May 25th

Firstly,  it was great read Canadian reserach.  The historical perspective in the Harasim article made me think of the discussion last week where Alex talked about us just being at the very beginning of this shift to technology. One thing that really stood out for me in the latter part of the chapter was the summary of the reserach.  Not only did the reserach reveal the learning gleened from e-learning it also forced instructors to think about their face-to-face learning environments.

One of the frameworks in the Harasim I found had direct implication to my current practice was the  three phases:idea generating, idea linking,  and intellectual convergence. The way the author described each one of those phases I could see using them as I design on-line learning for teachers. It became evident how those phases came together to move learning forward in a synergistic way as described in the design goals of e-learning.

The Prensky article broadened my perspective on just how pervasive the use of technology is with the Digital Native. This was a new term for me and I was particularly struck by the author’s quote that not only are the Digital Natives using Technology differently but they organzie their lives differently because of it. Then I could begin to think about some of those ways that my life had changed somewhat but I still keep a paper calendar along side my electronic calendar.  I do email friends now to plan a meeting but the location is predetermined. I wonder if the idea of deciding a locaiton to meet and coming to consensus or a decision using the technology different is corelated to age more than how we use the technology?