In CEP 810 we have been tasked with mapping out our Professional Learning Network (PLN). My PLN is not as expansive as most teachers I know. This is due to the fact that I have yet to teach but I am confident that will change this hiring season! I have no doubt that my experience in CEP 810 will greatly expand my PLN it realms that had not crossed my mind before. I look forward to seeing the growth and change to my PLN.
Can learning a specific skill through online sources such as YouTube, forums, and blogs lead to mastering the targeted skill effectively? I begin this entry with this simple question because pursuing the answer is the mission I have been assigned in my first course— CP 810— in Educational Technology at Michigan State University. We have thus far explored the thinking from some of the leading experts in the field of Educational Technology such as Henry Jenkins and Paul Gee. What Jenkins refers to as “participatory culture” and Gee refers to as “affinity groups” is a relatively new social force that is changing the landscape of how society learns and shares their knowledge, skills, and thinking. Diving into learning a new skill by relying solely on online or digital communities will provide me experiential insight into this new paradigm of learning and teaching. So what skill am I to pursue in this adventure?
For a long time now I have have wanted to both learn how to sew and begin sewing various items for myself and my family— especially bow ties. If I can sew my own bow ties, that will save my family a great amount of money and give me more choices in the types of fabrics, patterns, and styles I can have in my bow tie collection. I do have some experience using a sewing machine. In fact, it was through watching a number of different tutorials on how to hem pants on YouTube that I learned how to to do so for myself which has saved my wife and I a near fortune. It is a rarity when I find a pair of pants that fit me well enough not to have to hem them. Thus, for my Network Learning project I will be learning how to sew my own bow ties.
Thus far in my search I found a host of YouTube videos of varying quality demonstrating a wide array of offerings from novice to expert. Parsing through all the videos impressed upon me the urgent need to provide students with instruction, practice, and experience in identifying good verses questionable sources. I have found several videos, which altogether, provide good references for sewing a bow tie. Professor Pincushion is the best resource I have found thus far. They created an excellent tutorial video, which is embedded below, and also host nine different forums on sewing for the novice to expert.
Sewing a bow tie tutorial YouTube video from Professor Pincushion
CP 810 is the first course I am taking on my journey to my master’s in educational technology. For my first assignment, I have been tasked to write a brief essay addressing the differences between the learning processes of experts and novices and what insights these differences provide educators as they seek to provide their students learning experiences, which support their growth as critical thinkers in the 21st century. Additionally I briefly address teaching methods that support student growth as critical thinkers and a few ways in how educational technology can play a supporting role in these methods. This brief essay is informed by my assigned reading from this week—Bransford, Brown & Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn. My essay can be found here. I welcome your comments.
skepticalhistorian 