1. Learning Theories
1.1. Connectivism
1.1.1. Networked Student (Drexler, 2008)
1.1.2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. A learner can exponentially improve their own learning by plugging into an existing network ("Connectivism: A Learning Theory," n.d.)
1.1.3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Learning (in the sense that something is known, but not necessarily actuated) can rest in a community, a network, or a database ("Connectivism: A Learning Theory," n.d.)
1.1.4. The capacity to know more is more critical that what is currently known. Knowing where to find information is more important than knowing information ("Connectivism: A Learning Theory," n.d.)
1.1.5. Learning happens in many different ways. Courses, email, communities, conversations, web search, email lists, reading blogs, etc. Courses are not the primary conduit for learning ("Connectivism: A Learning Theory," n.d.)
1.1.6. Organizational and personal learning are integrated tasks. Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network and continue to provide learning for the individual. Connectivism attempts to provide an understanding of how both learners and organizations learn ("Connectivism: A Learning Theory," n.d.)
1.1.7. Criticisms: - Informal vs. Formal Learning - Is it really a new theory? (EDIT 202, n.d.)
1.2. Constructivism
1.2.1. What is Constructivism? ("What is Constructivism," n.d.)
1.2.2. Meaningful learning occurs when people actively try to make sense of the world - when they construct an interpretation of how and why things are - by filtering new ideas and experiences through existing knowledge structures (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.2.3. Meaningful learning is the active creation of knowledge structures from personal experience (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.2.4. Jerome Bruner: Discovery Learning (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.2.5. Teachers should confront children with problems and help them seek solutions either independently or by engaging in group discussion (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.2.6. True learning involves "figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you already think" (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.2.7. Criticisms: - Time consuming - Subjective learning - Mature learners requires - Difficult to assess - Impractical without prior knowledge - Lack of research/empirical evidence (EDIT 202, n.d.)
1.3. Cognitive Load
1.3.1. Intro to Cognitive Load (Wolf, 2012)
1.3.2. How to present information in ways that minimize cognitive load on working memory to maximize comprehension and understanding (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.3.3. Short term memory (STM) can hold about seven unrelated bits of information for approximately 20 seconds. Often referred to as Working Memory because it holds information we are currently aware of at any given moment and is the place where various encoding, organizational, and retrieval processes occur. (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.3.4. 3 Principles of Designers of Multimedia Environments (Snowman & McCown, 2012)
1.3.4.1. 1. Identify what is critical (i.e. what must be presented to achieve the learning objective
1.3.4.2. 2. Consider context that will help learners understand the information that is critical
1.3.4.3. 3. Eliminate extraneous material that increases cognitive load without contributing to the attainment of the learning objective
1.3.5. Criticisms: - Ignores the affective and psychomotor - Too focused on knowledge; difficult to measure understanding and higher order thinking skills (EDIT 202, n.d.)
1.3.6. Implications for EdTech: - What things look like matters - How things are organized matters (EDIT 202, n.d.)
2. Technology Theories
2.1. Media Ecology
2.1.1. What is Media Ecology?
2.1.2. The study of media environments, the idea that technology and techniques, modes of information and codes of communication play a leading role in human affairs (Media Ecology Association, n.d.)
2.1.3. Media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival. (Media Ecology Association, n.d.)
2.2. SCOT
2.2.1. Technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology ("Social Construction of Technology," 2013)
2.2.2. The ways a technology is used cannot be understood without understanding how that technology is embedded in its social context ("Social Construction of Technology," 2013)
2.2.3. Those who seek to understand the reasons for acceptance or rejection of a technology should look to the social world ("Social Construction of Technology," 2013)
2.2.4. Not only a theory, but also a methodology: it formalizes the steps and principles to follow when one wants to analyze the causes of technological failures or successes ("Social Construction of Technology," 2013)