Week 14

Week 14

Blog Reflection – Based on what you read, what theory to you put the most faith in? How does it influence how you teach, train, learn, etc.? Why?

The first is: http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html

The second is: http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2004/issue4/spencer4.html

I definitely agree with the constructivist theory because it takes the learner’s own mental models into account. However, the other theory that focuses on more of a liberal education via the use of E-learning is a well-formed but flawed theory because sometimes technology can be a hindrance instead of a boon to the learner. When this happens, the main thing that often occurs is that the instructor/teacher has  put the technology aspect into the lesson, but failed to make it keep the same learning concepts in place for the sake of making the technology more accessible. Accordingly, I prescribe to the constructivist approach because learning that simulates the real world and how I perceive it has always worked best for me in my own learning experiences. Also, as I mentioned in the class discussion, learning at any age has a lot to do with the learner’s preference, rather than some pre-imposed preference set forth by the teacher/instructor.  After all, learning is a continual life-long process that never stops as we age. So as far as being a guiding method, I always envisioned myself being the instructor that allows the facts to be presented, but lets the learners interpret and build on it from there. Even at my job as an editor, I don’t just tell the graphic designers that they need to prescribe to a certain approach because I am the “almighty editor”, I let them know the issue at hand and have them provide solutions to fix the problem so that our team grows as a department. This way, no one person is the “source” of all knowledge as with a more traditional approach to learning. What is helpful with this style of learning is that oftentimes the learners produce more insight than the instructor/ teacher ever dreamed was possible and may even come up with a new solution or approach to learning.

 

Week 13

Week 13

Blog Reflection – Download and create an avatar in Second Life or There.com or some other 3-D online space. Many theorists and researchers are saying that this is the next learning context. How do you feel about this based on your experiences there? How would a 3-D learning context improve learning and/or cognition? How might it hurt learning and/or cognition?

Personally, I don’t like SecondLife that much because it is too hard for me to master and navigate.  I think that with some time that I will be able to master it though. To me the whole experience was rather “SIMS-like” if you take the social aspect of it into account. Basically, you are a representation of the “true” person that you want to be, without all the things that go along with actually being the individual person that is yourself. This aspect of the 3-D realm does add to the “cool factor” and I am sure in some ways adds to the cognitive aspects of it all. Also, I think that in some aspect because the visual nature of  3-d worlds that they can foster better memory and retention due to their  “life-like” nature. For instance, it is said that many economic and business classes in  higher education study the SecondLife realm to gain a better understanding of the principles studied for these  professions in a “real-life” simulated world.  However, I think that it may hamper or hurt cognition as well because too many visual elements may distract some learners for the task of interpreting the necessary cognitive information that they are supposed to glean from their learning environment.  For example, I remember playing the SIMS game with my friend one day when I was in undergrad. She said that the game was her favorite because she enjoyed being put in the different situations, but still acting like herself in the game. In my opinion, I thought that if you are going to be in “3-D” world and act yourself, then doesn’t that take some of the fun out of being in a simulated environment and the creativity that that aspect of learning lends to the overall experience. However, the same could be said for the opposite case, which is that  being in a  3-D world detachers the learner from their own reality and is thus actually ineffective as a learning tool.

Week 11

Week 11

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Go here: http://iamtryingtobelieve.com/

Where is the problem solving? What are you doing? What is the problem with this site? What creative solutions to this did you try?

The problem solving on this site probably has something to do with the text that is almost illegible. I am trying to read this site because it appears to be authentic and a good example of yet another thing that the government is doing to control us. However, after a closer examination of the site by reading articles given as supporting evidence, I am starting to believe that this site may be a hoax.  When you are using a newspaper as a source it is common to have the th name of publication displayed on the except taken. Since this was not, the case with this site, I think that it may in fact be just pure hype. Other than factual errors, the main problem with the site is that  the text gives only enough information once you figure out how to read it . To accomplish reading / deciphering the text, I had to first avoid focusing my eyes and then move slowly away from this screen. This aspect of reading the text is similar to when a person squints and then looks again and the image that they are looking at becomes clearer.

Week 10

Week 10

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Go here: http://reliques.online.fr/detroit/detroit03.html

Reflect on the images (click on the boxes on the left to navigate the Detroit pictures. What knowledge is represented in these images? What knowledge is lost in these images? What could make them better as knowledge representations?

I think that the knowledge represented in the pictures shown in probably based on mental maps and cognitive schemas of imagery. Although, one could probably argue that it is also propositional theory because the underlying message is what makes these images so visually interesting, not what is actually presented in the frame.  In other words, the absence of an actual picturesque image in the frame of each image makes them more abstract than concrete. What was the most visually interesting to me with the pictures was that the absence of visual imagery in the pictures made me want to put myself in the context of the image to imagine how that place would have been back in its hey day. Also, these images may help improve spatial recognition because with the foreground objects that were left in the images gone, the viewer has no other choice but to recognize some of  the repetitive elements in the buildings and thus put them into their own  mental context. With that being said, I think that the only thing that would improve the site would be too make sure that each photo is shown in the appropriate situational context. To do this, I would show a “before” picture of the building images group with the current picture to have a more dramatic and lasting cognitive  effect. If this happens, then the pictures would in essence show in real-life knowledge put to work through perception versus reality.

Week 9

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Try to have a ten minute conversation with two different people in which you DO NOT use the letter “n.” Write a reflection about the experience.

Wow, this was a funny assignment. I used my husband for this assignment.  Even something as simple as having a simple conversation as to how his day was is a hard task without the letter “n”.  The words that I wanted to use were drink, snack, doing, phone, etc… I also found it hard to find an adequate substitution for the word no. My husband got a kick out of this assignment, because he realized how much I subconsciously say word or phrases without even realizing it, even when I try consciously not to. One of the things that I enjoyed most about this assignment is that it forced me to carefully choose my words, which in interpersonal situations is something that I don’t tend to do. Overall, this assignment helped me to be more conscious of how what I say actually comes across to other people. In fact, during one point in our discussion, our conversation actually came to a standstill because I unknowingly said two words with an “n” in them.  The other conversation that I had was one that I had with my one-year-old because she was the only one available at the time.  As opposed to my husband, the conversation with her went very well and I made few mistakes with the letter “n”. However, I wonder if this can be attributed to the fact that her vocabulary is not expansive and consists of one word responses, which at the time is mostly “mommy”, “yes”, and “no”. On the other hand, my husband is college-educated and the conversation that we had was a lot more in-depth than the one that I had with my one-year-0ld daughter.

Week 7

Week 7

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/memory/
and complete the 20 minute activity.

What did it tell you about your own memory? What might you do to prepare if you were going to do it again?

Wow, this test was really an eye opener for me. My working memory span and digit span memory  were the best out of the categories. I like the fact that the test was simple enough, but not boring as to make the results skewed.  I remember taking memory tests  in elementary school that were quite boring and seemed pointless.   The categories that did the worse in were spatial manipulation, delayed recall and visual recognition. I believe that because I am editor and have always excelled at writing that that is why my working memory span is the best because having that skill set requires one to cultivate that type of memory. However, I do not have any empirical evidence to support this theory. I assume that that it is probably true because as the test authors cited that burglars tend to have better visual memory because it is a skill that they fine tune in their jobs.   If I were to do this test again, I would make sure that I did not have any distractions when I took the test.  When I took the test online, my 1-year-old was crying and yelling in the background, which made it very hard for me to concentrate on the test.  I know that if I had had fewer distractions then my score would have been higher. Also, since I have never seen UK money. I did not score well on that part of the test either. Before I got married and had kids, I wanted to study abroad in Europe. However, I have realized that as a family woman, I will probably never get to experience foreign travel nearly as much. Otherwise, I think that the test was great and learned so many thinggs about how my memory works.

Week 6 Blog Reflection

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Go to http://www.seb.cc/particles/ and play with it for a few minutes.

How do theories of perception explain and the cognitive structures of perception allow humans to make use of such a digital development to experience the simulation of particles and their three main manipulable components here? What is the role of the digital simulation in aiding human perception of concepts that involve elements too small to physically manipulate?

 

This site was really fun. I think that our depth and visual perception plays an important role in allowing us to have this digital development simulation of particles. In fact, I believe that what we do as humans is based on fall right in line with Gestalt’s theories of perception. One of the cool things about the site was that attraction seemed to be the most powerful of the components. For example, when the particles were fully attracted it became very hard to move the particles. However, they became the most “normal” in their movement when the Friction component was adjusted about half way. I do wonder is people with mental disabilities would perceive this information the same way. I thought the point of the site was to move the balls around to figure out how the forces affected the particles. However, for someone with a reduced mental state, they may not use deductive reasoning in the process. I think the theory that Perception is rally really comes into play here. Some of this is explored by Gestalt’s theories. However, that to encompasses more today than it did back when his theories were  originally formulated

As far as digital simulation and perception go, when the elements are too small to manipulate we infer our own schema of the object/image.  For instance, if you go to an arcade and play a digital simulation game that doesn’t allow you to control the pace or manipulate the game, you will come up with you own perception schema for that game. This scenario happened to me and the game had a haunted bridge over fire that made it appear that you were going to fall right in it because the bridge kept disintegrating. However, as soon as you were sure you were about to die something came out and saved the your “railcar” on the bride. So, I perceived that although the game looked 3-D in actuality it was not and was meant purely to appeal to my emotional state not just my cognitive state.

 

 

Week 5 Blog

What do mobile phones, loud radios and DVD players in cars, as well as high traffic, passengers, and other modern elements mean for driver attention to actual driving?  If it is available to you, try going into a room that has a radio, TV, and any other distraction you can find. Now try to do your multiplication tables through 12.How much cognitive load can a driver handle while remaining effective at his/her task? Now, think about this in terms of the noise of an educational environment? How much noise is useful during learning? How much interferes with attention and consciousness. How should this impact the design of a learning environment? How much should it?

 

 

Drivers tend to get into more accidents when they have distractions that impede them from focusing on driving. In fact, may news reports continue to focus on the fact attention distracters (e.g.- cell phones, radio, and televisions) can impact the ability of drivers to make sound decisions. In fact, one news report that I read online said that drunk drivers are not nearly as big as problem as drivers that are distracted by doing something else. The examples that the report gave ranged from putting on pantyhose, to watching TV, eating, and even texting (although the audible tasks tended to impede drivers the most.)  Personally, I believe that some things/distractions should be made illegal by law in order to make the driving experience safer for everyone. I, like most people, hate traffic. However, my husband and I only have one car and a one-year-old.  So driving for me is already a chore. However, I just hate it when I leave the house early enough to get to my intended designation and the road is backed up because people are being nosy looking at wreck  on the other side of the highway. I remember that I almost got into a wreck before because of this because the person behind me was so engaged in what was going on with a wreck that did not involve them that they failed to pay attention and barely stopped short of running into the back of me. Therefore, to say that driver attention is impaired due to modern distractions is probably an understatement.

 

Multiplication Tables Tasks with Background Distractions

This task was hard because I couldn’t focus on remembering the multiplication tables (once I got the one that I did not use as often). This means that it is true that our cognitive driver actually does process information in chunks. I was told that any more than 7 pieces of information is too much for someone to remember at once, which is why phone numbers are 7 digits. 

 

Educational Environment & Noise

In terms of an educational environment, I think that only slight background noise is acceptable. I once had a teacher that played soft, lighthearted classical music when she assigned class readings. This seemed to help me retain the information and even made learning more enjoyable. Too much (such as something that very repetitive or just too catchy) can interfere with and even impede learning. One key example of this is to think about how key experiences in our lives are often defined by the song that helped us relate to that period in life. In fact, there are several memories in life where I can only remember the song and not the actual experience because I blocked the experience out mentally. However, I do believe that there is a place for music therapy and learning within an education framework due to the influence that sound has our minds. As far the design of the learning environment, I believe that classrooms should not be havens of quietness like a library that tends to impede learning for more oral learners, but rather a happy medium of appropriate stimulating sounds based on the type of learner within that educational setting. I also believe that as long as the noise does not become a severe hinderance to totally impede concouisness then that is fine as well because it play’s into what each person’s mental map of the “noise” associated with a respective place should be.

 

 

 

 

WEEK 1 BLOG

Sunday, January 25, 2009

WEEK 1 Introduction

Lakita Godbolt Introduction
by Lakita Godbolt – Friday, 23 January 2009, 12:00 AM
Hello Everyone:

My name is Mrs. Lakita Godbolt. I am originally from Houston, but have lived in the DFW area for 8 years. Currently, I work full-time as an editor/copywriter for Sally Beauty Holdings in Denton. I just celebrated my year anniversary with my wonderful husband, and have a one-year-old daughter, Zoe Godbolt. As far as from an educational perspective, I will be finished with my M.A. in Technical Writing by the end of 2009. I am becoming more and more interested in corporate training and think that this class fits in good with going down that career path. I have a lot of experience in usabilty and web analytics both professionally and academically. I currently reside in Plano (near the Medical Center of Plano), but am moving to Ft. Worth towards the end of this semester. Please contact me at ler0044@unt.edu or lakita_robinson@yahoo.com. Both of these e-mail addresses are linked, so I will get the e-mail either way. Otherwise, I hope to learn how cognitive psychology relates to Instructional Design from this class. Last semester, I took Dr. Warren’s Instructional Design class and did not want to miss the opportunity of taking another class with Doc.Warren. Otherwise, I look foward to working with you all.

Posted by Lakita Godbolt at 6:34 PM 1 comments

Week 2 Blog

Monday, January 26, 2009

Week Two: Blog Reflection

Activity 3: Blog Reflection – Given what you have read about cognitive psychology in the first chapter, what do you believe is the benefit to understanding these concepts as you go to design instruction in your particular situation? Why is understanding cognitive psychological principles more important than Freudian analysis or post-modern scream therapy principles better for an educational setting?

Activity 3: Week 2 (Blog Reflection)

Understanding the foundational principles of cognitive psychology has many benefits. For instance, the main basis of every human thought or reaction is centered upon each person’s respective “mental map” or cognitive schema. With this being the case, the only field that studies how the human framework of the mind works is: cognitive psychology. One of my favorite things about cognitive psychology and it s relation to instructional design is that through the study of it an individual can actually see the premise of “perception is reality come to life.” For example, even the best piece of instructional design is usually faulty at best if how a person interprets that piece of instruction cognitively is off base. I believe that we as individuals are more bound to cognitive framework then we actually believe. For instance, although this would not be ethical, babies could be conditioned similar to the way Pavlov did with the salivating dogs through Behaviorism. Also, once you understand the cognitive framework of the mind, the instruction that you design as whole will be much better off because the user. Audience will be able to interpret the instruction on more than just the surface level. This fact is evidenced by the fact that many people want to know why we as humans think so drastically different from each other. Cognitive psychology explores this. However, as mentioned in Chapter 1, one of the best things about this fact is that each human is shaped by his or her own unique experiences as framed through their mind. So, even individuals with the same upbringing and backgrounds can be completely different.

As far as understanding cognitive psychology being more important than Freudian analysis or post-modern scream therapy, cognitive psychology is more important in an education setting because it is less invasive when it comes to methodology and is more applicable to a wider variety of people. Also, I don’t think that either of the aforementioned approaches would work well as well ethically due to the current laws of medicine. Also, the foundation of an educational setting is learning, which is done via the mind.