Reflection

Reflection
Learning can be accomplished in many ways. However, what I found interesting or striking about how people learn is the fact that motivation plays an important role in the way people learn. Including in this knowledge is the fact that intrinsic motivation plays a very important part where learners are inspired more to learn than in extrinsic motivation. However, in other factors, extrinsic situations play a great part.
This course has deepened my understanding of my personal learning process by allowing me to see the need of how I learn more. For example, if I am given motivating facts from my instructors and other helpful facts, I would better be able to be competent in my knowledge of my course. When I am given a choice to choose between two options it will give me self-determination or autonomy. In the case of relatedness where I can participate in discussion groups, I can also think of how instructors use different learning styles like using audios and visual imaging and so on so that will enhance my personal learning process and though these things my understanding has been deepened (Kruse, Kevin )
I can also envisage using the various theories like the Behaviorists, cognivitist and connectivist to maximize how I learn as learning is both a process and a product. (Smith 1999) I especially like that I learn by connecting the various theories together. I see how an important part the web has played in my learning.
I have learned regarding the connection between the learning theories, learning styles, educational technology and motivation is that they are all connected. For example if there were no learning theories, we would not have had learning styles to show how learning styles enhance learning and that persons should not be thought to learn in only one way. Also for educational technology, teachers and instructional technologist cannot only use or show the various theories to teach but they can also show connections between the various theories. For example they can show how motivation especially intrinsic motivation is important to learning.
My learning in this course has already helped me and will help me as I further my career in the field of instructional design to bring all my learning together especially using the theory of connectivism and through the web like the sematic web which is listed as an emergent technology in the Horizon Report (Johnson, Levine, & Smith 2009). It is also the most current theory that would incorporate the attributes of a 21st century learning environment with its network ability and as Vail puts it “that must be a way of being.” (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman 2008). I can put my thoughts together in one place and make a better decision to make my knowledge more effective in a technology based world.
References
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M, Orey (ed.).Web Article:Kruse, Kevin. Articles. Beginner Basics. The Magic of Learner Motivation: The ARCS Model.
Report: Johnson, L., Levine, A., & smith, R. (2009). The Horizon Report (2009 ed.).
Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/
Smith, M. (1999). Learning theory. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm.

Connectivism

Check up my new mind map. What do you think?

Blog on Information processing from Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology

Website: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Information_processing

From Information processing from Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology

This review by Michael Orey from the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology 2008 is a visual presentation which would make learning easier. Although good, I would have preferred this very visual presentation to be used more in a classroom setting. This is a fairly current update and has very pertinent information. However, this perspective is mainly from the cognitivist point of view. I would have liked to see something from the constructionist prospective which would have given the active application of ideas to problems.

What is "The Art of Changing the Brain?"

Professor James E. Zull a Professor of Biology and Director of the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education at Case Western Reserve University has given me some incisive comments on the Art of Changing the Brain
at http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/zull.htm on What is The Art of Changing the Brain?"
We have learned that when successul teachers produce change in students it is essentially an art. He tells us about the art of challenging the whole brain and lets us know the four basic functions of the brain from which he proposes four pillars of human learning that is gathering, analyzing, creating, and acting. And as a Professor of Biology shows how information enters the brain through existing networks of neurons. Professor Zull suggests different kinds of "Arts". What I find interesting is when he spoke on "The art is the skill of finding the parts of existing networks that are "right" and helping the student attach new things to them which generate more complete understanding. This approach suggests that much of what we consider "wrong" is just incomplete. We can add to it if we have the "Art". I like the idea of attaching new things to existing networks but considering things that are wrong as just being incomplete might be going a bit too far. However, I do believe that Practice and meaning are the most important parts of art but it is utimately the student who is in control.

Brief overview of 3 instructional design blogs+

The three sites that I have chosen that deal with Instructional Design are (1) Learning theory from the encyclopedia of informal education. (2) Instructional Design for eLearning Approaches and (3) Blogs about: Instructional Design.

I would critique the usefulness of each site and reflect upon how the site might serve as an ongoing resource as I work in the instructional design field.

First I would look at the Learning theory at:

http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm

The Learning Theory has pertinent information on Learning as both a product and as a process. This is basically from the behaviorist point of view and cognitivist point of view whose theories are widely used around the world mainly with an exception of countries like Britain and Northern Ireland but which gives us a better understanding of how people learn. He also broke it down into two other categories which are important to know. He also gave further readings that Instructional Designers could find useful. I can use this site often in my Instructional Design field.

Secondly on the Ideas, Instructional Design for Elearning Approaches at

http://ideas.blogs.com/

you can reflect and have insights on elearning strategies and instructional technology design. This site is useful for all of your online Elearning questions and guidelines especially designed for us who are pursuing our online studies in Instructional Technology and Design. I would recommend this site for all of our students especially those of us who have little or no teaching experience.

As for the Blogs about Instructional Design at

http://www.internettime.com/blog/archives/001083.html

this site would be useful for visual presentations, keeping things simple and also it a clever way to help market books. It would take you to a video where the author answers questions about the book. This is a great idea to market books.

So whether it is to find out about Learning theories, we can look at this site to give us cues about the various theories or being aware of the different ELearning Approaches or using different Instrucctional designs to enhance our presentations, or simply keeping our presentations simple or to market books. All three websites should be valuable to us who are working in the Instructional Design field.