Week 4 Reflection

1)

This is my first time to use a Social Bookmarking like Diigo. I explored several basic function of Diigo, and it is really a big surprise for me. I realized that social bookmarking, such as Diigo, is a kind of social tool which can be used to save and share website. Through Diigo, users can collect and classify their interesting information, also can share them with other people. Since Diigo is a useful knowledge management tool, in my view, it also has some instructional use.

Firstly, it is helpful for instructor to prepare to classify and sum up the instructional materials. In order to avoid repeatedly searching, instructor can use Diigo to save and classify the website online they often use so that they easily use it whenever and wherever they want. Furthermore, basing on this, many website will be selected out by different instructors and classify by Tag. Once they share these information to each other, it will become a valuable instructional resource. Also, considering that the inefficient search engines, which might be caused by the larger amount of information, will make learners spend many time on searching information, instructors can provide these useful website to learners. Besides, learners can also use Diigo to save and share their interesting website. In that way, instructors will know some about their interesting through Diigo. This will help both instructors and learner have a better communication.

2)

The 1994 definition correspond with my understanding about educational technology. In my view, we learn how to design, develop, utilize, manage, and evaluate the processes and resources of learning in order to facilitate learning. However, the AECT 2008 definition makes me think more. Some words I want to highlight especially:

l  Ethical practice: This clearly stipulates that the practice of educational technology should meet the requirements of ethics.

l  Performance:  From the emphasis on resources, to the emphasis on teaching, then to the emphasis on learning, and finally to the emphasis on both learning and performance, this process reflect the shift, with the time change, of the main emphasis of educational technology. Adding improving performance to be one of the goals of educational technology means that the learning effects, benefits, and efficiency playing an important role as well.

l  Appropriate technological: This reflects a shift from the study of learning processes and recourses to the study of appropriate technological processes and resources.

By reading the chapter 1 of Trends and Issues, I learned something new about this are. To my surprise, I never knew that the history of educational technology can be traced back to the 1920s. I read some reference materials in China before, and they showed that the definition of education technology began in the 1963. So after reading the chapter 1, I searched more information about the history of definitions of educational technology. Then, I found that there were something seem to be missing in the book. In 1972, AECT stated a definition of educational technology listing as follows:

Educational technology is a field involved in the facilitation of human learning through the systematic identification, development, organization and utilization of a full range of learning resources and through the management of these processes. (Ely, 1972, p. 36)

References:

Kay, A, Persichitte & Alan, Januszewski. A HISTORY OF THE AECT’S DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY[EB/OL]. http://lichinhuangdl.wikispaces.com/file/view/ER5861X_C010.pdf

Diigo

Here is my Diigo page: https://www.diigo.com/user/iapetos000

Summary of O Reilly's "What Is Web 2"

Hi everyone,
I just created a Wiki!
Also, here is my summary of O Reilly's "What Is Web 2.0". 

Week 2 Reflection

When Blog appeared and came into vogue in China many years ago, I caught up with the trend and used it to communicate with my friend. At that time, I just realized that Blog is a good tool to share your experience and emotion with others. Since that time we always had to spend a lot of time on studying either in school or at home, this tool had become a valuable way for us to communicate. So almost every day my friends and I would write something on it and made comments to each other. Comparing with surprises or pleasant, I think our feeling about Blog at that time was more about thankful.

Unlike Blog, this is my first time to use an RSS Reader this week. I knew this tool long time before but I never used it. So after I created a Feedly account and followed the instruction to subscribe to both my classmates’ blogs and some other feeds, I feel so surprises. Last week when I wanted to look my classmates’ blogs, I had to click the link one by one. But this time, by using Feedly, it become much more convenient, especially after I download a Feedly app on my iPhone.

Putting aside the Blog’s or RSS’s features itself, I think the process that we using Blog and RSS for learning are made us go through all of these three experiences, the direct experiences, iconic experiences, and symbolic experience. I use a SmartArt below to explain.

Especially, the last two steps can be a cycle. That means, in the process we use Blog and RSS repeatedly, we are constantly involving in almost all parts of the Cone of Experience.

I quite agree with the list that Siegel gives about The Web’s Strengths, and I think that Blog and RSS can achieve a lot of them. Different from the single model that some tools have, such as the old Wikipedia, which can only search the explanation about some concepts, Blog and RSS actually break the wall between people and create a comprehensive information environment. Like by using RSS, we can individually choose the information we are interested in or need, and update them easily and quickly. On the other hand, by using Blog, we can effectively link together. In this point, the “effectively” means we have so many ways through multimedia, and the “link” means we can provide information, exchange thoughts, share and spread ideas through Blog. As Siegel says, “It’s not a single feature but a coherent set of concepts. This is computer imagination!”

Week1:A Reflection on Reigeluth & Joseph and Postman's Articles

Historically, the development of technology always will change the way of people’s life, and bring some problems. In that case, different opinion and attitude towards technology will occur. Some people have a positive attitude towards the relationship between education and technology; others might have a negative attitude, such as Reigeluth and Joseph, and Postman.

The immature status of technology when it just appeared often lead the people at that period develop a negative attitude to technology, such as the example Postman gives about his attitude on cruise control and electric windows. But in my opinion, sometimes, some people reject the new technology just because they don’t want to change. Because they deny those technologies first, so they always only see the defect, instead of some advantages. And it is worthwhile to note that the big improvement comes from a lot of small improvement. Some details might be inessential when they separate with each other. But once they are put together, they might have a significant contribution to the unitary development.

I quite agree with the view of Reigeluth and Joseph. Firstly, the viewpoint of “our current paradigm of education is not designed for learning; it is designed for sorting” (Reigeluth，1992) highly summarize the present educational situation of China, even some other countries. In China, almost all of children are educated by same course from elementary school to high school, and then participate in the college entrance examination. This only one time’s exam grade almost decides their future. Student who has a high score can go to a good university and get a good major, and then has a good job in the future. But the student who has a low score is quite opposite. In that way, we spend nearly 10 years to learn some knowledge that might not be used, even forgot, in University or future, but we are sorted by those knowledge. In my view, this is kind of wasting of resources, even life, since we can use those times to master much other knowledge that will be helpful to our future career and life. Therefore, I think the perspective of Reigeluth and Joseph towards “principles for a learning-focused paradigm of education” is really good for education’s transformation. And I also feel that this will be the development trend of education system in the future. Hence, the utilizing of new technology among education cannot be halted. As the author saying, “It is not an exaggeration to say that technology is indispensable for allowing us to transform teaching and learning to better meets our children's needs in the information age.”

In addition, I also agree with the viewpoint of Reigeluth and Joseph that regarding the technology as the only power to push the development of education is a mistake. I accept that technology is a double edged sword which not only improve the quality and system of education, but also bring some problems. For example, some teachers are over dependent on some technological tools. Teachers are always the main guide during the whole teaching process. Some modern technological tools, such as wonderful PPT and interesting video, will be helpful to attract students. However, this will also reduce the teaching charm of teachers themselves. As a guide, teacher might be regarded as a role model by student. In that case, their status will influence students directly. If a teacher lose his or her unique charm, and he or she can only use the technological tools which might be same with other teacher’s, how can he or she help student create their own personal charm? Therefore, it is also important to teachers improving themselves.

All in all, I think we should dialectically understand the relationship between education and technology, and then seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. In that way, the development of education can not only keep up with the pace of the times, but also meet our needs.

References:

Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond technology integration: The case for technology transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.

Postman, N. (1993). Of Luddites, Learning, and Life. Technos Quarterly, 2(4).