Module 1

Module 1 Blog Topic

What are your beliefs about how people learn best?

Formal education is no longer the primary way we learn because informal learning is now a big part of our learning experience.  Learning now occurs in various ways – through communities of practice, personal networks, and  work-related tasks.  Learning is for a lifetime because learning and work are no longer separate.  Technology is now changing our brains. According to neuroscientists, technology is changing the way we think and behave because our brain structure is linked to our “higher” thoughts and feeling.  The power of imagination is real and is a physical part of our brain.  Consider the video games. The technology tools we use define and shape our thinking.

Learning takes place when students get feedback about their thinking from a teacher, a peer or from within. As a result, students can achieve at higher levels and at a deeper understanding.  Technologies that promote communication within and outside the classroom make it easier for feedback, reflection, and revision to occur. Learning is brought about as a result of experiences and interactions with content or other people.

What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology? 

Technology integration in schools is not easy to achieve, no matter how much evidence we have that it can help learning. Understanding principles of learning is a good way to begin.  Four broad principles, according to Driscoll (2010),  layout a framework to teachers for thinking about how technology can support their instruction:  Learning occurs in context.  Learning is active.  Learning is social.  Learning is reflective.

Including technology and connection making as learning activities will begin to move learning theories into the digital age. We get our competence from forming connections.  Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge (Driscoll, 2010).  We cannot experience everything other people’s experiences so they get to be the holder of knowledge for us.  We store our knowledge in friends and as a result, we collect knowledge by collecting people.


The starting point of connectivism is the individual.  Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual. This cycle of knowledge development, from personal to network to organization, allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed.


References:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-565207/Modern-technology-changing-way-brains-work-says-neuroscientist.html#ixzz1Y412ut6M retrieved on September 15, 2011.

Driscoll, M. (2020). How people learn (and what technology might have to do with it). ERIC       Clearinghouse on Information and Technology Syracuse NY. Retrieved from             http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/search/advanced on September 13, 2011.

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm retrieved on September 13, 2011.






http://www.thetrainingworld.com/wp/training-wisdom-or-training-foolishness/training-technology/how-people-learn-and-what-technology-might-have-to-do-with-it-eric-digest/ Retrieved on September 13, 2011.