Fitting the Pieces Together

Now that I have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories, I now believe my personal learning style closely aligns with the constructivist learning theory. In this theory, the learner constructs their own meaning of things learned and must discover basic principles for themselves. I find that for myself I need to be able to develop my own understanding of a particular topic. I learn better when I can place relevance on what I am learning. I’ve found that I construct knowledge based off of my experiences. The constructivist learner is influenced by their environment, culture and background, thus, by surrounding myself with people and places that induce learning, I am constantly motivated to learn more.

By learning about all the various learning theories, from cognitivism to social learning theory, I have been able to better understand how I can be successful in school or other learning situations. Each theory provides its own reasoning for why we learn the way we do. Often, our preferences (or perceived preferences) are not the best way for us to learn. For example, we may think we learn best by the methods set forth by behaviorism, but may come to find out that we are better suited to learn better by way on connectivism. I do, however, believe that we all can learn something from either of these theories. Behaviorism, for example, can be useful to everyone. We all have touched water that was too hot and have learned to be on the lookout for this. But, behaviorism is not the best method for learning for every situation. As we get older and begin to learn more complex concepts, our learning style evolves with us. And depending on the situation or the material being learned, we will adapt to the learning style that best suits us.

Technology plays such a huge role in my learning these days. With the internet now being a daily part of my life, I almost can not imagine life without it. But outside of the obvious technological advances of today, simple inventions such as flash cards are still an integral part of my learning. I try not to become too dependent on technology, though. I still try to calculate math problems with pen and paper, or find out more about a word in an actual dictionary or thesaurus. These are skills that we can not allow technology to take from us. With that being said, I still rely heavily on technology to assist with my learning. I am, after all, earning an advanced degree completely online. Technology brings the entire world right to my fingertips, almost literally. I can open my laptop and look at a satellite view of Bangkok, or find which Barnes & Noble bookstore has a particular book. Computer software allows me to sort information, create images, record video or audio. The possibilities are endless. Technology has become an integral part of my learning process.

Connectivism

Below is a mind map of my network connections:

Connectivism offers a new way to look at learning. One of the key components of connectivism is its emphasis on the importance of networks, or connections. When thinking about how my own connections affect my learning, I really began to think about how my connections came to be. I can say that my digital connections are primarily through social networking media. The most beneficial of these social networking outlets for me would be YouTube and various blogs. I think the human trial and error element really helps facilitate my learning. With YouTube, I can subscribe to those individuals that have the same interests as me. I learn from their mistakes and the way they do things. This is different from learning from a book or a lecture. A lecture is learning in theory; YouTube is learning in practice. The same can be said for blogging. The blogger offers their view on a particular topic and how it relates to them. Again, I can learn from their experiences, which to me are more beneficial than the theoretic approach offered by a textbook.

These networks have changed the way I learn drastically. Only recently have I gotten on the blogging and vlogging (video blogging or YouTube) bandwagon. I did not realize there was literally a video on YouTube pertaining to anything you want to learn how to do. I have learned everything from the best way to bake a potato to how to apply false eyelashes by watching videos. If I ever have a question or something is unclear, I can always ask the user or simply search for another video that further explains. Blogging and vlogging have become one of my greatest pastimes and resources.

Blogging and vlogging in my opinion is textbook connectivism. Some of the underlying principles of connectivism: learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions, nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning, accurate, up-to-date knowledge is the intent of all connectivist learning activities, are all supported by my personal network. Those who take part in this method of learning are always on a quest for new information. They always want to know what is new or what is next. By building connections with those who have just as much interest in the subject, you can always stay on top of the up and coming news. The larger your network (i.e. the more followers your blog has, or the more subscribers you have on YouTube, or the more people you are subscribed to) the greater your learning. This is in line with the central tenet of connectivism that learning is the process of creating connections and developing a network.

The Brain and Learning

There is still lots of research being conducted on our most fascinating organ: the brain. If you have ever wondered exactly what goes on as you learn new things, then the following resources may be of interest to you.


BrainConnection: The Brain and Learning
http://brainconnection.positscience.com/
This website offers information on how the brain works while we are learning. They provide this information with the belief that having access to this information will provide practical tools for teaching and learning. This website also offers fun activities such as brain teasers and illusion games. The illusion games describe what is going on in our brains as we look at the illusion, and why it is actually an illusion. There are also brain facts, book and website reviews, and the option to subscribe to their montly newsletter, Brain Fitness News.


A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm
I found this article on the Phi Delta Kappa International website, which is a professional association in education. In this article, the author, Eric P. Jensen, challenges the notion that educators should not be concerned with how the brain works in relation to learning and should focus instead on the information presented by psychologists on teaching and learning. I found this interesting because I am new to the field of instructional design and education. I would have never guessed that this type of debate was happening.

Information Processing Model

Learning and Memory
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/memory.html
This website discusses how information is processed and stored in the brain. It talks about George Miller's study in 1956 on information storage in which he concluded that we can remember what we are exposed to if it amount of information is between 5 and 9 items (or 7 units +/- 2 units). The number 7 became known as Miller's Magic Number, as the number of items tht can be held in short term memory at any given time.

Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my blog! During the next eight weeks, we will be learning about the diverse field of Instructional Design. Following are a list of websites that provide great information about ID:


Instructional Design Blog >> eLearning Learning
http://www.elearninglearning.com/blog/instructional-design/
This website offers a ton of information on Instructional Design, including the latest and the greatest opinions in the field. One thing that drew me to this particular site was that they offer FREE webinars! For example, on this coming Wednesday there is a webinar on How to Create No Lecture Webinars (go figure), and I am always up for free information, so I plan on checking this out.


DESIGN: The eLearning Coach
http://theelearningcoach.com/category/elearning_design/
This blog focuses on online/eLearning. I like it because it provides a non-traditional approach to viewing the field of Intructional Design. The website is visually appealing and is easy to navigate. One post I found very interesting was 10 Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Questions.


Experiencing eLearning
http://christytucker.wordpress.com/
In this blog, Instructional Designer Christy Tucker talks about....Instructional Design! She gives valuable information from conferences that she has attended and she welcomes comments from readers.


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