Activity 11: 21st Century learning environments

Learning is changing in the 21st century as a result of the advent of technology. Technologies such as interactive whiteboards, personal learning devices, wireless networks and mobile devices, plus the internet and high-quality digital learning resources are an integral part in learning today. Some students are able to access many of these technologies from home, school or any place at any time. The learning environment is no longer confined to the physical space but technology-rich learning spaces whereby students are motivated learners and they are given authentic tasks that would enable them to view learning as an activity whereby they can communicate and collaborate with their peers, teachers and experts, in an inclusive environment that offers some degree of flexibility. The use of flipped classroom and social media along with audio, audio-visual, text and other tools can only be facilitated in a 21^st century classroom that has the necessary space and resources for students to work together using digital tools.

Activity10: Project product ideas

 There are a host of project product ideas as well as technological tools that were encountered in this activity. These can be utilized in order to collaborate and share the project product with an intended audience. Once our  students are given the opportunity to be exposed to the different publishing media, they would be more motivated to work on projects.

Activity 9: Learning and Collaboration online

Collaboration tools are invaluable in a connected classroom. If learning really is a social process, then collaboration is a must. The assistance that learners require may be provided by experts such as teachers and by peers, who collectively have expertise distributed among them.

By collaborating using the various tools such as Skype, Google docs, and drop box, etc, students can develop their potential for learning. They can learn to approach and solve new problems so that they develop problem solving skills that do not exist at the moment of learning. Rather than simply absorbing material, learning rules, and displaying the material and rules on demand, students learn to develop competencies that they first experience in collaborative learning environments.

Activity 8: Communicating Online

Communication tools are very essential for learning in a connected classroom. They can assist shy students to improve communication with teachers and other students. They can also enable students to share ideas more openly. They can also be used to introduce new concepts, materials and the knowledge in a meaningful way. Students can use digital tools to create stories about events, places, family, characters, books they read; memories, advertisement, feelings. They can create announcements, news, movie trailers, personal expressions and many more. There are a vast number of communication tools that can be utilized including voice thread, blubbr, wiggio, zimmertwins, dandelife and bookr. 

Communication tools are sometimes very difficult to use when collaborating online, especially in a synchronous way. Persons may have varying difficulties accessing communication tools due to work schedules, lack of internet access or poor time management.

Activity 7: Learning through Social Media

 

Social Media can serve a myriad of purposes in learning. It can be used to:

·         Help shy students. Shy students who may feel uncomfortable approaching their teacher in person can use social media as a way to communicate. 

·         Share interesting websites. Both students and instructors can share interesting websites or links related to topics o interest via social media.

·         Foster collaboration among students and their audiences as they work together on projects and participate in dynamic learning opportunities.

·         Assign class assignments or grades. Teacher can allow students to set up e-mail accounts then e-mail assignments to them r their test results.

Social Media can also

•  support interaction which is a highly effective form of active learning. It helps learners to network with people of similar passion and goals as well as to share ideas and experiences, and obtain competencies implanted in real life, unravel opportunities and recommend the path to success.

• allow persons to experience natural learning which has a direct impact on the way people learn.

• help learners to easily access information anytime and anywhere. It also facilitates access of information of a diverse kind on a given topic with ease and efficiency. In turn, it supports lifelong learning processes.

• allow learners to access information through a range of visuals, text and perceptions on a given subject. It also encourages one to actively participate by posting content on social networking sites. It helps users post or express individual views, thereby generating a great deal of content on the site.

Social media can have both positive and negative effects on learning but as Teachers, we must teach appropriate and ethical use of technology and be proactive rather than reactive. There can be great uncertainty because social media is subjected to continuous change and may lack the required structure to fit into the exact learning need.