Because that's the way it has always been done...until now

     A child watched her mother prepare a ham for an upcoming holiday dinner and asked her why she cut it in half before placing the two halves side by side in the pan. She explained that that is how she learned to cook it watching her own mother years ago. Later in the day, she asked her mother about the meal preparation to which she replied that she too had watched her own mother prepare the meat the same way.  Finally at the meal the two generations asked the matriarch of the family why she had prepared the holiday ham by cutting it in half first to which she replied, “ because I only had the one pan and it was the only way it would fit into it”.  Each successive generation followed the original model of preparing the meal without realizing where it had originated. They had learned within a social construct, but social learning today occurs within a much bigger construct, a global technology network

     As educators we have the opportunity to serve as models of learning for our students, thus using social learning but George Siemens suggests  that our role is changing due to advancements in technology and social networking. The traditional class room driven by preset objectives, assessments and learning outcomes becomes less effective as outside sources of supplemental information causes fragmentation of both content and conversations. Today’s educator of socially networked students becomes a curator of information; arranging key components of content for students to encounter. In addition teachers must help students to navigate the many sources of information, aggregate them into themes and filter the over-abundance of information rich sources. Siemen’s encourages educators to become a persistent presence for students via technology using tools such as wikis, blogs, podcasts and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Group collaboration supports both independence for the individual learner being accountable for their contribution as well as interdependence by meshing the varied skills of diverse learners into singular projects.

     We are by nature, social creatures. Many years ago learning from the group around you may have saved your life as you discovered which foods you could eat and which “foods” would eat you. Later social learning would be used to learn a trade or skill at the side of a parent or employer.  Social learning today is not necessarily out of necessity but out of opportunity and the cooperative group allows for learners to construct knowledge in conjunction with other learners. The youth of today are connected and networked in multiple ways and through multiple technologies. Connectivism is the combination of social learning theory  with the connections we are able to make socially and technologically to other learners and even teachers. Pitler et all explains the importance of the cooperative group in student learning through interactions with each other.  What is decidedly different are the types of activities that  corroborative groups can now accomplish using technologies such as wiki pages, Voice Thread, multimedia presentations, web site creation and even establishing connections with peers and content mentors from around the world. Ultimately the goal is the same as it has always been. We want our students to learn and if we realize the importance of using technology and networking to develop and maintain legitimate connections then our learners will never again be confined to only within the four walls of a traditional class room.

An aside:

The thread that binds us all....or not.

This is my attempt to create a voice thread about the issue of building a sense of community within a school building. Voice Thread could also be a good way to present an issue or topic to your students then have them make comments to develop an online class discussion.  Science lends itself well to asking a question that has no set answer. Students are encouraged to develop and support their stance and predictions.  My goal is to set up a voice thread for my Environmental Science students to have then discuss the impact of their activities on the environment and to propose and hopefully commit to, feasible solutions. Rest assured that there will most likely be a great deal of editing, mumbling under my breath and gnashing of teeth. You HAVE read the name of my blog, right?
voicethread.com/share/3752200/