Situated Cognition

Overall, technology is a great enchancer of learning if applied and used correctly. Students use it habitually, and arw often side-tracked by it. Thinking for one's self is slowly disappearing, due to the fact of information overload. One should always consider if the benefits of technology will outweigh the negatives, especially with all the challenges on life. One may be without their phone, but one will always have their

ICT resources are both an engaging and creative tool that can assist and expand on students learning. Technology pedagogical content and knowledge, or TPCK, is a concept that has developed in recent years due to the introduction of technology as a teaching tool in the classroom (Niess, M, 2005). Considering students also use technology in their daily lives, it can be a great way to help engage them and make the lesson interesting as well as informative. Creating an iMovie is just one of many ways a teacher can incorporate technology into a lesson. With many schools providing students with iPads in recent years, using technology as a teaching tool has become increasingly easier and more widely accepted. However, it has to be noted that TPCK requires teachers to be well educated in different areas of technology, aiming to build upon what they already know (Niess, M, 2005). Using technology in a day-to-day setting is completely different from using it as an educational tool, and teachers must be aware of the challenges they face integrating it into their

But then on the other hand, some people learn better visualizing what they are learning. With technology, people would be provided with this opportunity to get visual views of what students are learning. One could find a video over the topic that is being discussed in class, maybe look at

To begin with, I asked him why he would want to use technology in learning. He eagerly answered, “it’s fun.” He later stated that he loves to play games and learn at the same time and that using technology was more exciting, interesting and more vivid than learning using books, expo-boards, and paper.

Students are routinely connected with technology participating in social media and games where they acquire and apply their knowledge collaboratively. Their time is being spent more in social networking sites, multimedia, and virtual environments that are highly engaging and many times encourages creative thinking and problem solving.

The Cognitive Apprenticeship framework focuses on the process of learning and considers the student experience (and student perceptions of the experience) to be at the center of the learning context10. Student perceptions of the environment are considered by some to have even more influence on student learning than does the “actual” environment, as the perceptions influence the way a student approaches a task, and thus, ultimately impact the quality of learning outcomes11. Research consistently demonstrates that students' perceptions of their environment account for an appreciable amount of variance in learning outcomes12, even when prior knowledge and general ability were controlled13.

Within my first professional placement I was provided with many opportunities to engage students using technology. Year 8 was studying Shakespeare for the first time; examining Midsummers Night Dream (MSND). To assist students in understanding the complex plot I used collaborative learning allowing each student to become experts on one scene of the play to share with their peers; students were encouraged to do this both verbally and visually through the creation of comic strips. This style of learning environment adheres to Vygotsky’s theory that learning is heightened through the sharing of information; therefore learning within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (learning-theories.com, 2016) as creating an in-depth outline of the entire

It is crucial that students are not just being educated in only one way. Each child is different; as a result, learning styles should be versatile and open to new strategies. By learning to use technology correctly, teachers are preparing themselves, and the students for the future by developing certain skills that will be essential in the 21st century. Besides developing the students’ technology skills, students will

This article attempts to enlighten educators to allow computers in the classroom as a workshop to help improve literacy. The computer allows for students to have both a visual and a verbal reference to a topic, thus, solidifying a concrete comprehension of the text, allowing the student to be further engaged and stimulated with the assignment. Over the years, educators have seen such a vast change in technology, especially in the classroom. It is time now, that educators embrace the change and use it to their advantage. “If students can be motivated and engaged when using technology, teachers should continue to support this type of learning when appropriate.”

Multimodal literacy is extremely important in today’s continually advancing digital society, it encourages students to understand concepts in a complex way. “Through the use and creation of multimodal texts, students have opportunities to use linguistic, visual and audio modes in order to experience, conceptualise, analyse and apply meaning” (Phil Wilder, n.d). When teachers are equipped with the knowledge of how students learn they are able to effectively combine learning strategies through the use of multimodal texts, in order to engage students and offer the best learning environment.

According to McGonigle & Mastrian, (2012), educational games, simulation and virtual technologies each have features that can assist an individual in learning and assist educators to choose appropriate tools for learners. The features include, goal orientation, competition, exploratory learning and social interaction. Learning is a skill acquired and uses thought processes that individuals need to respond, such as in gaming. Interactive experiences motivate and engage individuals in the learning process. Game based learning is working toward a goal, choosing actions and experiencing consequences of the actions through each level. In a sense, individuals actively learn and practice the right way to do things, whereas in a traditional setting, individuals are taught through passive approaches and are evaluated on memory. Interactive technologies such as game based education, simulations and virtual applications, the individuals learn the facts, understand the how’s and whys, seek abstract principles to allow them to perform consistently and effectively. Games are competitive, simulations can be goal oriented and virtual learning is through exploratory and social interactions. (Bliemel, & Ali-Hassan, 2014). Functional and factual learning can occur with interactive technology and can assist in problem solving creativity, persistence which are all skills learned.

Numerous studies have examined the use of technology in education more closely. For example, author Dede (2009) studied that immersion in a digital environment can enhance education in at least three ways: by allowing multiple perspectives, situated learning, and transfer. Immersion basically states that one is participating in realistic experiences for learning. They set out to learn and answered the following questions: Can immersion into technology replace standard methods of learning? This study was completed at

Education has found its way into the loop of technology. Teachers are using ipads and laptops during class time to help conduct experiments, or share a presentation. This is allowing the students to gain instant access to the information they are seeking. Students also receive the opportunity to complete their homework online and print off their assignments instead of just using paper and pencil. Another pro for Technology in Education, there are countless sources out there which help enhance learning. In one research conducted, they compared the performance of teaching kids how to read a clock. One group was coached by an online app, another was shown by a toy clock, and the last group was trained by a drawing example. The results revealed that the children that were taught by the toy and app exceeded the paper drawing group (Galetzka).

As university professors are being presented with new types of students, there is a call to integrate advanced technology into their course design, and ultimately, educators must lead the way and use the technology in a fashion that positively aids their students: “technology should be used with the needs of the learners in mind and with the goal of improving student learning as the focus” (Russo et al. 2014). If this idea is implemented and acknowledged correctly, then many advantages can arise that enhance student learning in university classrooms. The first benefit of instructors introducing advanced technology into their teaching is that technology connects with students, which ultimately arouses their interest because technology as a whole is a relevant and important part of student’s lives. When students are interested and engaged in the class material they become motivated to pay attention and focus on what they are being taught, which leads to an improved retention rate of information. This relates to the DVD that West, Pudsey and Dunk-West created for teacher to give to their students to work within their learning, and they found that it “easily assimilates into their everyday life world” (2010). Another advantage is that the use of technology supports collaboration skills within students. Erin Murphy (2010) conducted an experiment centering around educators use of Audience Response Systems, commonly

Students learn best if they are immersed in complex experiences and are given the opportunity to actively process what they have learned (Caine, 1991). Unfortunately, only 16 percent of instruction in U.S. classrooms could be characterized as application oriented (Stevenson and Stigler, 1992). To assist students in achieving content mastery, teachers must create learning environments which present students with challenging problems to demonstrate their knowledge through application. This emphasis on application through design has been informed by research on the use of design for learning complex and interrelated ideas (Brown, 1992; Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Harel & Papert, 1990, 1991; Perkins, 1986; Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The process of building ocean technologies in classrooms can introduce authentic and engaging, ill-structured problems that reflect the complexity of the real world.