Social Constructivism is a learning theory in which students are actively engaged in their learning and produce a product to demonstrate their learning. The most important component of this theory is the interactions amongst the learners while they work together in collaborative or cooperative groups to accomplish the goal. Connectivism extends this theory by embedding technology into the lessons or products. George Siemens states that "Learning is the act of forming networks and navigating networks of knowledge"(Laureate Education, Inc., 2008.)Information is global and not static, therefore by utilizing technology in the classroom,the most up to date information is available for students to use in their projects.
Cooperative learning can be supported in a technology rich classroom through multimedia, web resources, and communication software. Creating a video is an excellent artifact to demonstrate a cooperative multimedia project. Improved technology at schools allows students to collaborate not only in their classrooms but globally as well. An example is the JASON Project. It is geared for students in grades 4-9, but I can adapt it for my third graders. Electronic pen pals or Keypals are another way for students to communicate or collaborate with students in another school, city, state, or even country. This is an idea I would like to research and use in my classroom next year. WebQuests are both interactive and cooperative. The activities focus on higher level thinking skills such as inquiry, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Another way to engage students is to have them create a web page as their project. Students will think it is fun to share their knowledge with the world. Book reviews, social studies, and science are three content areas where a student created web page would work in my classroom. Communication gets easier everyday by using shared calendars, bookmarking, wikis and blogs.
I also learned how to create a Voice Thread this week. My voice thread is based upon the first story we read, The Lost and Found, by Mark Teague. In the story, Mona, Wendell, and Floyd go on an adventure into the lost and found bin. In my voice thread, Hats!, I ask my students to imagine what kind of hat they could be. I will use this to spark a writing and art assignment that could be published as a class voice thread.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program nine. Connectivism as a Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Mrs. Rosa,
ReplyDeleteI, too, want to further check into the Keypals idea. When I teach social studies, it is sometimes hard for students to really grasp the concept of various cultures. Pictures and video clips can really help students understand more, but having a Keypal in another part of the world would be so fascinating. The only problem would be the language barrier, but even in other English-speaking countries, cultures are very different. Having a keypal would be a great example of the social learning theory because they are actually learning from someone who practices these differences on a regular basis.
Having the students create web pages is another great idea. You mentioned using the web pages as a project in social studies. I think that would be a great idea. The students can take an idea or concept and then research more aspects to the topic and really come up with some creative and fun stuff that is meaningful to them.
Kara
Kara,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the Cisco commercials with Ellen Page? In one of them she visits a classroom that is going on a field trip to China. The two classes are connected with a web cam and are communicating with each other. Keypals would be the first step with our students. Maybe one day, we could go on a field trip to visit our new friends.
Debbie