Technology can take learning to a new cognitive level

Just a few years ago, the options for projects and learning in the classroom were limited by the resources in the media center at the school. If students were to learn about a country and its culture, they were limited by the book and/or encyclopedia resources that were available in the center for students to use. The Internet and Internet resources have virtually opened the door to the world for all students because information and tools are so readily available to students. These "tools should provide students the ability to actively address meaningful questions and problem solving that are realistic and offer feedback" as discussed by Dr. Orey (2007) in Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology and they are readily available to all students. No longer should students be just researching a topic and just repeating the information, instead using technology tools they can translate the information into useable information that goes beyond the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy. It is very important that students be able to apply what they are learning to real life situations and by using technology they can participate in learning projects that have more relevance to what they are studying. For example, students on my team are about to read A Christmas Carol in Language Arts and they are required to learn about the research process this quarter in class. They could have gone and researched the author or the book but instead by using technology they were able to research a multitude of topics about Victorian England. They transformed that information into a commercial about the Victorian Era and that commercial could be presented as a digital scrapbook page (like a print ad), a movie maker presentation, or a power point show. This used a variety of resources and this was done prior to reading the book. Students had to use the language of Victorian England and this really served as an advance organizer for topics they would be learning in class. As discussed in Using Technology in Classroom Instruction that works (Pitler, et al., 2007), "multimedia is very effective because it helps them both activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to help them understand new information", using the information that they have researched students created the project and this will assist them in understanding the language and slang used in A Christmas Carol.

One strategy I would like to incorporate more in my classroom to support cognitive theory is the use of the problem/solution frame (Pitler, et al., 2007), we discuss lots of difficult issues in my Social Studies class and I think this would assist my student to look at the information more critically and to propose more possible solutions. Just this week we have been discussing the conflicts between the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs in the Middle East. Students were able to access many primary source documents using the Internet, far more resources than if they had only had access to the textbook. But the questions posed to students was to "think 20 years in the future and what did they see the future of Israel" I would like to introduce the problem/solution frame with students to encourage deeper thought so that they are not satisfied with just one simple answer, but would be looking deeper and for more than one solution.

Currently, I feel that I do incorporate a variety of graphic organizers and various forms of technology to support the cognitive learning needs of my students by providing links to prior learning and real life applications of technology. That being said, I do also feel that there is always the opportunity to include more technology to make the learning more real for students and I look forward to incorporating more in my class in the future. One thing I am moving towards including is to use blogging with my students to give students and opportunity to show deeper understanding of the topics discussed in class and to encourage supportive discussion by other students as well.

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.