Week 6: Leadership and Connectivism

What makes a good leader?

Good listener, effective communicator
Integrity, transparency
Visionary, future focused
Supportive, encouraging, fair
Content knowledge, special skills, strengths
Delegates, seeks help from others
Acknowledges limits and weaknesses


How do you 'naturally' behave as a leader?

According to the leadership challenge quiz my highest scores

I didn't have a strong leadership style. I think that I move between different styles depending on the situation. Leadership varies from procedural in the classroom to participative when working with colleagues.
What is Laissez Faire?
A leader who is not formally recognised (or an assigned leader who sits back and observes the group) advising,  participating, counselling.

Connectivism

Connectivism suggests that "learning only really takes place in networks"

Connected learning draws on the power of technology to bring together

• interests (producing, making, experimenting, creating, relevant knowledge, passion)
• peer culture (participation, feedback, social media)
• academics (abundant resources, online platforms, academic success, supported in school,home,community)

6 Design Principles Of Connected Learning 

1. Interest-Powered
Interests foster the drive to gain knowledge and expertise.
2. Production Centered
Connected learning prizes the learning that comes from actively producing, creating, experimenting and designing. 3. Peer-Supported
 In their everyday exchanges with peers and friends, students contribute, share and give feedback.
4. Shared Purpose
Social media and web communities provide opportunities for caring adults, teachers, parents, learners and their peers to share interests and contribute to a common purpose.
5. Academically-Oriented
Connected learning recognizes the importance of academic success for intellectual growth, where learners flourish and realize their true potential.
6. Openly-Networked
Connected learning environments and online platforms can make learning resources abundant, accessible and visible across all learner settings.                     (from the Connected Learning Alliance)

In class task:

 Design your partner's learning network / personal learning environment, using a tool of your choice.

I learnt how to use a new app
Piktochart. 
The poster does not contain a lot of information but that was because I was mainly learning how to navigate the site - choose colours, text, move graphs, clone graphs.
With a bit more time I think it would be very useful for infographic posters.
From a Statistics point of view many of the graphs could be visually deceiving which would also be interesting for students to consider.

I would like to challenge my students with a similar task - collect data and present it using an infographic app such as Piktochart, Easelly or PowToon.

How could we design learning for learning networks (rather than formal lessons only)?

• I would like to involve more parents in my classroom. Could I invite them as 'learning assistants'?
• Continue to incorporate more peer/group inquiry learning, real life problems solving/ investigations
• Join parents/whanau up with students learning via Seesaw app. In this way whanau can give feedback to student effort and results/products via electronic portfolio.
• Focus on my listening skills- to understand students interests, motivations and what they care about.