{"id":315,"date":"2021-09-12T22:45:16","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T05:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0223\/?p=315"},"modified":"2021-09-18T19:55:29","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T02:55:29","slug":"315-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0223\/315-2\/","title":{"rendered":"So many questions…."},"content":{"rendered":"

The last two weeks has been perfect for me to better understand the history of education and technology. This week, reading chapter 11 Connectivism, framed many changes our organization went through in the 2010\u2019s and provided a richer context and a wider view of what was happening in the field of ESL and education. In Canada, many language schools started to see much more regulation through TESL Canada, the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks, and the Private Career Training Institutions Agency which later became the Private Training Institutions Branch under the provincial government. This meant that more stringent regulations regarding lesson delivery, content, assessment, and teacher qualifications were implemented. Looking back now it does look a little like the wild west. I was witness to the introduction of innovative technology such as smartboards as well as a push for more problem-based learning and assessment. During this period, I saw much change in the industry. It was at this time that our organization had discussions of offering online classes. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before starting my MALAT journey I had never known of constructivism. My teaching career started abroad in Japan and I was\u00a0parachuted\u00a0into the profession\u00a0at age 24. I used a trial-and-error approach as well as a little intuition\u00a0to guide my teaching.\u00a0In this chapter I was fascinated by the principles\u00a0Martin Weller\u00a0discussed. He\u00a0quotes\u00a0Siemens (2005)\u00a0who\u00a0defines\u00a0connectivism as\u00a0\u201cthe integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements \u2014 not entirely under the control of the individual.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I found these principles especially enlightening and\u00a0 it reinforced my confidence in some of the choices I have made in and outside of the classroom during the pandemic. Siemens stated it was not a pedagogy but a set of principles (2005).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n