Blog Post 7: Professional Learning Network

Every morning I'm greeted by two new sources of information in my inbox: An edutopia Community News Alert and Digg's Digg Deeper Daily Wrap (say that ten times fast). I subscribe to the following feeds on edutopia: Technology Integration, Game-Based Learning, and Media Literacy. This site proved useful last month when I used it to learn more about James Paul Gee, a researcher in the area of linguistics and literacy. and an author whose book we are reading in this quarter's GED 580 - Game Design for Educators. Although I have not contributed to any discussions or posted to any forums, I do appreciate the resources that are afforded here. I know it's only a mater of time until I join in on the conversation and get acclimated to this still-new environment.

My areas of interest are a bit broader on Digg. I have been using it to help with research on the topic of social media and education for yet another class - GED 690. My subscriptions to Digg not only cover education and educational technology, but current events and consumer technology.  It proves a convenient way to catch up on today's news (you mean it's not all about Cal Poly Pomona?). With time and practice, I see myself fine-tuning my subscriptions as my areas of interest broaden and evolve. That's the beauty of Web 2.0: It is tailor-made, immediate, relevant, and quite responsive.

Question 1
Some theorists have posited that learning does not happen within - from the inside out, but rather through social connections - from the outside in. What implications are there for social media and education?

Answer 1 
Social media serves as an ideal delivery method for today's students; students who consume vast quantities of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Their literacy with these modalities brings like-minded students together. Blogs, tweets, messages: ideas are distributed and shared, reflected on, and acted upon. This sharing, connecting, and further expansion of ideas is at the heart of social learning and education. What's the point in knowing something if you can't share it with someone else?

Question 2
The short video below depicts the evolution of a typical workspace over several decades. Notice the authors' correlation between the physical items and their idea of its Web 2.0 counterparts.  Is today's tech merely a repackaging of proven processes or is it more? 

Answer 2 
I believe we are at a crossroads of technology and intellectual development (for the time being, at least!). We have reached a point where the processing power of our technology can give our personal processing power a run for its money. Additionally, information which took months or even years to reach us, can be measured in mere seconds. There's a point in the video where the rolodex (the item on the right, in front of the globe) morphs into a LinkedIn icon. Of course people connected, shared, negotiated, and brokered deals before the days of LinkedIn. LinkedIn, and the assortment of icons depitcted have the capacity to shorten the time for those connections, negotiations, and deals to occur. I like to think of these tools as not necessarily improvements, but as an amplification or augmentation -  for both the good and the not-so-good. We're able to do what we've done in the past, except quicker, custom-tailored, and perhaps too, a bit more impersonally.

Journal 2: Join an Affinity Group and Share your Digg Stream

On Affinity Groups

The affinity group I have joined is Edutopia. I stumbled across them after viewing a compelling video on video games and learning. The video had the Edutopia watermark running throughout the piece. Curious, I went to their site and had a look around. After a short while, I felt I had an affinity to this group and joined...see what I did there?

You may view my profile on Edutopia here. It's the same rigmarole that is on the About Me of this blog. Nevertheless, check out Edutopia when you have a moment. I am subscribed to the following topics: "Technology Integration," "Game-Based Learning," and "Media Literacy." I'm looking forward to delving further, and collaborating with the Edutopia community.

Oh, Edutopia has the backing of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Bonus points: see if you can find all the Ewoks hidden throughout.

On Digg
WARNING: too much digging may lead to information overload. Have aspirin on hand.

I have been familiar with RSS, using Yahoo! as my reader. A quick side trip on wikipedia indicates that RSS (or a form of it) dates back to 1995.  I've only heard of Digg and never actually used it. I appreciate it's clean, intuitive design. It's easy enough to organize your tailor-made feeds information into folders. 

To have information come to me rather than vice-versa is an extremely convenient approach. We are consumers of vast amounts of information, the extent of which never-before-seen by previous generations. This is where it may get a little tricky. Have you ever signed up for a bunch of magazines or catalogs, and then later regret it as your mailbox bursts at the seams? With Digg, however, it is as easy to unsubscribe to a feed as it is to subscribe. 

I would never actually write that I dig digg. That would be too easy. So I won't. 

Question 1
Describe advantages to joining an affinity group? Can you think of any disadvantages? 

Answer 1
Reaching out and connecting with like-minded individuals may be helpful not only to one's personal life, but to their professional lives as well. Affinity group members have the potential in providing the support and resource we need at the time. It is also an opportunity for us to offer our services and reciprocate. As with anyone, being mindful and respectful goes a long way.

Question 2
Staying up-to-date in one's current field is essential, especially for those utilizing technology. The quantity of information can be overwhelming. How can you sort the information from the noise and still be on your game?

Answer 2
Staying organized is the key. We all have a variety of interests. Subscribing to all of them will result in a surge of information. Create folders by main topics. Nest folders within folders for any subtopics. And arrange the information accordingly. Learning does not occur during information overload.