w6 Learning for the 21st century

I am pretty happy to read the articles. It supports the rationale for my project, which means the idea that I am going to create my personal instructional website combined with web 2.0 tools for my students is in the trends of 21st century education. HA!

w6 having fun with flickr

Love in the air，原由 KeaNy 上載。

I am trying flickr and having fun with it.

w5 MacWorld 2008 conference

Wow! I indeed enjoy the advanced technology when “ watching” the lecture. I relaxed myself on the bed, clicked the stop and play bottoms whenever I need, used the screen print skill to capture the images or the contents I like from the slides, opened a new tab to look for the resources mentioned in the presentation, looked up online dictionary for the vocabulary I don’t know, and typed in the terms for more information. I have done so many things and gotten so much information within one and a half of hours and only using my laptop. Cool.

I am not net generation, but I have to confess myself that I don’t like reading textbooks; I prefer to get my information from talking and listening. I would like use of visual images in conjunction with text, a feat easily accomplished through animation and diagrams on the web. I am NOT net generation but in a rapidly evolving information ecology.

What is web 2.0? According to the presentation, I summarize following key points:
• A platform
• A mashup
• Everyone creates and publishes content
• Participation
• Collaboration

I especially like what he said “ Every click should meet user’s expectations and lead them toward a goal. I will put it in mind when I design my final project.”

In addition, I am interested in two e-learning projects he mentioned: “ Explore Jazz” and “ Ariel: A reader’s Interactive Exploration of Literature”. They seem like apply to my learning preference. Maybe some of the idea can be use in my creative work.

w5 edu2.0, google earth, flicker and podcast

I like the collective idea that eud2.0 provided. It looks like ilearn, but utilizes more web 2.0 tools and seems much easier, handier, and more functional for teachers. I am looking forward to its progress and using it for my instruction.

I am appreciated to see the various types of presentations: powerpoint, wiki, camtasia studio ( I get to learn this one). And I am wondering what tool I am going to us for my presentation. Retro transparency. HA.

w4 reflection

My wiki:
http://yufenwu.wetpaint.com/
I like the way wiki providing for organization.

I am glad to find out that wiki can be used as a presentation tool. That will be very convention. The only thing I hope is that when I am back to Taiwan, there is an access to internet (and a computer will be much better) in every classroom in my school. I really want to apply what I have learned here and to inspire my students with new instructional technology and skills.

And also, I am interestied in podcasting. I am thinking the way to implement it in language learning courses. The first idea jumping out of my mind is recording students' speaking practices. I believe there are more instructional implements. Again, I am concerned about the facility and technology issue; people in Taiwan use PC (90% up) and the softwares I learn here are mac's mostly. I need more information about the PC softwares. HA!

w3 Learning in the digital age

I am interested in the perspective of Digital Learners. According to the article, today’s digital kids think of information and communications technology (ICT) as something akin to oxygen. They use ICT to meet, play, date, and learn. Digital students have developed their own screen language for their digital culture and constantly discovered new things as they browse through emergent digital libraries and other Web resources. They try new things without reading the manual or taking a course; learning becomes situated in action. They learn, create and respond to information through a complex montage of images, sound, and communication.

The Internet and other technologies honor multiple forms of intelligence. Therefore, it’s up to all educators to comp up with the techniques that help students want to reach their highest potential. Educators are not to teach students the new tools of rich media, but rather to expose them to critical thinking and new means of expression and argumentation in nonlinear, interactive and time-based media.

As a junior high teacher, I am concerned about two dimensions. First, training in instructional use for computers is irrelevant for teachers who have no computers or severely outdated computers in their classrooms. In Taiwan, I think this is the key problem. Second, learning networks are not assessable to some students; therefore, if it is a good idea to apply the technologies into the introductory courses taught at the junior high level. If it is fair to the students who are in the digital era but indeed have no computers or internet access at home.

w2 connectivism

A new learning theory for the Digital Age.

According to Siemens, over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate and how we learn. He provided some significant trends in learning that as a junior-high English teacher I am deeply concerned:

• Learning now occurs in a variety of ways- through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completiong of work-related tasks.


• Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime.


• Technology is altering our brains. AThe tools we use define and shape our thinking.


• Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where.

Because of thiese new learning tredns, the connectivism theory is brought up. Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, nentwork, and complexity and self-organization theories.

In my opinion, the connectivism emphasizes on helping building learners' abilities to connect the knowledge economy. What are the learners abilities?

• to recognize and adjust to pattern shifts


• to classify their own interaction with an environment


• to form connections between sources of information, and thereby create useful information patterns


• to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information

Now in Taiwan, there is an educational reformation promoting the idea of giving the students abilities for living in the digital era. And that's the reason why I am in ITEC program now. Update myself.