week 7-social smocial

Future Learning Landscapes: Transforming Pedagogy through Social Software

We all know about the Web 2.0, and this article brings in Pedagogy 2.0, or teaching using technology and peer based media to enhance the learning and understanding of all.  Pedagogy 2.0 relies on the constructivist learner/teacher point of view to show those that question this type of learning how it can and should be accomplished in the future.  They claim Pedagogy 2.0 is built on the ideas on content, curriculum, communication, process, resources, scaffolding, and learning tasks.  Each plays a vital role in ensuring the success of the learner.

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0

Open education is the answer to many of the educational issues facing us today because of a popular boom, according to this article.  There are many different ways that Open Education becomes that way, such as the OCW initiative at MIT, or the SecondLife lectures that take place at Harvard.  The article claims that most commerce comes from the fat part of a tail and most cost comes from the long part of the tail.  Companies such as Netflix and Amazon have managed to reverse that trend and are thereby doing much more profit than regular companies.

The first article I have read that uses cartoons and pictures to get their point across, it was rather refreshing compared to the many others I have read that just try to shove their point across.  It was both informative and entertaining at times.  I have a little trouble understanding the whole tail idea, but I agreed with almost all the other information.  In addition, as an avid Amazon and Netflix user, I wasn’t at all surprised that Amazon sells more abstract content than best sellers—I have a couple hundred abtracts titles on my Kindle and only one or two best sellers.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

As an avid user of the internet, the author of this article has started to realize that it is changing the way he thinks about information.  Instead of having the patience and desire to sit and read a lengthy article strictly for the information it would garner him, he has a hard time concentrating after just a few pages.  It has forced him and many of his companions and coworkers to become skimmers—not reading to rad, but just glancing for key words if the article/book/story is more than a paragraph or two long.

I definitely agree with Mr. Nicholas Carr on this article.  I have noticed this phenomenon both in my self and my students.  Instead of looking up information, we now just type it into a google search, gaining instant gratification when our answer (and hundreds of other irrelevant answers) suddenly pop up in front of us.  Is it a good thing that we are pushing technology to new heights both in the classroom and in our personal lives?  I have to question it at times because I am an advocate for technology in the classroom, but I have seen what it has done to some of my students.  When a student would rather use an iPod than a paper periodic table just because it’s an iPod, that isn’t a good thing-it actually hinders the user many times because they can’t see the layout the way they have been taught in class.

Quote of the Week from Future Learning Landscapes:

“What distinguishes these exemplars from activities in which students might participate in more traditional classroom settings is that in these instructors’ courses, learners use social software tools to engage deeply with peers, instructors, subject matter experts, and the community.”