Response to Text Chapter One

My first impression of the book was minimal. The title was very basic. However, as I started reading the prefix and especially the first chapter, I realized this book may actually be a little interesting. It not only talked about technology but it discussed learning styles. Many educational books do not discuss what it takes to learn. This book identified 5 different characteristics of learning. I agree 100% with the author’s perception of learning. What does it mean to have meaningful learning? The textbook says that it is learning that is intentional, active, constructive, authentic and cooperative. These characteristics are closely connected yet mean totally different things. To effectively learn something, we must exhibit a thirst for the knowledge we seek to obtain. This ques our brain that something important will soon be processed. We should ponder on those thoughts and how they connect to everyday life. Also, the textbook claims that technology also fosters thinking. It allows students to be anological, expressive, experiential, and able to solve problems . Students are able to compare and contrast ideas with others. This requires them to assess what they already know. I have seen technology used as a teaching and learning tool. Teachers use overhead projectors, televisions, computers, smartboards to exhibit educational material to students. All of which uses bright screens. Thusly, these materials cater to visual learners. However, sometimes teachers use cds to allow students to listen to sounds. Students use computers for learning. Many programs are being made to help students strengthen edudcational skills. The internet allows online-tutoring in real time if the student is not with a teacher or parent who can help them with a skill in which they struggle. This book states that overall students learn with technology, not from it. The computer is nothing more than a machine that a human dictates. Some of the major advantages of technology requires students to decide what to include and exclude in explanations of shared topics. The students learn how to construct their speech in a manner than can be strong or timid, informational or brief, etc. David Johanssen, the author of the textbook we use in class, does a wonderful job approaching the topic of technology in the classroom from a different perspective. I have learned a lot in the first chapter. This is rare. This chapter did use a few words that were unfamiliar in my vocabulary. Epiphenomenon is like an additional phenomenon, symptom or complication. Nascent is the beginning of development. Neither term is everyday language for my life. The ‘Things to Think about’ question in the back of the chapter that I will answer is Question #12: Can you calculate the exact square root of 2570 without a calculator> Does the calculator make you smarter? Is the calculator intelligent? I am sure someone on earth knows numbers well enough to find the square root of 2570 without a calculator. I believe this because some people are prodigies, gifted, etc. Thecalculator does not make someone smarter. If anything, it can make the brain lazier by automatically signaling a person to use the calculator if the problem is not easily computed within the brain . The calculator is only as smart as the person who uses it. If someone enters the wrong number or presses the wrong key, the answer to the problem is wrong. The calculator always gets the problem right that is entered into it. However, the calculator is a machine. It does not have a mind of its own. Its purpose is to solve equations.