This concept map is entirely different from the first I tried and published. This time I’ve focused on an issue that has intrigued me for a while and I’ll try to relate it to the connectivism concepts we’ve covered in the last few months. In any case it was very enjoyable going back to cMaps a second time and leveraging off some of the concept maps I’ve seen in various CCK08 posts.
In my work I get to introduce a lot of on-line methodologies and technologies to teachers. Too often the sessions happen in isolation and out of context. For example, I do a lot of workshops on finding digital resources via our corporate portal and search engine. The question then remains “So What? I’ve found this stuff – what do I do with it?” The context is so much bigger than the scope of the individual sessions. It’s often a real Catch 22 situation where it is hard to know where to start. The connections and sense making are not always made.
This concept map is my attempt to provide a framework to assist teachers to better understand the cycle of decisions needed when deciding whether or not to use online resources as part of their practice. In making these decisions a range of concepts related to Connectivism (CCK08) are invoked, for example:
- in the pedagogy area – teachers will need to make decisions about knowledge, skills and attitudes as well as the approach eg teacher led? learner directed? or a combination of many methods to suit the circumstances. These decisions match the concepts of connectivism, the nature of knowledge and the issues of power & authority.
- in the resources area – what connections does the teacher make with their colleagues? with corporate systems? with their students? Does the teacher supply all of the resources for students to “learn” or does the teacher create a space eg a wiki, for a group of students to co-create a resource which answers a problem and then becomes available to the rest of the cohort? Could peer assessment be part of the process?
- in the repositories area – which networks are tapped into to give access to required resources? Or is it open slather and the students learn to sift what is important?
- in the deployment area – how open will the deployment be? Will the resources be of the CCK08 experiment type or locked behind usernames and passwords for only invitees to use?
One of the overriding questions I’ve talked about throughout this course and also mentioned by George in his Wk 11 summary is: will these new educational technologies transform the way we teach or will they be tools to augment the existing paradigm? One simple answer is that teachers now have more tools available to them to make a greater range of choices and depending on the context, decide on what’s best for their students, themselves and their colleagues.
November 19, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Hi Grant
Love the diagram. Would be great to see that happening in education across the board. My own experience, to date, is that in many cases your basic assumptions of provision of professional development and infrastructure, which are absolutely necessary, are in reality missing.
My observation is that only some, a very small percentage, of teachers are using the the new educational technologies to transform the way they teach and the way students learn.
Others, slightly more, are using the tools to augment the existing paradigm and, sadly, the vast majority are blissfully unaware that such tools even exist!
Patricia
December 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Comments from George Dec 5 via email:
Thanks for the concept map. Nice to see the contrast in approaches from your
first attempt to the current.
Concept maps are obviously personal views – i.e. it’s how you see the
content of the course. As such, I generally don’t evaluate how learners
connect the content, and focus instead on the domains included (i.e. I’m
looking for breadth and consideration of impact, not particular details).
Great work on your map. The focus of needed skills for educators and
learners is vital. We can’t assume people will have the skills
automatically. We need to find ways to ensure both educators and learners
have the basic skills required to participate.
An important consideration in connectivism is the power shift between
educator/learner. You allude to this somewhat in your diagram. I was looking
for more explicit mention of how connections and connectedness contribute to
learning in general. In your diagram, you’ve taken a more practical focus by
looking at pedagogy, tool selection, etc.