Social Learning is when the students are actively involved in constructing artifacts and conversing with others. Cooperative and collaborative learning …. Here we come!!!
Cooperative learning/group learning can drive some teachers nuts! When I mention to some colleagues that my students are going to be working together, eyes roll to the back of their heads, deep sighs can be heard, and the request that my door remain shut during the day are the reactions. For me there is nothing much better in my classroom that to hear students talk about math and problem solving strategies. Yes, it is a bit noisier, but it is noisy when you act 30 kids to take out their books. Do they always stay on task? Of course not, I do not have a perfect classroom. If you do, please tell me your secret.
With the web, cooperative/collaborative learning has gone global (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenski, 2007)! Students can now share information and knowledge with others who take similar classes in dissimilar worlds. Technology continues to open new doors for students to collaborate with others. The possibilities are endless.
I enjoyed looking at the sites suggested for this week. I must admit that I look at Facebook daily, but I am not sure that it would work well for me in the classroom (bit still a good example of a social networking site). Also went through the steps of creating a Secondlife account, once again I am not sure how well this could work in the classroom without some regulations. Google Docs however is not an application I am familiar with but after reading the posts of my classmates, I feel that it is something I should definitely explore more to find ways to utilize it in my classroom.
Keypals, WebQuests, wikis, blogs, and Web site creation are just a few of the strategies mentioned by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenski (2007). I really like the idea of Keypals and students connecting with other students. Some of my students hardly even leave the area we live in; having a Keypal could open them to a whole new world. How exciting would it be for them to share pictures, cultural likenesses and differences with each other through a site that is monitored for educational purposes?
Technology could be a really effective way to bridge the learning theories with careful planning. One must have the end in mind when planning to use technology (and any other strategy) in the classroom. Clear expectations and outcomes should be address and communicated with students.
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Excellent post! I know exactly what you mean about some teachers cringing upon the thought of students working together. Fortunately for me, I was privileged enough to spend my first year teaching across the hall from a teacher who constantly had the students working together. He truly took advantage of every social learning strategy that he could with the resources he was given. It is remarkable to watch the higher level thinking that comes from the students who are given the chance to explore things of the outside world together with their classmates.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to hear that you are allowing your students to work collaboratively even though it does not sound like it is the norm among the other teachers in your school. Good for you!
Leilani,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that some of the suggestions given in our courses are a little far out there. I facebook to me would just create so many problems that I don't see it ever being a useful part of any project. Like you said, we must have the end in mind when we plan to use technology. Sometimes I think about using technology in my lesson but then I realize that I would be using it just to say that I am using technology. That is not right. We hav to be careful about when and where we use these tools.
Great Posting,
Tyler
I am like you, facebook and other resources similar to this scare me. I feel that there is too many things that could go wrong when using these types of applications. I do not have a facebook account and very rarely get on it. I have heard to many horror stories about people using facebook for unappropriate activities. I would be very hesitant to use it with my students and am not sure that my parents would approve of it either.
ReplyDeleteGoogle docs is a great way to help students with research strategies. Students and teachers can incorporate web site sources into their documents.
ReplyDeleteCooperative learning is something I need practice with in my art classroom. I can just hear the other art teacher's door slam during the few group lessons I teach...it is definitely not a quiet time for my class but I do feel it is worth it!