So far throughout this course we have looked deep into some of the most well known learning theories in education. This week however, we’ve dipped into something that is a little bit more debatable as to whether it is actually a learning theory in the sense that it is a primary means to how people construct meaning. What it is that we are looking into now is social learning theories. Really? Could socializing actually be an asset to learning in our classrooms? Well the jury might still be out on whether or not some of these ideas will actually make it to becoming leading learning theories, but there are indeed some very beneficial instructional strategies that correlate closely to the principals of social learning theories.
The text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, offers a large variety of cooperative learning suggestions that give students the abilities to connect with and learn from people all over the world. Setting aside the obvious strategy of grouping students together to work through problems, there where a couple strategies that really stuck out to me within this book. The first was something called Keypals or ePALS. These items are much like the time old activity of pen-pals, only our students are using technology and have the options to communicate with people from all over the world almost instantly. Through an Internet community at http://www.epals.com/ our students can collaborate with other classrooms, without boundaries, about their cultures, interests, experiments, projects, and life in general. This sort of thing fits very well into the social learning theory as students are making network connections and gaining knowledge from them.
The second resource that I made note of was bookmark sharing. Sites such as http://del.icio.us and http://www.kaboodle.com/ allow students to both create collaborative lists of sites they have found useful on given topics, and get lists of websites that other people have found to be good resources on any given topic. I can see this being a great way for members of a group to share resources easily. No longer do students have to wait until they get back into the classroom to share a site with their friends. They can simply put it on a shared bookmark for all to see immediately.
So to sum up, with these social learning tools, not only are students using the techniques of making connections and constructing artifacts that are suggested in the congnitivist and constructionist theories, but they are doing so while using some of the latest available technologies to expand their resources and connecting with other people through networks.
Magan,
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of the ePALS. I think that there are so many great things that teachers could do with this. I think that science classrooms could conduct experiments such as growing plants or a physics experiment and then compare the results with another classroom in China! I think that it is a great way to get students to think about the world. You could also have students correspond with other student in another language for Spanish or French Classes. They could have that as an assignment to correspond weekly in both languages and they could correct each other.
It is a great tool and thanks for highlighting it.
Tyler
Magan,
ReplyDeleteI also really like the idea of ePALS! I think that this can easily be incorporated into a variety of subjects. This would really compliment what Dr. Orey was discussing about tearing down classroom walls. I also like the strategy you mentioned from the text about students making collaborative lists. What a great way to incorporate the idea of social learning!
~Rachel
The Internet certainly has given us great opportunities to tear down classroom walls and take advantage of social learning. I just hope our school are able to get the budgets in order to purchase the necessary resources that will allow us to use the networking tools effectively right in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMagan,
ReplyDeleteWhen considering social learning theory, technology tools like epals allows students to engage with each other in a cultural context, swapping knowledge about their corner of the world. At the primary school, my son's class participated in World Math Day where he went head to head with online math facts against students from around the world. It was very exciting for him to match wits from a student in China or United Arab Emirates. Just imagine students' excitement when they are able to go on virtual field trips together or exchange photos of their classroom. I like how school/projects can be matched even if you are thousands of miles apart. What I LOVE most about epals is true globalization aspect and how the focus is on issues that the world faces like social justice and the environment!