I have to confess that in my quest to complete my activities within the small time frame I have, I've rushed in, completed the task by myself and missed the point entirely on why it was suppose to be collaborative and not individual.
The purpose of the learning theories wiki task was to engage in a group activity using the expert jigsaw strategy. Using this strategy an otherwise time consuming task of analysing and evaluating large amounts of information was made easier by breaking down the topics and dividing them out to smaller groups. After the PMI's were completed everybody was invited back to read, analyse and evaluate each others findings.
This learning strategy is also a key principle in Kearsley and Shneiderman's Engagment Theory where they believe "that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks" They also point out that this is only further enriched through the use of ICTs. In completing this task we as a class have successfully engaged in every major principle underpinning Engagement Theory where by we worked in groups (well most of us did), we completed a project based task and were able to relate it to our own contexts. This has resulted in a much more meaningful and engaging learning experience.
I think that this task was built on a constructivist theory. We scaffolded our own thinking and concluded with our own ideas. Very high order thinking indeed! There were also elements drawn from Siemens connectivism theory if only through the networking nature of the task.
I'm definitely impressed with e-learning so far. I love that there is a permanent record of every activity we have completed and I can go back and revisit information whenever I need to. This very fact also caters for different learning levels and styles. It allows the advanced learners to move on with new tasks while the slower more reflective learners move through at a speed to suit their learning. In a class room situation e-learning is an extremely efficient way to keep every student at any level engaged. When I was at school I was guilty of drawing pictures in my maths book because the teacher had lost me 5 questions ago. ICTs and e-learning would have possibly allowed me to work at my own pace and take the time I needed to ensure I understood what was being taught.
Although I failed to engage in a small group I still managed to have the benefits of posting my PMI to share with the larger group and analysed and evaluated everybody else's wiki posting. Overall a very beneficial task, pushing us to use higher order thinking skills.
Now that I am more in tune with learning theories I will never rush into a task to get it completed and essentially miss the whole point of the lesson ever again. I guess this also comes back to the nature of 21st century learners in that we are impatient. When designing my e-learning and implementing it in a class situation I will be aware of this very thing. Making sure the quiet learner in the back of the room doesn't miss out on the benefits of interaction because they are too impatient to find a partner or might think they will get more out of the task if they do it themselves. Lesson learnt.
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