Technology is constantly evolving. Every day, we turn on the tv, radio, or log on to the internet and hear or read about something new that promises to make our lives easier, more efficient, and more focused. From the typewriter to the iPad, all the manufacturers of these new and improved devices have all harped on one idea, the idea of interactivity. The idea of interactivity has been consistently debated since the introduction of the first computer. With computers, interactivity is thrown into the center ring as a means of achieving higher level thinking, improving and reinventing the cognitive and developmental processes that we use in our everyday life, from our jobs to our education. The introduction of the worldwide web and the internet have made interactivity even more relevant in today’s society. From schools to corporate offices, computers and the web have given us the ability to make training interactive, and therefore, more effective. In order to really understand the idea of interactivity, we need to define it. For the use of this proposal, we will define interactivity as “functions and/or operations made available to the learning to enable them to work with content material presented in a computer based environment” (Sims, 2000, p. 46). A study conducted by Sims (2000) directly addressed the role interactivity plays in a computer-based setting. Sims’ study looked at multiple constructs from multiple theories regarding the use of interactivity and its effectiveness in computer-based settings. The different constructs were used to support levels of interactivity used in computer-based settings (Sims, 2000). Sims used four major dimensions of interactive constructs, learners, content, pedagogy and context.... ... middle of paper ... ...s for an Emerging Field (pp. 127-139). New York: McGraw-Hill. Reeves, T. C. (1999). A research agenda for interactive learning in the new millenium. Proceedings of World Conference of Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia, and Telecommunications , 15-20. Sherry, L. (1996). Issues in Distance Learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications , 337-365. Siau, K., Sheng, H., & Nah, f. F.-H. (2006). use of a classroom response system to enhance classroom interactivity. IEEE Transactions on Education , 398-403. Sims, R. (2000). An interactive conundrum: Constructs of interactivity and learning theory. Australian Journal of Educational Technology , 45-57. Sims, R. (1997). Interactivity: A forgotten art? Computers in Human Behavior , 157-180. Wagner, E. D. (1997). Interactivity: From agents to outcomes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning , 19-26.
Desjardins’ Human-Computer-Human Interaction model (HCHI 2001, 2005) is an epistemological template for how a user, the technology that user is operating, and the processes of systems, are interdependent entities. In addition, certain competencies are needed for this relationship to function, along distinct dimensions (Desjardins, 2001, p.1). This HCHI model, as described by Desjardins, Lacasse and Bélair (2001), was an attempt to address specific competencies that were related to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in an educational setting (pg. 1). Desjardins’ work with the HCHI has been further applied in the prototyping of collaborative online learning environments and as such the model may prove useful when analyzing current web-based applications for usability, reliability, and relevance. This is done by taking the application in question and observing which features fall in line with the four tenets of the HCHI: the technical order, the epistemological order, the informational order, and the social order. For this paper, I intend to apply the HCHI model to critically analyze the web-based mind-mapping tool, Popplet, using the perspectives and theoretical constructs discussed in EDUC 5101 Learning with Technology course. As a tool I frequently use, I am curious if Popplet holds up well to the HCHI paradigm and if Popplet, a collaborative online learning environment, displays interdependence between the user, the technology itself, and the processes of systems. Please note that Popplet does have a tablet version of its application. I will not be focusing on the iOS/Android versions, as it would add certain considerations to this paper that are beyond its present scope.
Buehl, D. (2001). Discussion Web. In Classroom strategies for interactive learning, 2nd Ed. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
“With some research, creativity, and professional development, any school can stop talking about becoming a 21st Century school and confidently become a 21st Century School (Byrne, 2009).” Technology is becoming more and more embedded into classroom instruction. Some of these technologies include using Web 2.0 application, project-based learning (PBL), and using classroom response systems, otherwise known as clickers, in the classroom. These technologies offer some of the latest and best practices in using technology effectively to engage students’ within learning environments.
...o, Regina F. and Alberto M. Bento. "Using the Web to extend and support classroom learning." College Student Journal 34.4 Dec. 2000: 603-8.
The integration of technology into curriculum and instructional practices in P-12 education has been gaining momentum in classroom reform across the nation (Mowre-Popiel, Pollard, & Pollard, 1994). Interactive and digital technologies are now recognized as tools by which educators can bring unique resources into the classroom (Schutte, 1998; Wise, 2002) and engage students in dynamic, self-constructed learning (Branzburg, 2001). The use of technology as a tool that supports instruction and learning is transforming the traditional way of teaching; both digital and geographically located resources now offer an enriched content that was not available to earlier generations (Branzburg, 2001). As a result, many authors and researchers believe that the use of technology within educational settings will serve to motivate students to learn more, both with and without teacher assistance, effectively promoting increased cognitive development (Gernstein, 2000; Wise, 2002). While there are many projects involving the utilization of interactive and digital technologies in classroom instruction (Buckle, 1995; Gernstein, 2000; Warner, 1999; Petersen, 1998), there is limited scientific evidence of its effectiveness in improving teaching and learning when compared to traditional instruction. In addition, there exists almost no literature that illustrates the impact of the combined effect of both digital and video resources.
As the traditional style of learning is slowly phasing out a more technology-based learning environment gradually replaces it in the classroom. Before technology became implemented in the classroom many students felt the separation in the classroom. There weren’t many things connecting the students t...
These benefits I believe include excitement, flexibility, motivation for more students, which will cover a wide age-range, learning styles, and many different topics. They also will help create a personalized learning environment. As an educator, I have learned how these modifications in technology can help to motivate, engage, and enhance the learning of my students. Thornburg (2009) “…some technologies have the potential to shape and reshape educational practice in the next few years” (p. 9). During this course, we have discovered and discussed various benefits as well as challenges associated with adopting new technology. These resources and interactions have been influential in helping me focus more on the benefits, and they have given me tools to address the challenges. This course has helped me understand that the use of interactive educational activities can promote higher order thinking skill, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and
Young, M.F. "Instructional Design for Situated Learning." Educational Technology Research and Development 41, no. 1 (1993): 43-58. (EJ 462 809)
...lectronic learning environments: Games, flow and the user interface. Presentation at the national convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), St. Louis, MO, USA.
In addition to overcoming geographical constraints on the delivery of education, new technologies promise to expand the basic nature of education. In quantitative terms, computer communication is opening up vast new sources of information and learning by enabling on-line access that frees schools from complete dependence on paper delivery. Associated with this is the ability to link written with audio and visual material that can enrich the full range of the learner’s senses. The technology also creates a qualitative expansion in the means of education by taking a process rooted in the one-way delivery of knowledge and making it more participatory and reciprocal. Education moves from an emphasis on transmitting information to the active creation of knowledge. Moreover, according to this view, computer communication takes a system of learning based in narrow linear, narrative forms, and opens it up to a wide range of non-linear, exploratory processes that allow the learner to make full use of his or her own multiple cognitive maps. As a result students mutually constitute their learning environments, all of which grow in the learning process.
Classroom interaction is the action performed by the teacher and the students during instruction interrelated. They interact with one another for a number of different reason and on a continued basis throughout the school day. According to Wilson (1997) Interaction between students and teacher is fundamental to the learning process.
Luchoomun, D.; McLuckie, J.; van Wesel, M., 2010, Electronic Journal of e-Learning, v8 n1 p21-30, Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/EJ880096.pdf.
In this chapter there is one main idea. The main idea is that there are nine additional parameters of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) that are situationally appropriate. The key concepts for the second half of this chapter are the situation or event specific parameters identified by the authors. Herein each of the parameters will be identified and a possible classroom connection will be noted. In addition, a brief correlation to traditional and contemporary learning theories will be identified.
Al-Fahad (2009) states that the advancement in “interactive multimedia technologies which promise to facilitate ‘individualized’ and ‘collaborative’ learning”, is playing an undeniable role in the process of language teaching and learning. Therefore this is not a new phenomenon. Teachers and researchers have always been working on this field to find a better way of using