Cognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities and explores processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving. Technology can be an integral part of cognitive activity if used properly in and educational setting. Let’s take a look a look at 2 technologies that are gaining popularity and their link to cognitive theory.
Virtual Field Trips
A virtual field trip, if done correctly can provide many of the identical cognitive gains that an actual real-life field trip can provide. Field trips taken online can take a student to locations too far away to travel to or too expensive to visit. The key is to conduct the virtual field trip much like the real-life field trip and students should then be able acquire the same cognitive gains as if they actually went there. When this is possible, an entirely new world of experiences will be opened to all students regardless of the school field trip budget, as they can all experience firsthand the potential of the Internet as a valid curricular device.
Concept Mapping
Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. While at first glance concept maps may appear to be just another graphic representation of information, understanding the foundations for this tool and its proper use will lead the user to see that this is powerful tool. Concept maps identify the way we think, the way we see relationships between knowledge. The teacher who constructs concept maps for classes is interested in students understanding relationships between facts, not just "knowing" the facts.
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/WalkerTeachingResourceCenter/FacultyDevelopment/ConceptMapping/
http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/researchpapers/theorycmaps/theoryunderlyingconceptmaps.htm
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Virtual field trips are a great way to get students to view aspects of the world around them without even leaving school. If they are given this opportunity, they may want to gain more knowledge about a specific concept they may never have been given the chance. If students are able to make connections in their learning, they have a much greater understanding.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to connect websites to many of the links in Kidspiration or Cmap software allows you to design very interactive lessons using the map as a tool.
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