Although the power of our brains can not be duplicated, technology has afforded us the ability to create thinking machines and machines that can house information much like out brain. Not only does technology help us find information, interpret information, and store information but it also allows people to publish and distribute information more efficiently than ever before. Technology can change learning and enhance the way people learn, but it must be noted that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Learning Theories in Module 1
The world would be a better place and I would be a very wealthy person if I could determine how people learn best. Unfortunately, neither will happen on my account. It would be easy to be able to take a paint brush and with one broad stroke, cast a learning theory across the world. However, this is not the case as individuals learn in different ways and at different paces. Obviously the brain is one of the most important factors in determining how people learn best. The short video below demonstrates how the brain acts during the learning process. Because individuals are never the same, their brains also interact with stimuli in different ways. This is the central concept of how people learn.
To me people learn best when they are engaged and their brain is creating routes and highways that allow them to access information quickly and efficiently when needed. This can also be applied to learning theory as it applies to educational technology. The wealth of information that technology puts people in contact with requires those people to filter through that information and create pathways in their brain to the new information.
Although the power of our brains can not be duplicated, technology has afforded us the ability to create thinking machines and machines that can house information much like out brain. Not only does technology help us find information, interpret information, and store information but it also allows people to publish and distribute information more efficiently than ever before. Technology can change learning and enhance the way people learn, but it must be noted that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not.
Although the power of our brains can not be duplicated, technology has afforded us the ability to create thinking machines and machines that can house information much like out brain. Not only does technology help us find information, interpret information, and store information but it also allows people to publish and distribute information more efficiently than ever before. Technology can change learning and enhance the way people learn, but it must be noted that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not.
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John,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your posting. Individuals do learn at different rates and at different paces. I found your Youtube video to be very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing it. Basically people learn in different ways and at different rates and we as teachers just need to be able to adjust to it. I agree that people can learn the best when they are actively engaged in the lesson. What forms of technology do you think are the best for engaging students in learning activities? Great post.
Brian
Brian,
DeleteThanks for your comments. As an undergraduate it is often difficult to understand different learning styles. However, the more I teach the more I see how students interact with the information on a personal level.
As far as technology that engages my students, I use Wikispaces.com and my students love it. They feel accomplished and I am able to effectively differentiate assignments. Many of the activities that I assign require higher order thinking skills and keeps the students active. It has taken me one full school year to fully implement into my curriculum, but it has been well worth it.
John, I really enjoyed watching your video as it was a "great warm-up/introduction" and "summarizer/closing" of your message...buzz words my school prides itself on when discussing instructional frameworks.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked your point "that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not". Technology accessed through computers is exactly that... a vehicle or actual machine. A machine that provides various forms of technology through mobile devices among many others that affords us the opportunity to access information and apply knowledge to what we have already learned. Technology just affords us the opportunity to take engagementand interaction to the next level.
Carmen,
DeleteIt is interesting to think how teacher candidates are interacting with technology as they prepare to become teachers. The other day I was talking with a coworker who currently has a student teacher and her idea of using technology was simply playing a video. I must admit that I started out this way too, but exploring new ways of using technology has opened up my students to new and exciting experiences. I feel that my students would "get" the content regardless, but the experiences are cementing the content for them. Thanks for your post.
Hello John! Thanks for sharing your video, it really was helpful in getting a grasp on the concept of learning theories. You mentioned that learners learn best when they are engaged, I am in total agreeance with you on this statement, but I also believe that modeling should happen before any learner can learn and/or understand a concept (or be engaged). I am a huge advocate for the use of technology in the classroom, and like you mentioned all this technology has allowed us all a significant amount of information at our fingertips. I do agree with you that learning can occur with or without technology, but I do believe that because of our society and its desire to use technology for anything and everything, we as educators (for those of us that are) need to use these tools to our advantage,
ReplyDeleteI was listen"ing along just nicely, clicked on the video and watched what was going on just fine, and then I read this: Technology can change learning and enhance the way people learn, but it must be noted that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not." I made a similar comment earlier in one of my other courses and could not help but be disappointed that I am reading this again.
ReplyDeleteNO, no do not misunderstand me, I am not upset that you bring this concept up, I am disappointed that we still need to be reminded that we are working with humans and although technology is fun and useful, it does not do the teaching-the human does.
The more research we do on our little brain, the more information we have to cancel out as obsolete. The same is true of technology, with each new piece that comes in, another old one goes out. As teachers, we just need to keep this forefront in our mind as the administrators use us a technology guinea pigs for the latest, bestestest, hippest tech out there for the highest CCCS scores.