Blog Post #2 Ch. 3, 5

         There are three main ideas on how digital technology can “transform and affect attitudes and behaviors of students and teachers in ways that propel learning and organizational change” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 46). Technology must be unique which means that computers and digital technologies must accomplish what non-electronic things cannot, or at least not in the same way with the same impacts and results. Technology must have a powerful approach where it has a strong impact in schools and will be “substantive in nature and long lasting in duration” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 46). Technology must be transformative which means that technology should alter how teachers teach and how students learn. This should be done in ways that make school an increasingly relevant, more engaging place for education to happen. Technology must possess these three qualities in order to ensure a transformation in teaching and student learning.

    Technology can transform five major, and critical areas in an educational environment: critical thinking and problem solving, digital literacies, electronic communications and collaborations, creativity, and digital citizenship. But, Nicholas Burbules and Thomas Callister's observations concluded that the “capacity for transformation is not intrinsic to the technology itself” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 47). This means that “simply adding computers to school classrooms or requiring students to use technology in their assignments will not change education” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 47). Technology, by itself, cannot change schools; a transformation of education requires the optimal utilization of technology by teachers and students which “opens new possibilities for learning across grade levels and the curriculum” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 47). 

In my personal experience, when technology has been used beyond simple power-points and other basic web 2.0 tools, and was used to actively engage students, including myself, I have learned the content more thoroughly and have been more genuinely interested. This is classified as an active learning environment. 

Transformation of education requires not only optimal utilization of technology but also correct learning approaches based on one of the four learning theories. But first, a teacher needs to understand their students of the twenty-first century. How People Learn stated that people are “goal-directed units who actively seek information” (Maloy et al, 2013, p. 47). The best way to foster and develop “goal-directed units” is by active learning. 

Active learning is where students are “physically and cognitively involved in the learning process, personally doing something to compare and contrast ideas and information rather than passively sitting and listening to explanations, viewing videos, or reading about a topic” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 28). An active learning environment, although the optimal educational environment, involves some implications for teachers. An active learning style requires that teachers discover and work with “preexisting understandings that students bring with them”, teachers teach subject matter in an in depth manner that provides many examples of the same concept and a “firm foundation of factual knowledge”, and teaching of metacognitive skills should be “integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 48).

The four learning theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and constructionism. Behaviorism states that learning is a “set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment” (Malor, et al, 2013, p. 49). The focus is that learning is a process of memorizing, demonstrating, and imitating, and learners should be provided with “explicit and planned stimuli” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). The primary target of this learning strategy is memory tasks and recall. Cognitivism is the view that learning is influenced by “non observable and internal constructs, such as memory, motivation, perception, attention, and metacognitive skills” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). The focus of technology use and computer instruction should be based on individual learning needs and differences. The focus of cognitivism is on “program design and interaction, and how the learner shares control of instruction with the computer” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). The “primary targets of this learning strategy are active learning, transfer of learning, comprehension, and metacognitive skills” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). Constructivism claims that every person “interprets and constructs the world in his or her own way” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p.49). This means that learning is a process of “manipulating and interpreting the surrounding world in a unique way for each individual” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). The focus of teaching with a constructivism view is “on computer activities on learning, stressing the actions and responses of learners rather than those of teachers” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 49). Constructionism “emphasizes the idea that learners build their own knowledge and adds the idea that those knowledge structures are public entities” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p.49). This approach is in contrast with, or opposite to, “instructionism”. 

There are four learning theories and then there are two learning approaches. The first is teacher centered, also known as transmission teaching, where the major focus and energy of a class flows from the teacher to the students. Knowledge is conceived, portrayed, and provided as “discrete facts commonly understood by everyone, and knowledge is fixed, something we can all point to and understand in the same way” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 51). The second approach is student centered. This approach involves students actively in all elements of a class, “from planning lessons, conducting activities and experiments, engaging in discussions, and participating in assessing the learning”(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 51). “The goal of the teacher is to create situations in which students participate in minds-on problem solving and thoughtful reflection about academic experiences” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 51). Neither of these approaches are ideal used by themselves. The goal is to build a “culture of inquiry” which involves teachers and students working together to “investigate problems, pose solutions, and reflect on what they are learning” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 51). Personally, I know that an active learning style truly is the ideal learning environment. An active learning style forces a student to be involved thus requiring that student to listen to the information, try and absorb the content, and find the meaning within the material. 

Because people are “goal-directed units who actively seek information” (p. 47) and currently live in the 21st century, information is used on a daily basis to “write essays, prepare for exams, develop personal talents, and propel ones quest for knowledge” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 99). “Information is the currency of learning in schools” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 99). Due to the internet, smartphones, and tablets people are on constant information overload. But, because information research is so critical to academic success it is important to possess information literacy. Information literacy is “the ability to recognize when information is needed and to then have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 99). “Students need to be able to be their own search experts, fact-checkers, and information analysts when working online” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 99). In summary, “everyone of the 21st century must know how to access and assess information” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 99). 

When evaluating online information it is critical to understand that there are four types of information, aside from correct and accurate information, that the internet contains. The internet contains misinformation which is either false or out of date or both. The internet contains “malinformation” which is what “reasonable people might consider bad or harmful information” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113). The internet contains “messed-up” information which is information that is poorly organized and presented. Lastly, the internet contains information what is considered “mostly useless” such as trivial or eccentric topics; mostly useless information is based on personal assessment, because what is useless to one person might be valuable to another. So it is important for students to understand that the first website they come across might not necessarily be the best website. This has been critical for me to learn throughout my high-school and college experience where I have written many research essays, researched and prepared for many class discussions, and collected numerous information for class presentations. 

Because malinformation is very prevalent on the internet it is important for schools and teachers to posses and use information management and control strategies. The first strategy is censorship which is where “material deemed offensive is banned” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113). The second strategy is using a filtering software that “attempts to block material from computers by identifying certain objectionable keywords or phrases” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113). The third strategy is partitions that “restrict access only through pages that are themselves lists of approved sites” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113). The third strategy is using labels which is a type of rating system that attempts to “identify for consumers a standard of safe material for children” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113). The last strategy is using critical reading skills which is the approach that teaches people of all ages how to “read online material and decide for themselves its usefulness or appropriateness” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 113).

Internet Access Controls without Censorship  provides more information and instructions on adding censorship to a personal computer. 

Rescources: 

 Brown, S. (2013, August 22). Learning Theories: Universal Design for Learning [UDL]. Retrieved May 24, 2015, from http://innovatribe.com/2013/08/learning-theories-universal-design-for-learning-udl/ 

 Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

 Resnick, P. (n.d.). Flexible Blocking. Retrieved May 24, 2015, from http://www.w3.org/PICS/iacwcv2.htm 

 SHANTI at the University of Virginia. (n.d.). Retrieved May 24, 2015, from http://shanti.virginia.edu/wordpress/?page_id=414  

 What Is FlipQuiz™? (n.d.). Retrieved May 24, 2015, from http://flipquiz.me