Wrapping Up

Needless to say, December approached really quickly.  Between work/school/family & friends, I havent had much time to sit down and update this blog.  So, this will be my effort to wrap up some of what has been going on in class all at once.  

I started off Bill's course with a pretty strong opinion that learning should be fun and creative.  And his class helped me to strengthen my opinions and allowed me to apply my research through class discussions on WoW.  However, I believe that although learning should never be boring--there is a strong need for structure.  As much as maintaining an open, free-spirited environment for a learner creates great space for motivation, so does organization.  If the latter is lacking, I feel that the learning space becomes less challenging, more confusing and less effective. 

In terms of theory, this course makes good use of social collaboration--using WoW for some class times is a testament to that notion.  However, I feel that although using video games for learning is great (and I really appreciated the opportunity to interact with my peers in a different manner) there should be enough challenge presented, as well as mediation from the instructor, for the class to have learned better.  But, I understand that this was just a different way of learning that I am not used to.  

For Margaret's class we have been focusing on AR.  My development through my AR is e-mentoring-but through a more social platform.  And in the past, the concept of e-mentoring has focused on limited uses of technology (e-mail, listservs etc.), soI hope to make a space online that is much more personal.  This would involve making use of social collaboration--I want to make a space that both engages and challenges either side of the relationship.  Additionally, since I will be working with children, most likely between the ages of 13-17, I want to find a way that engages them so they feel motivated to continue the Internet in a positive way---updates on AR are in Sakai blog--.

Finally, Paul's class has had us discussing personas and their importance in creating our learning tools.  Our prototype assignment was due yesterday and DreamIT did a great job with creating Virtual Pen Pals.  It's exciting to see everything that we have discussed within group meetings actually come into play and realize how our prototype could become a great learning tool at some point.  

Tool Audition: Venuegen

Tool Audition on Prezi

Tool Audition: Venuegen

Community of Practice

Community of Practice on Prezi

Above is my representation of a Community of Practice.  I chose not to go about this the conventional way and observe a group of people, rather I felt that this was more interesting as it is what we deal with everyday...the Web.  At first I was going to only observe  people in WeSeed's forums, but I realized that many times people make references to external links and thought that would be of interest as well.  The learning in this case is implicit and therefore informal.  Expertise in this community is determined by experience, (i.e. in forums the the most knowledgeable are those who can share their thoughts from past events).  And people join in on these communities by forming a username and log-in information and visiting the sites to update their thoughts.  

The Internet is cool

In thinking about our next assignment about communities of practice, I find myself wandering over to all of the research articles that were provided for us at the beginning of the year.  One of which is, 'Why Virtual Worlds Can Matter' by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown.  The reason for my thought into this is because according to Thomas and Brown, the 'World Wide Web is what emerges out of the collection and interconnections among the sites that constitute it (1).'  Meaning that the cyber space many of us spend so much of our time on is actually a very powerful tool in not only sharing ideas, but building on them as well.  So arguably the Internet could be viewed as a Community of Practice, as it is a place where informal learning is taking place and people are a part of social collaboration, rather than just observers.

Some sites that could be valued as communities of practice are: Youtube and Vimeo.  Both are valid forms of learning because every user feeds off of one another in a way that doesn't happen easily within superficial learning environments.  Since they are engaging and fun, people habitually go to the sites and without even realizing, quickly absorb large amounts of information in just a few clicks.  This contributes to an online burst of discussion and therefore advancement in reciprocating ideas.  Another example of how social interaction using online tools is useful is how large companies utilize the voice of their employees to expand their product, and improve customer satisfaction.  Moreover, ideas such as the ones presented in the video link presented in the prior sentence create a community of practice because people interact with each other and do not even become cognizant of the amount of information they are learning from each other.  This then contributes not only to sales and improvement in their products, but to the overall happiness of their team, whose loyalty is undoubtedly the foundation of their success.  

Additionally, "the visual component of virtual worlds has redefined the landscape of online interaction from text and toward a more complex visual medium that provides a sense of place, space and physiological embodiment (2)."  So the use of avatars, like those found in games such as World of Warcraft further make the user a part of their learning experience, and expand knowledge in a way that was unfathomable in the past.  WoW in itself is a CoP as well since the ever growing amount of users on the platform engage in similar activities and have the opportunity to communicate informally with one another...So as I build up on my ideas  of what I will present as my chosen CoP, I will most likely be sticking with observing how the aforementioned tools aid in social collaboration and informal learning.  

Learning & Forgetting...Social vs. Solitary.

In Frank Smith's, The Book of Learning and Forgetting, he explores the differences between the classic and official theories of learning.  Since much of his focus is on the benefits of the classic theory of learning he voices out the importance of the social activities that the classic view is based upon.  Smith says that, "learning is an inevitable part of our normal lives, and it only takes place...when we are in a normal frame of mind (13)."  In comparison, the official theory of learning is based on "individualistic" activities and is "limited" as well  as "easily forgotten (5)."  We can assume then that learning environments that introduce relative material to an audience that is given opportunities to collaborate will grow more than learners that are confined to solitary circumstances.  Furthermore, he states that, "the main thing we learn when we struggle to learn is that learning is a struggle (13)."  In which case we can compare to Dewey's dislike of superficial learning environments.  Dewey says, "making the individual a sharer or partner in [an] associated activity so that he feels its success his success...he will recognize the means employed to secure success (2)." In essence he makes us cognizant of the fact that humans by nature associate their learning experiences with the behaviors and actions of others: if learning is fun and easy we will internalize as such, if we are only driven by the task of receiving a good grade, then we suppress our negative attitudes on learning.  This very argument of social learning and solitary learning has driven many conversations withing Cadre 13...

Social learning creates an effective means of collaboration.

In one of our discussions about social vs. solitary learning a really great talk by Chris Anderson on TED was brought up.  He brings up what he calls, "crowd accelerated innovation" in which he explains three important aspects: crowd, light and desire.  The crowd would consist of people sharing a similar interest, light would be the open visibility into the subject and of course the desire to learn and share about the said interest.  So in our cyber circles the most popular ways of shedding a "light on [an] interest [is] directly through Facebook, Twitter etc...and indirectly through views and links to similar resources."  Through this group sharing of knowledge and building of ideas it's clear that social learning environments really foster growth in educating.  And although there are many learning styles, i.e. auditory learners, visual learners etc., it is through the collaboration with others that we really internalize new materials and expand upon what we already know.

After all, as Anderson states, "we're a social species: we spark off each other," and this leads to great innovations.

Photo Credits:

http://stager.org/books.html

http://lewebpedagogique.com/support/files/conversation.jpg

MMORPG

Southpark's version of WOW players, good episode.

...or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Player Games.

So, this week is the start of the Fall semester and I am happy to find on the syllabus...(drum roll please)....that we get to play WOW.  I'm so excited for this, number 1. because I'm a big fan of video games and 2. after all the literature we've been going through on web 2.0 and improved learning environments through the use of avatars I'm even more intrigued.

I'm assuming that Bill's not only wanting us to use the platform for his own personal gain, seeing as how he is equally as enthused about incorporating this into the curriculum as the others.  Rather, actually getting us to think critically about how web 2.0 really enhances interactivity with the user and the internet.  I also am assuming that based on some the research he is expecting us to open up even more during synchronous sessions.  It seems that the use of an avatar within social media allows for a more open means of communication.  Which leads me to be even more intrigued of the cognitive processes that occur within social media and social networking.

I'm really anticipating the knowledge building that is going to occur in the class, because it is so incumbent of our society, yet much of our generation doesn't really seem to comprehend how much it really does run our lives.  Instead of virtual and real life being two separate ideas, we are now seeing much more integration between what is real and what is not...

Alright I'm off to the magical world of Azeroth..wooo