networking!!! not has hard as it seems

ok well we all know how hopeless melissa is with technology..if i had to do this by myself last night it would have been alot harder and i most likely would have given up!!! its pretty cool though. it would have taken forever then i would have rung jess to ask her how to do it!its a good idea to do because people can tell me if im wrong about what ever it is im babling about then i could fix it up. social constructivism using technology who would have thunk it!!!!!knowing how well i use technology i probably would have deleted not only my blog but everyone else's...if that is impossible im sure i would be able to do it!!!why did we use this whole networking bizzo??? well we're using our "higher-order thinking" we are using our ability to construct a on-line community of learners..were helping each other, if someone dosent understand we can make it clearer!!! simple really :) complex ideas become clearer when a peer explains it to us.:)

Social Constructivism in use in ICT

Following on from the idea that human's learn through creating personally meaningful understandings by relating new info to what they already know (constructivism), social constructivism is where this process occurs through interaction with others. Shared interpretations of new info and shared previous knowledge and experience enhances the understanding for all involved.Effective use of ICT fosters social constructivist learning through engaging the learners, fostering discussion, facilitating metacognitive learning (student is aware of their own learning), providing cognitive tools for co-operative work, and encouraging use of different thinking and learning styles (eg: visual, audio, spatial etc...)

cognitive tools

• What is a cognitive tool?
  
  Definition:
  
• Cognitive tools refer to learning with technology (as opposed to learning through technology).Jonassen (1994) argues that “ technologies, from the ecological perspective of Gibson (1979), afford the most meaningful thinking when used as tools”.
  Cognitive tools are generalizable computer tools that are intended to engage and facilitate cognitive processing. [...]
• Cognitive tools can be thought of as a set of tools that learners need in order to serve cognitive apprenticeships. [...] They scaffold the all-important processes of articulation and reflection, which are the foundations of knowledge construction. They (gag, can I say it?) empower the learners to think more meaningfully and to assume ownership of their knowledge, rather than reproducing the teacher's. The major problem if we accept this conception of technologies is what to do with all of the instructional designers... (Jonassen 1994).
  
• Cognitive tools help learners with complex cognitive learning activities and critical thinking. These tools are learner controlled in the sense that they construct their knowledge themselves using the tools rather than memorizing knowledge. In this perspective, computer systems are "partners" that stimulate learners or groups of learners to make maximum use of their cognitive potential.
  http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Cognitive_tool
  
• how do you use cognitive tools to teach??
  
• Learning WITH technology as opposed to learning FROM technology.
  The basic principles that guide the use of interactive software programs as cognitive tools for teaching and learning are:
  
• Cognitive tools will have their greatest effectiveness when they are applied within constructivist learning environments.
  
• Cognitive tools empower learners to design their own representations of knowledge rather than absorbing representations preconceived by others.
  
• Cognitive tools can be used to support the deep reflective thinking that is necessary for meaningful learning.
  
• Cognitive tools have two kinds of important cognitive effects, those which are with the technology in terms of intellectual partnerships and those that are of the technology in terms of the cognitive residue that remains after the tools are used.
  
• Cognitive tools enable mindful, challenging learning rather than the effortless learning promised but rarely realized by other instructional innovations.
  The source of the tasks or problems to which cognitive tools are applied should be learners, guided by teachers and other resources in the learning environment.
  Ideally, tasks or problems for the application of cognitive tools will be situated in realistic contexts with results that are personally meaningful for learners.
  
• Using multimedia construction programs as cognitive tools engages many skills in learners such as: project management skills, research skills, organization and representation skills, presentation skills, and reflection skills.
  
• research concerning the effectiveness of constructivist learning environments such as microworlds, classroom-based learning environments, and virtual, collaborative environments show positive results across a wide range of indicators

inspiration natives and immigrants

re-thinking bloom

1. description-


2. analysis- summarising and notemaking


3. synthesis-


4. evaluation-


5. application- apply techniques to the classroom you are going into


6. creation- coming up with creative ways to deal with your class

blooms taxonomy is being re-thought by many people. we need to learn to transfer thses skills into our classrooms, we need to become creative!!!

Get creative!

Get productive!

Get connected!

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/soundhousevectorlab/

constructivist!!

• Formalization of the theory of constructivism is generally attributed to Jean Piaget, who articulated mechanisms by which knowledge is internalized by learners. He suggested that through processes of accommodation and assimilation, individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences.
• Assimilation occurs when individuals' experiences are aligned with their internal representation of the world. They assimilate the new experience into an already existing framework. Accommodation is the process of reframing one's mental representation of the external world to fit new experiences.
• Accommodation can be understood as the mechanism by which failure leads to learning. When we act on the expectation that the world operates in one way and it violates our expectations, we often fail.
• By accommodating this new experience and reframing our model of the way the world works, we learn from the experience of failure.
  
• It is important to note that constructivism itself does not suggest one particular pedagogy. In fact, constructivism describes how learning should happen, regardless of whether learners are leveraging their experiences to understand a lecture or attempting to design a model airplane.
• In both cases, the theory of constructivism suggests that learners construct knowledge. Constructivism as a description of human cognition is often associated with pedagogic approaches that promote learning by doing
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)
  

constructivism!!!

some definitions of constructivism:

• The constructivistic approach to teaching and learning is based on a combination of a subset of research within cognitive psychology and a subset of research within social psychology,http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/construct.html


• Constructivism is an approach to teaching based on research about how people learn. Many researchers say that each individual constructs knowledge rather than receiving it from others.


• http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.d36b986168f3f8cddeb3ffdb62108a0c/;jsessionid=D1G9DbBQp88y4L68DUtdLOt6fY6of7KDGSzrznqIxWO27EEungvz!258856059


• constructive teaching is based on the belief that students learn best when they gain knowledge through exploration and active learning.


• Education is centered on themes and concepts and the connections between them, rather than isolated information.


• Constructivism is a theory of learning based on the idea that knowledge is constructed by the knower based on mental activity. Learners are considered to be active organisms seeking meaning. Constructions of meaning may initially bear little relationship to reality (as in the naive theories of children), but will become increasing more complex, differentiated and realistic as time goes on. http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/Skaalid/definition.html

There are several guiding principles of constructivism:

• Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning.
  


• Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. And parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Therefore, the learning process focuses on primary concepts, not isolated facts.
  


• In order to teach well, we must understand the mental models that students use to perceive the world and the assumptions they make to support those models.
  


• The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning, not just memorize the "right" answers and regurgitate someone else's meaning.


• Since education is inherently interdisciplinary, the only valuable way to measure learning is to make the assessment part of the learning process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their learning.

http://www.funderstanding.com/constructivism.cfm