Activity 1 - Create an ONLE with Google+

Objective: Use the third party tool Google + to create a community and collaborate with professionals in the education technology field on instructional strategies that support connectivism in an ONLE.

Instructions:

1. You will work with a group of 5 to Create a Community on Google +. Choose at least 3 professionals in the education technology field to follow and invite each person from our class by going to Google + https://plus.google.com/ , selecting community, Create a Community, and Search to add the members you will be following.

2. Each person in your group will make a comment on your community board to share an instructional strategy you learned about from our reading and how it supports connectivism in an ONLE. Each member must choose a different instructional strategy. For example, how Social Networking supports Community to Community interaction.

3. You will reply to at least one post from each of the other communities your classmates have created. For example, what are the strengths and weakness of using Social Networking to support Community to Community interaction. Your reply must show your knowledge of instructional strategies to support Connectivism.

4. As a group you will Create an Event to Add a Google Hangout where you will take turns discussing and reflecting on each of the comments your community has received and the effectiveness of Google +. You will write a one paragraph summary of what you discussed with your team and how you will or will not use Google + going forward and why. You will submit this as an individual assignment.

Individual and Group Assessment Rubric:

Activity 2 - Use metacognition to make your smartphone a PLE

1. In a spreadsheet, create a comprehensive list of all of your bookmarks from your work and your home computers and all the apps you use on your smartphone or tablet.
2. Categorize them according to Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. Refer to the web site above to help you determine which category each app, tool, or site should go in: (https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/)
   1. Remembering
   2. Understanding
   3. Applying
   4. Analyzing
   5. Evaluating
   6. Creating
3. Next, categorize all the items by type (Gutierrez, Diaz Barriga, Ramirez-Corona, Lopez-Malo, and Palou, 2016):
   1. Tools or applications
   2. Information sources
   3. Social network
4. Write a reflection on your observations about the categories and types of the tools, sites, and networks that you use regularly. Ask yourself:
   1. Are they evenly distributed across Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy? If not, what category(-ies) are most populated?
   2. Are they evenly distributed across type?
   3. How do the distributions across the taxonomy and the types tell you about how you learn?
5. Select one category from Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy and one type that are most represented in your list Go to the app store for your smartphone and find one app for each that either 1) is a mobile version of a bookmark/desktop app; or 2) could fill the same role on a mobile device.
6. Select one category from Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy and one type that are least represented in your list. Go to the app store for your smartphone and find one app for each that could fill in those gaps.
7. Assessment: self-reflection exercise. Write a 1-2 paragraph reflection on the process of analyzing your PLE. Discuss the following questions:
   1. How did your initial list of bookmarks and apps reflect how you learn or work?
   2. Evaluate how your final list of bookmarks and apps might support or enhance your learning.

Activity 3: - Setting formal and informal goals

Objective: Students will create a goal web using Mindomo which fall illustrate their goals as they relate to formal, informal, and non-formal learning, and use Mindomo features to show the varying approaches necessary to achieving these goals.

Instructions:

1. You will draft goals which fall within the following three categories:
   1. Informal-- Accomplished through independent, traditionally non-academic means. Requires students to act on behalf of themselves.
   2. Formal-- Accomplished in an explicitly academic environment, related to academic objectives.
   3. Non-formal-- Accomplished in a traditionally non-academic setting, with explicit academic objectives.
2. You will draft methods/plans for accomplishing each of these goals which align with the provided definitions. They must be as concise and straightforward as possible.
3. You will use Mindomo to create a web diagram to illustrate each component of this, as well as any connections which might develop in the process.
   1. This Mindomo diagram will serve as both a personal check-list, a formal assignment so that the instructor can provide helpful, constructive feedback, and a more shareable, informal resource so that students can draw from one another and work together to accomplish these goals.

Individual and Group Assessment Rubric:

Wearable Technology Learning Activities:

Activity #1:

As a university counselor, one is required to create a “Scavenger Hunt” for freshman students as a way for them to learn and identify important campus building locations: campus parking and security, admissions, financial aid office, cafeteria, library and the student clinic. Choose one interactive wearable device that can be used to track, log, and print out their locations from “start to finish”.

Activity #2:

You are an auto insurance adjuster in charge of viewing claims. The next case investigation involved a driver (injured in a two-car accident) who wore Google Glasses for her entire trip to Montana. It was also recorded on video. What type of data would be recorded for your investigation? Finally, what statement would be given law enforcement officials?

Activity #3:

As a dieter who cannot afford expensive gym memberships, you’ve decided to purchase a “cloud-based” wearable fitness tracker instead for your birthday. What basic information would you tell the service provider so that he/she would be able to send the best exercise and diet recommendations to your tracker to achieve your goals?

Teacher Resources

Prezi presentation on this chapter

Discussion Questions

1. As an instructor, what challenges do you anticipate if you incorporate ONLE strategies into a formal learning setting?
2. What are some of the difference between traditional face-to-face (F2) instructional strategies and those that would be used in and ONLE/PLE?
3. What significance do forethought, performing, reflecting, and feeding back as presented by Rahimi (2015a) have on the learning process within an ONLE?
4. Name and describe some third party tools that you or your organization currently implement. What benefit do they have for the instructor? And for the learner?
5. Some predict that virtual reality is not yet a realistic option for mainstream education and implementation may not be practical until 2019 or 2020. Do you feel that this technology can be of benefit to a learner? In what ways?
6. If your school and/company wanted to integrate and use wearable technology, which brand(s) and types would you prefer? Explain in detail and include factors such as price, availability and preferred options.
7. From what you have read concerning wearable technology, do you believe that this is the “future of learning” or is it a passing fad?
8. Describe the difference between “informal” and “non-formal” education. How do they differ from “formal” education?

Readings

Gee, M., Ho, A. & Raab, J. (n.d.). A day in the life of wearable tech. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/see-the-wearable-tech-of-the-future/

Howton, R. (2015). Turn your classroom into a personalized learning environment. International Society for Technology in the Classroom, EdTekHub. Retreived from https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=416.

Informal, non-formal and formal education programmes

Market Reports Center. The Wearable Technology Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Vert

NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education Edition

Rahimi, E., van den Berg, J., & Veen, W. (2015a). A learning model for enhancing the student's control in educational process using Web 2.0 personal learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(4), 780-792.

Sheehy, A. (March 6, 2014). 8 Mind-blowing Uses of Wearable Technology (Seriously...). FutureStructure. Retrieved from http://www.govtech.com/fs/news/8-Mind-blowing-Uses-of-Wearable-Technology-Seriously.html

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from: http://elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Texas State University. Instructional Technologies Support. Using Third-Party Tools for Instruction

Resources

https://www.diigo.com/user/kswatts

https://www.diigo.com/user/tmf242

https://www.diigo.com/profile/aglantz