Motivation Needed?

Motivation Needed?  Watch below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=egBF1w-sHR4

Screencast! 

Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie?

Living in China, I decided I needed a way to keep the government from reading the capitalist thoughts in my head.  I found a website that promised me that my thoughts would remain my own, so I decided to look a little deeper and investigate the site some more.
I couldn't help but think, did M. Night Shyamalan use this product for inspiration? 

Have a peak at my screencast review below, where I used our weekly resources to dissect what I saw.

http://www.screenr.com/puQ7

Thailand Adventures

Just arrived back into Bangkok for one more night before heading back to Shanghai. Just spent a great 2 weeks in Chiang Mai, Pai, Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta. Unwinding was the goal, and relaxing we did. Motorcycle rides, zip lining, great food, swimming, beach slothing, snorkeling and casual beverages were just a few of the highlights. Can't wait for the next adventure. Myanmar in 4 weeks!

A Journey into VoiceThread

I have attempted to introduce my friends to VoiceThreads, in hopes that they;

1. Help me out
2. Explore the application themselves.

http://voicethread.com/share/3819883/

Check it out.

Connectivism?

Blog Post for Connectivism

To sum it up, (according to me of course) Social Learning stipulates that students learn better whilst they interact with others. Dr. Orey believes that when students are creating artifacts with the help of others, they are engaging in a conversation that will help them understand more.  Those others could be teachers, computers, and their friends.  Teaching and helping their friends aids them in developing a deeper understanding of the content they are working with. 

     The Connectivism that George Siemens’ speaks of taps into this belief.  He said that learning is the act of forming networks and navigating these networks for knowledge.  

     It seems as though my previous post applauds the outcomes of a constructivist approach, whereas the Social Learning Theories I speak of today supports the processes and interactions that happen transpire during the construction of a groups end artifact.  From previous experiences, I think it’s entirely possible to have a large percentage of students work done socially in class, fine tune it collaboratively using social network sites like Facebook, Skype, or Tumblr and provide a tangible, Constructivist guided artifact that they can share with others, possibly on their Voicethreads account! 

Constructionism in Action!

“You mean we get to make something in class?”  Wow, I remember saying that when I was a student.  To be able to create something in class was such an event, that I can remember many of the large projects I did 20+ years ago.  Maps of the explorers that discovered Canada, Olympic Villages of my design, a diorama of the northern Tundra and an anatomically correct knee joint with a removable patella bone.  How is it I can remember making these projects from so long ago? Oh wait, I know…Constructionism!

Dr. Orey states that Constructionism is the theory of learning where people learn best when they get to create something that they can share (Laureate Education, 2010). Apparently the ability to share a creating engages students, and gives them a greater capacity to learn.

I was blown away by Voicethreads this week ) http://www.personal.psu.edu/jun3/blogs/webresume/VoiceThread-WP(2).pdf) .  How can you possibly share your work with the world in a better way?  People can give their opinions/thoughts/collaborative ideas on your creation through video, text or voice.

Even the use of data collection tools and spreadsheets (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) give our students a chance to create something they can share and interpret with others.  It was said so well in our text, such tools illustrate how technological applications help teachers to combine the instructional strategies that affect student achievement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).  If I am still able to remember my projects, which were made of clay, paper browned with tea bags, markers and glue sticks, will all of this technology that’s everyday available allow students to remember more of their work down the line?

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Behaviorist learning theory. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Michael Orey.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism in Practice

Dr. Orey explains that it is important to make connections between the old and new information we have stored in our brains (Laureate Education, 2007). Retrieving and activating this background knowledge will give our students an appropriate platform to link, and in turn recall, new information that they will be given. 

The Concept Mapping Tool’s explained by Novak (2006) visually depicts the relationships between concepts, by indicating a connecting line that links the new concepts.  You can take original background knowledge, and physically draw in the links that connect your old knowledge, to new concepts.  This form of Elaboration is an integral part of retaining long-term memory (Laureate Education, 2007).

Paivio’s (Laureate Education, 2007) dual coding hypothesis predicts that students will retain information better if it is stored as an image and text.  By using appropriate organizers provided in our book; Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) we can help our students create an associative connection using informational images and rich vocabulary.