Format

Quote

What I’m saying with connectivism […] is that the same structure of learning that creates neural connections can be found in how we link ideas and in how we connect to people and information sources. – George Siemens

Overview

We have experienced with many tools so far this semester, yet we only scratched the surface of what the internet can do for us, if we bend it to our will. In class, we will talk a bit more about dashboards and discuss business models of web services. The rest of the week will be set on identifying organizations, businesses, groups, and individuals that can help us dig for the needle in the haystack, turning our dashboards into personal learning environments.

Objectives

• Understand the main business models of the web service economy.
• Establish how applying connectivist principles to your online activities can help you learn better.
• Determine your learning objectives and identify keywords related to those topics.
• Find out where relevant conversations are happening.
• Establish criteria for determining if individuals are worth following and design cleanup processes to let them go.

Action items

Class materials >

1. Read this post from George Siemens about connectivism. Pay attention to the “isms”, this can get pretty confusing. If you don’t know about some of them, I suggest you look them up.

2. Stephen Mangat on separating personal and professional use of social media.

3. Stephen Mangat on the value of social media.

4. Colin Reynolds on how his personal learning network enables him to try new teaching methods.

5. Andy Marcinek on having a PLN as a career safety net.

6. A seventh-grader’s personal learning environment.

7. This week’s activity will be focused on understanding degrees of separation. Find the website of a professional organization (Association of xyz) or publication (preferably a magazine type, not an academic type) in  your field. Find out what their social media outlets are.

Then, check out one of their outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, etc.), and explore who is having a conversation with or around this organization of publication (engaging in conversations or re-sharing information coming from this entity). Identify five accounts (they could be individuals or other entities), and explore their profile. For each of these accounts, create a list of items that makes them look trustworthy or that turn you off. Ultimately, decide if your would follow them personally or not to increase your awareness of the discussions in this field.

8. On your blog, explain why you chose the professional association or publication, and link back to the five accounts you have selected. Describe what makes these people trustworthy and why, and explain if you decided to follow them back or not. Make sure to find and integrate at least two new sources of information to help you make your point.

9. Submit the URL of your blog post to the assignment titled Week 5: Blog post on Canvas. The submission is due by 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, EDT, and will be graded as a part of the weekly projects.

10. Check the course’s class feed for other posts by colleagues, and comment on their posts. You should at least read and comment on two or three posts, but you’re welcome to visit as many as you want. As a part of the online participation grade, you should also contribute and discuss on the different social media outlets, such as Diigo, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.

More to explore

Check our Diigo group and check for related tags.