VANGELIS - CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Ennio Morricone - The Mission

Reflections on Larry Sanger's article "Individual Knowledge in an Internet Age"

What a breath of fresh air this aritcle was for me. It truly grounded me. To read these words spoken by the co-founder of Wikipedia was even more validating. After all the reading and discussing I've been doing lately on connectivism, collaboration and reformulating our ideas of what "knowledge" is, it was great to read that Sanger believes in adhering to the basics of a liberal arts education. I particularly like this statement, "the vast body of essential facts that undergird any sophisticated understanding of the way the world works does not change rapidly" and "...unless one learns the basics in those fields, Googling a question will merely allow one to parrot an answer — not to understand it." So let's not throw out our textbooks and close down the libraries just yet. Children still need to be taught the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. They need to know and understand a large amount of information so their brains can make sense of the new information that is coming in. Yes, the internet can be used as a tool to provide information, but teachers and classrooms with four walls still have a place in this day and age. We need to teach critical thinking skills and socialization skills; we need to impart a love of lifelong learning. This learning may come from books, the internet or actual experience. It may be done individually or with others. Hopefully, it will be a combination of all of these things. The internet is wonderful tool, when used proplerly but it will never replace teachers or the "basics" of a well rounded eduacation.

Project Based Learning

I just read an article and watched a video about project based learning. How inspirational. I have taken part in science fairs, but PBL goes even beyond that. I would love to be a part of facilitating this kind of learning. I know it's a lot of work, but the pay offs would be immense. After all, it's all for the kids!

Reflections on George Siemens talk for TEDxNYED on Connectivism

This is an older entry that I initially wrote in my journal but didn't post. I'm trying my best to network more, so here goes.

In his talk for TEDxNYED back in March, George Siemens raised many interesting points about the way in which education on the whole is changing as a result of connectivism and the social networking of Web 2.0. Siemens claims that we need to teach children how to relate properly with each other in the online networked environment. Schools cannot “lock away” the computers or refuse to acknowledge the social network sites; we have a responsibility to teach students what they are and how to use them to improve their knowledge base. What he doesn’t go into is how to appropriately teach this new kind of communication; using networking sites to improve knowledge is a huge can of worms. I know this because of the field study I did using discussion boards last year. In the end, it was a fiasco because I had not set the parameters for proper or appropriate discussions at the start of the project. Having guidelines and expectations is a necessary thing despite the fact that the students I teach are "digital natives."
It’s great to say that students need to learn how to connect with one another in order to be better citizens of the world, but they need to be taught how to appropriately communicate as well. This really requires baby steps; I think this needs to begin in Kindergarten and continue from there on a consistent basis. As it stands right now, Siemens believes that connections have gone awry; we are not connecting with each other in schools. And this carries over into society at large.
I loved the Harvard University experiment that he spoke about where professors and graduates alike could not explain why we have seasons. Again, isn't this something that should have been taught Kindergarten? Are we really that disconnected? And what about those students who don't feel comfortable connecting with others, or who choose not to connect. They will always be a part of society. Where do they fit into this social network? This is a big topic and one that I will continue to mull over. Stay tuned.

Do I Have My Head in the Sand?

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading and listening to vodcasts about networking and networked learning. Essentially, it is the way in which individuals learn, acquire knowledge and communicate on the web these days. It has been called Web 2.0 or Classroom 2.0. It is all very interesting but I am still finding that I'm not sold on communicating with perfect strangers about anything from how to create classroom community to how to make a blueberry pie. I am a private person, and even blogging has been a challenge for me. I understand the benefits of communicating thoughts and ideas as it solidifies one's beliefs and extends one's knowledge base. Yet, I can do that by talking face to face with my colleagues and journaling in private.
George Siemens has put together very compelling vlogs on the impact of social software on learning. One of the things he says is that "our knowing increases as we externalize our knowledge." This is based on Vygotsky's theory that "words give life to thought." Basically, the more we express our ideas, the wiser we become. Isn't that what Aristotle taught as well? I see the merit in dialogue, but can't learners become knowledgeable without networking on the Internet? It worked for the Greeks.
I dread to think I have my head in the sand. I know that social networks are the way of the twenty-first century. However, right now I am not on the band wagon. I do not subscribe to Facebook, Netvibes, RSS feeds. I have a Twitter account but I never use it and I only blog infrequently. I like to think that I am aware of these sites and that is enough. Am I in denial?

My First Podcast

I'm very excited to say that I just created my very first podcast. It is not fancy at all, but being my first effort it'll do. Here is a link if you want to take a listen. It's all about proper use of discussion boards with middle schoolers. The discussion board I used was in Sharepoint. Cheers!

http://susanishimura67.podomatic.com/entry/2010-08-13T22_23_04-07_00

On Learning - Neworking through working the Net

Learning is taking in new information and assessing it based on one's belief systems, other knowledge one has acquired in the past and various experiences one has lived through. Learning for me is an ongoing, never ending thing. I am so fortunate to be in the teaching profession where I learn on a daily basis. I learn from what I read, my fellow colleagues, what I see and of course from my students. I learn from doing things and voicing my thoughts and from my mistakes. It would be an extremely lonely and boring existence if I didn't learn new things on a regular basis.
Learning is definitely affected when it takes place in a networked environment. Typically, the network one belongs to are like-minded individuals. Therefore, the information that is passed around is of interest to these people. If I were in an online network of middle school teachers, I would feel a sense of camaraderie and that what I said really mattered to these people. On the flip-side, networks can be places where ideas become self fulfilling, even stagnant. A "group-think" mentality can develop which can ultimately be quite a negative force if it is taken to the extreme.
Right now, I do not belong to any online networks. The way in which I network with individuals is face to face in the workplace, at professional development events, at church, walking in my neighbourhood etc. I really don't have any desire to network with individuals who are unknown to me. Perhaps if I were following a writer or re searcher's work, I might respond to a blog or become a Twitter friend. However, right now, I am not actively involved in any online forums.
I believe knowledge is information that has stood the test of time. It is something that is factual, that has been tested and proven to be true. Knowledge can only be acquired with time, like fine wine. It is something that has been learned and is then left to mellow. It's the information that comes from old dusty books, pontificated upon by elderly gentlemen with long white beards.
I don't believe knowledge can reside in a network. One can perhaps tap into the knowledge that an individual(s) within the network possesses. For instance, I could acquire the knowledge that David Suzuki has about environmental disasters by listening to his podcasts or reading his blogs.
Knowledge can be transformed on the internet through various social networking sites. For instance, anyone who claims to be knowledgable about a subject can sign up to be an editor on Wikispaces and alter the information provided there. Now I wonder, is this truly altering knowledge or tinkering with information? On the other hand, when several great minds get together and discuss philosophy, or astronomy or any other subject you chose, this may very well be altering knowlede. Although Aristotle gathererd his sutdents face to face, great scholars discuss new ideas very similarly to Aristotle's methods of long ago.

The Process of Analyzing Data for a Field Study

I've done data analysis before. Heck, I was a research assistant for a Child Psychologist for years. But, I'll admit I'm rusty. How many pieces of data is enough? Am I looking for things that aren't there? Am I trying to make my data match the studies I've read? That's when concerted, peer reviewed analysis comes in handy. Funny I should comment on peer reviews because that's what I'm asking my students to do. They must write, edit and peer review each other's work. And what am I hoping to discover you might ask? I am hoping to see improvement in the thought processes, conventions and overall quality of writing by my grade 6 and 7 students. A lot to ask? Well, I don't think so. One of the initial pieces of data that is assisting me with my field study question is a survey on writing and editing using the computer. My belief was that most, if not all students would prefer typing to using paper and pencil. The majority did, but there was one student who was just mediocre(score of 5). I don't really know why this is true, but my hunch is that he just likes having a pencil in his hand. He is an artist and would prefer to draw all day if he could. The other interesting thing I noted from the data is that three of my very outgoing students were the ones who did not want their writing to be peer edited. They stated that they are very private and don't like other people reading their work. Because I can see who responded to the survey in my Sharepoint site, I have decided to speak to these girls personally and perhaps ask them to edit each other's work.