Angela Rutschke EDTECH 504 October 11, 2013 Selected Research on Supporting Theory and Frameworks for Social

Networking: An Annotated Bibliography The power of social networking has just begun to be harnessed as an educational tool. When utilized well, it is a powerful learning strategy that fully supports the development of skills like collaboration, creativity and innovation that are so highly sought in our world today. Students are also given greater opportunity to give and receive meaningful feedback and expand their ideas on a much greater scale. The classroom is no longer limited to inside four physical walls, but can become a growing, changing and vibrant social environment. Based on the current learning theories of behaviorism, connectivism, and objectivism, social networks encourage and embrace interaction. So much of how students relate to the world around them is linked to their social interactions and this extends to their use of social media and learning. Boitshwarelo, B. (2011). Proposing an integrated research framework for connectivism: Utilising Theoretical Synergies. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3), 161 179. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/49668. This article seeks to improve practice and engagement of learners by merging connectivism research with communities of practice, design-based research, and activity theory. The author uses the versatility of the online environment as a medium to explore the growth and facilitation of connectivism. Online communities of practice demonstrate the best of the connectivist framework, as they bring people of common interest together in their quest for more knowledge. Such an environment utilizes constructivist principles of learners making meaning from their own, or the communitys, experience. Knowledge gained is particularly relevant for the learners, as they are already bound by a common interest, and it is through their interaction that this knowledge becomes solidified and created. The author creates a proposed framework of synergies for conducting developmental research in connectivism and requires great creativity to implement. Online learning spaces provide an excellent way for educators to apply some of the key concepts of connectivism, such as feeding a continuous dialogue of similar interests, creating knowledge through synergistic interaction, distributing opinions, and assessing the validity of constantly changing information. Eisenberg, M. (2010). Educational technology, reimagined. New Directions for Youth Development, 2010 (128), 2533. doi:10.1002/yd.372 This article takes a creative approach to educational technology design and implementation in the real lives of youth, extending to day-to-day environments beyond the classroom. Its denition of educational technology reaches far beyond classroom computers and tools used merely to teach skills. Technology should merge with activities that children do every day, reaching into childrens bedrooms, playgrounds, and crafts. Heurges educational technologists to design and create imaginative, challenging, and aesthetically appealing activities for children that give them an opportunity to create, build, reect, be curious, and cultivate lifelong interests. He advocates for designers and teachers to create and design artifacts that blend technology with hands-on materials to create a tangible experience for students. Particularly poignant to me was his emphasis on the important of peer culture on a young persons social and intellectual development. Educational technologists and teachers should design intellectual use of social networking tools and communication to encourage collaborative activities that require

Ertmer, P.A., & Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6 (4), 50-72. Genzwein, F. (1979). On educational technology. International Review of Education, Jubilee Number, 25 (2/3), 249266. Hill, Janette R. (2012). Learning communities: Theoretical foundations for making connections.In Jonassen, D., & Land, S. (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments (pp.268-285). New York, NY: Routledge. Issroff, K., & Scanlon, E. (2002). Educational technology: The inuence of theory. Journal of Interactive Media in Education,2002(1). Retrieved from http://wwwjime.open.ac.uk/ jime/article/view/2002-6 Jonassen, D. (1991). Objectivism versus constructivism: Do we need a new philosophical paradigm? Educational Technology Research and Development, 39(3), 5-14. Lankshear, C. (2000). Information, knowledge and learning: Some issues facing epistemology and education in a digital age. Journal Of Philosophy Of Education, 34(1), 17.