Cognitive communication 2.0 in the classroom - resonance of an experience in higher education

The communication in the classroom is often carried out on a one-to-many basis, with the teacher, before an audience of dozens of students, playing a traditional role. In this context, still commonly practiced, it is pertinent to introduce mechanisms of interaction mediated by technology, since research shows a significant correlation between the use of technology, the time spent in social media and the engagement of students. In fact, literature shows that social media has attracted the interest of academics more likely to use technology in education, who thereby seek new ways to motivate their students to a more active learning. The adoption of cognitive communication 2.0 morphology, in traditional contexts such in communication one-to-many, is a challenge to be overcome. We consider so of great importance creating and evaluating resources and pedagogical practices that are aligned with this new paradigm. In this study, we intend to make a contribution to understanding the problematic of the morphology of cognitive communication in the context of the classroom in Higher Education, with the integration of web 2.0 tools. On the approach to the problem, we have explored a PowerPoint presentation with the integration of the micro blogging tool Twitter, as a basis for addressing the characteristics of cognitive communication 2.0. For data collection a questionnaire was designed, based on literature, and intended to evaluate several dimensions of the resource used, namely: i) pedagogical issues, ii) technological aspects, iii) cognitive learning; iv) interactions in the classroom; v) positive behaviour in the classroom; vi) negative behaviour in the classroom. The goals of this study are: i) to validate the instrument for data collection, ii) to assess the perceptions of students regarding the effects of the resource and pedagogical practices used in the classroom dynamics iii) to set in context and to relate the cognitive communication 2.0 in the classroom with other components of the Hybrid Institutional Personal Learning Environment. This is an exploratory type research, since it seeks to provide a greater familiarity with the problem and to identify dimensions and items to be included in the questionnaire. The data collected will be processed under a quantitative perspective. Considering, therefore, the nature of the study we did not seek to establish correlations between variables, but only to identify trends, using descriptive statistics. It is expected that the results obtained will contribute to the articulation of web 2.0 tools with traditional cognitive communication in the classroom, in such a manner that positive impacts will result in pedagogical and technological effectiveness and thus in students learning achievements.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Cognitive communication 2.0 in higher education: to tweet or not to tweet?

Research has been fertile in producing studies on pedagogical change and innovation through technology in Higher Education Institutions, namely the integration of the social media in pedagogical practice. However, there is a lack of studies on the integration of the social media in the particular field of lectures. In this context, commonly practiced, the teacher faces a wide audience and feels the need to activate mechanisms of direct instruction, for reasons of economy of time and because it is the most dominant pedagogical model. As a result there is a communication paradigm 1.0 (one-way communication, one-to-many, low or non-existent interaction). In this study, exploratory and quantitative in nature, an approach to the thematic of the exploration of the social media in order to upgrade the cognitive communication from 1.0 to 2.0 (many-to-many, interaction between all the participants) in lectures was made. On the approach to the problem, we explored a PowerPoint presentation with the integration of the micro blogging tool Twitter, as a basis for addressing the characteristics of cognitive communication 2.0. For data collection a questionnaire was designed, based on literature, and intended to evaluate several dimensions of the resource used, namely: i) pedagogical issues, ii) technological aspects, iii) cognitive learning; iv) interactions in the classroom; v) positive behavior in the classroom and vi) negative behaviour in the classroom. The results indicate that students recognize the potential of this tool in the dimensions assessed. Twitter integration in PowerPoint allowed the teacher and the students to read each other’s views and each had the opportunity to contribute to the debate. It also allowed the release of multiple choice questions to the audience, with answers via Twitter and projection of results via PowerPoint. This way, a true cognitive communication 2.0 took place.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The relationship between Montana science teachers self-efficacy and the integration of Web 2.0 elements in the classroom in schools with a student population over 900

Web 2.0 tools are part of the 21st century school, and are essential elements to teachers in the classroom as our students today are part of the digital generation (Prensky, 2001). Web 2.0 tools offer the instructor the ability to design the learning environment to focus on collaboration and a facilitation of content knowledge (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). This study investigated the use of web 2.0 tools in the largest 14 high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more, and identified relationships that influenced the integration of the tools into the science classroom. Montana science teachers use diverse web 2.0 tools for teaching and learning in the classroom, blogs, wikis, podcasts, social media, and electronic learning management systems. A quantitative research design was implemented and the survey instruments were replicated with permissions from previous similar research of Pan, (2011). A statewide survey of science teachers in the 14 largest high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more was conducted. Thirty-five teachers responded to the research inquiry and of the 35 participants, 31 completed the surveys completely. All of the completed surveys were used in the multiple regression analysis between the dependent variable The Web 2.0 Tools Integration survey and the independent variable in The Web 2.0 Tools Self-Efficacy survey instrument. Within The Web 2.0 Tools Self-Efficacy instrument, six independent variables were explored for their correlation to the dependent variable: age, years teaching in the classroom, access to web 2.0 tools at school and home, using computers for teaching, and average hours of computer use for teaching per week. The results indicated that science teachers in the 14 largest high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more rarely use web 2.0 elements in the classroom for teaching. Although, this study identified the importance of professional development, and school administrative support with teacher’s self-efficacy for integration of web 2.0 elements into the classroom

#SocialWorkAdvocacy

What separates social work from other fields of human services is the underlying need to work toward equality and social justice for every population. This is often accomplished by working on behalf of those who are oppressed, marginalized, or disenfranchised. For that reason, it can be argued that advocacy is at the foundation of social work practice (Belluomini, 2014). The growth of social media and availability of low-cost and user-friendly innovations have changed the way people engage in advocacy. Social media has become an emerging tool for electronic advocacy. In the 21st century, social workers have engaged in electronic advocacy using new tools to address ongoing client issues and policy outcomes. There is a need for social work to heed the call to explore new forms of innovation to engage in advocacy. This article explores the practical usage of technological innovations as tools for engagement in electronic social work advocacy

Government 2.0: key challenges to its realization

Government 2.0 is often presented as a means to reinforce the relation between state and citizens in an information age. The promise of Government 2.0 is impressive but its potential has not or hardly been realized yet in practice. This paper uses insights from various disciplines to understand Government 2.0 as an institutional transformation. It focuses on three key issues ‑ leadership in government, incentives for citizens and mutual trust ‑ and our analysis shows that Government 2.0 efforts are too often guided by overly optimistic and simplified ideas about these issues. Our discussion suggests that there are no easy, one‑size‑fits‑all ways to address challenges of leadership, citizen incentives and trust: a contextual approach and hard work is needed to tackle these challenges. Realizing Government 2.0 means looking beyond the technology and understanding its potential in a specific situation

#InstagramELE: Learning Spanish Through a Social Network

Social networking (SN) tools have the potential to contribute to language learning because they promote linguistic interactions in person-to-person communication, increasing the opportunities to process input in the L2, engaging learners in negotiation of meaning and requiring learners to produce L2 output, as proposed in the interactionist theory by Long (1985, 1996). These virtual personal connections with other learners and language experts around the world could provide a rich environment for sociocultural language exchanges (following the principles of the sociocultural approach proposed by Lantolf, 2002, based on the work of Vygotsky, 1978) that may increase motivation for learning, develop L2 sociopragmatic competence and learners’ online identities through expression, interaction and community building, as researchers have found (see Lomicka & Lord, 2010, for a summary of SN research). In addition, social networking is also believed to promote autonomous learning because the learners take responsibility of their own learning process in socially interactive environments by exploring the L2 through communication, collaboration and experimentation (Blake, 2013). Due to the popularity of social networking sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, language teachers have explored different ways to integrate them into the language education curriculum. This presentation will describe the #InstagramELE global learning community of Spanish learners and teachers. Instagram involves sharing photos and images that lend themselves to the development of descriptive language. The use of visual elements often leads nicely into cultural issues and development of cultural awareness and competence. We will describe an instructional task, the #instragramELE challenge, that could be a vehicle for the acquisition of new vocabulary, cultural topics, and the development of reading and writing expression. This challenge has already accumulated more than 30000 tagged photos, from all over the world. We will also discuss its benefits and challenges as an autonomous learning tool and some ideas for classroom implementation and teacher training

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF AN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE OFFERED VIA BLACKBOARD

The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of online professional development (OPD) for K-12 educators in the context of Blackboard, a web-based courses management system (WBCMS). Considering the widespread access to the Internet, an increased demand for teacher professional development, and the advances in information and communication technologies, a proliferation of online professional development courses for teachers has emerged in recent years (Dede, 2006; Galley, 2002). With such a wide variety of online professional development courses available, it is important to study the characteristics of effective OPD courses in order for educators responsible for coordinating staff development to gain the knowledge to better create, facilitate, and select online professional development (OPD) courses and/or opportunities for K-12 educators. This case study examined the factors impacting educator interest and engagement in OPD courses, the characteristics of OPD courses that educators (participants) perceived as effective, and how a specific OPD course addressed the characteristics of effective professional development. The findings in this study identified three reasons for which the participants chose to enroll in an online professional development course. They are: (1) maintaining teacher certification requirements, (2) interest/relevance, (3) convenience (time). After engaging in the entire OPD course, participants reported three perceived characteristics of effective online professional development courses - instructional design, interactivity, and collaboration. These findings agreed with the research literature in that instructional design, interactivity, and collaboration are important characteristics in online professional development. It was determined in this case study that online professional development meets the four overarching characteristics of effective professional development of: (1) time, (2) collaboration, (3) content and pedagogy focused, and (4) relevance. The findings from this case study offer a description of the nature of effective online professional development and may be used as a foundation for discussing implementing online professional development courses in school districts