Week 7 - Cognitive Flexibility Theory

Cognitive Flexibility Theory

Well structured information can be taught in a traditional linear fashion. When a subject is ill-structured and complex, Cognitive Flexibility Theory is most effective.

According to cognitive flexibility theory, when information is straight forward and simple, there is no problem presenting it in a linear fashion such as in a video which runs from beginning to end. However, when complexity of information increases, using linear instruction such as tutorials and lectures to present information results in failure to accomplish important educational objectives. This is because using linear models results in oversimplification of the way the material is presented. As such the students will not be able to transfer knowledge across to new and varied situations (Spiro, et al., 1992). It is important to help students transfer what they have learned to different situations. This ability is often referred to as "cognitive flexibility." The way students are taught would determine how they create, store and structure knowledge and how flexible they will be when they must use that knowledge. To encourage cognitive flexibility requires a flexible teaching environment. Information must be presented in a variety of ways, as well as for a variety of different purposes. By doing so, students will be able to readily transfer what they have learned to different situations. The computer and the format of hypertext are well-suited to flexible instruction. It allows for multiple presentations of information. Content is covered a number of times with different purposes. The use of hypertext enables students to explore the content from different perspectives.

The link below illustrates how cognitive flexibility theory is used in teacher education.
http://www.kdassem.dk/didaktik/l4-16.htm

Week 6 - The power of pocasting

Podcasts are just digital audio files (MP3s) made available over a website; users can listen to them on their PCs, or download them to an MP3 player such as an iPod. Some models of iPods have video screens which would allow students to see the lecture as well hear it.
Its great attractions are its flexibility and its inclusivity: it can meet the needs of a diverse range of students, including those with dyslexia, or visual or hearing impairments. It has proved particularly useful for those students who for good reasons can't attend every lecture. It has begun the trend that eventually gives people access to learning wherever they are in the world, and whatever their personal circumstances.
Podcasting have the potential to make education a more learner-centric experience. It changes the way students learn. Allows them to ruminate, and listen again to lectures and tutorials thereby encouraging critical and analytical thinking.
So far I have heard of the use of podcasts in higher learning institutions. How has this technology taken on with younger students? Has any one made use of podcasting in schools?

Reference: Kim, Thomas (2006).The power of the podcast. Retrieved from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/viewpoint/art70.htm on 19 April 2007.

Week 5 - Social Software - Google Docs and Spreadsheets

I found Google's docs and spreadsheets features simply great. This is an example of a social software that enables us to create documents online not just alone but together with whom we choose to work the document with. I found it very user friendly. The features of Google docs and Spreadsheets include the following :

With Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you can:

* Use the online editor to format documents, spell-check and more.
* Upload Word documents, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML or text.
* Download documents to your desktop as Word, PDF and more.
* View your documents' revision history and roll back to any version.

Plus, since it's online, you can:

* Invite others to share your documents by e-mail address.
* Edit documents online with whomever you choose.
* Publish documents online to the world, or to just who you choose.
* Post your documents to your blog.


I find this tool excellent for teaching and learning especially for peer editing in composition writing. By clicking on the revision's tab, I was able to find out who edited the document.

Has anyone made use of this site for classroom teaching? Please do share your experiences.

You can visit this site at : http:docs.google.com

Week 4 - Web 2.0

I find Tim O’ Reilly’s comparison between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 helped me to better understand the term Web 2.0. Though there is no consensus on the exact meaning of the term Web 2.0, but the term is used to refer to a trend or practise that favors social webservices and user experience.

Web 1.0 is described as static websites, the use of search engines and the ability to surf from one website to the next. In Web 2.0 the move is towards a much more dynamic and interactive approach to using the World Wide Web. It has been argued that, while "Web 2.0" may add some useful functionality to the existing framework provided by "Web 1.0", it does not supersede the fundamental approaches of the Internet.

According to Tim O'Reilly (2005), Web 2.0 can be defined through examples of how typical web services did evolve. E.g.

Web 1.0 (past)--> Web 2.0 (future)
Photo-albums--> Flickr-like albums
FTP or http-based downloads--> BitTorrent
mp3.com--> Napster
Britannica Online--> Wikipedia
personal websites--> blogging
publishing--> participation
content management systems--> wikis
directories (taxonomy)--> tagging ("folksonomy")


Web 2.0 seems promising especially for teaching and learning. It is how we make use of them effectively for our classroom experience. Any suggestions?

References
O'Reilly, Tim, What Is Web 2.0 - Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html