Blogging

I understand the concept of blogging and now I understand what is needed for class. The first post I put out was a summary of some of the readings. Though most everyone has discussed the readings in relationship to what they have learned in the course and put that information in their individual blogs. I have kept up with my readings, although not with my blogging. So I am making an attempt to do that now and put this all together.

I found the course to be very interesting at the start and I wanted to learn all this new technology. I started with my twitter, facebook, and blog accounts. Got them setup and got started. Than I found out that I was not a natural at all of the social networking and it was more time consuming than what I thought.

My technology interests are with the newest innovations with electronics (television, audio). I did enjoy learning more about the Microsoft surface. We saw a demonstration of this at Disneyland this spring and were very impressed. I did more research on-line and found the following information that may be of interest:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

WEEK ONE

Map

The map of the forces affecting education was interesting. I needed to learn how to navigate my way around the map. Found some of the predictions to be intriguing.

One example would be the urban learning commons where “communities create common-pool resources”. These resources are common to everyone and with open access. These resources may be damaged or enhanced by individuals. The summary asks; what would happen if education was treated as a common resource. There would be changes in public education and the learning resources (teachers, student, materials, facility … etc.)

I think this is the trend with on-line information. There is a common-pool of information that is available to the person who goes out seeks this information.

Again, I thought that map was a unique interactive way to provide the information regarding the future of learning.

Chapter Nine:
Technology to Support Learning

The concept of having technology just for the sake of technology in education has been explored in several articles. We had a technology class last semester and this concept was discussed. The technology needs to be properly applied to the learning goals to be effective. I agree with the comment that technology does not guarantee effective learning. The technology needs to be used properly.

The interactive technology is a plus for the learner. You are able to build course instruction around this type of technology by using computer simulations and modeling software. The technology enables the following:

-real world problem solving; there are many websites that offer case studies based on actual issues
-technology tools are able to enhance the learners’ opportunity to solve in class issues
-technology provides a platform for feedback to the learners and enables modifications to the course delivery when needed.
-connecting the classroom to the community broadens the base of available knowledge

The author concludes that there is much to be learned about using technology productively in the classroom