Supporting+Cognition-based+Learning+with+Technology


 * Specific technologies do not automatically support learning.** Rather, it is the //way the student’s brain perceives the learning activity// that is important. We’ll conclude with an exploration into the factors that lead to effective technology use in teaching and learning.


 * **To begin with, the learning task should be** one in which the brain can leverage its natural strengths. Thus the task could involve visualization, social learning, or doing something that is personally meaningful. A good teacher can design a learning task that keeps these elements at the core of the instructional activity rather than bolted on as tangential “motivational device.”
 * **Special software is not needed.** We can foster //meaning// with a word-processed writing assignment or a collaborative, online writing task in Google Docs. A playful, imaginative, creative theme can suffuse nearly any kind of assignment. An assignment can be given relevant //meaning// by connecting it with something that is or could be important to the student. The student could even be required to incorporate the assignment into a personally-meaningful framework.
 * **Any assignment can be connected** **to student interests** by a simple Google search. You’re studying ancient Rome, but your students are interested in sports? Just Google “ancient Rome sports.” Other topics and interests may need searches like “medieval Italy fashion,” “Shakespeare music,” “American Indian toys.” //Emotional// connections are especially important to engage the brain’s learning machinery.
 * **Technology can support** **any communication or collaboration task** using common services like WiZiQ or Elluminate for web conferences, Skype to connect foreign language classes to native speakers of the language they’re studying, and Google Docs or wikis for text-based collaboration.
 * **Students can incorporate //creativity// into their work** through a synthesis of multiple media. Images and music spark whole-brain connections to foster and express empathy. Creativity and expression can be supported through a host of text, image, audio, music, and video programs and Web sites.
 * **The brain excels at interpreting meaning** **and holistic analysis, but it can’t calculate accurately**. Programs like Excel or calculators that provide accurate calculations allow students to focus on higher-level interpretation tasks. The can’t recall memories accurately, so any that technology like Google Search or Wikipedia that provides accurate search and retrieval of information can help students do their learning. In the world of business, industry, and the military, employees and managers use technology to support accurate calculation and research.
 * **Children and adults find learning** **to be highly-relevant and motivating when they //need// information or skill** for a specific project or personal reason. The development and accessibility of “just-in-time” teaching and learning modules is another way that technology can support brain-compatible learning. Many businesses have replaced some professional development with just-in-time online learning materials. Atomic Learning provides exactly this service, and YouTube may have the greatest collection of just-in-time video tutorials in the world.

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 * Let’s see some examples we can //visualize// in action.** Images, animations, or videos help to connect the new learning to the huge part of the brain associated with vision. A memory of the activity can be encoded not only in language memory, but also in visual memory. Images often help us to understand a process or a cause-and-effect in more concrete ways than words. The world’s largest collections of accessible videos are on YouTube and the Internet Archive (archive.org.). Some, but not enough are also available on TeacherTube. Services such as United Streaming provide access to others. Let’s see an example that shows the power of animation and visualization to teach and learn. The following is a molecular visualization from Hall Institute of Medical Research designed to teach how DNA synthesizes protein in each of your cells (7:47 min):


 * That video has been viewed more than 450,000 times!** Can you imagine how difficult it would be gain the same intuitive understanding of the process from text alone? Text certainly excels at describing the details, but this image is worth more than a thousand words! Videos like this can be shown in class, assigned for homework, or given as an optional resource for independent study. **A //visualization// learning activity can be made even stronger** if students create the visualization.

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 * Google SketchUp** is a system to create 3-dimensional solid models using geometry concepts in an easy-to-use environment that quickly engages learners. (You can download the free version at home using [|this link].) This video demonstrates how traditional mathematics concepts are integrated into an elegantly playful, interactive interface. This kind of geometry and construction is the kind that is used globally in architecture and in product design. This kind of activity also develops skills in 3D spatial relations. The 8-minute tutorial has been viewed almost two million times!

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 * Imagine that you want to introduce a social studies** lesson on economics in the Middle East. Teachers can use Google Earth to help connect students to distant places. Now Google Sketchup constructions can be placed in Google Earth to add an architectural dimension that can reflect the demographics and economics of the region. Here’s a 2:45 minute “flyover” of Dubai that demonstrates how Google Earth provides both informative and enchanting affordances to inform the viewer about a region. Students can use SketchUp to construct buildings to “publish” in their home town or in regions they are studying so they appear in Google Earth.