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

Link to wiki page

In a previous post I discussed Wiki's and their application as e-learning tools. An example which was mentioned in relation to its use in group contexts stated that wiki's could be utilised as a central working platform to ensure uniform documentation. For an assessment task in another course, I decided to trial the effectiveness of wiki's for this purpose, and found it to be very useful in my group project.
I made use of WikiSpaces, and below is a link to our wiki which will provide some insight into the to-and-fro communication, editing and collaboration that took place in the process. We all found the wiki to be effective in bridging time and space differences, allowing us to work together without being together.

[please note that this wiki was not created for the purpose of displaying it to the lecturer, but rather for our group to communicate and collate research.]


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