How has your network changed the way you learn?
As an e-learning developer I have utilized many tools and technologies in preparing knowledge and information transfer to learners in different environments, but mainly on a learning management system. Thinking that I was ahead of the curve in technology has really limited my learning network in the past. This class has exposed me to different technologies; that in a short period of time, has provided me the ability to develop my network to include Blogging, RSS, E-books, electronic articles, and other internet based tools. In addition, I have realized the importance of using the community to gain other perspectives by collaborating with peers and professionals.
One of the digital tools that I feel has best facilitated learning for me is the Google RSS Reader. Now I have the ability to log onto the internet, visit one site and gain access to pertinent information on topics that I am interested in. It saves me an enormous amount of time, because I no longer have to visit 10 websites to read postings or articles of interest. I have a “one stop shop” where I can read all the blogs, articles, forums and industry specific feeds that I need. Other digital tolls that have afforded me benefits to gaining knowledge are e-books, blogs, Google Scholar, and On-line libraries.
I find that the internet is one of the best tools that students and professional have access to, specifically to gaining new knowledge or researching answers to a specific question. For example, if I was interested in researching the percentage of children diagnosed with ADHD in the United States, I would simply log onto Google Scholar and type How ADHD Children are in the U.S., and the results could be anywhere from 10 – 100 links where articles and research data can be obtained. Other ways of gaining knowledge is by blogging, which is a new tool obtained in this class for me, also communicating with your peers by actively participating in postings.
I would like to begin my conclusion with, I did not know that I had a personal learning network until I completed this week’s Mind Mapping exercise and realized, that my personal learning network supports the central tenets of connectivism. It consists of interactions with my peers and an expanded network of knowing community, such as industry-specific blogs, that are based on postings and conversations, on sharing knowledge and perspectives, in creating and participating in learning activities, not as a separate individual, but as a shared activity with my peers and professors.
Just as an FYI, I did a little research just to add to our networking topic:
In May, the Institute for Corporate Productivity, in conjunction with HR.com, surveyed 322 business executives whose average age ranged from 36 to 45. Surprisingly, 65 percent of respondents said they use social networking sites for both professional and personal reasons. Of these sites, the most frequently used were LinkedIn and Yahoo 360°.
The survey identified various ways business professionals use these sites:
- Forty-nine percent use them to get answers to issues they are facing on their jobs.
- Forty-seven percent use the networks to connect with potential clients and to showcase their skills.1
“These shared spaces can become the locus of rich and satisfying experiences in collaborative learning , an interactive group knowledge building process in which the learners actively construct knowledge by formulating ideas that are shared with and built upon through the reactions and responses of others. 2
1. 1. James Meister, Social Networking Survey, 2007
2. 2. Harasim, L. et al., Learning Networks: A Field Guild to teaching and learning; 2001
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