The learning theory

Constructionism (Papert, 1993) is both a theory of learning and a strategy for education. It builds on the "Constructivist" theories of Jean Piaget, asserting that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner. Learners don't get ideas; they create ideas. Moreover, Constructionism suggests that new ideas are most likely to be created when learners are actively engaged in building some type of external artifact that they can reflect upon and share with others. Papert (1991) differentiated between constructivism and Constructionism:
"The word with the v expresses the theory that knowledge is built by the learner, not supplied by the teacher. The word with the n expresses the further idea that happens especially felicitously when the learner is engaged in the construction of something external or at least sharable" (Papert, 1991, p.3).
Constructionism supports the constructivist viewpoint--that the learner is an active builder of knowledge. However, it emphasizes the particular constructions of external artifacts that are shared by learners. Although learners can construct and present knowledge or meanings without producing external products, the processes of construction are more evident when learners produce through social interaction with others and share representations of their understanding and thoughts.


Situated Cognition posits that knowing is inseparable from doing (John Seely Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Greeno, 1989)
By arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and According to Allen Collins (1988) situated cognition or situated learning is “ the notion of learning knowledge and skills in contexts that reflect the way they will be used in real life physical contexts.
CONTEXULIZED LEARNING
• Flute students not only practice basic skills such as how to blow smoothly or leave the fingers off the holes, but they watch and listen to experts performing those skills and playing, get experts coaching and practice as much as they can.
LEADERS IN THE SITUATED COGNITION MOVEMENT
• Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger
LAVE AND WENGER
Lave and Wenger describe learning as:
• Generation- an act of creation or co-creation
• Social- occurs in partnership with others• Social- occurs in partnership with others
• Occurring in the “ lived-in world”
In settings that make it more relevant, useful and transferable.

DYNAMIC COMMUNITIES
• Dynamic Communities are seen as a critical element of situated cognition.
• Learning in such communities involves teachers, students and others such as experts from the school, the business and local community and the electronic world community.


What is Multiple Intelligences Theory?

Multiple intelligence theory challenges traditional, narrower views of intelligence. Previously accepted ideas of human intellectual capacity contend that an individual's intelligence is a fixed entity throughout his lifetime and that intelligence can be measured through an individual's logical and language abilities. According to Gardner's theory, an intelligence encompasses the ability to create and solve problems, create products or provide services that are valued within a culture or society.

What is Constructivism?
Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in.
Engagement theory has emerged from the authors' experiences teaching in electronic and distance education environments (see Shneiderman, 1994, 1998; Shneiderman et al, 1995; Kersey, 1997). The fundamental idea underlying engagement theory is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks. While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise. So engagement theory is intended to be a conceptual framework for technology-based learning and teaching.
Although not directly derived from other theoretical frameworks for learning, it has much in common with many such frameworks. For example, with its emphasis on meaningful learning, it is very consistent with constructivist approaches. Because it emphasizes collaboration among peers and a community of learners, it can be aligned with situated learning theories. Because its focuses on experiential and self-directed learning, it is similar in nature to theories of adult learning (i.e., androgogy).
Basic Principles
By engaged learning, we mean that all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment and activities.
Engagement theory is based upon the idea of creating successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside the classroom. These three components, summarized by Relate-Create-Donate, imply that learning activities:
1. occur in a group context (i.e., collaborative teams)
2. are project-based
3. have an outside (authentic) focus
The first principle (the "Relate" component) emphasizes team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills. The modern workplace demands proficiency in these skills, yet historically students have been taught to work and learn on their own. Research on collaborative learning suggests that in the process of collaboration, students are forced to clarify and verbalize their problems, thereby facilitating solutions. Collaboration also increases the motivation of students to learn, a significant consideration in settings with high drop-out rates (e.g., teen-agers, distance learners). Furthermore, when students work in teams, they often have the opportunity to work with others from quite different backgrounds and this facilitates an understanding of diversity and multiple perspectives.
The second principle (the "Create" component) makes learning a creative, purposeful activity. Students have to define the project (problem domain) and focus their efforts on application of ideas to a specific context. Conducting their own projects is much more interesting to students that answering sterile textbook problems. And because they get to define the nature of the project (even if they don't choose the topic), they have a sense of control over their learning which is absent in traditional classroom instruction. Project orientation is the essence of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches which are often used in medical and others types of professional education (e.g., Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980).
The third principle (the "Donate" component) stresses the value of making a useful contribution while learning. Ideally each project has an outside "customer" that the project is being conducted for. The customer could be a campus group, community organization, school, church, library, museum, government agency, local business, or needy individual. In many cases, the projects can be work-related, i.e., an activity that fits into a team's occupational or career interests. The authentic learning context of the project increases student motivation and satisfaction. This principle is consistent with the emphasis on school-to-work programs in many schools systems and colleges, as well as the "service" philosophy of contemporary corporate training efforts (e.g., Jacoby & Associates, 1996).



http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Constructionism%2C_Learning_by_Design%2C_and_Project_Based_Learning
• Situated cognition: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Situated_Cognition
• Vygotsky's constructivism: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Vygotsky%27s_constructivism
• Multiple intelligences theory: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Multiple_Intelligences_and_Learning_Styles

Using the internet to find useful information for the teachuing and learning process

Content
Accuracy:
• Error-free information
• Current information
• Updated frequently
• Recent "last" update
• Objective, balanced presentation of information
• Bias-free viewpoints and images
• Correct use of grammar, spelling, and sentence structure
• Primary out link (link that takes you to additional site) content is relevant, authentic, and appropriate
• Authority
• Expertise/reputation of author/designer
• Contact information for author/designer
• Expertise/reputation of host site
Appropriateness:
• Concepts and vocabulary relevant to students' abilities
• Information relevant to the North Carolina K-12 curriculum
• Interaction compatible with the physical and intellectual maturity of intended audience
Scope:
• Information of sufficient scope to adequately cover the topic for the intended audience
• Logical progression of topics within original site (site being evaluated) and primary out links
• Information offered not easily available in other sources
Technical Aspects
Navigation:
• Ready access to site; site not overloaded
• Images load within reasonable time frame
• Intuitive icons, menus, and directional symbols that foster independent use
• In-links (links that take you to locations within the original site) that allow easy navigation throughout the site
• Standard multimedia formats
• Logical options for printing/downloading all or selected text and graphics
Presentation:
• Site follows good graphic design principles
• Screen displays uncluttered and concise
• Captions, labels, or legends for all visuals
• Legible text and print size appropriate for the intended audience
• Graphics and art functional, not merely decorative
• Information presented through text, motion, still images, and sound
• Information presented in a manner to stimulate imagination and curiosity
• Product advertising not intrusive

USING WIKIS TO FACILITATE TEACHING AND LEARNING

What is Wikis?
At its simplest expression, a wiki is a web page that anybody can edit. The spirit behind the original wiki idea is that any user of the World Wide Web could now read and write at the same time using their web browser, therefore simplifying the web editing process.
Figures 1 represents a traditional web page editing and publishing process, where the author pushes content to a passive crowd of internet users. Figure 2, on the other hand, illustrates what a wiki web page is: a page that is readable and editable by every user.Typical Usage of Wikis (What Wikis Are Good For)
Wikis are used to support a large number of different activities. Here are some of the most common ways wikis are used.
•
Brainstorming: When starting a specific project or a creative process, participants are invited to add items and thoughts on a wiki. They are also asked to link all these random thoughts and concept together in order to stimulate creativity.
•
Group project: A wiki can act as a private intranet for a specific group project so all participants can communicate, share resources (including texts, videos, spreadsheets, links, etc.), and write a report or a book together.
•
Meeting support: An agenda for a specific meeting is posted on a wiki and participants are invited to consult and edit it prior to a meeting. The wiki is edited during the meeting to include was discussed. Participants can later use the wiki to post missing information or follow‐up items. This technique is also very useful for training, presentations, and birds of a feather sessions during conferences.
•
Make lists: From a list of best restaurants in town to a glossary of terms used in a specific field of expertise, a wiki is a great way to organize this kind of content. In the same spirit, wikis can also be used to build an online repository of relevant documents or FAQs.
•
Collections of links: Wikis can be used for social bookmarking. They give to all participants the possibility to post, comment, group, and classify links of all nature or in a specific field of expertise.
•
Writing a collective letter, position, statement, web content: When writing something that is intended for an official legal instance, to clients, to upper management or to the general public, a wiki is an excellent tool to reach a consensus, define key ideas, and write down the content to be clear and non‐offensive.
•
Building a group portfolio: Any organization can use a wiki to post past projects, testimonials from clients, history of the organization, etc. This kind of portfolio is a powerful marketing tool. Page

using digital story

Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for both teachers and students. The concept provides teachers and students with the opportunity to express themselves in a personal and creative way. Digital storytelling provides students with the necessary skills to develop and express their thoughts and ideas and to use technology to enhance them. They are at the same time weaving all the structures of traditional story writing into the process. The digital storytelling strategy can be used to (a) introduce a lesson, (b) enhance students’ understanding of difficult concepts, (c) engage students in discussion and integrate multimedia into the curriculum and thus appeal to the different ways in which individuals receive information.

Webquest

What is a Web quest?

A Web quest is an assignment students complete using the Internet to research a specific topic. A Web quest can be printed on paper, presented in a PowerPoint, or on the Internet itself.

Why use a Web quest?

A Web quest is a valuable tool to use with students. It allows students to work at their own pace either individually or in a team. A Web quest is a fun, research based tool to help students learn more detailed information about a specific topic being studied and creates a greater sense of importance for that topic. Web quests also provide variety in the classroom routine, help students improve their internet and researching skills, and provide excellent opportunity to explore and learn.

Characteristics of a good Web quest

A good Web quest helps students learn about a specific subject as part of a greater

Framework. It must have a “hook”, something that interests students and be age appropriate. Additionally, a good Web quest should also be highly visual, easy to use, relate to the students, and have a built-in assessment mechanism. Most importantly, a Web quest must have purpose and direction. Knowing ahead of time the answers to some important questions will really help the process along.

• What do I want my students to learn from the web quest?

• Why is this information important?

• How does this information fit into the overall curriculum for this unit and

Correspond to the state core?

Resources for a Web quest

It is imperative that the Internet sites used for a Web quest are accurate and of the highest quality. It is best to use websites that are designed for educational purposes so that you can control the content your students are accessing. Having a sound list of resources before you start designing a Web quest will be invaluable throughout the process. Using websites that end in .edu, .org, .k12.us, or .gov will be some of the most valuable for you and your students.

A quick list of Internet sites

www.teacherfirst.com

www.surweb.org

http://pioneer-library.org/

www.google.com (advanced search

USING INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Overview

Internet tools can be categorized under four broad headings:

(a) Information search and retrieval,

(b) Communication and collaboration, (c) management of information and (d) publishing.  This session will focus on the Internet as a tool to search for information which can be used to support lesson planning, enhance instructional activities, and promote student learning. You will therefore use a range of Internet search tools to locate suitable instructional resources. You will be required to explore a variety of websites taking note of the features that can facilitate the attainment of specific learning outcomes. You will also be required to develop a lesson activity on how you can use the web-based resources in a lesson.

1.    A Web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files.

i.        General – Google www.google.com and Yahoo www.yahoo.com

Visual – Cuil www.cuil.com  and  Viewzi www.viewzi.com

Using Powerpoint to Enhance Learning.

PowerPoint is a complete presentation graphics package. It gives you everything you need to produce a professional-looking presentation. PowerPoint offers word processing, outlining, drawing, graphing, and presentation management tools- all designed to be easy to use and learn.

The following gives you a quick overview of what you can do in PowerPoint:

• When you create a presentation using PowerPoint, the presentation is made up of a series of slides. The slides that you create using PowerPoint can also be presented as overhead transparencies or 35mm slides.
  
• In addition to slides, you can print audience handouts, outlines, and speaker's notes.
  
• You can format all the slides in a presentation using the powerful Slide Master which will be covered in the tutorial.
  
• You can keep your entire presentation in a single file- all your slides, speaker's notes, and audience handouts.
  
• You can import what you have created in other Microsoft products, such as Word and Excel into any of your slides.

Now that you know what features PowerPoint offers it's time to learn how to work in PowerPoint.