My understanding of personal learning environments has been totally transformed by enrolling in this course. I have found that PLE’s are engaging, organized, and provide an ease of collaboration with professionals of similar interest. The personal learning environment was just that- it was a learning experience in an environment in which I was previously unfamiliar. Most impressive was the sense of empowerment and ownership I had in regards to my learning and advancing my knowledge.
As a newcomer to PLE’s, I would gradually ease them into my classroom, until I became more of an expert in this area. I feel this would be a great gifted project for next school year. Students would investigate a hobby or topic of interest; gather resources on a “start page” like Symbaloo. As they gather resources, they would network with professionals for assistance, and engage in meaningful dialogue with other learners.
Ways we can evaluate PLE”s most effectively, would be in regards to the effort that students put into the project. Personally, I feel the most effective means of evaluating a PLE is by providing a rubric of how many contacts must be made, how many reference sites on their page, and their interactions with other learners. Providing a simplistic rubric, which emphasizes the “number” of contacts/resources would give learners a baseline to measurable baseline.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Week 7- Synthesis and Creativity
Nathaniel W
PLEs are fantastic examples of the process of knowledge construction in the 21st century. This knowledge construction is based on research, creative design, collaboration, evaluation, and synthesis. The process of designing, controlling, and collaborating with a PLE, allows for the learner to meet the highest level of thinking skills in regards to Bloom’s taxonomy. Along with synthesizing and evaluating information, PLEs emphasize the affective domain as well. Creativity is the process of proposing solutions, while synthesis is the evaluation of these ideas in establishing said solution. Both are critical to the learning process so that a valid and accurate response can be reached. One of the largest challenges that exist in the Web 2.0 environment is the ability of a learner to find accurate and current facts to further their ideas and ultimately advance their solution.
Knowledge is built upon many individuals/ideas being refined until a workable product is assembled. PLE’s open the opportunity for rapid advances in knowledge and practices, which will advance knowledge at an unforeseen rate. The internet has allowed for collaboration to be a global endeavor between multiple universities and professionals. Information has never been more easily accessible, with an ease of collaboration at any previous time in history.
What I really enjoy about the “PLE learning experience” is the ability of the learner to choose their path of learning. As in the typical school atmosphere, the arts classes are the prime locations for students to express their creative interest and talents. Within the PLE’s students are able to build learning environments to further their knowledge in areas of interest. Building a learning environment around people’s intelligence and communication skills, will ultimately be the core foundations upon the which new sectors of job creation are found. These new jobs will emphasize imagination and creativity.
Innovation and creative thinking are going to be the driving factors behind the success of our citizens in the global economy. We are fortunate to have a universal education system, but the content must be relevant to the upcoming job market. This is going to he a huge evolution in facilitating of the learning process. We must foster creative thinking and innovation within the K-12 setting.
We are facing an unpredictable and ever evolving job market. Jobs that previously existed for the past 30 years will cease to exist, while jobs we never dreamed of will be a staple in tomorrow’s society. Schools must shift from “what you know” to “how you think”. This is going to be imperative to our success as a country. We must be able to “outthink” the competition, through the use of creative and innovative thinking. This includes the ability of learners to try new things, without a fear of failure. Failure must be an acceptable conclusion in the process of learning. Upon these failures, the learner will continue to evolve the process until the desired result is achieved. This will be the staple of 21st century learning.
PLEs are fantastic examples of the process of knowledge construction in the 21st century. This knowledge construction is based on research, creative design, collaboration, evaluation, and synthesis. The process of designing, controlling, and collaborating with a PLE, allows for the learner to meet the highest level of thinking skills in regards to Bloom’s taxonomy. Along with synthesizing and evaluating information, PLEs emphasize the affective domain as well. Creativity is the process of proposing solutions, while synthesis is the evaluation of these ideas in establishing said solution. Both are critical to the learning process so that a valid and accurate response can be reached. One of the largest challenges that exist in the Web 2.0 environment is the ability of a learner to find accurate and current facts to further their ideas and ultimately advance their solution.
Knowledge is built upon many individuals/ideas being refined until a workable product is assembled. PLE’s open the opportunity for rapid advances in knowledge and practices, which will advance knowledge at an unforeseen rate. The internet has allowed for collaboration to be a global endeavor between multiple universities and professionals. Information has never been more easily accessible, with an ease of collaboration at any previous time in history.
What I really enjoy about the “PLE learning experience” is the ability of the learner to choose their path of learning. As in the typical school atmosphere, the arts classes are the prime locations for students to express their creative interest and talents. Within the PLE’s students are able to build learning environments to further their knowledge in areas of interest. Building a learning environment around people’s intelligence and communication skills, will ultimately be the core foundations upon the which new sectors of job creation are found. These new jobs will emphasize imagination and creativity.
Innovation and creative thinking are going to be the driving factors behind the success of our citizens in the global economy. We are fortunate to have a universal education system, but the content must be relevant to the upcoming job market. This is going to he a huge evolution in facilitating of the learning process. We must foster creative thinking and innovation within the K-12 setting.
We are facing an unpredictable and ever evolving job market. Jobs that previously existed for the past 30 years will cease to exist, while jobs we never dreamed of will be a staple in tomorrow’s society. Schools must shift from “what you know” to “how you think”. This is going to be imperative to our success as a country. We must be able to “outthink” the competition, through the use of creative and innovative thinking. This includes the ability of learners to try new things, without a fear of failure. Failure must be an acceptable conclusion in the process of learning. Upon these failures, the learner will continue to evolve the process until the desired result is achieved. This will be the staple of 21st century learning.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wharton Module Six
Nathaniel Wharton
EDG6931
For this week, I would like to state that “I believe in the power of Personal Learning Environments”. At first, I was very skeptical due to the “openness” of this learning process. However, I have discovered that this “openness” that originally turned me against this process has opened my mind to how learning should be conducted. This class has transformed my entire vision of teaching and learning in the 21st century.
Teaching and learning in the 21st century will be driven by technological access and student driven learning practices. The traditional barriers of time and distance have been demolished with the advent of the internet. With the access of information at an all time high, we would be foolish not to tap into this resource to advance the education of our students.
Personal Learning Environments thrive by providing an opportunity for all to advance knowledge and learning. In advancing this information, students are exposed to more relevant content in a stimulating and thought provoking environment.
Along with finding more information, more easily; we are able to organize this information through various web tools. After evaluating various web tools, I found Symbaloo to be the most beneficial in organize my favorite sites. Symbaloo provides a dashboard of information, which provides its users the simplicity of clicking a “link box” and it automatically will load your favorite sites. This site serves as a type of aggregator by bringing the information and topics to you as a learner. This streamlines the learning process and minimizes the continual need to browse for topics of interest.
In this particular assignment, I used my dashboard to organize personal items (like Twitter and Facebook), interest (Energy Saving Practices), and my topic of research (Wine Making). I have found my personal learning environment to be extremely helpful in my hobby of Wine Making. This ranged from sharing recipes to getting “help” regarding various problems, and I have found the entire process to be very educational. The most beneficial contacts I have made were within wine making forums. The responses from fellow vintners were rapid, accurate, and thought provoking.
The panel of experts on various sites ranged from “home brew” wine makers to industrial wine makers. This blend of professionals was fantastic, because it provides a form of differentiation to match the level of the wine maker. Personally, I find myself as a novice in the wine world. This was brought to my attention when I read forums about preserving wine.
I am fairly new to the wine making process, and was able to connect with many professionals to improve my overall practice. Not only was this interesting from a personal standpoint, but it was also very beneficial from a vintner’s perspective. I was able to post any question I had regarding the process, and it was answered quickly with an answer or suggestions. Along with contacting people, I also was able to read other user’s post regarding their questions and problems. This allowed me an insight to a deeper understanding of the problems I may encounter and more importantly, how to solve them.
What I liked most about the personal learning environment is that I controlled my learning. I was able to control what I wanted to research on a particular day, and find solutions. I had total control of my learning environment. This control included collaboration and the ability to delve as deep or as shallow into a particular topic as I saw fit. Personally, I learned more from the “spin off” conversations that started through my discussions with various experts. They often mentioned a term, abbreviation, or procedure upon which I was unaware. This generated a sense of inquiry in my mind to further understand the topic. That is when it clicked: Personal Learning Environments generate inquiry, problem solving, deeper content understanding, and research based motivations within each learner.
This is a tool that I will be sure to apply to my current sixth grade learning environment. I feel this would greatly benefit the students within the sixth grade science curriculum.
EDG6931
For this week, I would like to state that “I believe in the power of Personal Learning Environments”. At first, I was very skeptical due to the “openness” of this learning process. However, I have discovered that this “openness” that originally turned me against this process has opened my mind to how learning should be conducted. This class has transformed my entire vision of teaching and learning in the 21st century.
Teaching and learning in the 21st century will be driven by technological access and student driven learning practices. The traditional barriers of time and distance have been demolished with the advent of the internet. With the access of information at an all time high, we would be foolish not to tap into this resource to advance the education of our students.
Personal Learning Environments thrive by providing an opportunity for all to advance knowledge and learning. In advancing this information, students are exposed to more relevant content in a stimulating and thought provoking environment.
Along with finding more information, more easily; we are able to organize this information through various web tools. After evaluating various web tools, I found Symbaloo to be the most beneficial in organize my favorite sites. Symbaloo provides a dashboard of information, which provides its users the simplicity of clicking a “link box” and it automatically will load your favorite sites. This site serves as a type of aggregator by bringing the information and topics to you as a learner. This streamlines the learning process and minimizes the continual need to browse for topics of interest.
In this particular assignment, I used my dashboard to organize personal items (like Twitter and Facebook), interest (Energy Saving Practices), and my topic of research (Wine Making). I have found my personal learning environment to be extremely helpful in my hobby of Wine Making. This ranged from sharing recipes to getting “help” regarding various problems, and I have found the entire process to be very educational. The most beneficial contacts I have made were within wine making forums. The responses from fellow vintners were rapid, accurate, and thought provoking.
The panel of experts on various sites ranged from “home brew” wine makers to industrial wine makers. This blend of professionals was fantastic, because it provides a form of differentiation to match the level of the wine maker. Personally, I find myself as a novice in the wine world. This was brought to my attention when I read forums about preserving wine.
I am fairly new to the wine making process, and was able to connect with many professionals to improve my overall practice. Not only was this interesting from a personal standpoint, but it was also very beneficial from a vintner’s perspective. I was able to post any question I had regarding the process, and it was answered quickly with an answer or suggestions. Along with contacting people, I also was able to read other user’s post regarding their questions and problems. This allowed me an insight to a deeper understanding of the problems I may encounter and more importantly, how to solve them.
What I liked most about the personal learning environment is that I controlled my learning. I was able to control what I wanted to research on a particular day, and find solutions. I had total control of my learning environment. This control included collaboration and the ability to delve as deep or as shallow into a particular topic as I saw fit. Personally, I learned more from the “spin off” conversations that started through my discussions with various experts. They often mentioned a term, abbreviation, or procedure upon which I was unaware. This generated a sense of inquiry in my mind to further understand the topic. That is when it clicked: Personal Learning Environments generate inquiry, problem solving, deeper content understanding, and research based motivations within each learner.
This is a tool that I will be sure to apply to my current sixth grade learning environment. I feel this would greatly benefit the students within the sixth grade science curriculum.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wharton Digital Literacy Lesson Plan
Nathaniel P. Wharton
Subject Area: 6th Grade General Science
Topic: Car Designs and the Human Appeal
Time: Three (45 minute) class periods
Learning Objectives:
• Students will be able to classify ideas as either fact or opinions.
• Students will research cognitive connections associated with various colors
• Students will collect information to develop their understanding of their forming opinions
• Students will value different perspectives of their peers
• Students will collect and analyze data to make inferences
• Students will communicate their discovery about what they consider to be appealing and non-appealing features.
National Curriculum Concept (or state):
All standards are based on Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards. http://www.fod.ac.cr/estandares/docs/descargas/standards_pensylvannia.pdf
PA Standard: 3.1.7 A#1-3, 5
3.1.7 B #1-3
3.1.7 C# 1-3
3.1.7 E #1 and 3
3.2.7 A #1-5
3.2.7 B #1-5
3.2.7 C#1-6
3.2.7 D #1-6
Key Vocabulary:
• Aerodynamics/ Fact/ Opinion/ aesthetic/ psychology/ research/ inferences/ data/
Key Question:- What features of a car make it appealing to a person?
Pre –Learning Activity:
1. Show this website www.nwlg.org/digitalliteracy - and have students take the online quiz.
2. Students should be directed to focus on these main areas:” Find information” , “Follow my hobbies and interest”, how to “download stuff”, and “do homework”
3. Review each question in the quiz with the students and explain the concepts of digital literacy.
Starter:
1. Access this website: http://www.naias.com/ and click “photo tour” (2011 Detroit International Auto Show)
2. In the “View by Category” toolbar – pull down and choose “Car”
3. Project each car onto the Promethean Board. Have students record rate each car 1-10 based on aesthetic appeal.
4. As each car still being projected on the Promethean Board, have students circle or highlight what they feel are the “best” features of each car- which influenced their opinion of the car.
5. Keep track of what students choose through the periods: Wheels, Spoilers, Hood, Windshields, etc..
6. Compile a graph in excel that shows the most commonly liked features of cars.
7. Have students infer from the results, what the most important structural design on cars.
8. Watch this video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNd6TxwV_sc Ask students if they agree with the commentator’s analysis? Analyze facts versus opinions and criticism they have about the presenters?
9. Homework- Have students research the ugliest car ever made and find a picture of said car, and submit the “ugliest” car they on our class blog. If students find the “ugliest” car, voted by their peers- you will receive bonus points.
10. The next class day we will project the weblog and rank the cars as: Ugly, Really ugly, I would buy this car for my worst enemy, and I would rather walk 30 miles than ride in the car.
Main Learning Activity (60 minutes)
1) Upon completion of Step #10 listed previous, students will chose partners for their research and design project.
2) Your group has been hired by ________, which is a new car company. Your job is to analyze and propose design features and colors for a car for The 2012 Detroit International Auto Show.
3) Research “Color Psychology” and use the colors you feel will prove to be beneficial to the car and explain why you chose these colors.
4) Look online to find and download pictures you feel will enhance your car. Search Flickr, Google Images, and Compfight.com, to find specific wheel/hood/spoiler/door etc designs for your car. All pictures you incorporate must have a Creative Commons license.
5) Present a simple PowerPoint showing the specific car parts you are going to use.
6) Have students rate each design feature on a scale of 1-5 (Five being the nicest they have ever seen and one being “very bland”).
7) Using this feedback, students will use this data to further their project.
Differentiation:
1) Create a generic version of your car on http://www.guzer.com/games/createaride.php (Create your own car)
2) This is a very basic program but you can modify particular car features to gather a sample group’s response to various design features.
3) Anonymous projection of each car and class vote for best design/appeal.
4) Utilizing the results of this activity, record the suggested features of the most popular cars.
Homework:
1) The teacher will issue each student a homework sheet that has a picture of 10 of the same color cars, but with varying designs. Students will survey their family members to see which design was their favorite and what they liked about the car.
Assessment:
1. To finalize this project, a class wiki will be started with the title “Car Design Project”.
2. Students will post their final design proposals for their car company on the page. They will also list all pictures of each car part they have chosen.
3. Students will also identify the color/colors of the car.
4. Students will present their designs to their classmates, where they will receive a rating of 1-10 for each car feature.
5. These results will be compiled into Excel and graphed based on the overall appeal of each sample group for each feature.
6. The team with the highest overall score will be awarded extra credit.
Teacher Reflection:
*Complete upon finishing this lesson*
Subject Area: 6th Grade General Science
Topic: Car Designs and the Human Appeal
Time: Three (45 minute) class periods
Learning Objectives:
• Students will be able to classify ideas as either fact or opinions.
• Students will research cognitive connections associated with various colors
• Students will collect information to develop their understanding of their forming opinions
• Students will value different perspectives of their peers
• Students will collect and analyze data to make inferences
• Students will communicate their discovery about what they consider to be appealing and non-appealing features.
National Curriculum Concept (or state):
All standards are based on Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards. http://www.fod.ac.cr/estandares/docs/descargas/standards_pensylvannia.pdf
PA Standard: 3.1.7 A#1-3, 5
3.1.7 B #1-3
3.1.7 C# 1-3
3.1.7 E #1 and 3
3.2.7 A #1-5
3.2.7 B #1-5
3.2.7 C#1-6
3.2.7 D #1-6
Key Vocabulary:
• Aerodynamics/ Fact/ Opinion/ aesthetic/ psychology/ research/ inferences/ data/
Key Question:- What features of a car make it appealing to a person?
Pre –Learning Activity:
1. Show this website www.nwlg.org/digitalliteracy - and have students take the online quiz.
2. Students should be directed to focus on these main areas:” Find information” , “Follow my hobbies and interest”, how to “download stuff”, and “do homework”
3. Review each question in the quiz with the students and explain the concepts of digital literacy.
Starter:
1. Access this website: http://www.naias.com/ and click “photo tour” (2011 Detroit International Auto Show)
2. In the “View by Category” toolbar – pull down and choose “Car”
3. Project each car onto the Promethean Board. Have students record rate each car 1-10 based on aesthetic appeal.
4. As each car still being projected on the Promethean Board, have students circle or highlight what they feel are the “best” features of each car- which influenced their opinion of the car.
5. Keep track of what students choose through the periods: Wheels, Spoilers, Hood, Windshields, etc..
6. Compile a graph in excel that shows the most commonly liked features of cars.
7. Have students infer from the results, what the most important structural design on cars.
8. Watch this video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNd6TxwV_sc Ask students if they agree with the commentator’s analysis? Analyze facts versus opinions and criticism they have about the presenters?
9. Homework- Have students research the ugliest car ever made and find a picture of said car, and submit the “ugliest” car they on our class blog. If students find the “ugliest” car, voted by their peers- you will receive bonus points.
10. The next class day we will project the weblog and rank the cars as: Ugly, Really ugly, I would buy this car for my worst enemy, and I would rather walk 30 miles than ride in the car.
Main Learning Activity (60 minutes)
1) Upon completion of Step #10 listed previous, students will chose partners for their research and design project.
2) Your group has been hired by ________, which is a new car company. Your job is to analyze and propose design features and colors for a car for The 2012 Detroit International Auto Show.
3) Research “Color Psychology” and use the colors you feel will prove to be beneficial to the car and explain why you chose these colors.
4) Look online to find and download pictures you feel will enhance your car. Search Flickr, Google Images, and Compfight.com, to find specific wheel/hood/spoiler/door etc designs for your car. All pictures you incorporate must have a Creative Commons license.
5) Present a simple PowerPoint showing the specific car parts you are going to use.
6) Have students rate each design feature on a scale of 1-5 (Five being the nicest they have ever seen and one being “very bland”).
7) Using this feedback, students will use this data to further their project.
Differentiation:
1) Create a generic version of your car on http://www.guzer.com/games/createaride.php (Create your own car)
2) This is a very basic program but you can modify particular car features to gather a sample group’s response to various design features.
3) Anonymous projection of each car and class vote for best design/appeal.
4) Utilizing the results of this activity, record the suggested features of the most popular cars.
Homework:
1) The teacher will issue each student a homework sheet that has a picture of 10 of the same color cars, but with varying designs. Students will survey their family members to see which design was their favorite and what they liked about the car.
Assessment:
1. To finalize this project, a class wiki will be started with the title “Car Design Project”.
2. Students will post their final design proposals for their car company on the page. They will also list all pictures of each car part they have chosen.
3. Students will also identify the color/colors of the car.
4. Students will present their designs to their classmates, where they will receive a rating of 1-10 for each car feature.
5. These results will be compiled into Excel and graphed based on the overall appeal of each sample group for each feature.
6. The team with the highest overall score will be awarded extra credit.
Teacher Reflection:
*Complete upon finishing this lesson*
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wharton Week 5 Symbaloo
Nathaniel W.
EDG6931
In one word, I will describe my opinion of the aggregator (Symbaloo) and that word is: AMAZING! So how amazing is Symbaloo? Let me explain in a brief story. My wife, who has been up the past two nights with our sick infant, was getting ready for bed and saw Symbaloo on my screen and said, “What is that, it looks really cool”! I proceeded to show the basics of the aggregator, to which she said- I’m going to make an account for myself tomorrow. Key the angels, because this is coming from a sleep deprived mother, who wanted nothing more than to go to bed.
I love the simplicity of Symbaloo’s dashboard, and the efficiency of receiving information. It is very user friendly, while allows users to efficiently group topics of interest into color coded and organized sections of the dashboard. Over the past five days, I have found myself to use my Symbaloo as my homepage. It’s a great way to start each morning, by quickly accessing my most valued content.
Currently, I am enrolled in three graduate class while working full time- so my time is pretty tight. As the summer approaches and things “calm down”, I am going to take the time link my college work and news feeds. The largest advantage is that this will streamline my current searching methods to find and process current information.
EDG6931
In one word, I will describe my opinion of the aggregator (Symbaloo) and that word is: AMAZING! So how amazing is Symbaloo? Let me explain in a brief story. My wife, who has been up the past two nights with our sick infant, was getting ready for bed and saw Symbaloo on my screen and said, “What is that, it looks really cool”! I proceeded to show the basics of the aggregator, to which she said- I’m going to make an account for myself tomorrow. Key the angels, because this is coming from a sleep deprived mother, who wanted nothing more than to go to bed.
I love the simplicity of Symbaloo’s dashboard, and the efficiency of receiving information. It is very user friendly, while allows users to efficiently group topics of interest into color coded and organized sections of the dashboard. Over the past five days, I have found myself to use my Symbaloo as my homepage. It’s a great way to start each morning, by quickly accessing my most valued content.
Currently, I am enrolled in three graduate class while working full time- so my time is pretty tight. As the summer approaches and things “calm down”, I am going to take the time link my college work and news feeds. The largest advantage is that this will streamline my current searching methods to find and process current information.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
PLE Mind Map
Nathaniel W.
PLE Mind Map
http://mind42.com/pub/mindmap?mid=71c23ce4-a25d-4344-89cc-b8a7e15fe9a4
PLE Mind Map
http://mind42.com/pub/mindmap?mid=71c23ce4-a25d-4344-89cc-b8a7e15fe9a4
Friday, March 4, 2011
Week Four- Social Networking
Nathaniel W.
Week 4
My experience within the social networking assignment would be best described as “enjoyable and efficient”. Knowledge is easily acquired, questions are professionally answered, and the ability to offer suggestions has advanced my knowledge within the science of wine making. It provides a learning environment, upon which all others should be build. The research based approach, networking with professionals, and ability to engage in knowledge acquisition, and cooperative collaboration; provides an ideal medium for the advancement of knowledge.
Within my networking in Diigo, I have been able to research, begin conversation, and ask questions to wine making professionals. This has led me to a deeper and richer understanding of the wine making process, while acquiring new strategies to add a unique spin on my home-made wines. The most impressive part is that it has all been done from the comfort of my own home. I have contacted various experts to ask my “pressing questions” regarding my wine making, with the hopes of becoming a better vintner.
Personally, I value the ease of access to professional information, while easily finding help from the comfort of my own home. Social networking sites have dramatically improved the ability to obtain and advance information within a desired field.
Week 4
My experience within the social networking assignment would be best described as “enjoyable and efficient”. Knowledge is easily acquired, questions are professionally answered, and the ability to offer suggestions has advanced my knowledge within the science of wine making. It provides a learning environment, upon which all others should be build. The research based approach, networking with professionals, and ability to engage in knowledge acquisition, and cooperative collaboration; provides an ideal medium for the advancement of knowledge.
Within my networking in Diigo, I have been able to research, begin conversation, and ask questions to wine making professionals. This has led me to a deeper and richer understanding of the wine making process, while acquiring new strategies to add a unique spin on my home-made wines. The most impressive part is that it has all been done from the comfort of my own home. I have contacted various experts to ask my “pressing questions” regarding my wine making, with the hopes of becoming a better vintner.
Personally, I value the ease of access to professional information, while easily finding help from the comfort of my own home. Social networking sites have dramatically improved the ability to obtain and advance information within a desired field.
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