Thanks Adam - for getting the ball rolling -so to speak. I have been trying to sit down and write an outline for the last two weeks. We were meant to be spending the long weekend in Adelaide (Queen's Birthday in QLD); but with the bad weather, were encouraged to cancel by our Hotel. So, I now have the weekend at home to catch up on assignment 2. I would much rather be sipping wine in the Barossa! I hope both you and Brigitte were not affected terribly by the weather.
Your proposal is very interesting, and I think exploring this area has some far-reaching implications for the sustainability of education and English language teaching. Your proposal appears to look at how language acquisition can be enhanced by students using their newly acquired knowledge to connect with others for the purposes of practicing and constructing new knowledge. That is an idea that can not only assist the student in the language classroom, but could also assist the lone learner seeking to improve their language proficiency. There is potential to provide meaningful experiences for students who live on the other side of the world and have limited ability to access formal language classes. The thought has also crossed my mind that although we talk about this big connected, dynamic, collaborative, networked world of learning, it does appear that connectivity is restricted by variables such as language, socio-economic circumstances and internet access. Your idea may also provide the basis for more distributive learning, because it encourages individuals to explore outside their primary language groups. Brigitte's blog on Quality in Learning Design highlighted some key learnings for me. I think comparing Social Constructivist pedagogy and Connectivist pedagogy is like comparing apples and oranges. I prefer to see Connectivism as a learning strategy rather than a learning theory. I think Connectivism certainly involves different and unique activities performed by the learner; however, a theory like constructivism involves the cognitive skills that the learner demonstrates. I did have a look at the video on Creative Commons. I like the name "commons", because it conjured up an image of a community space - like an English common. Since, beginning this course, I have often asked myself: How do I know if I'm looking in the right place or I am following the most useful trail to the most valuable information? One issue of the future has to be the organisation of this vast reservoir of information. Perhaps places like Creative Commons can act as a lifebuoy for those navigating this ocean of information - somewhere to begin understanding the generally accepted knowledge on a topic, somewhere to launch in search of new knowledge, and finally, somewhere to return to, compare and consolidate information knowledge.
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10/6/2016 03:58:37 pm
In terms of connectivism as learning theory or not, I'd recommend starting with <a href="http://halfanhour.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/connectivism-as-learning-theory.html">this from Downes</a>. It points out one perspective that suggests significant weaknesses about constructivism (and other more common theories) as a learning theory. i.e. <blockquote>And this points to an underlying weakness of all three approaches: they all involves, ultimately, some sort of black box beyond which no further explanation can be provided. How does reward stimulate behaviour? How is transferred information stored in the brain? What is a model and how is it created?</blockquote>
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10/6/2016 04:09:44 pm
In terms of creative commons and organising/finding the vast reservoir of information, I'm going to disagree a touch.
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Thanks so much both Natalie and David. Sorry I didn't notice this response come up in my feed! The feedback was very useful and will be taken into account. I'll definitely consider expanding my proposal to students outside of classroom settings. Distributive learning is something I had not thought of at all as well. Will definitely do further research :)
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