ITEC 299ITEC 299Social / Collaborative LearningSocial / Collaborative Learning

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

Learning PreferencesLearning Preferences◦ At the beginning of the class, we took a

survey on which type of learner we might be. According to the results I am an active, intuitive, visual, sequential learner. I received a 7 for active, 8 for visual, and 3 for sequential. After taking this class, I realized how important it was to learn according to your learning preferences. Active and visual learning showed me that when I see how something is done or get involved, I seem to learn and retain material much better. At the end of the class, I would say, knowing your learning preferences is very important.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

The PathThe Path

◦ At the beginning of class I joined every guild offered. I was anxious to see what each guild was offered. Now that I check the google+ page, I am not sure if I really did join the guild. I have a +1 next to the posts on the google + page but that is the most I did with these. I was not really sure if you were supposed to sign up for one guild or multiple guilds. I took part in the Social / Collaborative Learning guild. I feel that I have gotten a broader/deeper knowledge of these technologies.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

ActivitiesActivities◦ I took a look at the activities that were offered for the social/

collaborative learning sections which seemed to be very interesting. One of the sections I looked at for a while was the social bookmarking section. Before I looked at it in this class I used to see these sites as a modified search engine used to kill time. This was often the case with Stumbleupon. I then took a look at diigo which was one of the websites suggested in the activities. I can see the features offered to be very helpful in this technological age. I often print out a whole page and put my notes onto the sheet of paper. When it comes to putting them away and organizing them, I will often forget about the paper itself and it will get lost in the pile I have made. Diigo and delicious used together sounds as if it could be very effective.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

3 Technologies3 Technologies◦ This year I have tried out 3 different social technologies for my learning. I

tried out microblogs, social networks, and social bookmarking websites. I never really thought of microblogs as being a way to learn. However I thought of how subscriptions helped keep you up to date with what’s going on in the media world along with friends. I was new to twitter so I tried to add many of my friends and thought of who I might be interested in the media world. The twitter world kept me up to date with what was going on directly from the source. This can help the visual and active learners very much so. The visual learners will see the most current tweets and the active learners can follow links posted or retweet things which they may find interesting.

◦ The other Social technology I took a look at was the social network The other Social technology I took a look at was the social network websites. This website would be very good for those with an active and visual websites. This website would be very good for those with an active and visual preference. The user would be able to learn about the subject they are learning. preference. The user would be able to learn about the subject they are learning. After that they can interact with other users. One of the websites I have used After that they can interact with other users. One of the websites I have used several times has been livemocha. I have used it to learn French and Japanese. several times has been livemocha. I have used it to learn French and Japanese. French has been helpful but Japanese has been quite difficult. The reason French has been helpful but Japanese has been quite difficult. The reason Japanese was hard to learn was because Japanese Kanji is completely different Japanese was hard to learn was because Japanese Kanji is completely different from our alphabet. It would have have been easier to have the pronunciation next from our alphabet. It would have have been easier to have the pronunciation next to the Kanji instead of the symbols alone. Besides this many of the websites were to the Kanji instead of the symbols alone. Besides this many of the websites were very interesting to take a look at and quite useful.very interesting to take a look at and quite useful.

◦ The last type of technology was the social bookmarking websites.These The last type of technology was the social bookmarking websites.These types of websites would be very helpful to those with an active and visual types of websites would be very helpful to those with an active and visual preference. The two websites that were focused on greatly were the websites: preference. The two websites that were focused on greatly were the websites: Delicious and Diigo. Delicious is a social bookmarking website that allows a user to Delicious and Diigo. Delicious is a social bookmarking website that allows a user to bookmark a certain website and then continue to tag this bookmark with subjects bookmark a certain website and then continue to tag this bookmark with subjects which it may be relevant to. This bookmark is stored in the cloud which other which it may be relevant to. This bookmark is stored in the cloud which other people can access and recommend this bookmark to other users. Diigo is another people can access and recommend this bookmark to other users. Diigo is another website where a person can highlight and add annotations to the website. The website where a person can highlight and add annotations to the website. The page will then be stored on the cloud. The use of the cloud can allow the user to page will then be stored on the cloud. The use of the cloud can allow the user to access their bookmarks and annotations anywhere they have an internet access their bookmarks and annotations anywhere they have an internet connection and accessible through multiple devices. These two websites used connection and accessible through multiple devices. These two websites used together can be very effective.together can be very effective.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

Looking BackLooking Back◦ The social technology used as a learning tool which interested me the most was probably the social networking

sites. I am an active learner that needs to talk my thoughts out with others in order to fully grasp a concept. This is very useful and there are many social websites out there that can improve my learning for various subjects. The most surprising social technology would have to be microblogs. I thought that micro such as twitter were used for stalking more than expanding one’s learning. All of these social technologies seem to have a good use in the field of learning. I have already taken a look at social networks for learning, but this summer I think I will take a deeper look at the networking sites available to hopefully give me the motivation I need to become more active.

◦ The Social networking sites would again have to be the winner for the technology which worked best for my learning The Social networking sites would again have to be the winner for the technology which worked best for my learning preferences. My results from the tests gave me a 7 for active, 8 for visual, and 3 for sequential. Using Livemocha was very preferences. My results from the tests gave me a 7 for active, 8 for visual, and 3 for sequential. Using Livemocha was very helpful for me. I was interacting with the lessons provided. They gave me images of the items I was to translate then gave helpful for me. I was interacting with the lessons provided. They gave me images of the items I was to translate then gave me the pronunciations of each word along with an audio example. These lessons went in a certain order in order for me to me the pronunciations of each word along with an audio example. These lessons went in a certain order in order for me to make complete grammatical sentences. This social network was very helpful and was the best for my learning preference. make complete grammatical sentences. This social network was very helpful and was the best for my learning preference.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio

The FutureThe Future◦ In the future I will use the strategies taught in this In the future I will use the strategies taught in this

guild. In this guild I learned how to use social guild. In this guild I learned how to use social bookmarking. I will be able to share interesting bookmarking. I will be able to share interesting websites that helped my learning with classmates. websites that helped my learning with classmates. Using Diigo I will also be able to leave notes behind Using Diigo I will also be able to leave notes behind for classmates who may be looking at my bookmarks for classmates who may be looking at my bookmarks left behind in delicious.left behind in delicious.

◦ The social networks would be very useful in the future The social networks would be very useful in the future to improve myself in an interesting way. I have been to improve myself in an interesting way. I have been thinking about taking a foreign language class and thinking about taking a foreign language class and websites such as livemocha can give me a little extra websites such as livemocha can give me a little extra practice in learning the languages. I could even use practice in learning the languages. I could even use these social networks for a little bit of fun. I think that I these social networks for a little bit of fun. I think that I may try out the website, good reads when I have a little may try out the website, good reads when I have a little extra time. A technology that I may avoid is the use of extra time. A technology that I may avoid is the use of facebook. Facebook provides more distraction than facebook. Facebook provides more distraction than good when I am trying to focus on school. The social good when I am trying to focus on school. The social learning guild was an awesome and interesting guild to learning guild was an awesome and interesting guild to be a part of.be a part of.

Blair NishioBlair Nishio