PLE Reflections........

After spending time in everyone's Personalized Learning Environments, I realize how talented all of you are. Since I've just begun the Learning Design Program, it was inspiring to see so many great ideas and tools that my fellow classmates have assembled to create a highly functional workspace. It also highlighted just how different we all are in our approach to receiving and processing the mountain of data we deal with every day. I can say it was also beneficial to see so many layouts, widgets, etc. demonstrated that I will most certainly incorporate into my own PLE as I progress through the program.

How I really feel about "Is Google making Us Stupid"

As I read, researched, and participated in the Voicethread debates on this article, I found myself very much split down the middle in many of the points that were raised by both sides of this argument. Being the quintessential Digital Immigrant, I am at times, overwhelmed with the amount of data at our fingertips. I really can see both sides of this ever growing concern that the instant availability of information and the domino effect it has. One thing that struck me as our teams worked through these debates was that  we very quickly moved from the specificity of Google to all aspects of the internet and social media and their respective positives and negatives. Ultimately, I am a work in progress. Some days, I really cannot get past the fact I have 50+ emails from my job plus another 20 from my university, social networking added to the readings, posts of classes, and general interaction with the internet I do on a daily basis. If I allow myself to think about all of that, it is easy to fall into the trap of assuming that this is all bad for me, and somehow, my critical thinking is suffering at some level. If I really step back however, I find that much of my being overwhelmed is self-imposed. In reality, the internet while wonderful, resourceful, and at times, intoxicating, is a great tool, that when used responsibly as any other, can enhance learning, and in some cases actually change the world.

……..On Intelligence Chapters 4 & 5

Honestly, I found these 2 chapters much more interesting than the previous ones.

Memory is such a complex animal. The whole concept of no matter how much faster a computer's processor was, it still took a "million" steps to get to the next step verses the one-hundred  of the human brain, blew me away. I have always been able to recall huge amounts of song lyrics to the amazement of my wife. She always wonders why I can remember the words of a song that I haven't heard in over 20 years, but can't remember what we talked about in the previous hour. I've really never given this a lot of serious thought until Hawkins goes one step further with his explanation of how we are able to recognize a song no matter what key it is in due to our mind being able to "fill in" the missing pieces by its' amazing ability to predict.

Kayleigh and Cheryl posed the following question:

Can we utilize the concepts of the memory-prediction framework of intelligence in instructional design? Could this theory aid in designing more effective courses?

I would say we could. Any opportunity to capitalize on things that learners are able to recall and "predict " as a means of gaining even more information to store in memory and recall later, would be of benefit. In the case of a learner excelling in a subject they are really interested in. Could this simply be that because of this, those memories are more accessible or have stuck so to speak, more than the things we choose not to hang onto? If so, then certainly this kind of theory would aid in designing a more effective course for learners.

Hawkins- On Intelligence

For the reading this week, please refer to the short introduction at:
www.wix.com/robbanister/On_Intelligence for a brief overview and a few questions to think about as you read through chapters 2 & 3.

Smart People or Smart Contexts?

In response to Erica and Dave's question from "Smart People or Smart Contexts?"

What effect does technology and other tools have on the learning environment? 

I believe technology can have either a positive OR a negative impact on a person's learning environment. It really depends upon a learner's style and what role technology does or does not play in their ability to succeed in the classroom. I know from recent personal experience that too much of a good thing can be detrimental to learning. What I mean by this is with all of the channels available to receive information, it can be at times, overwhelming to process it all to the point of retention. As much as I love the many ways by which we can gather and assimilate data, I sometimes long for a simpler, less saturated sponge of information to choose from. No doubt, many of you in this course are very comfortable navigating your way through the high seas of informational technology while I, at times, feel like the fish out of water, just wanting to have a good reference book to gather my material from. The article referenced one situation where a student took a course that  "required a great deal of group work, self-regulation, and creativity…." The students' performance was not good mainly because this was a "technology rich curriculum" which she was not suited for. As this was not a good match to her learning style, performance suffered and she could be considered by some to have "low ability."  After the teacher made adjustments to the program to address the students' issues, performance improved. I see this very scenario nearly every day in the workplace. Employees struggling to perform well at their jobs even though they are skilled when something as simple as a new project or even a better means of training could make all the difference between success and failure. Employers as well as educators, need to be on the lookout for signs that point to a mismatch in learning styles and the environment they are placed in. I think when we see this kind of forward thinking going on, we will then see a marked difference in achievement in business as well as education.

Knowing Knowledge

After reading through George Siemen's "Knowing Knowledge", I have to say it was a hard read for me. Firstly, I am not an educator by trade, and honestly, I am still trying to understand what  connectivism really is, and after reading this, I believe I have a much better grip on it. Rather than evaluate or summarize Siemen's work, I'd like to share a few things from it that caught my attention:

"Our pre-conceived structures of interpreting knowledge sometimes interfere with new knowledge."

Many times, we fail to receive the message because we can't get out of our own way. We've already processed the data,  passed judgement, and moved on failing to really learn anything new. 

"The fault of many schools, universities, and companies is the unwillingness to listen to the voices of those closest to change pressures and emerging methods."

So, we have people connected to what is needed for positive change and the methods to make it so. Yet much of the time our organizations fail to recognize either by choice or lack of vision, to create an environment where quality learning is possible. Although this ideology is not limited to education, let me focus on it a moment in order to answer Sue, our facilitator's question "Do you believe the educational system is broken." While I do not think the system itself is neccesarily broken, I do believe that perhaps the "brick and mortar" way of doing things is outdated and becoming less and less effective as a means of creating the environment needed to facilitate meaningful learning. Without these types of environments, are students really participating in the learning process or are they merely fulfilling the requirements of the system only to be ill-prepared for what comes after.

Thoughts on Montessori

I must confess, while I have seen schools that bear her name, I knew very little about Maria Montessori. Montessori was quite an innovator early in her life when she attended a technical school because she wanted to be an engineer. The school was all male. She later graduated from the University of Rome La Sapienza Medical School to become one of Italy's first female doctors. It was then that she became interested in how to educate those that were considered uneducable or what would be considered today, those with learning disabilities. After several of her 8 year old students passed the state examinations for reading and writing with above average scores, she focused her attention on the potential of "normal" (Olaf) children. It was through these observations that Montessori understood that the teacher was not the central focus of education, but rather the individual and the environment in which they learn. This type of individualized learning is what we now call The Montessori Method and there are nearly 20,000 Montessori schools worldwide.  Upon reading through the English translation of Montessori's text, I was particularly interested in Chapter 6- How The Lessons Should Be Given. Of focus is that the lessons are individual, simple, and objective, perhaps much like our own online coursework. 

For further reading, I found the Montessori Website of interest. Basically, this is a blog containing posts from those involved in the Montessori program.