Week 3 - Virtual Learning Communities & Social Networking

In Connections: Virtual Learning Communities, Richard Schwier explains the important of building communities in which learning can take place. Whether in a virtual setting or tradition brick-and-mortar classroom, people learn best when they are able to explore new ideas collaboratively in a supportive community. Schwier outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of a virtual learning community. 

On the one hand, virtual interactions fell less authentic because they are lacking some of the non-verbal queues we all use in face-to-face communication. While videoconferencing helps to make online conversations more real, there is no substitute for the physical immediacy and feelings associated with place that contribute so much to our interactions when we are present together.

This apparent disadvantage to virtual communication can also be an advantage. The technology that serves as a barrier to authentic communication can also help people feel protected. Schwier offers the example of a student more willing to question the positions of other students or even the professor when shielded by technology. Also, virtual communication affords students with a vastly greater potential to forge connections with people all over the world. This is the inherent advantage of a virtual learning community.

To that end, I anticipate more educators embracing social networking technology as a tool to help students network with people outside of their traditional communities. For children, there are privacy and security issues that will always require limiting their interactions with outsiders. For adult learners, it is easy to begin making connections with other people safely. Facebook is by far the most popular social network today. According to Facebook, there are 750 million users. That is over 10% of the world’s overall population and over 35% of internet users worldwide. With that many users, Facebook has an extraordinary potential to be the go-to place for people interested in extended their own personal learning networks, but in its current design, there are some limitations.

The biggest limitation that I see, is the way Facebook treats your “friends”. In the eyes of Facebook, all of your “friends” are the same. That is, you want to share everything with all of them. Facebook does let you share post with just individual people that you specify, but this feature is cumbersome at best. You have to select each individual person each time or have one group that you use repeatedly. While this may works to maintain an existing network it makes it hard to build a personal learning network. For my own part, I am reluctant to “friend” someone I meet through Facebook who might have similar professional and academic interests because I do not want to share my personal life with them as I would with the rest of my “friends”.

This is where I see Google Plus becoming the network of choice for people who wish to make connections with others on a more professional basis. At the same time, it will also serve people well who wish to stay in touch with their actual friends and family. Because Google Plus enables users to create “circles” of contacts, users can easily share content with the right audience. For instance, I have an Education Circle and a Technology Circle. When I share cute pictures of my dogs, I only share them with my Friends and Family circles. In this environment it is much easier to find people who share your interests and to network with them. I am much more willing to add people to my network when I know that I can easily share just the content I want to share with them.

I imagine other social networks, including Facebook, will adopt this approach. I hope educators recognize the potential of this new networking technology to build broader virtual learning communities. Some already do. You can meet them on Googe Plus.

Week Two: Initial Thought on Course

I think the biggest struggle I have with technology is explaining it to other people and convincing them to use it. For the past two years, I have been teaching at Granite Hill School in Newport, New Hampshire. It is a small school for students with special behavioral needs. This past September, I convinced the principal that we should begin using Google Calendar so we can keep everyone up to date. She liked the idea but getting people to actually use it is not easy. I gave all staff a quick training at the beginning of the semester but it was not enough. I think getting people (especially educators and other professionals who are used to doing things one way) to really appreciate and utilize new technologies takes a sustained effort.

I hope as we learn new tools in this course, we also learn how to make them useful to our colleagues who are not taking Computer Education courses and do not have the time for substantial amounts of training. I think as schools embrace technology and make it ubiquitous, they will need to provide ongoing professional development to help teachers use the technology.

My digital footprint consists mostly of my involvement on forums and other forms of online discussions. I use Diigo to share bookmarks with and learn from other educators, and I recently began using Google+ to network with others who are interested in Technology or Education. I have a few videos of YouTube, but most of them are from assignments I completed for school. I also use LinkedIn to connect with people I know professionally, and I have used Twitter as well.

About ten months ago I began reading about open source software and became very interested in its potential to make students' access to technology more equitable. I started using Linux and have now fully embraced open source software for all of my computing needs. Much of my KWL reflects my recent passion for open source technology.

Week 2: Thoughts on Chapter One

The first chapter is a justification for the book. The authors discuss how prevalent technology is already and present the notion that technology can transform the learning environment. They also discuss how technology can help learners think at higher levels.

In the section about 21^st century skills, the authors emphasize that learning how to use technology is an essential part of education. Students need to develop information technology literacy in order to become viable workers and productive citizens in an increasingly globalized and competitive world. This is just as important as learning to read and write. Students who are not educated in the use of technology are at an extreme disadvantage.

On the flip side, when teachers infuse technology into learning and instruction, they not only provide students with a chance to learn technology, they provide students with a better learning experience. Ubiquitous computing in the classroom contributes to a student-centered learning environment. Students have more opportunities to create and collaborate, and find a learning style that works for them. Lastly, computers help students learn how to continue learning, which should be the goal of every teacher.