Thursday, January 24, 2013


              
                        Educational Technologies Blog


          As a result of my investigating social networking technologies I selected Scriblink---http://www.scriblink.com/ first. This is different from other whiteboards in that it is online which becomes a virtual classroom or site for a group project. It is a social network within itself. Working on a group project can be conducted outside of the confines of the class environment when the members are in various locations. The one common thread is they are online collaborating, creating and resolving issues together. Siemens (2005) said: “meaning-making and forming connections between specialized communities are important activities”.
            A rationale for the selection of this technology is the convenience and accessibility for adult learners. The adult learners of today are busy and are making sacrifices at each level in their lives to acquire an education. It is my responsibility to integrate to facilitate their learning. “New technology forces the 21st century learner to process and apply information in a very different way and at a very different pace from any other time in history”. (Davis, Edmunds and Kelly-Bateman, 2008).
             A second way I would incorporate this technology is as a form of introduction/meet and greet. The learners would get to know each other online as well as in the class environment. The reason is that at times the initial class setting is timid and the learners are hesitant about open up to everyone. This online chat and collaborative session can allow everyone to really learn about each other. “Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn”. (Siemens, 2005).

               The second social networking technology I selected was You-Tube-YouTube.com.    This site is excellent because it reaches every learner type. I wanted to encompass each aspect of their learning. I would incorporate YouTube with Narrative Storytelling. The learners would create/write their stories and post it o YouTube to share with other members of the class environment. This would encompass the auditory, visual kinesthetic and special need learner. This project would focus on Writing, Listening and enhancing creativity.


I wish to improve their writing and speaking skills together. Allowing the learners to write on topics of their choosing and creating videos also creates a sense of accomplishment and is self-gratifying. “New technologies make it easy to produce digital voice and voice files. Students can now easily “write” in many different media, a fact that opens up all sorts of possibilities for the classroom”. (Richardson, 2010, p.11).
             
              I enjoy exploring the emerging technologies in adult education because in striving to enhance and enrich the capabilities of my adult learners I am enriching and enhancing my skills also.



References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism.


Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning, (2)1. Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan 05/article01.htm.





       

      









   



1 comment:

  1. I have used a few online collaboration sites to complete group projects and have never heard of Scriblink. I plan on reviewing this site more deeply as I am always looking for new ways to work collaboratively in an online format. In today's techno climate being able to share with others simultaneously in an online platform allows for instantaneous collaboration.
    Jane

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