Making+Connections

Making Connections

**What is Making Connections?**

Students should be able to recognize and apply connections of important information and ideas within and among learning areas. - ISBE Although this may seem overwhelming, Web 2.0 can help our students make connections across content as well as through different learning modes (reading, writing, listening, ect.).


 * How Does Web 2.0 Make "Making Connections" Easier to Incorporate Into the Classroom? **

Guiding students towards making connections across content and within a course, takes extra planning time. Time most teachers don't have. Web 2.0 tools allow teachers to collaborate with each other, which in turn helps students connect content across the board and within a specific course. Web 2.0 programs can also facilitate collaboration between students, allowing them to utilize several different learning styles without the teacher having a lesson plan specifically designed for each one. It is commonly accepted knowledge that students learn differently. In fact, an article by Popescu points out that students benefit from learning in their favored style and online activities are beneficial in creating this environment. Teachers are taught to present information in several forms in order to help each student learn. This is made simpler for the teacher with Web 2.0 tools because the programs often do this for you!

According to a study done by Yager, students who learned using technology were more likely to automatically connect their knowledge to the real world and other subjects in school. Therefore, incorporating the tools below will benefit students by naturally motivating them to connect the content while giving them structure and outlines to do so.

From a student perspective, reading, writing, and speaking (all key life skills) can be difficult or even nerve racking. From a teacher perspective, creating lessons to that meet standards and engage students while preparing them for the above skills can be overwhelming. Web 2.0 gives students an outlet to practice these skills in all their classes, therefore they become the norm and are no longer as difficult. The students will begin to realize the importance of the skill and become comfortable and excited about learning. Fortunately, Web 2.0 allows for the use of technology and the natural desire to make connections become reality through some programs listed below.


 * Examples **

If explanations of Web 2.0 tools are needed, please visit the Web 2.0 Tools page. On this page are specific Web 2.0 tool examples relating to the Making Connections standard.

In terms of helping students make connections, blogs can be used by students and teachers. Blogs allow for several different authors to give their perspectives on the same topic. Blogs also allow for links to other sources such as videos or websites. This will encourage students to learn in different modes making a deeper, stronger connection to the content. Blogs allow students to make comments or share content from other subject areas as it relates to the topic at hand. They can use their personal experiences as well as their knowledge base to do this. Blogs are a great way to create communication between an entire learning community. Student can be authors which helps them with writing and critical thinking skills. They must utilize skills from several different sources in order to create their post which deepens their understanding.
 * Blogs **

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Podcasting allows students to present information in a new way. They can use software such as GarageBand to create music in the background as well as using programs such as Audacity to record their thoughts. They are using many modes of learning such as, kinesthetic, auditory, and verbal in order to make a deeper connection to their information. They can make a weekly or even daily podcast about what they learned in each class. Students could also gather information from each class and then make connections throughout the podcast to content they learned throughout all their classes. The process of making these connections will aid students in developing higher order thinking skills. Students will also practice the necessary life skills mentioned above such as communication.
 * Podcasting **

A program called Prezi allows students to map knowledge they have gained in one or more courses. According to Nada mapping their knowledge helps students make connections in their brains which allows them to later recall that information and share it with others. The program can be utilized in summative assessments to demonstrate students' knowledge of several topics and their connections over time. Wikis allow for students of different levels of expertise to connect within a school or community. Imagine creating a wiki about China where students from an elementary school as well as a high school are able to edit. There would be great information and perspectives. Or, imagine a wiki about Stalin where History and English students were able to collaborate after reading Animal Farm. The connections students can now make to other content areas is exceptional, and without Web 2.0 tools these connections were often cumbersome and time consuming. Wikis are a great tool that can aid students in connecting the content and skills they have learned.
 * Prezi **
 * Wikis**

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**What does this mean for education?**

The purpose of this standard (and all Illinois Learning Standards) is to improve the education of students. According to, Kimball students truly internalize information if they can synthesize it in many forms. Students will become more engaged when allowed to use many senses to synthesize information. This new level of engagement allows for longer retention of and a deeper connection to information. Now that Web 2.0 tools are available, teachers can create opportunities for students to take part in this deeper learning without much trouble. It is even possible that Web 2.0 tools will help teachers and schools exceed the expectations of the standard above. It will no longer be difficult to meet the standard of connecting content and learning modes across the curriculum, and therefore the standard will change and perhaps expand. Students will be expected to create e-portfolios where they can exhibit their work from their entire educational career and connect their own thoughts and development to their work. Teachers will be expected to collaborate with other teachers across the curriculum in order to facilitate this.

Hopefully Web 2.0 tools will help education make a change for the better due to the fact that teachers will be able to aid in facilitating deeper student learning. Web 2.0 makes this possible by helping teachers and students think outside the box and explore ways to make the connection of content throughout their learning experience. These deeper connections will give students a more well rounded and cohesive knowledge base. With this "better" knowledge base, students will be more producitve in their post secondary careers helping them make connections on their own, as their brains have been trained to do so. This standard may be hard to measure or articulate on a resume, but can make all the difference once in a college level course or the workplace. Web 2.0 tools used correctly to faciliate connections across content will improve students' way of thinking later in life.

Web 2.0 may also bring a change in teachers and teaching styles. Teachers may begin to use resources more effectively by sharing what they have and adding or subtracting where necessary. Often, teachers are so busy they don't have time to seek out the resources they are looking for, and instead reinvent the wheel, wasting valuable time. In using Web 2.0 tools to make connections across the curriculum communication amongst teachers will increase, and teachers will become more efficient and effective. As Quinney mentions in her article, online forums or even virtual worlds may be created in order to facilitate collaboration among teachers that couldn't have taken place before due to geography. Not only is this beneficial in terms of exchanging lesson plans and ideas but this is also a great way for teachers to practice using Web 2.0 tools themselves in an effort to become more comfortable with using them with students.

Perhaps the most impactful outcome of using Web 2.0 to make connections is students increasing the amount of out of school learning they do. Students may become overwhelmed with the many different topics covered in one day, but by referring back to their individual blog they can reflect on how the content they have learned comes together, or they may work on a podcast that incorporates many learning styles while connecting content. Either way they are spending more time thinking which can only improve the education they are receiving.

Currently, Illinois education system is in need of some changes in order to meet standards and improve the quality of education for our students. The Web 2.0 tools listed have the potential to help teachers create a better education for students. With Web 2.0 the idea of a student centered classroom becomes more probable, and the way the teachers view teaching may change. I see the potential for classrooms that are no longer tied so strongly to standardized tests, but instead may demonstrate the ability to foster students’ skills in more "real world" based projects using technology. As Bell mentions in her article, it is extremely important for teachers to adapt and change depending on their students learning styles and needs. With Web 2.0 this becomes possible, and the benefits will be plentiful!

**References**

Avery, K., & Avery, C. (2000). You Can Speak and Write About Anything. //Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers//, //75//(8), 30. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Bell, S., Galilea, P., & Tolouei, R. (2010). Student experience of a scenario-centred curriculum. //European Journal of Engineering Education//, //35//(3), 235-245. doi:10.1080/03043791003703169.

[]Achterman, D. (2006). Making Connections with Blogs and Wikis. //CSLA Journal//, //30//(1), 29-31. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Illinois Learning Standards. (n.d.). //Illinois State Board of Education//.

Kimball, K., & O'Connor, L. (2010). Engaging Auditory Modalities through the Use of Music in Information Literacy Instruction. //Reference & User Services Quarterly//, //49//(4), 316-319. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

Nada, N., Kholief, M., Ghanem, M., & Bakry, W. (2009). Dynamic Knowledge Management Toolkit. //Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management//, //7//(2), 261-265. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

Popescu, E. (2010). Adaptation provisioning with respect to learning styles in a Web-based educational system: an experimental study. //Journal of Computer Assisted Learning//, //26//(4), 243-257. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00364.x.

Quinney, A., Hutchings, M., & Scammell, J. (2008). Student and Staff Experiences of Using a Virtual Community, Wessex Bay, to Support Interprofessional Learning: Messages for Collaborative Practice. //Social Work Education//, //27//(6), 658-664. doi:10.1080/02615470802201754.

Yager, R., & Akcay, H. (2008). Comparison of Student Learning Outcomes in Middle School Science Classes with an STS Approach and a Typical Textbook Dominated Approach. //Research in Middle Level Education Online//, //31//(7), 1-16. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.