How can technology be used to enhance cognition?

How can technology be used to enhance cognition? Well, first of all, one must learn to trouble shoot. That was a biggie for me to learn. I recently told my husband that I think I have too many people I use as crutches when it comes to tech stuff.

At school anytime I run into a problem on my computer or elmo or projector or apple tv, I run to Taylor because I know he will figure out what the problem is. At home, anytime I can't figure something out, I have kids and a husband who are always there to jump in and figure it our for me.

Now that I am in this program a few things have happened. First, Taylor will tell me, "Let me see you try to figure it out." And Lacey will start talking me through something. So now, and this is number two, when I catch myself starting to ask someone, at school or at home, to help me with something technology related, I stop and say, "Hang on. Let me see if I can do it." And guess what? 99% of the time I figure it out on my own!

This is the lovely flow chart my kids gave to me when I started school this summer. I have to remind myself to use it. In other words, figure it out! And guess what? Just now I had to figure out how to get this image on here because it didn't work in convenient the "drag and drop" method. I started to ask my husband, then said, "No, I will figure it out." And wa-la, I did it in no time!

Basically, I feel that technology enhances cognition because it forces you to learn something new. I will be learning how to write web pages. At the beginning of the semester in June the thought of learning html scared me to death. Now I really think can do it!

Techs that Enhance Cognition

When thinking of technologies that enhance cognition, I am drawn to think that everything does, at least for me. As I learn new skills on my computer or iPad or iPhone, my understanding grows. I have never made a blog before, so simply doing this assignment has helped me to acquire new knowledge.

At this writing, I am sitting at my desk at Mt. Mahogany, supposedly getting things ready for school to start next month. I hired a few former students to come help me last week, so I'm feeling like I have a good handle on things.

One thing that always stresses me when getting ready for school is the last minute documents, spread sheets, lists, never ending papers. Mainly it's because I don't know how to make them, save them, utilize the tools on Word. But through this past summer I have had to learn a LOT of new things. I sat down to work on my Disclosure Document, class lists, and other items, and found that I had ZERO anxiety about it. THAT was a great feeling!

One of the biggest things I learned this summer is "drag and drop!" Mind blown! I know, Jason likes to tease me about that, but it really has changed my attitude about a lot of things. Seriously, why didn't anyone tell me about this before? Well, actually, I know exactly why. I haven't ever really cared to learn. About anything technology related. Which brings us to the question, then why in the heck get a master's degree in Ed Tech??? For this exact reason: so I would be FORCED to learn new things.

So, back to the original opening, what technologies enhance learning? It depends on what you want to learn, and what you already know!

This Tech or That Tech? That is the Question...

For this post I have decided to focus on "How do we decide which technologies to use?" because this is a big question for me.

When I think of which technologies out of all those we've heard presentations about this last week, I have two feelings: excitement, and then overwhelm-ness. Excitement because I want to use them all! They are all so cool and seem like great additions to my classroom teaching processes. After all, isn't that why I'm in the tech strand? I would love to have a class blog. I would love to use nearpod, I would love to incorporate all the things we saw and heard. However, that leads to feelings of being overwhelmed trying to learn it all.

I have come to a few conclusions. First, I don't have to memorize them before I use them; and second, I don't have to incorporate them all right now either. I already use YouTube quite a bit in my classroom. There are tons of great little clips that I show my class (plus we watch things like KidHistory for fun:)). I am definitely going to use Remind. I'm pretty sure I am going to start a class blog. And of course we will be learning all the features and etiquette of email. But everything else will have to be incorporated as I can. Heck, I think I might even make a power point or two! (Keeping in mind Dr. Sowder's rules of ppt, of course. There's nothing worse than a boring ppt. Well, except district meetings, perhaps...)

So, how do we decide which tech to use? I think whatever seems to come naturally and fit in to what we are doing, without "broadcasting too many channels." I am "friends" on FB with a page called Teaching Resources, and today one of the posts led to this blog: http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/too-many-channels/. (Ok, I know there is a way for me to make that a hyperlink, but I don't know how to do that yet...) It was mainly about passing out a paper or giving an assignment, and then yapping on for a while and then being upset that the kids didn't follow the directions. However, reading the post made me think of having too many technologies, or anything else for that matter, going on in the classroom. I guess it all goes back to Bloom's Taxonomy, updated. What am I really trying to get out of this? Is it encouraging HOTS, or is it just fluff? Things to think about.

Overwhelmed to identity crisis

I'm baaaaack.....

It's been a very difficult couple of weeks for me, between being out of town, surgery, and stats. I suddenly became intensely overwhelmed and threatened to shut down. I did not, however :) Thanks to having a wonderful support team I have risen above and said, "To hell with stats! I will just do the best I can, and if I fail the last test, well then, I fail the last test and I will survive!"

The whole technology component has been a HUGE learning curve for me. And we really haven't even scratched the surface of what is to come. Just getting on Canvas and navigating it, making digital posters, blogging, wiki-ing, making power points, all the stuff people do everyday, and I struggle. But, I am learning :)

According to Erikson, Identity Crisis is the "failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence." There is nothing more uncomfortable than watching a group of young teens who are all trying to figure out who they are. They seem awkward and uncomfortable in group situations. They say funny, outlandish things. It seems hard for them to connect with groups. But put a phone or any mobile device in their hands, and they seem to suddenly be able to relate to so many different people on so many different levels and have deep, meaningful conversations. I have read FB posts from some kids that really surprise me at their maturity level. But as I watch the kids get positive feedback, they start to feel good about themselves and become more confident. I have watched a whole group of kids who started on FB when it first came out, and others who didn't jump on the bandwagon until quite a bit later, or ever, and it is interesting the difference between the groups. Did being on social media cause the kids to become more mature and insightful at a faster rate? Or were the kids who started on social medias more mature and insightful to begin with? Hmmm. i feel a research question coming on...

Key Values

As I prepare to watch the video, Digital Nation, I thought of some key values we, as inhabitants of this earth, should possess in order to function as societies. I am interested to see what insight this video gives me into my suspicions, and whether or not I am just a naive person with pipe dream ideals.

Some thoughts as I watch:

Sherry Turkle, the director of MIT, used the term drinking the Kool-Aid. I wonder if any of these kids in our cohort even know what she's referring to.

The student at Stanford U (or was it MIT?) who said that professors just need to accept the fact that the kids multitask and they are very good at it, yet one professor had just said that the mean score for a test he had given, that should have been 100%, was 75%. Hmmm. A little discrepancy.

Rewired says we need to give in to the "we want it all and we want it now" mentality of our youth. When you look at what's happening in South Korea, where they fully embraced that 10 years before the making of this video, a whole lot of good that did them. Now they have Internet Addiction camps???

Love the Netiquette song. :)

Hey, I was a nanny in Chatham NJ!

Instant Gratification Education

The Dumbest Generation. Isn't someone in our class reading that?

The learning stays the same; it's the teaching that needs to change.

I've never thought about the effects of when print replaced telling. We lost memory.

Must be before the iPhone. Lots of the people mention their Blackberry. I used to have one of those :)

Feed Me Bubbe I love it! They both look VERY Jewish :) LOVE the plastic on the chair! I love that Bubbe has totally embraced the tech that her grandson introduced her to. So fun!

Ugh, WOW. My son wasted too many years of his life, and plenty of money on subscriptions, to play that stupid game, holed up in his room. Dark time in our lives.

I loved Phillip Rosedale, the creator of Second Life, saying, "Imagine a world as good as you can imagine it. Then remember: God has imagined it better than you."

I think it is a fantastic idea that soldiers flying the drones must wear their uniforms to work, though they are 7500 miles from the war. It helps them remember that they are actually dealing with real people, real lives. It's NOT a video game.

Todd Oppenheimer, author of The Flickering Mind, said it well, "Schools are the only institutions we have left where we can have a real conversation...We have to protect that."

Horses to cars, letters to telephones. Not all bad. What will we hold onto? and what will we leave behind?

Technology isn't good or bad. And it's complicated. (Turkle).

honesty - All research on this needs to be presented openly and honestly to give us real hard facts.

faith - We need to have faith in each other, and in the way that we feel is appropriate to use technology,           and respect other's opinions about it, too.

trust - Kids need to trust parents, and parents need to trust their kids.

accomplishment - Our kids have the opportunity for great accomplishments, whether they have an                   abundance of tech offered to them or not.

commitment - We all need to be committed to the children who are our future leaders.

compassion - whatever you choose, have compassion for those around you who may not have what                 you have.

conviction - Have conviction in your beliefs and goals

fairness - Is it fair that some schools have an abundance of tech, and some have nearly none?

family - After it's all said and one, our family is what we have left. Treat them well whether you agree             with them or not.

freedom - We are blessed to have the freedom to educate our children in the way we think is best.

hopefulness - Without hope, what else is there?

kindness - Well, that one goes without saying.

knowledge - Gain as much knowledge as possible about all this tech, and embrace what you can.

order - We need to keep order to this whole thing. Let's not go over board, as S. Korea has shown it's               probably not a good idea.

power - We have the power to change things, so let's do it. But carefully.

pride - Take pride in the things you know and do.  But don't be prideful.

learning - Keep learning as you go.

These things may not make sense to others, but I know exactly what they mean to me. What's right and what's wrong? Can we find a balance? 

Rewired?

June 16, 2014

I finally got my book!!! 'Bout time. Sheesh! 

After reading the first two chapters of Rewired, I am a bit disappointed in the content. The author seems to think that teachers 1) live in the dark ages; 2) should become computer gurus over night; and 3) he believes whole heartedly in the ability to multitask and absorb it all. Now, I admit I am a bit behind in the technology department for sure. However, I absolutely disagree with Mr. Rosen's ideologies. First of all, my students do NOT hate coming to school. They may not thoroughly enjoy taking notes in science, but they LOVE the experiments that we do every other day. They may not enjoy math homework (who does?), but when they leave my class, they know exactly how to work through problems and apply them. Yes, it would be ideal if I could just whip up a program that allowed them to interact with others as they do their homework, could get instantaneous feed back from a virtual teacher, and have their work adapted as they go. Unfortunately, the reality is that some of my students, while they may have cell phones, don't have internet access at home. So a whole lot of good that would do.

I also totally disagree with Rosen's opinion that today's students hate to read books. He says it takes up too much of their time and they can only "unitask" while doing it, therefore they aren't able to "stay connected" while reading a book. Excuse me? Every year the MAJORITY of my students prefer to read books. They beg me to give them time in class because after school they have too many activities, ie., soccer, baseball, dance, football, you name it, practice, sometimes two in one afternoon; plus family and church activities, and homework. I have watched my own children and they multitask, but they admit they aren't wholly involved in any of the activities they are engaging in, and know when they need to put the phone away and turn off chat on FB. Plus, they love to read, just for reading sake.

I know that I need to jump on the technology bandwagon and incorporate more into my lessons. But do they need to move at the speed of sound to keep the children entertained? And if I somehow got my hands on a smart board, is it just swapping the "chalkboard" for the computer screen?

I hope that as I get further into this book, things will rectify themselves and I will have more respect for this man's opinions.

June 10-12

Cognition: the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

A result of this; a perception, sensation, notion, or intuition. (As defined by Google)

My Experience With Technology

As I learn more and more about cognition, particularly where technology is involved, I am beginning to understand myself more. Growing up in a very poor family, we didn't have the opportunities many of my peers had. Most of my friends were of the "haves" group, where I was in the "have nots" group, with a few others. The most technology we had, besides a VCR, was a late 70s Atari System. Being married to a "techie," my children have always had handhelds, iPods, phones (at appropriate ages, WITH LIMITS), game systems, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and so forth. My 3 boys have been very adept to all those things. My daughter, however, was not very interested in any of the gaming things. And she was, and still is, a bit behind her brothers on the technology, but still way better than me. (All my kids are grown now, ages 19-26.)

I have never been one to be particularly inclined toward technology; I never really cared for the game systems my friends had. I was never really interested in playing at the video arcades. I would rather talk or read a book. In algebra, as part of our curriculum, we got 4 1/2 weeks on the computers. (You know, the early 1980s gigantic pre-mouse things.) And I was totally lost the entire 23 days. To this day, learning something new on my computer/iPhone/iPad puts me into a panic at varying degrees, depending on whether it is somehow connected or related to any background knowledge I may already possess. (Panic is a daily occurrence these days.:))

So, the question is, Was I not interested in technology because I had such limited exposure and was already behind my peers? Or is that just the way my brain is wired? And can it be rewired to catch up, at least to some degree? It seems, from what I've observed, that had we not had all this technology in our home, my daughter would have been more like me, and perhaps lag behind her peers. So maybe it IS the way my brain works. Maybe some kids are not necessarily going to be "techno-savvy" just because they have unlimited exposure. However, I have noticed that the kids in my class, no matter how much exposure to technology they may have, are not afraid to explore and figure things out, where as I freeze if I can't recall specific steps (something I am really working on!). Oh, this technology strand is stretching me!

June 3-5

How do we think? I have noticed in my own life that "we" think very differently. For example: when I need to think, I clean something, or I go for a walk, or I go outside and pull weeds. My husband, however, is exactly opposite: he sits and stares into space. But he does a lot of very deep thinking that way. So, the way we go about it is very personal.

How do we learn? Again, very personal. I have to mirror something to learn, and then repeat it several more times. If someone shows me, and I don't mirror it back to them, I will forget in a very short amount of time. I've noticed with my own children they learn very differently from each other: Lane, my oldest, has to do everything "hands on," and I mean everything. Justin is a thinker, like his dad. He sees, he thinks, then he does. Alexa has to be shown several different ways to find the one that works best for her. Some things are hands on, some are watching and mirroring, some things she needs to do along with someone, and some things she needs to think about. Jake, however, just does. He hears it, he does it. Done. I've seen all these same behaviors, and more, in my students.

How do we remember? I think the best way to remember is by using multiple steps. My science lessons generally consist of 3 steps: lecture/note taking; doing an activity and applying; and reflecting. Lecture/note taking can be boring, so we keep that part short, and then follow up with an experiment or activity to drive home real life application. Then we regroup and discuss our findings/experiences. I have found that when I use all three of these steps, my students remember the most.