University of Manitoba
Connectivism and Social Networking
As a result of the internet, educators are increasingly aware of the networked nature of learning. Facebook, Twitter, Ning, and other services bring the importance of connections to the forefront. With ready access to information through advanced search tools, further enhanced by smart phones and ubiquitous connectivity, what individuals need to know is changing. What does it mean to be knowledgeable in a networked society? What does it mean to teach in a networked society? Knowing is as much about being connected to others as it is about being in personal possession of information. As a result, new skills are required of learners and new curricular views are required of educators.
This presentation will explore networks as agents that have altered many of the assumptions held by traditional education. The core roles of institutions, curriculum, and educators are altered when control over conversations and information access shifts to learners. For many educators, this change is first reflected in innovative pedagogies (wall-less classrooms and global conversations) and personal professional development. However, the impact of emerging technologies and networks are much greater than only altering teaching. What will education look like when we shed the assumptions formed during the pre-digital era and adjust institutions to address needs of learners for a world of growing complexity and connectedness?
This presentation will explore networks as agents that have altered many of the assumptions held by traditional education. The core roles of institutions, curriculum, and educators are altered when control over conversations and information access shifts to learners. For many educators, this change is first reflected in innovative pedagogies (wall-less classrooms and global conversations) and personal professional development. However, the impact of emerging technologies and networks are much greater than only altering teaching. What will education look like when we shed the assumptions formed during the pre-digital era and adjust institutions to address needs of learners for a world of growing complexity and connectedness?
Etienne Wenger
The complex challenges we face today urgently call for new models of how we can learn individually and collectively. We have quite rigorous models to consider the informational and cognitive aspects of learning, but we need to become more disciplined about considering its social dimensions. One model with the potential to do this is provided by communities of practice and the attendant learning theory. These communities are as ancient as human kind. Yet they represent a model of learning that is extraordinarily aligned with the new geographies of connectivity and identity emerging at the dawn of the 21st century. This session explores some dimensions of this social discipline of learning and it use to increase social learning capacity in business, government, education, and world development.
Charalambos Vrasidas & Maria Solomou
CARDET – University of Nicosia
Social Networking for Professional Development
During this presentation we will discuss cases of how social networking applications, mobile technologies, Web 2.0 tools, online games, and networked learning environments can support teacher professional development. These technologies have multiple dimensions including seamless integration in everyday activity, space and time independency, and offer unlimited interaction opportunities to millions of people around the world. Regardless of physical access to all these tools, social networking environments can be “exclusionary” to large groups of people. We will critically examine and discuss characteristics of effective professional development programs. We will attempt to unpack the assumptions embedded in the social networking rhetoric and propose alternative ways of articulating the relationship between social networking and lifelong learning. Examples and case studies of the use of a variety of ICTs will be presented from around the world. Issues to be discussed include the use of networked learning environments, mobile technologies, online games, social networking software, and blended pedagogical approaches. If designed systemically, such tools and approaches can collectively empower teachers to meaningfully engage in learning communities.
CARDET – University of Nicosia
Social Networking for Professional Development
During this presentation we will discuss cases of how social networking applications, mobile technologies, Web 2.0 tools, online games, and networked learning environments can support teacher professional development. These technologies have multiple dimensions including seamless integration in everyday activity, space and time independency, and offer unlimited interaction opportunities to millions of people around the world. Regardless of physical access to all these tools, social networking environments can be “exclusionary” to large groups of people. We will critically examine and discuss characteristics of effective professional development programs. We will attempt to unpack the assumptions embedded in the social networking rhetoric and propose alternative ways of articulating the relationship between social networking and lifelong learning. Examples and case studies of the use of a variety of ICTs will be presented from around the world. Issues to be discussed include the use of networked learning environments, mobile technologies, online games, social networking software, and blended pedagogical approaches. If designed systemically, such tools and approaches can collectively empower teachers to meaningfully engage in learning communities.
Graham Stanley
British Council
Before and After Twitter: Personal Learning Environments
A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a system that helps people take control of and manage their own learning. As this presentation will show, the rise of Twitter (http://twitter.com) and other Web 2.0/social networking tools has made it easier for teachers to manage their own learning and professional development, and communicate with others in the process. But, can we help learners to do the same using these tools?
I will start by looking at examples of how teachers can use a range of Web 2.0 tools to build their own PLE. We will see how different social networks and communities of practice can be tapped into by teachers to create a Personal Learning Network (PLN), allowing them to form part of the emerging global staffroom.
Next we will look at attempts to help learners do the same, looking at cases where specific teachers have tried to encourage learner autonomy outside of class. Successful and not so successful examples will be shown and we will look at how we can learn from both of these.
Finally, participants will be asked to provide their own ideas and opinions, and other examples of how they use these tools with learners and other teachers.
Nicky Hockly
The Consultants-E
Edmodo and the wired classroom
This session looks at how the social networking tool Edmodo can be used to create a wired, paperless classroom in face-to-face teaching contexts. The session showcases how Edmodo was used in a recent face-to-face teacher training course to link participants in the classroom, and to distribute information, as well as to conduct short activities. Edmodo has several features that make it more effective than other social networking tools (such as Twitter) in teaching and teacher training, and this talk will also highlight these.
Carla Arena
Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil
Flickr - Design that Connects
Flickr is much more than just an online photo sharing space. It's a hub for educational experiments, networking and visually appealing inspiration to any educator. In this talk, participants will learn how Flickr has gone beyond the power of images by enabling the creation of networks and the connection of like-minded educators, schools and students through the various tools it offers. Examples of pedagogical use of the photo sharing platform will be shared, as well.
Nellie Müller Deustch
University of Phoenix
WikiEducator: A community of Educators
A wiki is more than just software for enabling multiple people to edit Web sites”, the wiki is a way of life (Tapscott & Williams, 2006, p. 18). Wikis are revolutionizing the way learners and teachers interact with information. The presenter will discuss WikiEducator as a powerful collaborative community that connects and engages learners and teachers in the process of sharing content. The presentation will include a tour of WikiEducator as a community of educators and learners with a passion for sharing and collaborating on ways to improve instruction and learning to make e-learning free and available world wide. The presenter will also elaborate on the method of workroups and a council of elected and nominated members used to ensure a democratic and collaborative working environment. In a Wiki system, it is important to understand how a collaborative editing environment can benefit the community and promote lifelong learning.
Jennifer Verschoor, Evelyn Izquierdo & Erika Cruvinel
Webheads in Action - Connecting to Empower
Are you a Webhead? Have you ever heard about the Webheads? This vibrant online community has changed the life of many educators worldwide. The purpose of the community is to help learning professionals understand the potential benefits of the appropriate integration of available Internet technologies into their teaching practice by first experimenting and learning in a hands-on, low-risk online environment before engaging their own learners. The purpose of this presentation is to show the audience how the members of this community work together all year long to promote professional development. Besides their own professional development, Webheads teach their students the new media literacies that will be required from them in their future jobs. Also, by enganing students in cross-cultural projects using Web 2.0 tools, they start accepting the differences which exist within different cultures, thus becoming better citizens. Join us to take a step further towards integrating technology with the most inspiring community of practice - THE WEBHEADS.
Erika Cruvinel & Ronaldo de Lima Jr.
Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasília, Brazil
Ed Tech and social networking
Are we really preparing our students for their future jobs? What new digital literacies will be required from them? How can we update our teaching practices with our time restraints in order to reach the 21st century students? Technology has given us infinite possibilities to improve and accelerate our professional development. Educators can now join global professional communities, interact with experts, publish content, engage in reflective processes, share insights and challenges and support each other. Through online training and conferences, informal conversations, interactive web 2.0 tools and social networking websites, educators can transform their professional development experience into a more meaningful and rewarding one. In
this workshop, presenters will talk about the impact of social networking in their academic lives and how they are taking advantage of it to empower learners, teach them important skills and inspire them to be better citizens.
Webheads in Action - Connecting to Empower
Are you a Webhead? Have you ever heard about the Webheads? This vibrant online community has changed the life of many educators worldwide. The purpose of the community is to help learning professionals understand the potential benefits of the appropriate integration of available Internet technologies into their teaching practice by first experimenting and learning in a hands-on, low-risk online environment before engaging their own learners. The purpose of this presentation is to show the audience how the members of this community work together all year long to promote professional development. Besides their own professional development, Webheads teach their students the new media literacies that will be required from them in their future jobs. Also, by enganing students in cross-cultural projects using Web 2.0 tools, they start accepting the differences which exist within different cultures, thus becoming better citizens. Join us to take a step further towards integrating technology with the most inspiring community of practice - THE WEBHEADS.
Erika Cruvinel & Ronaldo de Lima Jr.
Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasília, Brazil
Ed Tech and social networking
Are we really preparing our students for their future jobs? What new digital literacies will be required from them? How can we update our teaching practices with our time restraints in order to reach the 21st century students? Technology has given us infinite possibilities to improve and accelerate our professional development. Educators can now join global professional communities, interact with experts, publish content, engage in reflective processes, share insights and challenges and support each other. Through online training and conferences, informal conversations, interactive web 2.0 tools and social networking websites, educators can transform their professional development experience into a more meaningful and rewarding one. In
this workshop, presenters will talk about the impact of social networking in their academic lives and how they are taking advantage of it to empower learners, teach them important skills and inspire them to be better citizens.
Nik Peachey
Freelance
From Information to knowledge: Creating your own development network
Web 2.0 and social media have made it increasingly easy for almost anyone with an internet connection to become part of the digital knowledge sharing revolution.
It has never been easier for teachers to take control of their own development and build their own personal and professional learning networks, but with the abundance of information now circulating on the world wide web, how do teachers quickly cope with the overload of information, track key sources and sift information so that they can turn it into useful knowledge?
I hope that I will be able to help by sharing some useful digital tools and techniques that will help teacher stay connected to the information superhighway and create their own personal learning network without being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information.
Rita Zeinstejer
Asociación Rosarina de Cultura Inglesa
Paula Ledesma
Institute Helping North ELT
The Web 2.0 Honing Social Skills
Language learners should be exposed to meaningful, authentic situations if we want them to develop their language skills to communicate safely and successfully. The four walls of a classroom, textbooks and a teacher-model no longer provide the appropriate environment for real learning in an era when the internet offers educators the chance to communicate synchronous and asynchronously with likeminded people from all corners in the world. It is a must, for us, teachers, to show our students the benefits of interacting, exchanging culture and sharing experiences through the language they have been learning in restricted, artificial conditions.
This presentation will focus on two projects EFL students in Rosario, Argentina, carried out with native and non-native English speakers: one, with ten members of the Webhead community, the other, with students from Seoul, Korea, through a wiki and a classblog.
Both wikis and blogs features will be compared, and audio and video conversation tools, texted-speech tools, class discussion facilitators as well as social programs like Facebook and Twitter will be mentioned.
There will also be a special section about wikis that will highlight some web 2.0 tools which can be applied to different tasks to enhance communication in a creative way.
Several other Internet synchronous and asynchronous applications included in the classblog will also be introduced, as well as a students’ video, where they describe the meaning and the value of an experience which opened their eyes, their comprehension of the world and their horizons.
Vance Stevens
The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Freelance
From Information to knowledge: Creating your own development network
Web 2.0 and social media have made it increasingly easy for almost anyone with an internet connection to become part of the digital knowledge sharing revolution.
It has never been easier for teachers to take control of their own development and build their own personal and professional learning networks, but with the abundance of information now circulating on the world wide web, how do teachers quickly cope with the overload of information, track key sources and sift information so that they can turn it into useful knowledge?
I hope that I will be able to help by sharing some useful digital tools and techniques that will help teacher stay connected to the information superhighway and create their own personal learning network without being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information.
Rita Zeinstejer
Asociación Rosarina de Cultura Inglesa
Paula Ledesma
Institute Helping North ELT
The Web 2.0 Honing Social Skills
Language learners should be exposed to meaningful, authentic situations if we want them to develop their language skills to communicate safely and successfully. The four walls of a classroom, textbooks and a teacher-model no longer provide the appropriate environment for real learning in an era when the internet offers educators the chance to communicate synchronous and asynchronously with likeminded people from all corners in the world. It is a must, for us, teachers, to show our students the benefits of interacting, exchanging culture and sharing experiences through the language they have been learning in restricted, artificial conditions.
This presentation will focus on two projects EFL students in Rosario, Argentina, carried out with native and non-native English speakers: one, with ten members of the Webhead community, the other, with students from Seoul, Korea, through a wiki and a classblog.
Both wikis and blogs features will be compared, and audio and video conversation tools, texted-speech tools, class discussion facilitators as well as social programs like Facebook and Twitter will be mentioned.
There will also be a special section about wikis that will highlight some web 2.0 tools which can be applied to different tasks to enhance communication in a creative way.
Several other Internet synchronous and asynchronous applications included in the classblog will also be introduced, as well as a students’ video, where they describe the meaning and the value of an experience which opened their eyes, their comprehension of the world and their horizons.
Vance Stevens
The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Modeling social media in groups, communities, and networks
This presentation intertwines two threads:
(1) an examination of social networking as practiced distinctly in groups, communities, and networks.
Drawing from experience coordinating a teachers' community of practice for the past decade, I will illustrate the evolution of what was initially a group into a community of practice, and how social media enables one CoP to interact with others to become part of a distributed learning network.
and
(2) the notion that teachers must be trained not only IN the use of social media, but THROUGH its use.
Recidivism is a problem in technology training for education; teachers can be shown how to use social media, but unless they use it themselves they unlikely to change their practices. There is evidence that teachers trained in programs where their instructors used social media (modeled it) are more comfortable with technology than when their instructors did not themselves use these tools. This presentation suggests how teachers can interact with numerous communities of practice and distributed learning networks where other participants are modeling to and learning from one another optimal ways of using social media in teaching.
This presentation intertwines two threads:
(1) an examination of social networking as practiced distinctly in groups, communities, and networks.
Drawing from experience coordinating a teachers' community of practice for the past decade, I will illustrate the evolution of what was initially a group into a community of practice, and how social media enables one CoP to interact with others to become part of a distributed learning network.
and
(2) the notion that teachers must be trained not only IN the use of social media, but THROUGH its use.
Recidivism is a problem in technology training for education; teachers can be shown how to use social media, but unless they use it themselves they unlikely to change their practices. There is evidence that teachers trained in programs where their instructors used social media (modeled it) are more comfortable with technology than when their instructors did not themselves use these tools. This presentation suggests how teachers can interact with numerous communities of practice and distributed learning networks where other participants are modeling to and learning from one another optimal ways of using social media in teaching.
Webconferences