A10TeamCacti

A10TeamCacti

To-Do

The paper makes this claim: “Web 2.0 is creating a new kind of participatory medium that is ideal for supporting multiple modes of learning.” For purposes of this assignment, pick a mode of learning which you consider the most important and most exciting for YOU!

Which idea/claim discussed in the article did you find most interesting?

I thought the breakdown of social learning was extremely interesting, particularly the findings of the Harvard professor. A lot of students tend to actively discuss and critique a professors effectiveness, but the idea that the key to their academic success is contingent upon their ability to form and participate in study groups is pretty cool. I think the ability to form and participate in small study groups in not only vital to academic success, but also a very good indicator of a persons ability to work collaboratively and succeed in a professional environment.

With which idea/claim do you disagree the most?

There wasn't necessarily a claim that I disagreed with, but the discussion about learning to be was a little optimistic. I agree that Web 2.0 has seen the advent of more and more producers, and that it has also opened up the opportunity for "amateurs" to collaborate with professionals, but the extent may be a little overstated in the article.

What learning style did you choose for purposes of this assignment?

Social Learning

What percentage of your overall educational experience is "Learning About"?

Eighty Percent.

What are the strengths of "learning about" from your experience?

You are given the direct knowledge from the book/ source. Sometimes there are subjects where you do not want to collaborate with others. You are curious about it on your own and you want to explore it yourself. I believe you need time on your own to be individual and so then you can later have a unique experience to contribute to the collaborative effort.

What are the weaknesses of "learning about" from your experience?

Learning about doesn't give you alternate views. You can become isolated by your beliefs due to interpretation of an idea one specific way. Without the ideas of others you may be more easily influenced by bias. When things are worked on in groups and discussed lots of these biases are dismissed. Also new views that you previously haven't conceived can be brought up when you don't discuss things and just learn straight from a text book and not in a small group

What percentage of your overall educational experience is "Learning to be"?

50

What are the strengts of "learning to be" from your experience?

The strength's of "learning to be" from our experience are we can learn our own pace and learn the simple problems and techniques before we trying to improve and enhance our skills to become better at what we are doing. Also, "learning to be" us to learn things that wouldn't always be taught in lectures or recitations. In addition, we can learn from our mistakes to become better and faster at what we are doing. It also, allows us to study under some of the best minds in our field of work. We can apprentice someone that is very experience and learn their skills and be mentored to further enhance our skills.

What are the weaknesses of "learning to be" from your experience?

The weaknesses of "learning to be" in our experience are that you start at the bottom. You basically, have to start simple and gradually add new skills to make things more complex. Also, "learning the ropes can be difficult depending on what your doing. For example, if you were to "learn to be" in Maya the learning curve is steep but once you've learned enough things get easier. Compared to SketchUp where "learning the ropes" is almost natural and it is so easy to use.

Do you agree or disagree with the following claim: “everyone is interested in something and feels passionate about it.”

Agree. Everyone I've met has been passionate about something. People who say they aren't are probably just hiding a passion for something taboo or not well looked upon by society.

Name something that YOU are personally interested in and feel passionate about.

Aaron - I am passionate about technology, football, and math. Zac - I'm passionate and interested in self-improvement, parkour, and web development. Luke -I'm passionate about strategic games, social interactions, and IT

Is the following statement true for YOUR passion: “for any topic that a student is passionate about, there is likely to be an online niche community of practice of others who share that passion.”

Aaron - Since my interests are all pretty mainstream, math at least academically, there is a strong online community for all of them. I think even if my passion was Brazilian Insects as Cuisine, I could either find a community of practice fairly easily, or if need be could easily begin to construct one.

Zac - This is certainly true for me, though likely aided by the fact that one of my passions is online-related (web dev). But, it is also true for Parkour, which is fundamentally not tech related.

Luke- I think for interests that aren't even main stream. Like I am very passionate about a competitive card game. There is still a very large community for it. It definitely is interesting though as how the forum for discussions about this card game were typically limited to a forum, and has recently expanded to youtube.

Tom:This is very true. There are 3D modeling and graphics communities everywhere on the internet. Each with people willing to help and enhance newcomers skills to the community.

If not: could it become a reality in the future?