1. Learning Theories
1.1. Connectivism
1.1.1. Learning for the digital age
1.1.2. A diversity of opinions and ideas fosters learning.
1.1.3. Knowledge is no longer individual, it is distributed across networks.
1.1.4. Know-Where (where to find the needed knowledge) is becoming more important than the Know-What or Know-How
1.1.5. Knowledge can, and does, exist outside of humans and out in the world
1.1.6. Students should find patterns in the "chaos" of learning, to form connections and networks.
1.1.7. Students are actively engaged in their own learning
1.1.8. Connectivism in education can be as simple as requiring students to discuss important concepts in groups, to gain understanding from a 'network' of sources. It can also be expanded into requiring students to create a blog or social networking account to communicate knowledge. It can be using technologies such as OneNote to bookmark and store information.
1.1.9. The intent is currency!
1.2. Constructivism
1.2.1. Students are actively engaged in their own learning
1.2.2. Knowledge is constructed through one's own understanding and knowledge of the world, based on experiences and reflection on those experiences.
1.2.3. Constructivist learners are creators of their own knowledge
1.2.4. Students should assess how an activity is helping them gain knowledge.
1.2.5. The spiral idea has students continually returning to ideas that in time gain in complexity and power.
1.2.5.1. The Alberta Education Social Studies curriculum repeatedly has students refer back to and build on ideas. For example, they start by studying family and relationships, expand into larger communities, to countries, and then global, always coming back to the core values taught when students are in elementary school.
1.2.6. Teacher provides tools of problem solving, critical thinking, and inquiry based learning, in the role of facilitator.
1.2.7. Students are encouraged to involve themselves in meaningful learning through project-based tasks (i.e. make a video, write an essay), problem-based tasks (i.e. debate, news broadcast, persuasive speech), and authentic tasks.
1.2.7.1. Find a project that interests them and sparks their curiosity! A website (ex. Wordpress), a portfolio, a piece of art, a novel study, a blog (Tumblr) etc.
1.3. Behaviorism
1.3.1. Learning is a process of responses to stimuli
1.3.2. Stresses that consequences can be either positive or negative, and should be reinforced through either positive or negative reinforcement.
1.3.2.1. Positive reinforcement increases the chance of a certain response happening. For example, rewarding the students with a pizza party at the end of the month if they read a certain number of novels, increases the likelihood they will read enough novels.
1.3.2.2. Negative reinforcement increases the chance that the chosen response will occur, by removing an undesirable stimulus when the response is completed. For example, the students may not have to read aloud their multiplication table daily (monotonous) once they have successfully memorized it.
1.3.2.3. Punishment is not negative reinforcement. Instead, it strives to reduce a negative response by creating an unpleasant environment. Having to go to detention for being late to class, is an example of the use of punishment in education.
1.3.3. Emphasizes the changes in observable behavior by altering the surrounding environment
1.3.4. It is not the individual learner that creates learning, but the environment.
1.3.4.1. A positive learning environment creates a better classroom environment.
1.3.5. The notions of reinforcement are prevalent in schools. Teachers reinforce positive class communication with verbal praise. The class reinforces a successful presentation with applause. The grading system is a form of reinforcement: hard work and studying results in high marks.
1.3.6. In schools, teachers "model" appropriate behavior or classroom practices, in order for students to learn the correct behavior. This is a key principle.
1.4. Cognitive Load
1.4.1. An information processing theory
1.4.2. Cognitive Load explains the limits of individuals' working memory
1.4.3. All elements of a concept must be processed in the mind before learning can continue to occur
1.4.4. If memory becomes overloaded (or underloaded) with memory, learning is made more difficult.
1.4.5. 'Chunking' is used to separate information into groups to ease memorization, particularly for students in subjects with large amounts of information to retain.
1.4.5.1. For example, we often teach students their multiplication tables by chunking them into groups: teach the ones, then the twos, then the threes, etc.
1.4.6. The amount of memory that the short term memory can hold at one time is limited
1.4.7. Schemas, connections between objects of learning, are built over a lifetime and make up the long-term memory.
1.4.8. Students are often forced to exhaust their working memory on tasks that do not require it. For example, when doing a matching section on a test, often teachers put the stems on one side of the page and the options for answers on the other. This overloads the working memory unnecessarily. Placing them together, will reduce the load on the working memory and increase learning potential.
1.4.9. Understanding how memory works and its limitations can help teachers determine how to break up their material to best facilitate learning.
1.4.10. Teachers often use mnemonic devices to assist memory of facts or patterns. For example for the line notes in Bass Clef from bottom to top, it is often remembered as: Good Boys Do Fine Always (GBDFA). The space notes are: All Cows Eat Grass (ACEG).
2. Theories of Technology
2.1. Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)
2.1.1. Technology does not determine human action; instead, human action shapes technology.
2.1.2. The ways that individuals use technology cannot be understood until it is understood as embedded in a social context.
2.1.3. The theory questions who defines what is considered the "best" technology? Who defines why it is successful?
2.1.4. Outlines the methodology for analyzing technological successes and failures.
2.1.5. Concepts do not exist and succeed because they are necessarily "true", but rather because society supports them.
2.1.6. Interpretative Flexibility: there is no one way to make any chosen technology.
2.1.7. Relevant Social Groups: different social groups attach meaning and significance to different artifacts/theories/concepts/technologies
2.1.8. I think that SCOT could be utilized within an educational context to teach students to question and become critical of the technology which is inundating their lives. Why did you choose Twitter over Facebook? Do you know what is behind these technologies? What they stand for? Why did you choose a Mac over a PC?
2.1.9. In general, the tenets of SCOT can be used (despite that it is technology based) in critical thinking and questioning of bias in any subject matter for students. In particular, I feel that it is important that students question what classifies best/worst, success/failure, right/wrong, in the context of Social Studies and history. Who determines which binary events fall into? Whose bias and privilege and what social group is projecting their ideas?
2.2. Media Ecology
2.2.1. The study of media environments and how not only does technology influence society, but it may go so far as to control society.
2.2.2. Technology, techniques, modes of information and codes of communication are an important contribution to each of our lives.
2.2.3. Emphasizes the study of complex communication systems as environments
2.2.3.1. Hot Media: communication that requires only minor involvement from the audience.
2.2.3.2. Cool media: media that requires engaged and active involvement from its audience.
2.2.4. Studies the interactions of communications media with human values, behaviors, understanding, perception, and feeling.
2.2.5. This theory questions how human interaction with media hurts or helps our chances of survival
2.2.6. Media ties the world together
2.2.7. Particularly for modern educators and students, this theory is evident. Students can begin to understand which parts of their lives are consumed by media, and which they can do without. Additionally, they can learn how to use media and technology for productivity or learning.
2.2.7.1. Use Prezi or Powerpoint to create a multimedia presentation!
2.2.7.2. Use Tumblr to express yourself, if you don't enjoy pen and paper!
2.2.7.3. Ask students whether they NEED to create a poster on the computer, or if they are capable of doing it by hand? Sometimes the old fashioned way works just as well!
2.2.7.4. Teach students to question and be critical of what the media and technology tells us.
2.2.7.5. Encourage students to expand their technological and media horizons. Don't always read the news online, open a newspaper. Walking by the Apple store, try out an iPad! It is amazing what new technology can do.
2.3. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)
2.3.1. Determines the type of knowledge teachers need in order to integrate technology successfully into their classroom
2.3.2. Acknowledges the difficulty with technological integration due to situated teacher knowledge
2.3.3. Three Primary Forms of Knowledge
2.3.3.1. Content (CK)
2.3.3.2. Pedagogy (PK
2.3.3.3. Technology (TK)
2.3.4. TPACK believes that these 3 types of knowledge are not mutually exclusive, but that new knowledge can be found within the intersections of these 3.
2.3.5. Effective integration of technology for subject-specific content requires that educators understand the interrelation of all three types of knowledge
2.4. Philosophy of Teachnology
2.4.1. A teacher's personal teaching philosophy regarding how they utilize technology as a teaching tool
2.4.2. Includes views of the role technology should play in the classroom, in teaching, and in learning.
2.4.3. My Philosophy of Teachnology
2.4.3.1. We teach our students to communicate in a variety of ways daily. Why not teach them how to correctly and successfully communicate utilizing technology, whether this be through typing assignments, through social media such as Twitter, or through a blog or a review.
2.4.3.2. As teachers, we endorse literacy. Specifically, as an English teacher, I am required to ensure that my students are literate. Technological literacy is its own type of literacy, one of equal importance.
2.4.3.3. Teach critical thinking through technology. Students need to be able to discern what is true and what is false, what is reliable and what is not, and which information is possessing a distinct bias. These are necessary parts of learning to grapple with experiences and knowledge.