But Dad I Need My Laptop

Oh the irony! Last week my laptop decided to give up and die on me. My dad, being the computer nerd (on occasion a genius) that he is wanted to try and fix it himself. Long story short, he can't. Hooray for new hard drives and system boards! Hopefully this situation is resolved soon. 

Anyway this whole situation got me thinking about to things: potential problems with implementing digital textbooks into the classroom and how dependent people are on technology. 

I'll address the former point first. What if this malfunction occurred during school and I could no longer access my school textbook? How would I access the information I needed? I started referring to some articles I read that spoke to my concerns about these problems. One possible solution is to have print textbooks available in the classroom in addition to the digital ones. Another solution, although maybe not the best way, is to work off a smart phone, or other devices with internet access. Third possible solution, download a pdf of the textbook. This solution kind of defeats the purpose of redefining the digital textbook because new features would not work in the pdf version. Lastly, have an amazing tech support team on speed dial and have them fix your computer in seconds. 

                                                         

Onto the ladder point, and most importantly HOW HAVE I SURVIVED WITHOUT NETFLIX?! Wow, I really am dependent on this thing. On average, a young adult spends about 10 plus hours a day connected to technology. (I actually expected more, but I guess mortals need sleep.) The argument here is because students are spending so much time integrated with technology, they need it in the classroom as well. Everything in the 'real world' involves knowledge of technology. So by integrating technology and creating classrooms of the future (as I like to call them), it is preparing students for life beyond the classroom. While I see the point being made, for arguments sake, I would pose that students need less time connected to technology. Maybe they should go out and see the stars in the sky, not just from a constellation map app. Or go and see science labs hands on, not just observing them. Obviously the whole issue of money and budgets is at play here. I'm not saying one way is better for than the other. This is what we are trying to figure out after all. 

Anyway I'll leave you with those thoughts. Feel free to leave your own. :) 

Good bye for now! 

Val

Get Your Answers Here

Hello again! After much anticipation, THE ANSWERS ARE FINALLY HERE! I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time and answer the questions. So lets get started!

1. MYTH. The students who are learning in the igeneration (they never knew what it was like to learn without the aid of technology) are better at multitasking and will learn better through the use of many digital additions to the classroom.  

Explanation: Do you ever Google something and then realize an hour later that you are on a web page that is no where near what you originally were searching for? This is one of the ideas of this generation of students. They are simply going from page to page, not absorbing the material, but rather only touching the surface of it. The term "Homo Zappiens" was used a lot in this section of the article. It refers to the students who "develop on their own without instruction." Onto the topic of multitasking. As most of you probably already know, it is impossible to simultaneously perform two or more activities that require conscience effort. Instead, the brain rapidly switches focus from activity to activity, providing the illusion of multitasking. 

2. MYTH. Students know best and can decide for themselves what type of learner they are and what type of learning style best suits them. (Visual vs. Verbal vs. Hands on, etc)

Explanation: It is common to think that everyone has a certain type of style of learning, whether that be a visual learner or a verbal learner or an impulsive learner or a reflective one. However, some people do not fit into these pigeon hole categories. For example, there is a test to determine if you are more of a reflective or an impulsive learner where the subject is given a standard photo and then 8 alternatives. The subject has to then match one of the 8 alternatives to the original. To be impulsive is to complete this task quickly, but with more errors. Reflective learners complete it slower and with less mistakes. However, there are also those that complete the task fast and with few errors or slow and inaccurately. It is also shown that some types or learning are better given a specific situation, no matter what type of learner that specific person thinks he or she is. 

3. MYTH. Students should be self educators and should be in control over what they learn and how they learn it.

Explanation: Students may have the infinitely large internet to work with and learn from, but they are not effectively using it. Also with the vastness of the internet there are countless choices on what to learn. This leads to frustration. It is better to give the student "limited control" of his or her education, which allows them to choose to learn about something from a list of suggestions. 

I hope you all enjoyed the answers and are not too disappointed with them. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment :). And congratulations to Angela for correctly answering all the questions! (If we were still in school I'd give you a cookie, but this is all I have for now.)

Week 2: So as it appears, my week was filled with lots and lots of reading. I don't think i have ever read so much in such a short amount of time. But the good news is all the articles I read are so interesting! I am really getting into the whole how the brain works while learning and what makes a textbook effective in a classroom. 

Hope to see you all again next week (or maybe in a few days who knows)

TaTa for now! :)

Val

All information regarding the explanations of the questions was taken from "Urban legends: do learners really know best."

Sources:

Kirschner, P. A., & van Merriënboer, J. J. (2013). Do learners really know best? Urban legends in education. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 169-183.

Fact or Fiction: Learning Edition

Hey guys! I know it's pretty early in the week to describe how my week is going, but I came across an interesting article I wanted to share. Well, I'll officially share it with you later, for now I have a quick quiz.*GASP*  I know, I know you thought you were done with quizzes and test for a while, but I promise this is not that bad!!

I'm going to list 3 (see not so bad) common thoughts about learning and I want you to comment whether you think each statement is fact or a myth. I'll post the answers along with an explanation at the end of the week along with my weekly recap. :)

1. The students who are learning in the igeneration (they never knew what it was like to learn without the aid of technology) are better at multitasking and will learn better through the use of many digital additions to the classroom.

2. Students know best and can decide for themselves what type of learner they are and what type of learning style best suits them. (Visual vs. Verbal vs. Hands on, etc)

3.  Students should be self educators and should be in control over what they learn and how they learn it.

See you soon!
Val

Bagels, Meetings, and Training! Oh my!

February 12, 2015

To-do List:

1. Met with Ruth (my onsite mentor) and be taken on a tour of the space. ✔
2. Participate in meeting (with Ruth's generosity bagels were provided! Thanks Ruth!) about where the digital textbook project is going. (Let me be the first to say I am super excited about this and cannot wait to let you guys in on what I am going to be working on!) ✔
3. Be introduced to staff and their projects. Did you know there might be a better way to communicate with someone not in the same room as you? And I don't mean video chat. Stay tuned for the solution! ✔
4. Head out to lunch with Ruth and Preeya (who is a senior at BASIS Peoria completing her senior research project at CSI (Center for Science and the Imagination) as well. I'm super excited to work with her and see how her project unfolds! ✔
5. Fire drill. Let's just say that was unexpected. ✔
6. Complete online CITI course on research ethics. Unfortunately, no check mark for this one. Hopefully I will be able to complete this task tomorrow so I can move onto bigger and better tasks! 

I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous about starting today, but today could not have gone better! (besides that part where I got lost and and got awkward stares from people who could hear siri directing me where to go.) I met some amazing people I will be working with and learned a lot about the direction this project will be taking! I am so excited to be a part of this! 

If you are curious, this is post is a to-do list because that is what I was given today and felt like this accurately depicts my first day as an intern. Feel free to leave a question in the comments! :)

Until next time

Val