Module 2 Cognitivism As A Learning Theory by Kimberly Dean

I agree with Kerr's s conclusion that "isms are important as a filter, just not a blinker".  His statement could mean that yes all of these behavior/learning theories are important, but not one is the be all end all.  And as Kapp states as educators we should take the best of all to help us  examine how our students learn and how they view ideas and thoughts and what they think about their thinking.  We know that all of us learn differently, we could all see the same sight and give different explanations.  That's because we all view things differently. 





Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/

Blogs I posted to

http://educ7015.blogspot.com/2011/06/module-1-blog.html  Lou Ann's Blog

http://edtechblogwaldenu.blogspot.com/2011/06/module-1-blog-sara-becker.html  Sara Becker

Module 1 posting

What are your beliefs about how people learn best?

My beliefs about how people learn best tend to change with the learner.  For most people who tend to be born through the 60's, 70's and early 80's; we tend to fall into a different category than people born in the late 80's and 90's and even in the year 2000.    In the early category we were taught that the teacher knows everything, we sit in our seat, study, read, and learn by receiving information.  Students nowadays, do not necessarily learn this way.  Most of our students in elementary, middle and high school tend to do what we would call "backwards learning".  Whereas, I for example, would learn "to do"  our later students do "to learn".  An example would be a coworker and I have the same job, but different levels in the school system.  I was born in 1963 and she was born in 1985 or 1986, we both have a Masters Degree and are Instructional Technology Coaches.  If my director asks me to learn something, I will read about it, search for it on the internet, and of course google or youtube it; I will then, with my new found information, go and play or learn what I need to learn (providing it is technology).  But, my co-worker, she just is asked the same, she goes directly to the program or technology and plays with it until she figures it out.  Our students today are so engulfed in technology and learning whether it be at school, learning a new game system, figuring out how to work MySpace, Facebook, or other items; that learning by doing comes second nature to them.  So in essence to the question, what my beliefs are about learning, my belief falls with Stephen Downes through Seimens paper (2008, January 27), his view of connectivism fit perfectly with this type of learning as he states that knowledge is distributed across many networks and that the actual act of learning is forming network connections and recognizing patterns.

What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?


The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is to gauge what type of learner you/ your students are.  By knowing what type of learners are, we can increase their learning by the way we teach and present material.  I found a website that helps to determine your learning style, check it out!  Click here


Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf