Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Hi Everyone.

If you asked any teacher whether they though cooperative learning was beneficial for students or not, most teachers would agree that cooperative learning can be very beneficial for students’ learning. This week we learned about social learning theories, which revolve around the idea that people learn through social interactions; furthermore, we learned thatteachers can implement social learning theories into their classroom by incorporating cooperative learning activities. Many of the resources described in the learning resources this week correlate with the principles of social learning. One resource discussed was the use of cooperative learning groups, both informal groups and formal groups (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). By working in groups with their peers, students can create or add to previous meanings about concepts and ideas/occurances; and, the act of creating meanings about concepts and ideas/occurances through social interactions is the premise behind social learning theories (Laureate Education, 2010a). Another cooperative learning activity that incorporate the use of group learning was the jigsaw strategy. Like with basic group work, with the jigsaw strategy, group members “went out” and learned new concepts and then came back to share their new knowledge with the group. It is easy to see that cooperative learning IS a critical part of social learning, and the two are majorly intertwined.

This week we also learned how technology has enabled teachers to implement social learning theories in the classroom. Technological software/web-based programs like Voice Threads, Webquests, and Movie Maker, allow students to work together to create artifacts/products (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007; Laureate Education, 2010b). Students can then use the same technologies to communicate with one another about their products. The authors of our textbook, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, also discussed how it is important for teachers to plan clear lessons and, how it is important for them to explain the lesson requirements to students fully and completely (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). Then, the authors go on to explain how there are technological tools available to help students (and teachers) find resources, stay on track, and know what is expected of them at all times. Tools like Microsoft Word can be used to create rubrics, shared calendar sites, like Yahoo Calendar, can be used to help students keep up with assignment dates, shared bookmarking sites, like del.icio.us, can be used to help students keep up with required website links, and communication software, like edublog.com, can be used to help students collaborate outside of the classroom (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). All of the technologies I have discussed (and many more) lend themselves to being used as collaborative tools; thus, it follows that they are also social learning tools as well. It is clear that the use of technology can be beneficial in the field of education, especially when it comes to the incorporation of social learning theories and cooperative learning activities into the classroom.

The link to my Voice Thread for this week is: http://voicethread.com/share/1881872/ It is a voice thread I would present to my students. The purpose of the voice thread is to introduce a students to a project based learning unit on calculating the area of composite shapes, as well as how to calculate/approximate quantities.

Tonya Todd

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a) Program Number One: Social Learning Theories [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b) Program Number Three: Spotlight on Technology: VoiceThread [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.