Rip Mix Feed Instructables
I decided to make a cartoon about a website that I have been using in my teaching a lot lately. Instructables.com (2015) is a site where people can post instructions to create projects. It is free to use but if you want to comment, post or download PDFs you must pay a small fee. Professional memberships are free for educators. This site is based on the free and open sharing of information and improvements on design are encouraged.
This is based on the theory of distributed cognition(Dror & Harad, 2008). People are able to share expertise and experience to accomplish tasks that would be impossible for individuals to do on their own. The use of new media and communication technologies has greatly increased the influence that distributed cognition has on our day to day lives. Our communities of experts used to be fairly local and restricted to people who we know and have regular contact with. With the use of a site like Instructables.com, we can be connected to a diverse community from almost limitless geographic locations. In the past, I would seek advice about a project that I wanted to do with my class from fellow teachers or people I knew in the community. I might even phone a friend in another city. Now I can share files, and get advice from experts in the field that I am interested in without worrying about the geographic or social restrictions that were in place when I started teaching.
Dror, I. & Harnad, S. (Eds.). (2008). Cognition distributed: how cognitive technology extends our minds. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca
/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dZM5AAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&ots=LSoKIwXTc3&sig=BCw1_IfbAqrqHXb0zTBb2wssb4c
Instructabnles. (2015). http://www.instructables.com/
Another great tool! This activity is really opening my eyes as to what is out there. Collaboration has definitely changed in the past few years. It seems it was not that long ago that the team had to meet in person to work on a project, now your “team” could be anyone with something to contribute.
Thanks, James. Will definitely check it out!
Thank you James for sharing your PowToon. I haven’t used it yet, but it looks user friendly, and I am going to try it over the holidays. In my grade 6/7 class, I have a large spectrum of learning styles and levels. I think by teaching my students how to use resources such as PowToon, Keynote, Flipchart for the interactive whiteboard my classroom is supposed to be getting soon, and other online tools, all students can feel a sense of success, and the exceptional learners can soar. It seems that the exceptional learners often are not challenged enough, and I hope by giving these learners more tools, they will excel, and feel a sense of empowerment and fulfilment at school. On the other end of the spectrum, students who do not excel in traditional production of writing exercises, will hopefully find new ways to show and share their abilities and knowledge.