nex·us
A means of connection; a link or tie

(www.thefreedictionary.com)

The notion of connection is intrinsic to every aspect of humanity. So vital, in fact, that our very lives depend upon it as every breath, every thought and every action is preceded by millions of synapses connecting, transmitting and communicating important information.

This network of thought-and-action-determining connections don't stop inside the confines of skin and bone. In a mysterious way they link up to a greater network where, in some instances, our thought-processes are absorbed into the minds of others, while, in other instances, we take on the thoughts of others and somehow allow it to shape our own internal matrix.

This is the wonder of communication and learning.

With the advent of the internet, we've been provided with what could almost be described as a visual representation of the "human internet" - that macro-network where the ebb and flow of thought and action in society at large shapes the individual's downloads and uploads, learnings and expressions.

From an educator's perspective, that, of course, changes everything. Learners no longer have to rely on teachers to be their only source of "information downloads" , but can now access a world which offers thoughts, ideas and perspectives far beyond their own or even that of their teachers.
The role of the teacher is then to provide learners with opportunities to partake in this macro-network - to guide their "uploads and downloads" in ways that would best benefit their futures.

This blog investigates websites, applications and internet functions that can serve as powerful "connection-points", or tools for transfomative learning in the classroom.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

A communication recommendation: try this presentation application!

As part of my e-learning course I was required to investigate a web-tool called Prezi. On first impressions, it seemed like the creators of Prezi has taken their friend PowerPoint to the Theme Park and put him on a roller coaster. Words criss-cross the screen and tilt, zoom, spin, pan and hang, and may leave those prone to sea-sickness a little pale around the edges. It left me wondering whether the name was deliberately chosen to represent the collation of the words "presentation" and "dizzy", or if that was merely ironic coincidence.

All that aside, I thought it to be a nifty device if used creatively in the classroom. I created an extremely basic Prezi (see below) which I intend to use in my year 1 classroom. It is easy to use and has a very appealing and unique design interface. Prezi certainly appeals to lateral thinkers and especially visual-spacial learners, since it does not confine the data to a slide-square like PowerPoint, but is capable of laying it out on an infinitely large space .
However, if it is just going to be another educational fad which masks ineffective pedagogy through clever visuals, it will not contribute to learner success.



Shapes on Prezi

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)