Component one. Copied from Other Blog
Video - Meisner Effect
Principle
Application
These videos are a demonstration of the Meisner effect. This seemingly supernatural phenomenon is a result of the superconducting properties of certain materials at extremely low temperatures.
Gardner
This demonstration would suit those with visual intelligence. The first video is the simplest demonstration of the effect. This demonstration is important because the theoretical understanding of superconductivity is very hard to grasp but the effect is readily demonstrated. All the theoretical attempts to understand the effect are first based on having observed it.
The second video is an application of this effect with a voice-over explanation of what is happening. This would be particularly relevant to those with visual spatial intelligence because this demonstrates the way of thinking that engineers and artists use.
A logical thinker would also benefit from this presentation because the voiceover explains the logic of how the system works: magnetic fields are trapped in the superconductor. From here it follows logically that the train will run as it appears to.
Implementation
This could be implemented as a video presentation in a classroom setting. In Bloom's Taxonomy this presentation would fall into the lowest level of cognitive ability however the stunning visual and the sequence of first the concept is illustrated without explanation and then application is given could be a very effective aid to remembering.
In Vygotsky's theory this could be seen as cultural mediation where the cultural significance hinted at in the second video aids a process of internalization.
This effect is briefly covered in the year 12 Physics syllabus and
Component Two. Copied from Blog
Audio File
Sound of the Big Bang
"(c) John G. Cramer - 2003
Sound file of what the Big Bang would have sounded like in the very early stages of the Universe if someone were around to hear it and if that person could also hear very low frequencies.
Gardner
This sound file would be very useful to musically intelligent people. The sound does in fact have a rythm and melody to it (albeit not a very appealing one). The changing pitch and volume of the sound could be easily remembered by a musically able person and this would re-enforce the theory behind the sound, which is that the universe expanded and changed characteristics.
Implementation
Two simple ways to implement this device are to play it to the class or embed it in a document, blog, webpage or email so that the sound file fits with the text it describes. The combination of linguistic implementation and audio re-inforcement can be experienced individually or with a group, that is, at the student's own pace or at the teacher's pace.
Implementation
These components are implemented in the blog in exactly the same way as they are implemented here. Ways which they can used in a particular learning environment are described in the associated text.
Evaluation In Light Of Theorists
Gardner: This has already been described in the posts which were copied over.
Piaget: Piaget said the the congitive ability develops through life and people at different stages of development have qualitatively different capacities. According to Piaget the first component, which has the two videos would be appreciated very differently by people at different stages of development. For a person in the concrete operational zone the two videos would demonstrate a strange phenomenon, the students could see that something strange was happening but would lack the absract understanding to explain. In the formal operational stage the two videos could be understood in light of the explanation in the second video. Belief in invisible things like magnetic fields are the key to understanding.
Piaget may not give much value to the sound file when it is shown to anyone who has not yet reached the formal operational stage. The reason for this is that there is nothing concrete about the wave sound depicted in the file. The sound file is artificially constructed to demonstrated what the big bang may have sounded like if smoeone have been around 13 billion years ago to hear it and if that person had hearing which was tuned to extremely low frequencies. It is of course an exercise in abstract ideas becaus the very definition of sound is only meaningful within the realm of human processing ability. Nonetheless for a person with a sufficient understanding of the theories of sound and the process of the big bang this could be a fantastic learning tool.
Bruner: Bruner would be thrilled by both components because he believed that at any age challenging concepts could be taught in an intellectualyl honest way. This is fortunate because both components demonstrate ideas which are generally far beyond the capacity of high school students. The first video depicts a phenomenon which can only occur at super low temperatures and will be analyzed by the student until he/she reaches university level, and even then only briefly. However it would be intellectually honest to learn in the way which is depicted on the blog. It is in no way untrue or dishonest to observe that the Meisner effect can make objects levitate and trains move with great efficiency. Even if a rigorous understanding of the process is beyong the capacity of children, a child of any age can be enligtened by this component.
The second component is also quite advanced in nature. It depicts a cosmological event which could not really be understood by a child but it is still intellectually honest. It is both intellectual and honest (within the limits of our knowledge of cosmology) to play such a sound file. Once again students can gain insigt into a difficult process with the simple device of audio. This should be suitable for all ages.
Vygotsky: One of Vygostky's key concepts is the idea of cultural mediation where the learning process is aided by the cultural significance of the objective. Vygostly would have noted the cultural mediation going on in the first compontent.
The video of the train going around the track is important to a childs culture becaus the experience of riding on a train gives meaning to the symoblic gesture of a small train running around a small track. It is in order to grasp more fully this cutural event that a child would come to understand what is demonstrated in the video.
The second component does not have the same cultural significance. The sound is an artifical recording of an event 13 billion years ago. It has little cultural significance. It could not easily draw a response from a child. It does not and abstract symbol representing the fundamental social needs of the child.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Question 1
Three interesting components of Blogs are videos, pictures, games, sounds, hyperlinks and community forums.
The importance of these is that they make the Blog more interesting. A blog with only text throughout is boring and in fact difficult to read. Reading huge volumes of text is a task more suited to hard copy. The advantage of a Blog is that it allows the reader to acquire information from different media and also interact with the medium. Using non-text information such as videos, pictures and sounds allows for a stronger demonstration of the material.
A forum can used so that the different people accessing the website can share ideas and even update the content of the website. This is an example of collaborative learning. This process is made possible with comments in the blog page. After a post has been made to a blog the viewers can submit comments which are open to everyone. From there the Authors of blog may update the information or just allow discussion to proceed and see what conclusions can be drawn.
The online game is one of the most interesting aspects of the blog. Often used simply as an enjoyable distraction, it can also serve as a helpful means of conveying information. Computer games activate certain areas of the brain which are associated, with active learning and achieving results. If the game is designed properly this process can be used to convey information and activate the learning process with regard to the topic of the blog or post.
Examples of pictures, videos and an online game are shown below.
Video
Pictures
Game
free online games
The importance of these is that they make the Blog more interesting. A blog with only text throughout is boring and in fact difficult to read. Reading huge volumes of text is a task more suited to hard copy. The advantage of a Blog is that it allows the reader to acquire information from different media and also interact with the medium. Using non-text information such as videos, pictures and sounds allows for a stronger demonstration of the material.
A forum can used so that the different people accessing the website can share ideas and even update the content of the website. This is an example of collaborative learning. This process is made possible with comments in the blog page. After a post has been made to a blog the viewers can submit comments which are open to everyone. From there the Authors of blog may update the information or just allow discussion to proceed and see what conclusions can be drawn.
The online game is one of the most interesting aspects of the blog. Often used simply as an enjoyable distraction, it can also serve as a helpful means of conveying information. Computer games activate certain areas of the brain which are associated, with active learning and achieving results. If the game is designed properly this process can be used to convey information and activate the learning process with regard to the topic of the blog or post.
Examples of pictures, videos and an online game are shown below.
Video
Pictures
Game
free online games
Question 2
In this statement Prensky is bridging the gap between the gen Y and its elders, the digital natives and the digital immigrants. Presnky has understood that the habits and lifestyle of generation Y are not a sign of stunted learning or limited intelligence but rather the opposite. Gen Y now has endeavoured new ways of learning and can acquire huge volumes of information but this is processed in a new way using the new technologies and this is not recognized by older generations.
Question 3
The role of online learning in schools is not an option or a theory but a practice becoming more and more widespread. The growth of computers in schools has been considerable in the decades since personal computers became mass produced. Technological advancements have always been incorporated into learning environments and online learning is being discovered as a class room tool in the same way as the printing press improved classrooms through the use of standardised texts.
The key technological improvement for online learning is not computers, which have existed for two generations already, and nor is it the ability to network two computers together. The key change which enables online learning is the relatively cheap price of personal computers and the commonplace knowledge of the online environment. Only the combination of these two will allow for online learning to be fully realised.
Online learning allows lessons and the information associated to be provided via an electron means, an example of this is students sitting at a computer completing an online tutorial which the teacher has prepared before hand. This practice is already used in undergraduate university courses. More futuristic improvements could include the use of virtual classrooms, virtual lessons and virtual environments where experiences can (virtually) be given to the students which are beyond the capacity of the current standard schooling system. In short online learning could be defined as any learning experience where the means of handing knowledge to the students is only possible through an electronic connection.
One of the key elements of online learning is that the learning environment is no longer defined by the four walls of the classroom. This is true in two ways: 1) students do not need to be necessarily sitting in the classroom to be participate in the lesson and 2) the resources available to the student include all the knowledge from all over the world which has been made available via the web.
The implication of the first point is that the need for classrooms themselves may disintegrate. Generally a classroom is currently designed so that a group of 30 or so students might sit together and all participate in the same lesson. An online learning environment means that students could participate in the lesson from anywhere, even at home. Furthermore students are not required to all participate in the lesson simultaneously, online learning can allow for what is called “asynchronous learning”. Students can take a lesson at whatever time is better suited to them.
The second point is perhaps the more interesting of the two. It has always been known, implicitly if not explicitly, that the limits of the students learning is defined by the knowledge of the teacher and the amount of resources which that teacher is able to carry into the classroom. With online learning this is no longer an issue. The online environment is created an immense number of contributors from all parts of the world, occupying most if not all of the sectors of their respective societies. The online teacher now has the option of directing students to pursue their learning through whatever sources can be found online.
The phrase “directing” is also important in the philosophy of online education. With online tools available students the teacher can take a more supportive and less prescriptive manner of teaching. The teacher can gradually become a role of facilitation of learning and assistance with learning as opposed to a source of knowledge and a singular authority.
Online learning certainly has a place in schools and there are three reasons for this: 1) the efforts of independent schools to demonstrate their use of computers and technology is a sure sign of the need for computers and online learning, 2) the flexibility and reproducibility of online learning can be used to overcome administrative hurdles of timetabling etc. and 3) the online environment gives a greater flexibility to tailor a lesson for each student or each type of student.
Regarding the first reason: it takes only a cursory survey of information made available from schools to see that technology and online learning is one of a school’s strongest selling points. It would not be cynical to say that the purpose of the school is first and foremost to aid the parents rather than the students, after all, Pope John Paul II stated firmly in various encyclicals which dealt with the principles of catholic education that it is first the job of the parents to educate the children. And so it is that if the parents are concerned that the children be given access to the latest technology and whatever advantages this may bring then such technology and its advantages have to be made available in the education system.
Flexibility is also a key issue for online learning. Clearly an online learning system creates enormous possibilities in terms of the timing, location and design of lessons. Given that schools are charged with the responsibility of giving students more than just an enlarged volume of knowledge it is imperative that extra curricular activities (sport, pastoral care, music etc) be made available. With a flexible online learning environment, these things can be arranged without interfering with the learning process. The flexibility of online learning also means that students can participate in subjects which do not have a very high participation rate. Students from various schools can be merged into one class and all the lessons could be delivered online. There would still be a need for only one teacher even though students might be located on opposite sides of the country. This is one example of the many changes that can happen due to the flexibility of online learning, it may even happen that the very definitions of school, class and teacher will be radically altered as online learning environment progresses. There is also however a draw back to these approaches and this has been termed the lack of communality. Since public schooling became widespread every person in society has shared a common experience of going to school. The limitations of traditional schooling mean that every person has had to participate in the basically the same system wherein the difficult task of receiving an education has been shared in a classroom with all the other students, forming one of the rites of passage in a very secularized society. The fact that school has not always been fun and in fact has sometimes been exceedingly difficult is preparation not so much for exams but rather for life itself. Any online revolution should be designed so as not to lose this valuable experience.
The third reason is perhaps the most important: online learning allows each student to learn in a way which best suits them at the pace which best suits them. The idea of helping each student according to their needs and abilities is not new but in a standard classroom the possibilities are severely limited. An online learning would allow a student with a higher visual capacity to perform a series of visual exercises to help learn the material while a student with a more musical ability could learn in an entirely different way. There can not really be any drawbacks to this sort of outcome. The better the student learns the material the more successful the educational process. It is primarily for this reason that online learning has a place in education and should be pursued further in terms of research and experimentation.
The key technological improvement for online learning is not computers, which have existed for two generations already, and nor is it the ability to network two computers together. The key change which enables online learning is the relatively cheap price of personal computers and the commonplace knowledge of the online environment. Only the combination of these two will allow for online learning to be fully realised.
Online learning allows lessons and the information associated to be provided via an electron means, an example of this is students sitting at a computer completing an online tutorial which the teacher has prepared before hand. This practice is already used in undergraduate university courses. More futuristic improvements could include the use of virtual classrooms, virtual lessons and virtual environments where experiences can (virtually) be given to the students which are beyond the capacity of the current standard schooling system. In short online learning could be defined as any learning experience where the means of handing knowledge to the students is only possible through an electronic connection.
One of the key elements of online learning is that the learning environment is no longer defined by the four walls of the classroom. This is true in two ways: 1) students do not need to be necessarily sitting in the classroom to be participate in the lesson and 2) the resources available to the student include all the knowledge from all over the world which has been made available via the web.
The implication of the first point is that the need for classrooms themselves may disintegrate. Generally a classroom is currently designed so that a group of 30 or so students might sit together and all participate in the same lesson. An online learning environment means that students could participate in the lesson from anywhere, even at home. Furthermore students are not required to all participate in the lesson simultaneously, online learning can allow for what is called “asynchronous learning”. Students can take a lesson at whatever time is better suited to them.
The second point is perhaps the more interesting of the two. It has always been known, implicitly if not explicitly, that the limits of the students learning is defined by the knowledge of the teacher and the amount of resources which that teacher is able to carry into the classroom. With online learning this is no longer an issue. The online environment is created an immense number of contributors from all parts of the world, occupying most if not all of the sectors of their respective societies. The online teacher now has the option of directing students to pursue their learning through whatever sources can be found online.
The phrase “directing” is also important in the philosophy of online education. With online tools available students the teacher can take a more supportive and less prescriptive manner of teaching. The teacher can gradually become a role of facilitation of learning and assistance with learning as opposed to a source of knowledge and a singular authority.
Online learning certainly has a place in schools and there are three reasons for this: 1) the efforts of independent schools to demonstrate their use of computers and technology is a sure sign of the need for computers and online learning, 2) the flexibility and reproducibility of online learning can be used to overcome administrative hurdles of timetabling etc. and 3) the online environment gives a greater flexibility to tailor a lesson for each student or each type of student.
Regarding the first reason: it takes only a cursory survey of information made available from schools to see that technology and online learning is one of a school’s strongest selling points. It would not be cynical to say that the purpose of the school is first and foremost to aid the parents rather than the students, after all, Pope John Paul II stated firmly in various encyclicals which dealt with the principles of catholic education that it is first the job of the parents to educate the children. And so it is that if the parents are concerned that the children be given access to the latest technology and whatever advantages this may bring then such technology and its advantages have to be made available in the education system.
Flexibility is also a key issue for online learning. Clearly an online learning system creates enormous possibilities in terms of the timing, location and design of lessons. Given that schools are charged with the responsibility of giving students more than just an enlarged volume of knowledge it is imperative that extra curricular activities (sport, pastoral care, music etc) be made available. With a flexible online learning environment, these things can be arranged without interfering with the learning process. The flexibility of online learning also means that students can participate in subjects which do not have a very high participation rate. Students from various schools can be merged into one class and all the lessons could be delivered online. There would still be a need for only one teacher even though students might be located on opposite sides of the country. This is one example of the many changes that can happen due to the flexibility of online learning, it may even happen that the very definitions of school, class and teacher will be radically altered as online learning environment progresses. There is also however a draw back to these approaches and this has been termed the lack of communality. Since public schooling became widespread every person in society has shared a common experience of going to school. The limitations of traditional schooling mean that every person has had to participate in the basically the same system wherein the difficult task of receiving an education has been shared in a classroom with all the other students, forming one of the rites of passage in a very secularized society. The fact that school has not always been fun and in fact has sometimes been exceedingly difficult is preparation not so much for exams but rather for life itself. Any online revolution should be designed so as not to lose this valuable experience.
The third reason is perhaps the most important: online learning allows each student to learn in a way which best suits them at the pace which best suits them. The idea of helping each student according to their needs and abilities is not new but in a standard classroom the possibilities are severely limited. An online learning would allow a student with a higher visual capacity to perform a series of visual exercises to help learn the material while a student with a more musical ability could learn in an entirely different way. There can not really be any drawbacks to this sort of outcome. The better the student learns the material the more successful the educational process. It is primarily for this reason that online learning has a place in education and should be pursued further in terms of research and experimentation.
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