Principles of Connectivism

this stuff is great; learning to be recognize that the knowledge we had yesterday is now different....so much information available, at any time, forces us into a different mind set where we acknowledge that the most important thing is accurate, up to do information....and this affects us immediately and directly, every time we go online to book that vacation

its about connecting different information sources.......cross checking the lists of years best films to get a "meta-analysis" list from all the critics before i make my decision which films to view

ability to see connections between fields and ideas and concepts...getting kids to use technology to estimate their carbon footprint then use applications of data analysis in math to produce graphs then initiate change in their lifestyle, then revisit their footprint at a later date and look for change; look for growth and reflection, and see how our actions affect our environment and how this in turn affects our ecosystem...this idea connects math/science/environment/technology/ and also the skill of reflection

Messing Around

so it seems that having an untended MySpace was not "messing around" in the new vernacular......it appears that messing around involves the experimental playing around with new media, involving social exchanges, and capturing and modifying and sharing of images, music and videos

for a long time my only friend was "TOM" and he seemed to be quite popular, with several million other friends...

after that i stuttered into having a few other friends, but made no effort to "mess around" and add other applications

looking back, i can see that perhaps messing around isn't such a massive waste of time if it allows the development of skills, such as learning how to utilize media while upgrading and improving a profile

others use this messing around as a gateway into further creative pursuits; it appears that it is a relatively safe domain in which to practice new things and produce a body of work that others can view and give feedback

Meta-Blog-nition

...... so maybe i m getting the hang of it.....becoming aware of my own blogability; today i felt i was able to make some reflections more naturally and spontaneously than before.............i still feel a little like this blogging concept is a strange wild creature that i can feel in the distance; i know its there, everyone else seems to already have seen it, some are actively engaging it and i am just waiting to lose a limb

that aside, i am beginning to see the possible leverage this could bring to kids and the way they learn and explore...the idea of setting up our project will be a great challenge and a way for me to start to organize my thinking

Group Discussion

We just had a great discussion regarding the implementation of many of these ideas....its not a skill set its a minds set!

In a small group we had a great chat about the power and also the concern this raises in people...the power in seeing the blog come to global life by viewing a cluster map showing where the hits come from, and the concern of confronting change

What I hope to get out of this course

I want to start by getting my head around what I am doing from moment to moment with regard to the course. Navigating my way around the blogs and wikis for a start, getting on top and staying on top of assignments, developing a feel for how these powerful tools work, and ultimately to start to integrate some of these into my day-to-day teaching.

Skepticism

What about scientific research into other topics that 6th grades are into, such as ghosts?....there are also interesting cultural themes that could be developed through this, for example how in some cultures belief in the supernatural is considered quite natural. Mind over matter, voodoo, placebo effect......

MySpace and Hoaxes

i have just read the article about the teacher who used MySpace as a platform to get the students into Romeo and Juliet...i think this is a great idea and am thinking how i could use this in science. I wonder if there is applications to getting the kids to think critically about such issues as UFO's and aliens (for example). Applying skills in researching/analysing/reporting information about hoaxes, urban myths, etc.