Reflection on ePals

After exploring the website, I find that the purpose of the website is to connect global learners. There are two interesting and typical project.

       One is called Class in Vermont, USA seeks cultural exchange for the way we are powerpoint project  , they are a class at Mount Abraham Union Middle School in Bristol, Vermont, U.S.A. The students are between 12 and 13 years old. They are currently studying culture, focusing on ancient India, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. Therefore, the purpose of the project is to let students communicate with students in other cultures. With the project, students can learn modern cultures by themselves and gain first- hand knowledge.

       The other project is Class in Missouri, USA seeks French-language partners for video project , Level 2 French students will be investigating the differences between a high school in a French speaking area and an American high school.  Students are encouraged to have an email contact with that they can discuss the difference between the schools. Level 2 students can ask questions directly to students in target schools in order to know what they want to rather than gain information on internet.

       When I want my students to explore the difference between Chinese education and American education, I could establish a project on ePals. Then they can contact with each other via email and find difference through chatting.

A learner is like a baby

It is a very interesting to make analogy to illustrate the learner of today. In my opinion, a learner is like a baby because after some period of time, we can see progress and improvement. For example, for a baby, within three years, we can see that he or she is able to speak and walk which are two most important thing in human life. It is the same as learners, they are exposed to an unfamiliar environment or world but after some time of practicing and learning, we can see that they are able to master some basic rules or even can do something by themselves.

“…Where we have come with computers, we are now at a point where an individual, can do significantly more with the aid of a computer which was never ever possible in the past..” This was stated by George Siemens in the video The Changing Nature of Knowledge , in which he explains his view on the changed nature of knowledge and his learning theory of connectivism. He also compared his childhood study with that of present students. When they learned to use computer, it is more difficult for them to use computers than not using them. However, for present students, it is very easy and normal to use computers because they are in contact with computers every day. Therefore, if teachers can use computers as aid, students can be in contact with more useful outside materials or even can learn something by themselves.

As stated in the article Connectivism:A Learning Theory for the Digital Age : A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, George Siemens, states that connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories.  With the increased use of technology nowadays, students, adults, and children stay connected through the use of social networking, news, media, etc.  When individuals stay connected through this process, they then have the ability to stay connected through different fields and continue to improve their learning process.  I think at present, it is teachers’ responsibility to help students exposed to new and various different fields and materials in order to improve their learning process.