Networked Learning=So Cool!

Networked learning is a really, really cool concept; basically it is a personal learning environment that empowers the learner to take a hold of the learning process. All too often, teachers are the focus of the learning process, merely lecturing the students who are supposed to simply sit and absorb the information (think chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed/ banking pedagogy). The human network is so vast; we are all part of it! A networked student uses many tools. To name a few: websites, google scholar, social bookmarking sites, blogs, podcasts/iTunesU, VoiceThread, and Wikis. Students choose a topic (with guidance from the teacher) and sort of do a "scavenger hunt" for information. If someone's Twitter says something about the topic you are researching that leads you to a podcast by a Harvard professor which in turn causes you to research something on google scholar which shows that something you read on someone's blog was inaccurate...! ahh! Networked learning is fun and EFFECTIVE because it is the students that are doing the action/work. Taking action in one's work is so much more powerful than just sitting there listening (although that can be effective at appropriate times as well)! The teacher is very crucial in networked learning. They are not the "bank of knowledge" as is seen in traditional classrooms, but they are a facilitator and a motivator. The average student is not going to simply take it upon themselves to to correctly complete a networked learning assignment; sure students are curious about things, but they need a teacher to both encourage them and put them back on the path of knowledge if they somehow stray. Teachers can assist students with assessing the accuracy of things that they "stumble upon"--no pun intended, as that is also a technological aspect of networked learning. The teacher somewhat sets the end result for the students; it's up to the students to find their way. The teacher is an integral part of the whole process because, after all, it is GUIDED inquiry that builds critical thinking skills!

Both the teacher and the students, especially, need to exercise digital literacy in networked learning or else it will be completely ineffective. Students need to know how to navigate through things such as blogs, twitter, iTunesU, etc. They need to be able to evaluate and organize what they come across through their findings.

I will DEFINITELY use networked learning in my future classroom! As we all know, history is not black and white facts (as it is all too often presented); how great would it be for students to use networked learning to solve "history mysteries?" Or even just back up a historical claim with evidence they found through their networking. I really like how the students ultimately should share what they found through their research with others (sort of like a give and take relationship). What an amazing network we have out there!

While it might be difficult to give up some control in the classroom, 1) isn't our job to help the students learn as effectively as possible?? and 2) we still facilitate the students!

Through twitter, I found this thread about networked learning, and guess what?! Professor Drexler was one of the people that commented!

http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/index.php/forum/topic?id=15

How would you use networked learning in your classroom??

Link to my Glog

Here is a link to my Glog, just in case =)

http://louisal87.glogster.com/Camelot/

Jack and Jackie

enjoy my Glog!!! I enjoyed making it!

service learning notes

Good job guys! =)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQJEW6pz0aDOZGM4ajQ2OTZfMHM3Y3FncWR3&hl=en

Service Learning Plan-Oral History and the Elderly

Oral History: Connecting Past to Present

Created by: Louisa Lord

Area of Service: supporting the elderly/nursing homes

Grade Level: Middle School (8^th Grade)

Subject Area: American History

Standards Met:

SS.8.A.1.1: Provide supporting details for an answer from text, interview for oral history, check validity of information from research/text, and identify strong vs. weak arguments.

SS.8.A.1.7: View historic events through the eyes of those who were there as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts.

National Educational Technology Standards:

Communications tools

Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.

Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

Research tools

Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

Students use technology tools to process data and report results.

Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

Multimedia Tools and Presentations

Plan scope and sequence of a project using project planner or storyboard

Use color, text, styles, sound, buttons and links that compliment the project.

Import a graphic, movie, and video to compliment the project.

Record and import sound from peripheral sources to compliment the project.

Evaluate multimedia projects effectively.

Operate a flatbed scanner, digital camera, video camera and accompanying software correctly.

Use a media display device (projector) to present project.

Guiding Questions:

How have times changed since the era in which the person you interviewed lived?

How are they similar?

How can we use the past to help us understand the present?

Why is important to study the past?

Goals:

Students will understand how the past shapes the present.

Students will learn about their own lives, as well as lives of people that lived in a different time period.

Students will appreciate the elderly/their stories in their community.

Unit Description:

All too often, people in nursing homes are often lonely and depressed. Their loss of independence can cause them to feel useless, which can lead to rapid deterioration. My service learning project is about combining history with making the elderly feel useful and appreciated.

Students need to brainstorm different aspects of their life that they feel are important. Students should focus on things such as: five things they could not live without, stories that they see on the news, what their parents talk about at the dinner table, what they are currently worried about, what they do after school, etc. Each student will be required to upload his or her responses to these questions (and any others that they come up with) on my class wiki.

As a class, we will travel to a local nursing home, and each student will be paired with a resident of the home (that gave their permission to be interviewed) prior to this assignment. The student will ask the person they are interviewing to think back to when they were around thirteen years old, asking them the same questions that they previously asked themselves, as well as general questions about the time period and place in which they grew up. Students will (with the person’s permission) film their interview.

Upon returning to the classroom, the students will research the time period in which the person that they interviewed lived. They will need to find out: who the President (or leader of their country) was during the time that the interviewee was the student’s age, any major crises that occurred during the time period, any technological innovations that were invented, or any major change that occurred. Students should write a two-page description about the time period/place in which their interviewee grew up, and transcribe it onto the class wiki.

The main activity for this lesson plan is for the students to create a vodcast/video podcast, in which they describe their lives, incorporating the answers to the questions (five things they could not live without, stories that they see on the news, what their parents talk about at the dinner table, what they are currently worried about, what they do after school, etc) that they wrote about on the class wiki. The students are encouraged to incorporate visuals into their vodcast. The student must upload the video that they took of their interview with their nursing home resident onto their vodcast (using iMovie). The student then must describe (on the vodcast) how his or her life is different than the person he or she interviewed, and how they are similar. The student must use critical thinking and “think like a historian” in order to compare and contrast the two time periods.

The pinnacle of this service learning project is the presentation of the vodcasts. The class will return to the nursing home and host a “viewing party” for the nursing home residents that participated in this project. We will view all the vodcasts, as we enjoy refreshments provided by our class. Not only will the viewing party be a bright spot in the elderly residents’ day, but they will also feel accomplished in that they played such a big part in the presentation. The goal of this project is to not only teach the students about history, but also to show the nursing home residents that their lives are important to young people of today.

Wiki:

The students will upload their data (information about their lives, as well as their interview with the nursing home resident/historical significances) onto the class Wiki so that the whole class can appreciate many different historical perspectives.

Internet:

Students will use various search engines (Google, Bing) to research the time period/place in which the person they interviewed lived. Students must verify that the sites they visit are legitimate.

Vodcasts:

Students will use vodcasts to showcase both the historical significance of their own lives as well the lives of the residents of the nursing home. Students and nursing home residents will view the vodcasts together at a viewing party at the nursing home.

Assessment:

Students will be graded throughout this assignment. They will be graded on:

- Their wiki post about their lives

- Their interview with the nursing home resident

- Their paper/wiki post about the time period in which their nursing home resident lived in when they were younger

- Proper utilization of vodcast comparing and contrasting their lives with those of the nursing home resident

- Proper etiquette when dealing with the nursing home resident

o The teacher will give the students specific guidelines as to proper etiquette prior to entering the nursing home

If the student successfully completes all of the above criteria, they will receive a grade of “Meet expectations.” If they do not meet all of the above criteria, they will receive a grade of “unsatisfactory” and will be expected to write a 10-page research paper on a time period of the teacher’s choice. If they go above and beyond, they will receive “exceeds expectations,” and I will use their project as an example for this service learning project in subsequent years.

Students must show an understanding of the importance of oral history throughout the completion of this unit.

Meets expectations:

-Students contributed to the class wiki at least twice: 1) their information and 2) the information that they learned from their interview/research.

-Students conducted an interview with a nursing home resident, acting in an appropriate manner and asking the specified questions

-Students created a vodcast integrating their own story with that of the nursing home resident

-the student made comparisons between their story and the nursing home resident

-the vodcast contains substantive, historical information

Unsatisfactory:

-Student did not complete one or more of the unit requirements

-Student acted in an inappropriate manner with their elderly counterpart

Exceeds Expections:

-Student completed all of the unit requirements

-Student’s vodcast showed exceptional creativity and grasp of technology

-Student demonstrated extraordinary insight into connecting the past to the present

-Student brought food or drink to the viewing party at the nursing home

Social Media and the Underground Railroad

It really is fascinating to think how social media has changed our world. I really liked Clay Shirky's analysis of how social media makes things less "top down," and more "bottom up." The example that he provided about the earthquake in China really spoke volumes about how social media affects major events; China's previous earthquake was denied by the government, but, with this earthquake, the government found out about it FROM its citizens, via image uploads, twitter, etc. What a crazy world we live in!

Imagine if social networking had been around during the antebellum period; how would this have changed things, specifically the Underground Railroad?

Social Networking would serve as a double edged sword for a slave wanting to escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. On one hand, it would be much easier for slaves to communicate with each other on daily aspects of their lives, as well as specific details necessary for escaping to freedom (we are assuming that the slaves had access to the devices used in social networking, which probably would not be true; but hey, we are imagining, right?). If a slave wanted to escape on Thursday, he could text/tweet to his fellow slaves his plan, and encourage them to join him. The text/tweet could consist of code words, just as the songs that the slaves used to sing to each other as they worked in the fields held subliminal messages of freedom. I bet the Great Conductor, Harriet Tubman, would have been the number one trending topic on Twitter for quite a while!

Many times, slave families were tragically separated; social networking would provide an excellent way for these families to stay connected. A simple text after the day's work had been finished would provide loved ones with the comfort knowing that their family members had survived another day.

On the other hand, this form of technology could also serve as yet another way for overseers and plantation owners to brutally punish their slaves; imagine if an overseer got hold of one of his slaves cell phones and read his text messages. If the texts contained plans for escape, that would spell tragedy for the slave. Or even worse yet, what if an overseer read and MISINTERPRETED a slave's text/tweet?

While social networking technology could have definitely helped the slaves, it could have also greatly harmed them as well. Shirky describes how social networking can lead to change from the bottom up; do you think that slavery would have happened the way it did if the enslaved African Americans had access to social networking?

VOICETHREAD

How YouTube and Social Networking are causing us to understand ourselves differently

This video was really interesting, and made me think of social networking and technology in a whole new light. I thought the term "media ecology" was really interesting, meaning that the media is our environment. When Michael Wesch described how, when a new media is introduced, it creates new ways of relating to others; subsequently, it creates new ways of knowing and understanding ourself. That is an incredibly interesting concept; people adapt themselves to the different people that they are interacting with. When it comes to interacting with people through social media, especially YouTube, there are no constraints on how to act. It is just you and a webcam, or you and a keyboard. While most people are somewhat awkward with interacting with tons of people through interacting with no one (if that makes sense), it eventually encourages a sense of self awareness. This context collapse, although it is awkward at first, creates a situation in which you are free to experience things without fear. Wesch also explained that new forms of community (such as YouTube, facebook, etc,) create new forms of self understanding.

The implications that this new "media ecology" has are seemingly endless; students that are shy to participate in class can now participate through technology. A student that feels left out and not part of the "in crowd" at school, can feel a sense of purpose through their online community.

Social networking also gives students so much information at their fingertips, literally. Students can find out basically anything they want to know....without feeling embarrassed about asking.

Although it can breed a lot of hate, social networking stimulates so many positive things. Sometimes people do not feel comfortable expressing themselves (especially adolescents), so social networking provides a way to do so. Not only does social networking bring people together online, but it also can bring them together physically; how often have you been involved in a face to face conversation about a popular YouTube video? or a celebrity's tweet? or a friend's facebook status update? Although I use a social networking sight multiple times a day (facebook), I have never thought about its true social implications. Can anyone give an example of how social networking has helped them understand themselves better?

the Underground Railroad and iTunes U

I chose to research the Underground Railroad on iTunes U because it is a crucial aspect of any American History class. There is an abundant amount of podcasts available about the Underground Railroad for teachers to use in their classrooms. However, as learning moves towards more student centered instruction, podcasts alone will not suffice in an effective classroom. The podcasts that I found could be used as excellent supplements to a lesson on the Underground Railroad, but never as the main lesson. If I were currently teaching a lesson on the Underground Railroad, I would start with asking my students what they know about it. In fact, I would probably have them compose a KWL chart (what they know, what they want to know, and, eventually, what they learned). Then I might play a podcast about it (mostly I found video podcasts on iTunes U, which are better than regular podcasts). I would then proceed to assign my students this activity: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/slavery-us/activity/4167.html?detoured=1. Students will follow a simulation of the Underground Railroad to help them understand what the runaway slaves experienced; the worksheet that accompanies the simulation tests the students' understanding of what they have just completed.

Students can also use the internet to research the Underground Railroad, as demonstrated in this lesson: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/17/g35/quilts.html. This lesson pertains more to geography, because the students have to understand the dangers that the various terrains posed to the runaway slaves. The internet is also helpful in promoting inquiry learning for the students, which is crucial in any social studies classroom.

Students really need to understand the emotional and physical hazards that both the runaway slaves and people who helped the runaway slaves experienced. Simply listening to a teacher lecture or watching podcasts does not allow such comprehension; students need to use critical thinking to assess all aspects of the Underground Railroad.