CEP 810 – Networked Learning Project – Video and Final Blog

My journey of learning how to make a stained glass sailboat using only online resources has come to an end.

As you will see in the video, I was able gain an understanding of what it takes to make a piece of stained glass, identify the steps involved, and then find resources to learn about each individual aspect.  YouTube videos were plentiful and clearly demonstrated the skills and techniques, while the discussion forums were a great place to read and participate with others who had the knowledge, or had similar questions as I did.  I feel I obtained a pretty solid foundation of content knowledge in stained glass, obtained entirely from a network of mostly anonymous people coming together to share a similar interest online.

I have always had a healthy “trust, but verify” view of information obtained on the web.  Most of the sources of information available were from people that I could not check their credentials, or see their previous work.  There were a couple pieces of advice I took, without double checking, because it seemed believable and appeared to make things simpler.  My video shows what happens when you use a common glue stick in the process…things did not go so well.  I could have posted on another forum to confirm the advice, but I wanted to believe it would work and failed to verify.

Networked Learning gives learners access to expert knowledge on any subject, at any time.  It is an incredibly valuable tool that allows an active learner to get exactly the information they need, in the right form and order they want it.  This free exchange of information does bring up issues of validity though, we have to be more diligent in verifying facts and finding good sources.  The form the content is taking and the number of resources available is incredible, it is our job as experienced learners to teach our students to evaluate and validate the information available to them.

It is more important that we teach our students how to learn using the available tools, instead of just teaching them how to use the tools themselves.  The tools are constantly changing.

“A lack of understanding in an interested person inevitably leads to investigation” (Wagner, 2010).  If I can generate that interest, and give my students the skills to investigate successfully, I will have succeeded as an educator.

Reference:

Wagner, T.  (2010).  Knowing Vs. Understanding. Tara Wagner, the Organic Sister.  Retrieved October, 2013, from http://theorganicsister.com/knowing-vs-understanding/