My Community of Practice
As my MET journey progresses, I’ve started to rely more and more on my online classmates – on my Community of Practice. As I garner knowledge from their experiences and thought, my thought are enriched!
Here, I would like to share some valuable nuggets of knowledge from my CofP that enhanced my thinking, my beliefs, and my practices….
Janet :Jan 8, 2012
The more I learn about using technology in class, the more I think that it isn’t adding technology that is important, but rather, it is changing the way I teach that is important.
Janet’s comment made me reflect on my current teaching style and how I need to modify it. To include technology meaningfully, I need to allow students to interact with it, with each other to examine the concepts. Using technology as a show and tell will not work. I need to let the students “play” with it.
Janet : March 23, 2012
The teacher role also comes into play when it comes to helping the studends transistion from just playing with the ideas online, to actually understanding and transferring them into their own constructed knowledge-bank.
Denise: Feb 26, 2012
Educators will always be the most critical variable in student learning for it is the educator who must understand learning theory, curriculum, and assessment and choose from the myriad of technology enhanced learning opportunities those which are best suited to the needs of the individual or group.
Janet and Denise’s comments emphasized for me that resources are just resources – ineffective – meaningless objects – which become meaningful and effective as a teacher systematically guides the learners into exploring them – connecting to them- analysing them – as they help the learner through their ZPD’s. Do all teachers realize this massive responsibilty they have?
Kerry-Ann : March 27, 2012
Explorations and observations within real environments are indeed paramount to authentic learning and I agree that in this way virtual field trips have an advantage over other models and visualisations. However, I think there is also a great opportunity in blending models for example, simulations and virtual field trips in using pedagogical models and activities such as POE and GEM. POE – Predictions (simulations), Observations (virtual field trip) and Explanations/evaluations (Discussion on expectations, reality and/or variations) and GEM – Generate (simulations and observation in field trip) Evaluate – (Differences and or similarites in simulations based on conditions and actual observations in real environments), and Modify – Discuss synchronously and asynchronoulsy with colleagues and/or experts/active researchers and modify according to discussion results.
This post extends Janet’s comment. How does a teacher take these resources and make them meaningful for the students? We do realize that resources become meaningful only when embedded in meaningful learning processes. Kerry-Ann talks about POE and GEM or T-GEM. Such constructivist learning methods totally allow for students to own their learning!
Marc, March 24, 2012
Our relation to the natural environment is in high bandwidth. We have the addition of touch, peripheral vision and high resolution environments, depth perception, sense of smell, speech and hearing as well as gesturing.
I read Marc’s comment and it made me realize the many ways we can help students embody their learning. I thought about Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence and thought that we can adapt – differentiate- the learning process according to student’s learning styles and modalities to provide somatic experience for embodied learning.
Dr. Samia: March 3, 2012
Yes, the social construction of knowledge is an established pathway for coming to know. Some of the literature has shown, however, that misconceptions can be fostered, learned, and perpetuated in groups. Group dynamics research also has also revealed that good and scientifically accurate ideas posed by students can be squashed by dominant members of groups. The conclusion of this body of research on group work is that the teacher remains vital-in arranging for and monitoring collaboration, even if part of it occurs on-line or off.
The Prof’s summation emphasizes the need of teacher facilitation to balance out the drawbacks of learning communities – especially in younger students. As I reread the comment I am starting to think – is this how indoctrination occurs? More powerful, prominant members forcing their opinions on others? Have teachers been guilty of this?
Robert: Mar 22, 2012
Is there a difference between 1) purposely visiting the (virtual) museum to gather specific information and 2) visiting the museum just to visit and then having an educational experience in the process? If so, would/should it change the nature of the instructor’s lesson/activity design?
Even though we often learn about things vicariously – how indepth is that? On the other hand- a planned, purposeful activity helps us explore information at a different scale, create mental schemas and models – get guidance from facilitators. Can’t beat that! So the idea is a find a resourse that suits the concept being considered and then embed it in a sound pedagogical process – T-GEM or L4U or POE….
Mine! March 4, 2012
When used effectively, computer simulations can be as productive a learning tool as hands-on equipment, given the same curricula and educational setting (Finkelstein et.al. 2005). This emphasizes the need to embed this simulation in an effective learning process which will allow students to construct their understanding. In the absence of prior knowledge, which might often be the case with such concept, students may build up incorrect models in their mind about the concept. Visuals and animations in such situations, along with collaboration, allow the students to reorganize their models (Khan, 2007). The social affordances can be built around the activity by embedding it in a learning process that allows for discussion and constructing knowledge together.
Even though this was my comment, I am going to mention it here – because I do not want it to be a fleeting though but the essense of my science teaching. I clarfiy this emerging idea more in my Apps post.