news and general updates

Hi All, it has been a long time since I have posted here.
Lots has happened.
I am working for a contract company now CDI.
I am on a contract back at IBM.
I drive to Boulder everday so I can work on sight at the Boulder IBM office.
I am in my last week of class to get my Instructional Design certificate.

week 8 reflections

Reflections on the course Learning Theories and Instruction
As this course draws to a close my first reaction is “WOW!!! Has it really been eight weeks already?
When I started this course I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have not had any classes related to learning theories since my undergrad days when I was pursuing a degree in Education. What I found surprising was that some of the information came flooding back to me as I started reading the assignments.
I remembered learning about Behaviorism, where learning occurs when a proper response is demonstrated following presentation of a specific environmental stimulus. As a child I learned in this way. Touching a hot stove will hurt you so don’t do it. In elementary school most learning was also behaviorist. I learned everything by practice and repetition. We had spelling bees and grammar bees and arithmetic bees and to win the bee or at least be in the top 3 of the class was a great reward.
I didn’t remember learning the term Cognitivism but I know I learned some subjects in this way. In Cognitivism learning occurs by relating new information to existing information. We think and build on what we already know. For example we can take information that was learned in English class and apply it to writing a paper in History. As I addressed the question “How should instruction be structured” in cognitivism, I was reminded of my college teaching of math class. At the time teaching for meaning and understanding was a foreign concept to me and what I thought was a new concept in the education world. When I went out into a real classroom I understood that as a teacher we have to make information real to the student. Writing 1 + 1 = 2 on the blackboard doesn’t necessarily make sense to a 1st or 2nd grader. But give that child 1 crayon and then another 1 crayon aha! The light goes on I have 2 crayons.
The other term that was new to me is Constructivism , which is defined as a “function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her own experience” and “the Constructive mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality.” Constructivism stresses collaborating with others, taking what we already know and using it to develop new solutions and then implement those solutions creating a new unique reality. I learned by the constructivism method on my last job. I worked with a team to collaborate on ideas and solve problems.
My answer to how do I learn was by all three methods. As the class went on I also added connectivism to how I learn. Connectivism includes using the technology tools that are now available to us and creating a “knowledge” network that we can utilize to help us learn and get information. Our assignment was to create a mind map of our learning network. My Map included websites such as Google, LinkedIn, and individual blog pages.
This class helped me to put terminology to how I learn. As an adult learner I have taken many on-line classes but this is the first actual university class I have taken. I really enjoyed the variation in presentation of the class materials. I intend to use a mix of video, readings, discussion, live chats and hands on learning and a mix of behaviorism. cognitivism and constructivism in the classes I design. I believe in order to be a good instructional designer I have to get the material across to the student in the best way possible. So it is up to me to decide what will work the best for the material I am presenting.
Prior to this class I had written and presented some training materials to colleagues in the Information Technology field. I did not consider how people learn or what motivates them to learn. The training materials I created were well received by my colleagues and learning did indeed take place as evidenced by their ability to use the applications they were trained on. I had a very specific target audience for my training materials. However I know as I move ahead in the field of Instructional design the materials I produce will be used by a more diverse group of students. I may not necessarily know their background or their learning styles therefore I have to insure that I use the varied learning theories mentioned above and also keep in mind the motivational aspects that we discussed this final week of class. Using the ARCS method to gain and keep Attention, show Relevance of the class materials, contribute to the students Confidence level in learning the course materials, and poll the student satisfaction level at course completion.
I am looking forward to the next class to start putting these theories into practice.

fitting the pieces together

week 7 assignment for Walden class
This week we were asked to revisit our responses to the week 1 discussion question regarding how we learn best based on the learning theories we had explored up to that point (Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructionism).
Then, consider the following questions:

Now that you have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, how has your view on how you learn changed?
What have you learned about the various learning theories and learning styles over the past weeks that can further explain your own personal learning preferences?
What role does technology play in your learning (i.e., as a way to search for information, to record information, to create, etc.)?


My week one response was that I learned by all of the above.
In elementary school I was definitely a behaviorist. I learned everything by practice and repetition.
As I grew and matured my learning style moved along the learning continuum from behaviorist to cognitivist. Taking information that was learned in English class and applying it to writing a paper in History, or standardizing program code in the work environment so that problem solving is easier are examples of applying cognitive learning.
Once I was out in the work place I applied the Constructivist learning theory. Using what I already knew and collaborating with others to create new solutions.

As for how has my view of how I learn changed from week 1 to week 7 - I now have to add Connectivism to how I learn. Connectivism makes use of current technology and networking to explain the effect technology has had on how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn.
I used technology to create training programs for the user community at my previous employer. I also used elearning classes to do my own self directed training. I am fairly comfortable with navigating the Web using Google search, creating blogs and subscribing to blog feeds.
This class has gotten me off to a good start with understanding how I learn so that I can build on the knowledge to find out how others learn and utilize that information when creating my own Instructional Design courses in the future.

interesting article about distance learning

I read this article on edutopia today and thought others might be interested.

Learning and teaching from anywhere http://www.edutopia.org/derek-wenmoth

My reflections on Connectivism

Our Assignment for Week 5 was to write a reflection on how your connections facilitate learning. Consider the following questions:
How has your network changed the way you learn?
Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
How do you gain new knowledge when you have questions?
In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?

Here are my thoughts on my learning network and connectivism.

The major way my network has changed the way I learn is that I have gone outside my former employer’s umbrella of courses. All the courses I took there were on-line and self directed.

This course at Walden is the first on-line course I have taken from a University and it is time constrained. I am also taking classes from another company which are similar to the type of training that I used to do for my user community. These classes are called webinars and they are instructorled with a conference call phone line and on-line screen presentations. The webinars are recorded for future reference and on-line screen presentations may be downloaded.

I don’t have any issues with using the technology tools since I navigated aroundthe internet as part of my previous job. I will say though that prior to this course I used Google search and other Web search engines mostly to find social information like the location or hours of a restaurant, or an entertainment venue.I had never subscribed to an RSS feed prior to this class because I didn’t really have a need for it. The same with Blogs I would take a look now and then at somecorporate Blogs but never had enough time to create one of my own. The laptop is the best tool to facilitate learning for me. The information is at my fingertips and I have access to almost anything I want 24 /7. I do a lot of my reading after everyone else goes to bed because the house is finally quiet and I can concentrate better. I really like being able to watch videos on the lap top. I know that has been available for a while but I just started using the videos for learning purposes.I also really like the “ebrary” to be able to read books and magazine articlesthis way is great. I still can’t bring myself to purchase a “kindle” though. I would want to use it for pleasure reading and I like holding a book in my hands for that.

I gain knowledge when I have questions by using the contact a friend approach (like ‘phone a friend’ from Who Wants to be a Millionaire). I email the person or persons who I think may have an answer or sometimes I contact customer support. I also make use of the ‘HELP’ facility for on-line applications or ask the question in Google. Sometimes I can’t find the exact information I am looking for so it is a matter of really digging into what Google retrieved for me.For the Walden course we also have our instructor Mark who is available via email for questions.

I agree with the main tenets of connectivism as stated by Siemens.

1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the Learning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

I am not sure I agree with point number 3 that Learning may reside in non-human appliances. In this particular statement the word ‘Learning’ bothers me.
Taken from the online dictionary link http://www.thefreedictionary.com/learning

The dictionary definition of learning is (n)The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill. Knowledge or skill gained through schooling or study. See Synonyms at knowledge. Psychology Behavioral modification especially through experience or conditioning
The non-human appliance can store information that can be used for learning but it does not actually gain knowledge or skill. Some one has to feed the information to the storage device that can then be used by a human person for learning to take place. I don’t disagree with the concept I disagree with the choice of the word ‘Learning’.

connectivism Bobbie's network jpeg week5

CONNECTIVISM

here is a link to my mind map Bobbie's Network in webspiration
http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/275995a10088