Digital Blog Post #C- Chapter 3

The first topic that I found interest in was learning theories. The learning theories covered in this chapter include Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Constructionism. All four learning theories play a part in how understanding, or world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained. Educators tend to use one or a combination of the four theories, although using all four would be particularly beneficial. Behaviorism states that learning is a set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment. Basically, an environmental stimulus leads to a response, which means that educators use this by creating a stimulus and providing a reward, so that good behavior is repeated by students. Cognitivism states that learning is influenced by nonobservable and internal constructs, such as memory, motivation, perception, attention, and metacognitive skills. This theory utilizes active learning. Constructivism claims that every person interprets and constructs the world in his or her own way. Thus, learning is a process of manipulating and interpreting the surrounding world in a unique way for each individual. This theory stresses the actions and responses of learners rather than those of teachers. Constructionism emphasizes the idea that learners build their own knowledge and adds the idea that those knowledge structures are public entities. This theory focuses on students investing more time, energy, and meaning in knowledge that they create. My favorite learning theory would likely by constructionism because it really focuses on fostering student creativity. I think that when students can create and explain the content to others, that is when knowledge is at it's peak. Although I do believe that constructionism is the best learning theory, all of the four theories should be combined and utilized to create the best possible learning experience. The second topic that I thought was important to write about is information literacy and internet literacy. Immediate access to vast resources of information means that students need to gain information literacy. Information literate students are those that can identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information given, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. Information literacy is extremely important in this day and age. I see all too often people using false sources and incorrect information and thinking it's right because they found it on the internet. A great example of this is a study conducted by the University of Connecticut and Clemson University. They created a website for the "Northwest Tree Octopus", a make believe animal whose existence became threatened with extinction. The site had academic-sounding text, authentic-looking photos, and seemingly legitimate contact information. Students who viewed the website believed it was real and when told it was a hoax, had difficulty identifying the fictitious elements of the information. When I was reading about this study, I was extremely amused by the thought of a tree octopus, so much so that I had to show it to my boyfriend. He looked at me with such shock in his eyes and explained to me that he was shown the same website in school and believed that it was real all this time. This occurrence made realize how important it really is to teach students information literacy. We all think that it won't happen to us, but the truth is is that it easily could. Since I was brought up and educated in the time that technology immersion was still in the early stages, I wasn't taught how to identify valid sources, so I too am still learning. I can only hope that when I am able to teach, I will be well-versed enough to instruct my students in information literacy.

The third topic I chose to discuss was expressing creativity. When discussing technology and the complete immersion of it in today's society and educational systems, one wonders if the loss of creativity will be an issue. Since programs like arts and music are being cut across the nation, it's been an even bigger concern. The good news is, emerging technologies do not mean the death of creativity. There are many ways for students to foster creativity, and technology can help foster it even more if you use the many resources it offers. Word processing, drawing, design, and paint programs offer writers, artists, composers, engineers, and designers endless venues for self-expression and alternatives that support creative thinking. Multiple Intelligences researcher Howard Gardner located creativity in the actions of historically significant people such as Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, T.S. Elliot, and Mahatma Gandhi. I am a firm believer in cultivating creativity in students and will make an effort to do so in every lesson that I teach my future students. Resources: Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.