Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

First of all, I want to explain a few definitions that I've learned about social learning. Dr. Orey states that connectivism is where "knowledge resides in the patterns of how different concepts are networked" (Connectivism as a Learning Theory) and C. Davis, E. Edmunds, & V. Kelly-Bateman describe connectivism as "driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations" (Connectivism Online Book). Cooperative learning is defined as "students working together to attain group goals that cannot be obtained by working alone or competitively" (G. Palmer, R. Peters, & R. Streetman, Cooperative Learning Online Book). And finally, Dr. Orey states that social learning is "students actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others" (Social Learning Theories). All of these terms are related in that students are working together towards a common goal or objective.

There are many, many technology resources that can be used in group work. Some of these include powerpoint, wikis, blogs, instant messaging, video, and webquests. H. Pitler, E. Hubbell, M. Kuhn, & K. Malenoski separate these technology resources into 3 categories. The first is multimedia, which includes creating a video (movie) and other strategies which combine sounds and visuals. They discuss how pre-planning is an important component of successful group work and how rubrics can be utilized for group and individual evaluation. Also, cooperative teaching can be utilized as an end product. The second category is web resources, which includes "Ask an Expert" websites, keypals (email pen pals from far away), webquests, website creation, collaborative organizing (shared calendars, shared bookmarking, and course management), and web-enabled multiplayer simulation games. The third category is communication software, which includes blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and other Web 2.0 resources (Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works).

Social learning theories are all about students learning to work together to learn and organize new knowledge to form understanding. Students need to have multiple opportunities in the classroom to practice group work. Dr. Orey states that "teaching others (peers) helps cognition and understanding" (Social Learning Theories). The group work usually involves teacher prepartion, breaking the students into small groups, researching and organizing content, and teaching the class about what they discovered. This is an emmersive process, where students are creating an artifact and displaying it for the whole class to see and learn about. Teachers must be prepared to organize and follow-up with the groups to make sure everyone is doing their part and not wasting time. Deadlines need to be set-up and each member of the group needs to be responsible for getting their work done on time.

In conclusion, there are many benefits of social learning, such as encouragement, discussing and validating answers, bouncing ideas off each other, student empowerment, individual accountability, increased motivation, and aiding each other during the project. Students need to be able to work with others because they will be doing that for their lifetime. They need to be able to work collaboratively to solve problems and work towards a common goal. Social learning is student-centered and the teacher aides, extends the learning, and provides feedback, but is not necessarily in charge of the learning. We teach students of various interests and backgrounds, with social learning we need to take advantage of this in how we group students and their roles within the group. Group work gives the students a "sense of ownership" when the product is constructed and "each group member's mark is on the final outcome" (B. Kim, Social Constructivism). Social learning creates real-life, meaningful learning experiences that children will remember.