My views about education and technology.......

I believe that technology will change the way we learn. I believe this for the following reason.

Technology makes possible learning activities that simply aren't possible without it. When I was a little girl, I remember a Walt Disney animated feature about fractions. It wouldn't have mattered how many times my teacher cut up an apple, hoping that I would understand how 4 of 8 parts really made one half. For some reason it took the animated shapes of Disney morphing across the silver screen and overlaying each other to the sounds of music in order for me to understand. Watching that cartoon was simply an easier way to learn. It appealed to my senses in ways the traditional classroom simply could not. Later, when I studied statistics in college, I was again to be saved by technology. I simply would not have been able to compute all those deviations by hand without burning out. However, with a computer, I was able to compute them with ease and began to see certain patterns emerge. Then, last year I bought a program called Inspiration. Its a mind mapping program that allows its user to brainstorm ideas and connect them. It then prepares an outline of the connected ideas. The time it takes me to write a paper has been substantially reduced. In addition, relationships are clearer and it would seem my thinking is more focused. These are all examples of ways in which technology accommodates the natural way in which I learn. Simply put, I can learn faster and better with a computer.

I am not alone in my feelings about technology. Roger Schank, out of Northwestern, wrote a very provocative online book about the subject called Engines for Educators. In it, he provides countless examples of how the natural learning processes are in fact accommodated by technology. We know so much more about our brains and how they behave in the learning process due to research conducted in the last 10-15 years. This research was made possible by, not surprisingly, technology. Schank suggests in Engines that if technology makes it possible to learn in a more natural way, then our educational institutions will have to change the way they teach or perish. People simply won't put up with learning in an unnatural way when they can learn in a natural way. First, they probably can't learn as much. Second, they won't like the aggravation of learning in an unnatural way. For some of Schank's more recent work, see The Disrespected Student-The Need for a Virtual University. More recently, see Roger Schank's remarks at the www.electronic-school.com.

The idea that technology can be used to make possible learning that was not previously possible has also been reflected in the works of CAST, an organization whose mission is to expand opportunities for individuals with disabilities through the development and innovative uses of technology. CAST believes in a "universal design" for curriculum that involves the creation of computer software and learning models that are useable by everyone, including individuals of all ages, whether they are gifted, are typical learners, or have special needs. CAST's philosophy of embracing technology is based on recent developments in understanding how our brain works.

You may not like the new technologies. However, there is a whole generation of people who are in love with technology. The impact of technology on the educational process simply can't be ignored.

Below, I have collected some of the articles and papers I like best about education. I believe in a generative model of learning. That is very close to a constructivist model except that the impact that a facilitator can make on the learning process is not abandoned. It is also one of the few models that seeks to be consistent with the scientific findings of brain research. A generative model of learning believes in a dual process of learning. First, learners seek to generate connections between new information in order to form knowledge about that new information. Second, learners seek to generate connections between that new knowledge and their own prior experience and knowledge. This is a very student-centered approach. An instructor can be important to the process by helping a student form these connections.

However, the connections are always the student's own.

Some great articles and papers.......

A Virtual Communal Space, Tom Creed
Teaching and Learning on the world Wide Web, Shirley Alexander
Evaluating the effectiveness of Internet delivered coursework, John Vargo
From Pipelines to Cycles; Changing the Way We Think about Learning and Learners, John Quinley and Melissa Quinley
The Community College Niche in a Competitive Higher Education Market, Don Doucette
Creating a Learning College, a PBS site
Evolving a Distributed Learning Community, Brad Cox. (Brad is one of my favorites....kind of a maverick.)

And....if you want to check out a paper I just wrote
Using ALNs to Strengthen the Quality of Learning in the Classroom, Cheryl Davisson Gracie
     Slides for this Paper

Or, comments I made during a panel discussion this summer
Important Considerations in WWW Deliveries. (Not a paper, just some slide notes for the WCC Summer Institute on Technology, 99)

And a great online museum that displays online art
ZoneZero

And....if you would like more information......

If you are looking for some great resources, I have found a few in my virtual travels.

First, the web has many resources concerning learning....how we do it....what makes it effective.

Second, there are many useful resources concerning the web itself. Check out the links to my favorite on-line resources, tutorials, free classes, etc.