MHRM 6100 + Week 2

Over the past couple of years, I have gained some experience with a couple of social media sites: Caring Bridge Blogs and Face Book.  When I think about the opportunity to influence the learning process among learners I often think of Kolb's work as it relates to his learning style model. Kolb recommends the implementation of a variety of activities that lend to the learning strengths of all students through a cycle of experiential learning.  Students learning preferences range from that of a concrete to an experiential learner.  At this early stage as an on-line learner, it is clear to me that abstract learners are in seventh heaven. Given my limited experience with social media, I do see a couple of opportunities to aid in the learning process for both the concrete and experiential learner.

A vehicle like face book could be used as a live chat session with students.  The chat session or dialog would be anything from how students feel about their learning experience to communicating about an article or assignment.  As a concrete learner I would have enjoyed conversing about Coarse's theory.  I noted through comments after the assignment was due that there were other people who had a similar experience, yet no one knew anyone else was struggling.

As you know, it is tough enough to identify methods, activities, or assignments that produce experiential types of experiences in a classroom environment, let alone in a virtual environment.  However, blogs may provide another idea for an experiential and concrete activity.  My thought is to place 4-5 people in a team.  Have each person blog about methods, practices, or strategies that relate to a specific objective embedded in the class learning process.  Once the individual blogs are complete, the next step for students would be to identify a new method, practice or model identified by a team member they would like to practice in real life.  The classmate who first wrote about the chosen practice would then be the coach or person who answers question of the classmate who selected their idea to implement.  The next phase of the activity would then move into implementation in one way or another.  Implementation of the new idea will look different for each student, thereby, the vehicle used to practice would also be different.  Although an instructor may want to provide a host of application methods for students to choose from, it would be important to do so to ensure students who can and can not apply the new learning to a work environment are given the ability to practice the chosen method, strategy or practice in one way or another.