My Learning Network

My network has grown over the years.  It was much more limited as I was growing up in the 1920’s and 1930’s.   As I matured I learned to discern between knowledge that was factual and knowledge that was opinions.  Now as a mature adult, I am able to use my network more effectively.  As many others, the web has become a great source of knowledge for me, although I continue to learn from the people around me such as teachers, friends, family, and others I meet.

My preferred digital tools are those used for auditory learning.  It is easier for me to learn this way because that is how much of our knowledge was shared when I was growing up – long before the digital age.  Much of my learning has involved foreign languages, which are better learned through oral transmission.  When learning for my class, I find the videos extremely helpful in understanding the new subject material because I can hear the new concepts as well as reading them.

When I have questions, I first decide which content will answer them best.  I seek out sources that are reliable, with sound academic validity.  My resource of choice is the internet.  I have learned to pay attention to who or what organization manages the website I am using.

My personal learning network supports the central tenets of connectivism because it includes a variety of sources that impact each other.  My human learning resources learn from each other and the internet, while the internet continues to grow and evolve because of the input from the same people who learn from it.



My Learning Connection Mind Map

12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research

12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research

In this article,

Stress and Learning

Stress and Learning

This article addresses two life long phenomena with which human being must come to terms on a daily basis, stress and learning.  Stress is the more difficult of the two to address because of its deep primitive origins in the fight or flight mechanism.  Because of its deeming effect on a student’s learning ability, teachers must be aware of its presence.  As an instructional designer, one must also keep the problem of stress in mind when designing instructional materials by presenting information in a logical manner which is easy to assimilate.  Another stress reducing device is the use of humor.

Hello world!

I am a retired foreign language instructor and eternal student.  Teaching and continued learning have been my hobbies for the last 45 years.  I chose foreign languages, literature, and linguistics to expand my intellectual horizon into the unknown.  After overcoming many of life’s obstacles such as the war in Germany, emigration to the US, and resuming my education in my forties, and a long teaching career, I finally find myself on the road to an Instructional Design and Technology Certificate.

The concept of learning and teaching theories has been somewhat alien to me.  I used most of my language and teaching skills intuitively, successfully and correctly.  I earned a Ph.D. from Rice University and became an expert in the field of German Literature, Linguistics, and Philology.  However, I was never taught how to share that expertise with my students.  I have never taken a class in the theory of teaching and learning.   It is ironic that now that I have retired from my teaching career, I will learn new teaching strategies.  I know that I will be impressed by the new theories I will learn and will now be able to put a label on what I have done intuitively all along.

This blog is one of my first assignments in my new role as a student.  I hope the reader enjoys it as much as I do.

Interactions: Online vs Classroom

• Interactions: Online vs Classroom

• In this blog, the blogger discusses building online communities in which students can interact more freely.  Time and distance become irrelevant.  Students communicate more freely with each other and the instructor because there is a decrease in inhibitions.  Chat room activities allow for a freer exchange of ideas than the traditional face to face setting.

Notes on Information Organization

• Notes on Information Organization

• When teaching in a corporate setting, each course has its own goals and purpose.   The teacher assumes that he/she is dealing with students with similar experiences.  Their backgrounds and learning goals are all similar.  In this environment, individual assessments in short intervals are a necessary feed back.

Instructional Design Documents

• Instructional Design Documents

• In developing online courses, certain procedures should be followed to ensure that the class runs smoothly.  The synchronous strategies in the chat room should create productive partner activities.  This will become part of building a workable online community.  Policies and netiquettes should be listed clearly to avoid misunderstandings between the school system and the student.