Journal 4: Community Building with Technologies continued . . .

“In a democratic and culturally diverse society, students need to comprehend multiple perspectives . . . and learn to interact with people within their diverse society and throughout the world”

In chapter 6, pages 120-137 we read that communication is the key to unlocking cultural differences and gaining a new understanding of the world around us. Web sites such as KidLink, iEARN, and Global Schoolhouse now make it possible for many different geographic areas to interactively connect with each other. iEARN learning circles are just one example of the many innovative techniques that the internet can now offer as a specific teaching technology. With this program, collaborative partnerships created between a small numbers of schools can be directly beneficial to the sharing of knowledge and learning through doing approach. Certainly we have come a long way from when I was in grade school, as one of the means of collaborative learning used to be that of the Pen Pal. Now with programs like iEARN, students have a superior focus when using these rigidly structured by highly effective ‘wisdom groups’. It is important however, to recognize that the source of group efficiency in these groups stems from a larger focus on cooperation and team-work. Thus, learning circles such as iEARN create a way for teams to participate with each other as well as through comparison and collaboration. While I feel like the discussion board on web-ct McGill is an attempt at a learning circle it is very unorganized and cluttered. While it remains possible to interact and help each other through a group environment, I feel like web-ct acts more for the utility of professors at McGill than for students. I think McGill students would actually benefit from a learning circle like iEARN where discussions are better directed, therefore cutting out unnecessary gobbledygook.

During our last class, I found that there was quite a bit of confusion during the time where students were trying to upload their personal profiles onto the internet. Chapter 6 talks about how teacher isolation has long been one of the obstacles in the way of exchanging ideas and information. Last class we probably could have used 10 Professor Bruzzese in the room, as this small internet task proved quite challenging on the whole for the classroom. I think that such a learning circle would be a good idea for parts of this course that prove challenging - so that students enrolled in this course as well as the future, would have a better idea of how to successfully complete the in class task without having to constantly ask their peers or the professor. Having a guide-like-learning circle would surely benefit students during the more difficult and challenging parts of the course. Hence, classroom time restraints and physical separation of teachers from their students can and perhaps should be mediated by integrating technology and coalescing communities of practice – thereby inadvertently creating a continuous and relevant student-teacher discourse.

Answers to chapter questions

6. Blogs and Wikis are some of the most advanced learning/teaching technology on the internet today. While some people might view them as a waste of time – for the purpose of education they are exactly the opposite, they save you time. Being able to upload your journal to a blog that can be accessed by anyone (including our professor) at any time only increases class efficiency and helps students and teachers learn from each-other. Furthermore, blogs and Wikis are some of the most advanced technological interfaces of the 20th century – and perhaps without this technology it would be difficult to keep track of the voluminous information that exists. Furthermore, blogs and especially Wikis act as a great source of environmental sustainability as it cuts down on paper costs and resources. Lastly, these types of learning circles allow for a constant exchange of ideas, therefore permitting malleability across the educational community through adaptation and change. Further innovation can only lead to blogs, wikis, and other text-messaging that one day could travel directly through our cerebral cortex and into our very minds via the net.

7. We have already discussed many ways that such technological learning circles help communicate ideas and solve problems. In my journal I discussed an idea that having a latent class learning circle would be a good idea for parts of this course that prove challenging - so that students enrolled in this course as well as the future, would have a better idea of how to successfully complete the in class task without having to constantly ask their peers or the professor. Having a guide-like-learning circle would surely benefit students during the more difficult and challenging parts of the course. Thus, setting up a play-by-play instruction via the internet would surely help clarify many of the more tricky parts associated with this course and others.