Final Synthesis

Even though classes have ended for the semester, I have had this nagging thought that I need to write this up. The last assignment in my class was dumped from our grades so I have taken my time in getting around to writing it. I wanted to get something written, but knew I needed some time to think. It isn’t a master piece, but here goes…

Chapter 1

How do we learn? Can technology really enhance our ability to learn? What is the best tool to use? If you look back on your experiences as a kid what do you remember the most about learning? For me learning took place in a classroom and in doing my homework. Painstakingly longs amounts of time were put into this. But, I also learned through the social interactions I had. Yeah, at the time I would never have labeled it as “official learning” because that would have made me a geek, but now I crave social interactions whether they are face-to-face or online. There are so many people out there that know so much that I don’t know, and I want to learn from them. So in this technological savvy world, what is the best way to do this?

In all truth there isn’t a ‘best’ tool out there for teaching and learning because we all learn so differently and there are many great tools around. Not to mention the many topics to teach. When all is said and done, find the tool that fits best and use it. This could possibly be a different tool each time you set out to teach and learn. Let’s take a look at this small list of social software that I am familiar with and examine them briefly.

· Online groups like Usenet or Google Groups

· Blogs

· Fanfiction.com

· MUDS/MOOS

· IRC-Internet Relay Chat

· Online gaming-MMO


One could say that these tools all support learning in some fashion. Online groups like Usenet and Google groups and the IRC are used for chatting, socializing, and posting questions. I found these tools interesting and fun, especially the IRC. To have a good experience in the other groups I think a person would need to affiliate with it for longer than a week. They were not as exciting to me as the other tools I used, but that could be due to my learning style and preference.

MUDS and MOOS are an older style text based game that has its purpose just as all the other items do. It was a great way to improve my typing skills as well as my strategy skills. Again, I am a visual person so this challenged me more and bored me in some ways too.

Blogs, Fanfiction.com, and the MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online games) were so much fun and actually taught me so much about myself and others. I would have to say these were my favorite and I will continue to use them in some fashion when possible.

What you choose to use as a teaching method whether it is using technology or not, needs to be the right tool for the lesson. Yes, a tool like a screwdriver can be used to open a paint can or a ketchup bottle, but its main purpose is for screwing in screws. Don’t forget what you want to teach and who you are trying to teach. With those in mind, go out and find the tool that will give you the most success. With that said, Marion Jensen said this about good instruction:

There are four elements that must occur in good instruction:

  1. An individual must see a relevant and/or engaging problem
  2. The individual must have hope that they can solve the problem
  3. The individual must begin to build strategies to solve the problem
  4. The individual must have power to implement those strategies

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