I find the whole idea of natives and immigrants silly. Technology in terns of ICT's are tools and some people have mastered those tools well at 10 and others can master them at 60. Eventually an immigrants 'signature' will go away as they become more familiar with the technology through use. Same is true for mastery of sports, cooking, or any activity. Someone does not stay an immigrant or stay a native. A native of 1995 would look like a total immigrant in 2011 if they had not used a computer since 1995.
Today's learners will be thought of as natives or immigrants based on their experience and the availability of technology not just because they were born in the computer generation.
Sunday 27 February 2011
Learning Styles and Tests
I have taken my learning tests and as in the past I have no strong learning style. I find this to be largely true as I have never had a particular preference for a learning style. I count myself as lucky in that I can learn through listening, visual, and hands on.
The problem I have with the test sites is that they seems very suggestive. More a reflection of who you want to be and less an accurate gauge of the ways you actually learn or what your personality type is. I also suspect the information will vary depending on your mood or even the time of day. I would like to see a study addressing the validity of such sites and how reliable the results really are.
None of this however, invalidates the premise that different people have a predisposition for a particular way of securing knowledge. As teachers we need to be aware of the different learning styles and tailor our lesson plans to a variety of styles. Thus, lessons should contain elements of auditory, visual and kinesthetic learning. For me ICT can be used in a variety of ways but a recognition needs to be made that not everyone will respond favorably to ICT as a learning tool.
The problem I have with the test sites is that they seems very suggestive. More a reflection of who you want to be and less an accurate gauge of the ways you actually learn or what your personality type is. I also suspect the information will vary depending on your mood or even the time of day. I would like to see a study addressing the validity of such sites and how reliable the results really are.
None of this however, invalidates the premise that different people have a predisposition for a particular way of securing knowledge. As teachers we need to be aware of the different learning styles and tailor our lesson plans to a variety of styles. Thus, lessons should contain elements of auditory, visual and kinesthetic learning. For me ICT can be used in a variety of ways but a recognition needs to be made that not everyone will respond favorably to ICT as a learning tool.
Friday 25 February 2011
Step 1
Well, that was relatively pain free. I must say that now that this is done I am feeling somewhat empowered, though not enough to attempt adding too much content yet.
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