Monday

=Collaborative Learning: Pros and Cons=
 * ==What is the Wisdom of Crowds (from Jim Surowiecki's book - see digital bibliography)?==
 * [[image:crowds.jpg width="347" height="277"]]
 * == Types of crowd wisdom ==
 * ===**Cognition**===
 * ====**Thinking and information Processing: judgment can be //much// faster, more reliable, and less subject to political forces than the deliberations of experts or expert committees.**====
 * ===**Coordination**===
 * ====**Coordination of behavior includes situations such as not colliding in moving traffic flows. Examines how //common understanding// within a culture allows remarkably accurate judgments about specific reactions of other members of the culture.**====
 * ===**Cooperation**===
 * ====**How groups of people can form networks of trust without a central system controlling their behavior or directly enforcing their compliance.**====
 * == **Four elements required to form a wise crowd** ==
 * ====**Not all crowds (groups) are wise. Consider, for example, mobs or crazed investors in a stock market bubble. According to James Surowiecki, these key criteria separate wise crowds from irrational ones:**====
 * ====**Diversity of opinion****:** Each person should have private information even if it's just an eccentric interpretation of the known facts.====
 * ====**Independence****:** People's opinions aren't determined by the opinions of those around them.====
 * ====**Decentralization****:** People are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge.====
 * ====**Aggregation****:** Some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into a collective decision**.**====
 * == **Failures of crowd intelligence** ==
 * ====**Surowiecki studies situations in which the crowd produces very bad judgment, and argues that in these types of situations their cognition or cooperation failed because (in one way or another) the members of the crowd were too conscious of the opinions of others and began to emulate each other and conform rather than think differently. Although he gives experimental details of crowds collectively swayed by a persuasive speaker, he says that the main reason that groups of people intellectually conform is that the system for making decisions has a systematic flaw.**====
 * ====**Surowiecki asserts that what happens when the decision making environment is not set up to accept the crowd, is that the benefits of individual judgments and private information are lost and that the crowd can only do as well as its smartest member, rather than perform better (as he shows is otherwise possible). Detailed case histories of such failures include:**====
 * ====**Homogenity****:** Surowiecki stresses the need for diversity within a crowd to ensure enough variance in approach, thought process, and private information**.**====
 * ====**Centralization****:** The Columbia shuttle disaster, which he blames on a hierarchical NASA management bureaucracy that was totally closed to the wisdom of low-level engineers.====
 * ====**Division****:** The US Intelligence community, the 9/11 Commission Report claims, failed to prevent the 11 September 2001 attacks partly because information held by one subdivision was not accessible by another. Surowiecki's argument is that crowds (of intelligence analysts in this case) work best when they choose for themselves what to work on and what information they need. (He cites the SARS -virus isolation as an example in which the free flow of data enabled laboratories around the world to coordinate research without a central point of control.) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA have created a Wikipedia style information sharing network called [|Intellipedia] that will help the free flow of information to prevent such failures again.====
 * ====**Imitation****:** Where choices are visible and made in sequence, an "information cascade" can form in which only the first few decision makers gain anything by contemplating the choices available: once past decisions have become sufficiently informative, it pays for later decision makers to simply copy those around them. This can lead to fragile social outcomes.====
 * ====**Emotionality**: Emotional factors, such as a feeling of belonging, can lead to peer pressure, herd instinct, and in extreme cases collective hysteria.====

=Web 2.0: What is it?=
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 * ==The philosophy focuses on the idea that the people who consume media, access the Internet, and use the Web shouldn't passively absorb what's available -- rather, they should be active contributors, helping customize media and technology for their own purposes, as well as those of their communities.==
 * ==Why is Web 2.0 important to a teacher or librarian?==
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 * ==Ease of use==
 * ==Web 2.0 lives in the "Cloud" - What is cloud computing?==
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 * ==Targeted to mainstream population==
 * ==Consistent with most contemporary learning theories because it is interactive==
 * ===People learn better when they are engaged with the content.===
 * || [[image:Cartesian_learning.gif width="319" height="232"]] || [[image:Social_learning.gif width="269" height="244"]] ||
 * ===Change is required in the two vast and interwoven domains that permeate the deep structures and operating model of the [school]: ... (1) we need to toss out the old industrial model of pedagogy (how learning is accomplished) and replace it with a new model called collaborative learning; and ... (2) we need an entirely new //modus operandi// for how the subject matter, course materials, texts, written and spoken word, and other media are created. (Educause Review, January/February 2010, 18)===
 * ==Exposes the benefits of collaborative learning:==
 * ===Social learning - understanding of content is socially constructed (Seely-Brown & Adler)===
 * ===mutual exploration===
 * ===group problem solving===
 * ===collective meaning making===
 * ===Web 2.0 tools===
 * ===Embraces discovery - every time you teach something, you deprive the student of the pleasure and benefit of discovery (Seymour Papert)===
 * ===World Wide Web===
 * ===Digital databases===
 * ===eBooks===
 * ===Web 3.0 - Semantic Web===
 * ===Student-focused and self-paced===
 * ==="mass-customization"===
 * ==="just in time teaching"===
 * ===deep questions===
 * ===computer-mediated instructional (CMI) materials===

=Introduction to basic Web 2.0 tools=


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 * ==What is a blog, and why would I use one?==
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 * ===A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs.===
 * Why should students blog?
 * to keep engaged. Students who otherwise shy away from writing tasks often enjoy "writing" a post or a comment on a post they have enjoyed reading.
 * to write for an authentic audience. Anyone around the world is able to view the blog and comment.
 * to learn how people from other parts of the world interact and live by visiting student blogs from other countries. This helps people respect each other and live in harmony with one another.
 * to collaborate on a project with another class from the same school, country or overseas.
 * to help them evaluate their learning. Educators' comments on student blogs often provide food for thought for the students who are encouraged to evaluate the content on a post or activity shared.
 * to increase confidence by being published.
 * ===Justifying Blogging - David Warlick===
 * ===What You Wanted to KNOW About Student Blogging - The EduBlogger===
 * ===Sample blogs===
 * ===Collaboratoria===
 * ===Weblogg-ed - Will Richardson===
 * ===The Daily Dish - Andrew Sullivan===
 * ===Mike Allen's Playbook from Politico===
 * ===Smarthistory===
 * ===The Secret Life of Bees===
 * ===American History Rules===
 * ===Pre-Cal 40S===
 * ===Chemistry 221===
 * ===The clearinghouse for all blogs: Technorati===
 * ==What is a wiki, and why would I use one?==
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 * ===A wiki is a collaborative Webspace where anyone can add or edit content. In schools, teachers and students have begun using password protected wikis to create their own textbook, resource, or activity sites.===
 * ===__**What to do with a wiki**__ ===
 * What can you do with a Classroom Workspace?
 * What can you do with a Classroom Workspace?


 * **Class Resources**  - Publish class notes, PowerPoint lectures, schedules and policies; show off examples of great student work.
 * **Group Projects**  - Build collaborative pages, start discussions and encourage comments.
 * **Parent Outreach -**  Keep parents involved. Post assignments, key dates and volunteer lists. All available at home, from work, or anywhere.
 * **Student Portfolios**  - Give students their own page to post content, upload homework, and share their work.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Expand Horizons** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Share and interact with other classrooms or groups, across town or around the world <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**.**
 * ===Sample wikis===
 * ===Petrucci Music Library===
 * ===Macbeth - Dwight-Englewood School===
 * ===Flat Classroom Project===
 * ===Joel's Wikis===
 * ===A Guide to the 20th Century===
 * ===Mainstream and Citizen Media===
 * ===Journal of 20th Century History===
 * ===Learning the Basics of French===
 * ===Wikibooks - Basic Algebra===
 * ==What is a podcast, and why would I use one?==
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 * ===Imagine being able to listen to or view lectures and lessons on demand? Podcasts can deliver educational content for listening or viewing on your computer and iPod, freeing learning from constraints of the classroom and its clock.===
 * ===A podcast is audio or visual content that is automatically delivered over a network via free subscription. Once subscribed to, podcasts can be regularly distributed over the Internet or within your school’s network and accessed with an iPod, laptop, or desktop computer (both Macs and PCs).===
 * ===Sample Podcasts===
 * ===1930s Radio Show - Tom Daccord, Nobles & Greenough===
 * ===Grammar Girl===
 * ===Madrid Young Learners Podcast===
 * ===Southwest High School===
 * ===iTunes University===
 * ===Social Innovation Conversations===
 * ==What is RSS, and how can it help me?==
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 * ===RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a simple yet amazing tool that has the ability to streamline the way you currently view many of the websites that you click through on a daily basis. This is done by way of a special (XML) file that sits alongside of a webpage file on a website. The file strips the website of all of its bells and whistles and brings the user a basic chronological summary of updates to the website. Usually, these updates contain a headline, a brief description, a URL to the full story being summarized, a date, and the creator’s name.===
 * ===Why use RSS feeds?===
 * ===By now, you’re probably thinking that this doesn’t sound all that amazing. Well, let’s put it another way. Think of the four or five most intelligent people you have ever had as a teacher. Now, pair them up with all of those people out there who you respect and read about on a daily basis. Combine those with people who have similar interests to you who you have not even discovered yet. Finally, mix in a variety of news sources that you rely on to get the news you are interested in hearing. Take all of this information, funnel it into one location (without constantly having to search it out), and you now begin to gain an understanding of what RSS has to offer. [Alan November]===
 * ===Once you grasp the concept of RSS and begin making its use a part of your daily routine, you will feel like you have never learned so much in your life. You will quickly see that your RSS feeds have the potential to become an extremely valuable source of professional development.===
 * ===Once you grasp the concept of RSS and begin making its use a part of your daily routine, you will feel like you have never learned so much in your life. You will quickly see that your RSS feeds have the potential to become an extremely valuable source of professional development.===


 * ===RSS Readers===
 * ===Google Reader===
 * ===Bloglines===
 * ===News Rack for mobile devices===
 * ==What are tagging and social bookmarking, and how can they help me?==
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 * ===If you have trouble finding good information on the Internet, you're not alone. Portals and publications don't always classify information in the same way their readers would.===
 * ===But what if you could tag any information you put on the Internet -- or any information that you find on the Internet -- with simple keywords, so that you could find it again? And what if you could search for information that other people had tagged with the same keyword? That's where [|tagging] comes in handy.===
 * ===Tags can help you organize and find URLs (with the help of social bookmarking tools like [|del.icio.us]), photos (with applications like [|flickr]), and ideas or projects (like on the [|43 things] Web site). Tags can also be a great way to draw attention to your posts and bring others to your blog or Web site.===
 * ===The real value in tagging is that a community of like-minded people is helping to sort and classify information. Tagging projects are constantly emerging to help gather information and share knowledge.===
 * ===Social Bookmarking Sites===
 * ===[|Fleck]===
 * ===[|Delicious]===
 * ===Diigo===
 * ===Flickr (for pictures)===
 * ===Tag Clouds - Wordle===
 * ==What are widgets and AJAX, and what do they mean to me?==
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 * ===The centerpiece of the Web 2.0 transformation is AJAX, a group of Web page coding technologies that allows pages to respond to a user's input without processing or reloading the page.===
 * ===One of AJAX's most popular applications is Google Maps, where you can drag the map around on the screen seamlessly and add and remove flags without having to wait for Google's server to send you an updated Web page.===
 * ===Examples of Widgets===
 * ===Blogger widgets===
 * ===Wikispaces widgets===

=Wrap-up: Are Web 2.0 tools a result of a new knowledge paradigm? If so, does it necessarily entail a new approach to teaching and learning?=
 * ==The notion of expertise has changed.==
 * ==The New Shape of Knowledge - David Weinberger==