The Impact of the Connected Learner in the Classroom

Dr. Cindy GunnIICE 2015March 8th, 2015

Hands Up

Who here:

Has a mobile phone?Has a smart phone?Has a tablet?Has more than one email account?Belongs to a list serve?Is on twitter?Is on Facebook?Is on ResearchGate?

Has not raised his/her hand yet?

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

“Labels” for today’s students:

Millenials, Net Generation, The Distracted Generation

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants (Prensky)

Assumptions made about them:

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Expect to be entertained.Expect a fun and interactive learning environment.Expect 24/7 access.Expect immediate feedback (instant gratification). Are easily distracted.

They are tech savvy.They can multi-task.They are used to collaborating with others (both in the real and virtual world).They are comfortable with technology use in the classroom.

Another perspective (not just for students):

Digital Residents and Digital Visitors (White and Le Cornu, 2011)

“DRs see the Web as a place, perhaps like a park or a building in which there are clusters of friends and colleagues whom they can approach and with whom they can share information about their life and work. A proportion of their lives is actually lived out online where the distinction between online and off–line is increasingly blurred. Residents are happy to go online simply to spend time with others and they are likely to consider that they ‘belong’ to a community which is located in the virtual.”

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

The Connected Learner

“ The ‘e’ in e-learning initially meant electronic. Now it means everyone and everywhere. It means effective and engaged experiences. It means experiential. Now we’re talking about the connected learner.”

—Elliott Masie, 2012

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

The Connected Learner

Everyone and everything is connected in this “complex and messy bring your own device, do it yourself, there’s an app for that world”.

We talk in terms of things being:

Linked and taggedTweeted and textedFollowed and friended

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015 (http://vimeo.com/76178422)

The Connected Learner

Learners can connect to an ever-widening circle of mentors, peers, experiences and knowledge.

Bringing people together who want to learn together.

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/connected-teaching/

All these connections

Create relationships

Relationships create communities

Communities help form pathways so that formal and informal learning are no longer separated

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015 http://www.danpontefract.com/learning-2-0-is-dumb-use-connected-learning-instead/

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Where connected learning is most effective

Social

Informal

Formal

Connected Learning and 21st Century skills:

Collaboration Communication Creativity / Innovation Critical Thinking / Problem Solving

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

“4C*” activities

Asynchronous Activities: Blogs Discussion Boards Websites where students can share their work Wikis

Synchronous Activities: Chat Video Conferencing

A bit of both: Social Networking Sites Course Learning Systems Games

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015 *Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking

Other 21st Century Expectations:

Students will become:

Independent researchers Responsible digital citizens Autonomous learners (able to drive their own learning)

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Independent researchers

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015Image used with permission

We need to teach students how to

validate information synthesize information document information

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Validating information

Checking more than one source.Checking publication information (date, place, organization,

etc.)Checking author information.

Quote from one of my student’s term papers:

After World War 3 there was unimaginable devastation (author 1, .org website, author 2, .edu website,).

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Validating information

What the first author wrote: “If there is a third world war the devastating results will be like nothing we could ever imagine” (.edu website but actually a Professor’s blog).

What the second author wrote: “After World War 3 ended, the few remaining survivors on earth viewed the devastated landscape with despair, not believing their eyes” (.org website, quote from a short story).

After World War 3 there was unimaginable devastation (author 1, .edu website, author 2, .org website,).

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

In my student’s case:

validate information synthesize information document information

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Responsible Digital Citizens

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

An autonomous learner

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015Image used with permission

Helping students take control of their learning / become autonomous learners

• Lecture Capture• Flipping the Classroom• Course websites / Using an LMS• Discussion Boards

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Lecture Capture to promote learner autonomy

Pros:• Lectures are available to students

24/7.• Can be watched as often as needed.

Cons:• Professors worry students won’t • attend classes if lectures are available online.• Privacy concerns

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Flipped Learning

“Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter” (my emphasis).

Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Moving direct instruction to the individual learning space: “flipping the classroom”

Short content videos / Desktop captureWebinars (live or recorded participation)Narrated Slides Assigned readingsPre-class online quizzes

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Use of an LMS / Course Website to promote learner autonomy

Pros:

Students have access to all class materials 24/7.Journal tool to encourage students to reflect on their learning.

Cons:

Seen as “spoon-feeding” the students by some.

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Some issues to be aware of when connecting online

Problems with:

Privacy Inappropriate responses from others Inappropriate advertisements Keeping up with / understanding synchronous

interactions

But

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Taking advantage of carefully chosen connections:

Give our students (and ourselves!) the opportunity to interact with others to help construct new knowledge with the ultimate goal of helping them (and us!) to become successful lifelong learners.

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015

Thank you

cgunn@aus.edu

IICE 2015 | March 8, 2015