This week we discuss the social learning theory, social
constructivism. Orey describes social
learning as constructionism with a social component (Laureate Education, Inc.
2011). The constructionism comes from the product built and social learning
comes from working with others. We live
in a world where we must be able to work with others. It starts when we are small children. Children begin organized activities as early
as two years old. Children begin working
together when they join teams. As adults, most jobs require its employees to
work together. The social learning
approach is learning by doing with others, which prepare kids for life.
Dr. Kim (2001) gave an example of
social constructivism using Shakespeare.
In her example, students were struggling with reading and understanding
Shakespeare. It was decided to group
students and have them rewrite an act of a Shakespeare play in modern language
and then perform it as a puppet show.
Kim explains how the students were motivated by this task. The students
each had a special talent that they contributed to the group. All of those
talents added to an outstanding presentation.
This made me think. Isn’t this
how most businesses work? In a business,
everyone brings his or her special talents to work. No one does every job. If we are talking about
a factory, you may have laborers, machine operators, mechanics, electricians,
sales people, human resource, accountants, managers, and executives. Each has a role that helps make the company
successful. Being able to work as a
cohesive team is also very important to the success of the company. This is where I see social constructivism
important because it helps prepare our students for the real-world.
Of all the social media sites out
there, I do not believe that there is a better suite of social apps than
Google Docs. Students
are able to create documents and share them with anyone who has a Google
account, which is free. People can
simultaneously work on a document. The apps range from a word processor,
spreadsheet, presentation software, Blogger, Google Maps, photo editing, Sites
(webpage creator), translator, and many more. When students work in a
coop
erative group, they no longer need to meet in person. They can set up a shared document and work together from the comfort of their own homes. Students can leave notes to members of their shared document group. Groups can even share with other groups to get their feedback. The possibilities that Google Docs provides is unlimited. It takes social learning to another level.
erative group, they no longer need to meet in person. They can set up a shared document and work together from the comfort of their own homes. Students can leave notes to members of their shared document group. Groups can even share with other groups to get their feedback. The possibilities that Google Docs provides is unlimited. It takes social learning to another level.
I am intrigued by Second Life. It is a virtual world. I was exposed to Second Life about three
years ago when I saw a PBS program on social networks. One segment was about IBM. IBM encouraged their employees to work from
home. The camera showed one of their
corporate buildings, and the hallways and cubicles looked like a ghost
town. The reason was that employees
embraced the notion of working from home.
IBM still needed its employees to collaborate and meet over
projects. One way IBM made this happen
was to have virtual meetings in Second Life. IBM has found
that virtual meetings are a good way hold round-tables with employees from all
around the world (Gandhi, 2010).
I believe this could be the future of education.
Glogster is another
technology tool that supports social learning and allows students to work
together to collaborate on a project. Students create multimedia presentations
that can be stored digitally for other students to read and learn from. The
application is web-based so students can collaborate without being together
physically. The application is easy to
use and extremely motivating for students.
It can even be used on an iPad or iPhone.
This week in class we created Voice
Threads. It is another way that students
can collaborate to build something together. When creating a thread, it works
much like iMovie works. To be honest,
Voice Thread was a bit limiting for me.
It is possible that it was the basic version that made it so limiting. It was strong in the area of collaboration,
but I just felt it was cumbersome. If I were to create a project like
the one I created in Voice
Thread, I would
probable use iMovie. The negative aspect
of iMovie is its lack of collaboration tools. I do like the way that people can
view and critique projects and leave feedback.
The final social learning resource that
is becoming very popular is Instagram. Most
of the students in my sixth grade class have an Instagram account and are
actively using it. On the other hand,
only one of my students has a Facebook account.
With Instagram, students
can share photos for a
project, document science experiments, or snap a picture of a piece of writing
for a peer to give tips and suggestions.
There are many technology tools at our
disposal that foster social learning. I
don’t believe that it is necessarily the tool that matters as much as the way
we use them. We do have to give students
options and the ability to think critically.
As Dr. Orey stated, social constructivism means student/ peer-centered
learning. This leads to actively engaged
learners (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011).
Resources
Gandhi,
S. (2010, January 19). IBM dives into Second Life. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-social-secondlife/
Kim,
B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on
learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved June 4, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011).
Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning
theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI’m in agreement with your statement “Of all the social media sites out there, I do not believe that there is a better suite of social apps than Google Docs”. I’m using the forms component of google docs more than anything else in the suite. It helps with data collection, tests, and surveys.
Another thing you brought up was SL. I did my Masters Capstone on that, and built an entire school that modeled my own. The only issue is the supercomputing power one needs to run the application. Additionally, I was told in one of the earlier classes we had in Instructional Design that it was something of a fad, and its usefulness had already passed. While transitioning out of the Army, soldiers are required to do a briefing in such an online world to help them with their required out briefings of finance, resume skills, life planning, job hunting, and so forth. It certainly helped that it was run 24 hours a day and staffed by civilians that tremendously helped out.
Also, I’m in total agreement with your assessment of Voice Stream. It is just too cumbersome and foreign to me. I was in bewilderment at the delete feature. You mean to tell me I have to pay money to delete a stream! That is total nonsense!
All in all, great ideas in technology. And as for SL, I recommend you do a YouTube search for “Esteban Winsmore” He will make you laugh!
David
David,
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of funny how the free version of VoiceThread is so limiting when you create, but extensive when you respond. I hear what you are saying about how ridiculous it is that a person can’t delete with a free account. After responding to the VoiceThreads, I really liked the video component of the program. Had I not been required to respond to our cohorts’ threads, I would not have gone back to using this tool. Now that I have seen the video component, I would use it if my district paid for it. I am VERY surprised that Walden University does not have a site license for its students. I think that is pretty cool that the army had you use virtual technology to transition to civilian life. I am surprised that Second Life has not had a “second life” with the increased bandwidth that most homes have today. I seems like it would be the wave of the future and not a thing of the past.
Tom
Hey Tom,
ReplyDeleteI also use instagram to post my students homework assignments and gives them the opportunity to ask questions or leave comments. Although, I like the idea of voice tread, I think that instagram will serve its purpose better and in terms of time and effort.
Students like to receive their information in short and sweet terms, instagram is an outlet to do that quickly with screen shots and easy to follow steps. Sitting through a 5 minute tutorial would seem like "too much work" for students to do.
What do you think?
-David Yam