Monthly Archives: October 2013

My Learning….Revisited

Posted on by
Reply

As I look back on my week 1 discussion post at Walden University, I see some superficiality as to how I viewed my own learning. I would say I was spot on in describing how I learn. To recap, I learn primarily on my own without a great need of an instructor to guide my instruction and I’ve been this way for a great deal of my life. I do, however, enjoy and appreciate the presence of a “more knowledgeable other” or “MKO” (Kim, 2001) to help guide me when I become lost in my quest for knowledge.

My learning preference is described to a tee by two of the assumptions of Knowles Adult Learning Theory: my learning is self directed and is “motivated by internal rather than external factors” (Conlan, Grabowski, & Smith, 2008). I’ve always loved to learn for the sake of learning. This joy is the only motivation I need and the topic doesn’t usually matter.  Therefore, I wouldn’t say I’m always interested in “immediate application of knowledge” (Conlan et al, 2008) although this is nice when it comes to improving/enhancing my teaching.

I also described myself as a “cognitive learner” which I’ve since learned is an incorrect way to view my own learning since Cognitivism is a learning theory rather than I learning strategy. Rather, I should have said that my learning is best described by the assumptions/conclusions of the Cognitive Learning Theory.

Since completing my Learning Theory Matrix, I’ve come to take each theory with a grain of salt. My learning can be explained to some degree by all of them. There are assumptions I agree and disagree with concerning my own learning, but each one of them has explanations I can certainly relate to. Regardless of how I feel concerning the validity of each theory, it has been enjoyable to study each of them and learn how and why certain learning models are developed and pushed in the educational field.

Technology certainly plays a prominent role in my learning today and is also an integral part of my teaching. This is something I could have easily described in my week 1 post concerning how I learn. At the time, however, I simply took for granted how often I use technology and how it consistently helps me learn. For example, one of my favorite technologies to incorporate into my learning is the Evernote/Skitch combination which I learned from a colleague of mine. I download the course resources into Evernote, then, reopen them in Skitch. Skitch is awesome for interacting with the resources since I can highlight, add text, and/or add an image to the text I’m reading at the time. This has proven very useful throughout my time as a student at Walden. I also enjoy the availability of video and Wikis for supplemental learning tools. Finally, can easily store and retrieve some of these resources via my Dropbox account.

 References: 

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

 

Kim, B. (2001). Social constructivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism

 

 

Connectivism: A Brief Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

Shown below, and posted in my previous blog entry, is my mind map for my network connections.  I’ll be reflecting, in this blog post, on how 4 key networks have helped to facilitate my own learning over the years.

 

One of the main principles of the learning theory known as Connectivism is that “learning is the process of connecting specialized nodes or information into sources” (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman,  2008). Ever since I was an undergraduate, I would say that my own learning could be interpreted in this manner.

The nature of my own learning has evolved a great deal since the internet explosion.  It suddenly became much easier for me to learn whatever I wanted since learning resources were suddenly a Google search away whereas they were once buried within the archives of a library. Even if I found a relevant source, the information I was seeking was often difficult to extract.

While creating my map, I thought of four main nodes that categorize my current learning: professional, graduate school related, personal, and to a lesser extent, social networking.  The various branches from each of these nodes show the resources I use to accommodate my learning in each of these categories.  The acquisition of new knowledge starts at one of these nodes. For instance, if I need help creating a Calculus lesson, my learning begins at the “Professional Learning” node.  I would then turn to the AP® Calculus community, search one of the many forums for what I’m looking for, or, if I’m unsuccessful in my search, I can post a question on the discussion board and expect a veteran teacher to respond to me within 24 hours. It is possible (and even likely) that this teacher may allow me to extract a lesson, worksheet, or applet by allowing my access to his/her Dropbox share folder.  This “cross pollination of the learning environment” (Davis et al, 2008) is a consequence of Connectivism. It is simply amazing to me that such a thing would have been impossible just two decades ago!  

My Digital Tools

To compose a list of my favorite digital learning tools is as difficult as coming up with a list of my top four favorite movies, but here it goes:

1)      Dropbox:  Online storage space with a kicker: you can share resources by providing links to your folders.  I use it daily

2)      Wikipedia: Say what you will about its credibility, it is still great for gaining superficial knowledge about a topic;

3)      AP® Learning Community: a must for any AP® teacher; free and unlimited access to advice, lessons, applets, you name it. 

4)      LinkedIn: Social networking with a purpose; I legitimately care about what people are posting here because it is relevant to my career.  

References:

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism