Blog Post #E

     I have always believed in the benefits of integrating technology into education. I was aware that with everything in life there are pros and cons but I have always been excited about the pros of technology in the classroom. This chapter gave me an opportunity to view some of the cons that can be associated with technological learning. Though it did not persuade me to jump ship on the thought of more technology in the curriculum, it did give me an understanding of some possible negatives, and some ideas on ways that teachers and educators could address and avoid them.
     The cardinal reason I was so intrigued by using technology as a learning source, was because of problem solving incorporated in the learning.  Problem solving was always a difficult concept for me. Sometimes I could look at a simple problem, and if it was segmented into different pieces, I could never get the pieces to fit together to finally get to the end result. Pencil and paper were my worst nightmare when it came to understanding math or statistical problems. It was almost as if the math problems were taunting me, laughing at the amount of times I had erased and rewritten the same problem and answer over and over. But problem solving with computers, opens an entire new world to creativity, solving strategies and the ability to change the direction of thinking when the problem or situation changes. Another positive aspect of computer problem solving is the immediate feedback and instruction provided when the student answers incorrectly. When completing math problems, a lot of times the student doesn't know if they are correct or incorrect until the following day when it is reviewed in class. And even then, they may not completely understand why they were incorrect. When completing problem solving activities online, there are activities that won't allow the student to progress until they master the skills at hand. Once they have accurately answered the questions provided, they can then move onto the next section. If the student is having difficulty and is answering incorrectly, the computer will automatically know how and why the student is incorrect. This information is immediately relayed to the student so they can correct the mistake, and continue with the problem correctly. Also, when completing these simulations online, they have an opportunity to see a wide variety of situations and scenarios. This gives them the opportunity to use quick thought changes and allows them an opportunity to be "quick on their feet" in terms of changing strategies and mind sets.

     Learning the difference in learners and the separate ways that they obtain knowledge was a very interesting chapter to me. What this chapter taught me however, was that there are separate sequences of learning, within those learning techniques.  Higher- order and lower-order thinking processes of thinking that are both significantly important in a child's education. Lower-order thinking is the very basic of interpretation and recollection of memorization. This kind of learning is done when a teacher gives their student's vocabulary words to memorize. Or when students are learning their times tables. These kinds of problems are stable, their answer will never change or alter. Higher-order thinking is instigated when students are exposed to a higher level of perspective learning. They will use more evaluation and comparison using higher-order thinking. An example of this would be writing literature or dialogue. Blooms taxonomy depicts the higher and lower orders of thinking into a pyramid structure. The two bottoms tiers of the pyramid consist of comprehension and knowledge. These two are on the bottom because they only require a lower-order of thinking. There is no evaluation or comparison involved in these processes. The top four tiers consist of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. All four of these skills will help in preparing the student for real life situations. While lower-order skills are extremely important for memorization and cognitive ability, it is the higher-order skills that will allow the students to find multiple solutions to a problem instead of just one. (Blooms Taxonomy)
     There are many ways in which educators could integrate technology into education. I think the biggest controversy parents have with this is when teachers integrate computer games as resources for learning. This is where I have some mixed feelings towards the subject. Computer games have some amazing results as far as allowing students to initialize those higher-order learning skills. Everything from simple multiplication, to highly interactive creativity can be utilized with these "games". Gramification is a term I had never heard before, but is described in our text as "application of game elements to non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior". (Transforming Learning With New Technologies)  This means that students are using lessons learned through these educational computer games, and putting them to use in actual scenarios. A big advantage to using the games as an educational tool is that there is instantaneous feedback to the students answers/actions. The computer doesn't have to wait to grade or observe the student. They are rewarded when correct and encouraged when incorrect. A downfall to using games as a learning tool is that effects it may have other than learning. Students sometimes get consumed in the games. Their competitive natures come out, they get excited about their scores and they loose the reasoning behind the game to begin with, to learn. There was a quote in out book that stated, "Playing the game can override the importance of academic material when students become more concerned with winning and loosing rather than learning." (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) I think this can be monitored however by being active within the child's game play. Keeping updated in their experiences and accomplishments can help in centering the student around the importance of the game and understanding its purpose.
      There were so many new concepts in this chapter that really caught my attention. I still stand behind the idea of technology in the classroom. I think it is an experience that children should be exposed to because of the importance it will have in their adult lives. Understanding the concepts of learning, how children learn, the type of learning they are experiencing and making sure they aren't getting carried away with the wrong concepts are all boundaries that educators can have in preventing students from using technology incorrectly. Overall I learned a tremendous amount from this chapter and I think it was a great insider on some of the cons that can be associated with technology. This allowed me to open my mind to the other side of things and prepared me with solutions for the situations. Much like computer games might do for a child in the classroom!

References:

 Maloy, R. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. 

 Lower Order Thinking - Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015.