Cognitivism

Cognitive learning environments focus on helping students encode information meaning fully to long-term memory so that it can be easily retrieved. What methods could you as a teacher use (with or without technology to support you) to facilitate this process?

I pondered over and over about information processing. For the reason that it involves three key elements unifying all learning development; encoding, storage and retrieval of sources. In cognitive view of learning, I questioned either course modules or chapters can be developed to help learners.

Often found that it is hard to understand the information it is first introduced. It is easier for students to remember if practiced using the multi-sensory approach. This can be done with problem-solving practice quizzes or games. Both working memory and long-term memory are always active when the learner is in the process of learning. In recent years, there are more and more interactive quizzes and games to help students with cognitive learning skills. For example, military has been using this technique for long time.


On the production side of educational materials, cognitivism is vital in scaffolding and designing effective learning modules. In computer technology, there are tremendous improvements on web application, such as, web 2.0 and multimedia web applications in the last 2-3 years. It allows learning to become easier and faster in processing knowledge or information. Furthermore, increasingly teachers adapt to using technology tools or multimedia resources to help with their teaching. Many of math teachers are using quizzes as part of their pedagogy and others are adapting interactive quizzes with graphs, graphics, and audio. These interactive quizzes are embedded to their online course materials.

Not only are these well-designed digital forms of activities helping students to engage in their learning, but it also helps reconstruct knowledge for them to apply in other contexts. As a foundation, cognitive in today’s teaching environment is exciting because it includes embedded audio, movies, flash games and a vast variety of learning resources.

Constructivism and Open Learning Environment

In Jonassen's Constructivist Learning Environment, the use of criteria of evaluation in some college classes, teachers can construct their pedagogy more efficiently in delivering their curricula. In this discussion, I would like to share some views in Constructivist Learning Environment theory, which includes goals in reasoning, critical thinking, and use of knowledge materials.

In a Journalism class I attended, students started with discussing today’s top news story, and given or chosen a category such as international, local, business, etc. When they are telling the news, the teacher help to improve their story telling in organizing the information, describing the story according to 5 W’s and H (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How). This enhances each writer’s ability as a prelude to active brainstorming session in writing assignments. In addition, the teacher's lecture takes a part then students start to write their stories or journals based on their homework and teacher reviews and coach providing feedback or commenting. Besides all of these activities or learning, they are also introduced to use current technology or software to layout their story and share with others. This class has contained with some of points from Jonassen's CLE; providing related cases and resources, activity, coaching with feedback, reflective questions, motivational prompts, hints and helps.

As a thought, in college today, faculty and students focus on dedicated subject area in depth with class projects. The nature of art classes is creating new forms or art using their own or existing tools and current technology, such as, painting, digital imaging, multimedia design, sculpture. The graphic arts classes I have taken are learner-centered, where students bring in their own concepts, and start from there they find tools to learn visual communication skills, artistic skills, and technical skills to develop their own art pieces. In OLEs, teachers provide support with technological tools and technical resources, which is crucial to guide students’ learning. Thus, Scaffolding is a necessary element in OLE to support students' learning. The four elements would include: Conceptual scaffolding would help students' brainstorming stagy, metacognitive scaffolding would help students' critical thinking, procedural scaffolding would help students' ability to process their learning and applying tools and skills, strategic scaffolding would guide students' idea or concept enrichment.

In Constructivist and Open Ended Learning Environment, mapping and constructing process or strategy of teaching and learning can be more flexible as we apply new technology. It is in the hands of teacher who paved the way to the student’s success by using preferring methods and tools in today’s learning environment. A good model of instructional design for class in general would be balance between constructivist and Open Ended Learning depending on the subject.

Global Warming

Learning new technology and applying to our class

Everyday, I learn something new in technology from my TEAM and at my workplace. I often think of how amazing the internet tool has grown so far. I've been more involved in configuring desktop applications as well as web applications for college class use. Often, I hear professors saying how overwhelming it is to incorporate new technology into their class. For example, using discussion board, they started have problem managing time with other communication tools such as email.

As I've been working with them over 2 years setting up online course and discussion topics and managing the discussion space etc,. After joining TEAM, posting blog and interacting with others with online communication tools has redefine my learning experience. However, the good news is that I have started to redefine all the tools we use, and helpful for my work as well. Let's keep going...

Group F Peace Project: PPT!

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Reflections

To say "You can't live without the internet", and sacrificing it would lessen one's ability to live a functional social life, in communication, in productivity, or perhaps survival. And without access to this technology will render limited capacity in growth and development in our daily life.

I believe, social network websites are the most powerful way to engage with others and to mingle or share information of interests. As we share stories, photos, videos and thoughts in our life.

Over the past two years, I have provided support to college faculty members in applying new technology and related software programs for improvement to their classes.

I am hoping to learn integrating new web applications/tools, and apply this knowledge effectively towards a teaching and learning environment in today's educational system.

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Welcome to the Technology for Classroom Blog!