Mind Map Reflection

How has your network changed the way you learn?

Over time, my personal learning environment has grown and been rearranged by the removal or replacement of certain tools, methods, and people. “…learning doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It is at the intersection of prior knowledge, experience, perception, reality, comprehension, and flexibility that learning occurs (Edmonds and Bateman, 2008). Technology plays a big role in how my network influences my learning process more so today than during my lower level learning. As a child, my network was somewhat limited by what environments I was exposed to and the tools available within those environments. My parents and siblings, schoolteachers and peers, and school texts, dictionaries, encyclopedias, so foreign today, along with childhood adventures within my neighborhood, were the connections or network available to assist with my learning.

As an adult learner, my network, in its newest form, has changed the way I learn. It is more complex and vast. The inclusion of technology has presented an available abundance of information, through social mediums (social networking, email, cell phones, etc.), websites, online journals, online universities, and online learning tools (Wikipedia, search engines like Google, e-libraries). George Siemens put it plainly, “The ability to recognize and adjust to pattern shifts, therefore, becomes a key learning tasks” (Edmonds and Bateman, 2008). I have incorporated the ability to research questions and topics through multiple sources in real time, and the ability to connect with multiple individuals for discussions, conversations, or information processing, into my learning strategies to encode, retain, and assist with recalling data, from my network.

Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?

The digital tools that best facilitate learning for me, are those that easy to use and understand. Where would I be without my pc or the ability to log onto the web? The Internet makes a wealth of information available to me within seconds, and software like Microsoft Office has made it easy to capture and save that information for future use. In the past, I’d never leave home without my house keys, but today, it is imperative that I have my cell phone and a flash drive with me at all times.


How do you gain knowledge when you have questions?

When I am challenged or faced with a question, my first thoughts are to who or what within my personal learning environment could best assist me with answering or finding the answer to that question. I have found that my knowledge has come from my search for answers to questions through research or through personal experiences with my network.

In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?

The personal learning network I have created is supportive of the tenets of connectivism. It consists of a very diverse group of individuals, from various ethnicities, ages, learning backgrounds, and social experiences. They present very varied opinions, sometimes consistent and shared. The knowledge I have gathered over time has been from various sources or nodes within my network. As an adult learner, I have critically identified the connections within my learning environment that are compatible knowledge sources, and when my network needs updating or rearranging to assist my continued (not stagnate) learning growth.

Lastly, I must reiterate something I mentioned above, my personal learning environment has grown and been rearranged by the removal or replacement of certain tools, methods, and people. Learning today is greatly impacted by the advancement of technology and how it is incorporated in the learning process, and also impacted by the connections we include within our networks. Effective learning will require that you continuously update your network.





References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology

Video Program: “Connectivism” .George Siemens discusses his theory of connectivism.

Connectivism

This is my mind map of my Personal Learning Environment (PLE). It was a challenge to complete...

Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

It is impossible to think, at least for me, that while studying and attempting to master certain subject matter, that any one source will be the definitive collection of everything that you would need to ever know on that particular subject. Throughout this process of studying the foundations, philosophies, and theories of Instructional Design, I have searched for, read, and evaluated several resources that might prove beneficial for my goal of becoming an effective instructional designer. Such resources, like http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html , provide descriptive and thought provoking articles on various topics,with this specific link to the topic, The Information Processing Approach to Cognition . Then, I also found www.buzzle.com , a site that provides an enormous amount of thought provoking and intelligent topics and categories. While perusing the Education and Higher Learning Category on www.buzzle.com I found additional links to articles on the brain and learning, theories, and problem solving strategies.

Outside of the classroom setting, online resources, like those that I have mentioned, become so valuable to any learner, especially and instructional designer. The educational world is continually evolving, and resources are valuable tools to creating relevant and theoretically sound instructional materials.

Instructional Design and Technology Blogs

After recently becoming a graduate student, studying Instructional Design and Technology, I have taken note of the many facets of this profession and learning in general. I have proclaimed myself a life long learner, and having the opportunity to investigate learning is by far, right up my ally.


The Internet provides a wide array of resources from online journals, blogs, e-newsletters, websites, etc., to support the study of or just to inform anyone interested in Instructional Design. A recent assignment from my Learning Theories and Instruction class required a bit of online research and dissection of a few of the resources I found.

Experiencing E-Learning (http://christytucker.wordpress.com/ ) is an online blog hosted by and Instructional Designer named Christy Tucker. Ms. Tucker designs graduate school courses and focuses on secondary education. The theme behind this blog is, “Building engaging learning experiences through instructional design and e-learning.” In perusing this blog, it is definitely useful to anyone trying to understand instructional design, looking for recent developments in the profession, questions on the effectiveness of e-learning, and the overall e-learning experience. Ms. Tucker is eager to communicate and share, and definitely welcomes comments.


Making Change (http://blog.cathy-moore.com/ ) is a blog, hosted by Cathy Moore, dedicated to e-learning as well. What attracted me to this site was its usefulness and descriptive posts. The posts are used more as instructional lessons on topics related to instructional design and e-learning, subdivided with detailed points for clarity. This blog also utilizes graphics and videos to support the posts, somewhat like and additional bonus or resource on each topic.

Lastly, Instructional Design and Development Blog (http://www.iddblog.org/ ), is a part of the Instructional Design Department at DePaul University. Though it is a scholarly, university-hosted blog, the contributors to the blog are students, employees, consultants, designers, and teachers, all associated with the university. I found this blog most interesting and resourceful because the posting come from a variety of instructional design perspectives and backgrounds. This blog was created to enhance the Instructional Design department, but I consider it the most resourceful of all three because of the various contributors’ perspectives.

As I continue to develop my instructional design background, I am sure I will come across numerous resources to support my growth. I have captured three supportive and relative blogs that will continue to be resourceful as I continue to work in the Instructional Design field. They each have similarities, but differ in the perspectives of the writers for each. One thing I have discovered to date is the philosophies and theories surrounding the learning process are comprised of the work and studies of numerous individuals.