Social Constructivism is based on the premise that interactions occur as students are engaged in constructing something and students actively engage with others during this construction (Laureate Education, 2008). Through cooperative learning this theory can be utilized. By combining teamwork and individual accountability, students work toward acquiring both knowledge and social skills. It is a teaching strategy which allows students to work together in small groups with individuals of various talents, abilities and backgrounds to accomplish a common goal (Orey, 2001). While conducting cooperative learning it is important that teachers use a variety of grouping techniques, provide rubrics detailing expectations, as well as, offering organizers that detail and assign group roles and responsibilities.
Technology can also offer many opportunities to apply the social learning theory. Teen Second Life supports Vygotsky’s concept of constructivism that learning is really the constructing of knowledge by making meaning and sense of the world. This virtual tool offers powerful ways to instruct and excite learners. It supports the constructionist idea of building something as you interact with the world. By interacting with others and objects in the world through building your own part of the virtual world. One can also create and or interact with artifacts and people within other virtual worlds upon visiting them. Educators can even create their own island for students to go to and actually create activities that directly correlate to the curriculum and content they are teaching. To illustrate this concept further, a teacher used Second Life with her students to learn how to budget their money in order to attend a virtual beach bash. Students were given a certain amount of virtual money and specific items they had to buy. They had to shop appropriately with the money allotted to them while making sure they had 6 lindens (the monetary unit of Second Life) leftover to enter the beach party. There are so many other learning opportunities offered with this tool such a visiting the coral reef with the appropriate gear or going to Ancient Greece or Rome through a virtual world. Another component of Second Life that I feel is quite beneficial is its possibilities of how students and teachers appear in the virtual world and what they choose as their avatar. Interactions in an environment where appearances, gender, race, and species can be changed with just a few clicks provide an ideal setting to challenge social biases (Dembo, 2008). Would students respond differently to me if I was a male, of another race, or came from another socio-economic class?
Voice Threads are another tool I would like to implement within the classroom as I feel it supports the connectivism theory. Students can upload pictures, illustrations, and powerpoints onto a voice thread site for free and add audio or visual comments to narrate their learning or even re-teach a concept. It’s almost like an online powerpoint with global connectivity. After posting the completed thread online, students, parents, or the community can post and obtain feedback responses that reinforce the social learning theory. It also provides an opportunity for knowledgeable members of society to comment on student created artifacts. It is an alternative way other than using pen and paper or word documents that incorporates the social aspects of learning.
Works Cited
Dembo, S. (2008). Virtual Worlds for Educators. District Administration , 48-52.
Laureate Education. (2008). Social Learning Theories.
Orey, D. M. (2001). Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt
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I learned about VoiceThread during the VSTE conference in February. I have not used it with my students this year, but am definitely planning to try it next year. I think there are many possibilities for this new technology. I am excited that you are teaching Kindergarten and cannot wait to share great ideas with one another!
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the most important aspects of social learning is that students are placed in groups of various skill level and development. They come to the group with different strengths and weaknesses that they incorporate into the team. When students interact with each other they build upon what they know. Working together is sometimes challenging because there can be some personalities that clash. However, this is just extra preparation for getting along with others when they get older. They must use their social skills to and work collectively so that they may reach their common goal.
ReplyDeleteI never really saw the possibilities for Second Life as an Educational tool until now. Thanks for sharing some of the ways it could be used by educators. I just saw another reference to it on a Ning site I belong to. They talked about a Second Life group of artists who apparently use the area for critiquing work. I guess I was always a little creeped out be the site based on what I heard about it on news reports. Now I can see the positive sides of it.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to do an art project about self-portraits as they relate to the avatars we create in our on line interactions. Maybe an interesting research project?
One of the aspects of voicethread that really excites me is the possibility of getting parents involved. With the option to monitor comments, I will actually be able to encourage the parents to participate in classroom activities. This is so critical in my current situation where parents are often uninvolved. Hopefully a technology like voicethread will create an enthusiasm among the students and parents.
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