The last seven weeks I have developed a better understanding of the major learning theories and various learning styles used. The entire process has been very confusing and difficult to understand at times. Even viewing the videos and rereading the various articles on what is a learning theory and what is a learning style I still find myself confusing one with the other. I know that each learning theory, behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism contributes to learning in every phase in our lives. The assignment for this weeks asked three different questions related to learning. They are;

1.      Now that you have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, how has your view on how you learn changed?

2.      What have you learned about the various learning theories and learning styles over the past weeks that can further explain your own personal learning preferences?

3.      What role does technology play in your learning (i.e., as a way to search for information, to record information, to create, etc.)?

As far as question number 1 and 2 are concerned I can honestly say that I do not think that my view on learning has changed since my initial Week1 discussion post. My favorite learning theory is still constructivism but when it comes right down to it, I still believe that each learning theory has its place in education and we can learn equally from all three styles. I know I have. With behaviorism learning theory where “learning is an enduring change of behavior or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of experience” (Ertmer & Newby, 2009, p.52), I learned survival skills growing up and in the military. With cognitivism learning theory I was able to apply the “need for purpose, decision, values and understanding” (p.70) when developing land use management plan training for Bureau of Land Management employees. And finally, the adaptive skills developed while living in the chaotic environment of war which puts into place the practices of constructivist learning theory.

The last question, role of technology in my learning, is a bit more challenging to answer. During my last seven weeks in this class I have come to the realization that I do not like technology in learning. Now don’t get me wrong, I like the benefits that technology gives us for learning. I love the ability to access information from anywhere in the world at the tip of my fingers from my mobile device. I like the ability to share thoughts and ideas with others using technology. I like that technology has made out lives easier. I enjoy the fact that technology has been able to free the gifted minds trapped in deformed bodies such as Dr. Stephen Hawking and others in order to continue the great work that they have been doing or to give the young child just starting out the ability to go anywhere. What I don’t like about technology is the mindless dependence on it to the point that there is almost reverence to it as being the saving grace for all learning. Technology, like the various learning styles, has its place. I am afraid that some people think that technology is the only option for learning in the future.

In 1999 a movie was released called The Matrix. In the movie a nerdy computer hacker named Neo found that “this world is an illusion; people are just batteries for supercomputers” (Bowles, 2003, par. 3).  Although the basic premise sounded funny at the time I just saw a commercial on television for an internationally known chemical company where they hooked up a battery to a snail and was able to generate enough electrical from it to power a small light. The commercial went on to ask just think of where they could go with this type of technology.  The same can be said for technology in learning. Where can we go from here? We can use it to enrich our lives or is it going to be used in some sort of perverted manner where technology creates a faked learned knowledge base? Imagine that a group of young people getting together 50 years from now. Each has a mobile device directly connected to their synaptic nerves feeding them impulses based on the website they are surfing at the moment or the various applications. There would be no need for words since their “mobiles are already well on the way to becoming a universal tool for communication of all kinds. (Johnson, Levine & Smith, 2009, p. 9)”.  They would use their downloaded apps to practice language skills on one another if they do talk. Is this learning or more importantly, is this the social learning community of the future?

 

References:

Bowles, S. (2003, May 09). Faith AND FX ; 'the matrix' world is all-consuming in its mythology and mysticism. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/408912978?accountid=14872

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4),50-71.

Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009). The Horizon Report (2009 ed.). Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/