paper covers materials from weeks 2 and 3. After class discussion, you are welcome to leave a brief comment (which will count toward course blogging participation (I highly recommend watching the second and the third video below).

Further resources:

• A vision of 21st century teachers (under 5 minutes) - contrast this with a humorous video: 20th vs. 21st century teachers (1 min)
• How digital generation learns by Howard Gardner (5 min) 
• Khan Academy (educational videos, 20 minute TED talk)
• Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education (17 minute TED talk)
• 3 Steps for 21st Century Learning by Jackie Halaw (4 minutes) 
• Communities of practice by Mark K. Smith

W1 Course Introduction

For the course overview and expectations, you can check the syllabus handout.
This course blogging site will work as an archive of web materials used in the course. Per selected week, I will post a prompt for your blogging participation, which will work for your personal reflection as well as formative evaluation (e.g., suggestion, satisfaction, correction, etc.). Your comments can be brief, directed to the instructor’s post or others’ comments, and should address your positive or negative experiences, suggestions for improvement, and insights for improving any aspects of teaching and learning. The only criterion is, your comment must add 'substance' or 'meaning' to your learning or to the course.

The first prompt for you to comment is to share your personal attitudes and beliefs about web tools and services (e.g., whether they will truly change education or learning, whether it is another hype or passing trend, whether they must be used more for teaching and learning, etc). If there is a tool you already use for learning or sharing and you find it very beneficial, you can use your experience as evidence. Before class next week, check how others think of web tools for teaching and learning. There is no right or wrong answer - you can be honest!