Week+1+Overview

EDLD 5364 Week 1 Overview

The first thing that I did for the new course was read the course syllabus to get an idea of what is required to complete the course. Along with the video explanation given by Professor Mason, it was explained that along with readings, videos, and the discussion board that we will be required to collaborate with a group of 3 to 5 members on projects throughout the 5-week course. For the first week we will be looking at a scenario-based group project that will allow us to brainstorm for a course project due at the end of the fifth week. We will be required to keep our wiki space and blogs updated throughout the course with new information and collaborating ideas with our group members. We will be using Google docs for our projects, so it was strongly suggested that we get a Google account and if help was needed to visit [].

The videos introduced the three learning theories: Vygotski's Constructivism, Siemens's Connectivism, and Warwick's Cyborg. Constructivism is a theory that believes learners inquire knowledge by linking new information to previous knowledge therefore arguing that everyone understands (and inquires) things differently because of different prior knowledge. Connectivism believes that is it important to know where to the find the knowledge, not particularly in knowing what to find. Cyborg is an interaction between humans and machines that will enhance all human capabilities. In the readings, the authors discussed more in detail about the advantages teaching would have using constructivist ideas than with traditional teaching strategies. It also discussed how technology has proved to have a positive influence on student's higher-ordered thinking and problem solving. Students are able to collaborate with other students in different cities and countries, be more involved with their community through their class projects, and communicate with professionals in fields that are related to their subject content.