Reflection to ITEC #830 Class | January 29, 2008

Reflection to ITEC #830 Class | January 29, 2008

Our class begin with an Icebreaker in which we were grouped into pairs, and given 1-2 minutes to find five similar characteristics between each paired group. The next phase of the Icebreaker grouped two of the paired groups, to find at least one similar attribute between all four members of the new group. We discovered that as the amount of members in the group grew, it became more difficult to find commonalities between the larger groups. We also discovered that the majority of the attributes identified were based upon visual and physical similarities, rather than more intrinsic characteristics, like values or beliefs. The last phase of the Icebreaking activity was for each individual pair to introduce their partners to the whole class. It seemed as if most of us lacked interested in the names of the first group, until Dr. Foreman asked someone from the other side of the room who they were? We all began to focus on the initial task, at that point.

As Dr. Foreman lead the class though the class syllabus, I begin to get very excited about the topics which we will be covering in this class. The concept of Connectivism and how it differs from the traditional teaching styles of Behaviorism and Constructivism, is a profound approach to developing instruction which I believe is more reflective of how “ 21^st Century” learners learn. These Digital Immigrants rely on social networking to gather pieces of information from a variety of resources via the Web 2.0 technologies. The most effective teaching strategies of today must incorporate the resources which are readily available and easily accessible throughout the Internet. The instant access to information from the multiple references, and various Networking communities, provides the learner with several avenues to created and share information, instantly and immediately. The learners can subscribe to a variety of Networking communities, RSS feeds, Wikis, and Blogs which provide links to websites and other resources which coincide with their interests.

For the remaining time, we discussed the syllabus and requirements of the class. I think this class is going to be very exciting and informational for me. I really like the concept of the learner maximizing the resources which are available to all learners, via Web 2.0.