Cognitive Views of Learning: Electronic Textbooks

There are many shortcomings and benefits to electronic text books but their benefits largely depend on their usability. If they are user friendly and easy to navigate it is more engaging for students and will encourage them to rely on it as a part of their learning, studying and referencing routine.

The layout of the book as far as page numbers and diagrams should mimic the actual hard cover book. This is increasingly important if an in class hard cover version is used. Also when pages are assigned students will be on the same page as any students who are unable to use an electronic text book.

Scrolling can often be difficult so it would be easier if students can click by arrow from one page to the next, or simply type in the pages of interest. Images should be easy to expand so that students can take full advantage of having them in electronic form. It would be helpful to have a page when the book opens to direct student to different areas of the text such as, glossary, chapter index etc. Additional resources such as virtual field trips should be easy to associate with chapters, and linked with in the appropriate chapter and section so students can reinforce what was learned. If they are linked with the chapters, or placed in the beginning of the chapter students are saved the trouble of correlating them with the proper chapter. There can be links to useful resources outside of the text book to provide students with a multitude of perspectives. Animations can also be added when appropriate. Science specific words that are present in the glossary should be in bold and can be linked for easy access with the definition. Students often just skip these words without taking the time to look them up and this would be a helpful addition.

One of the major problems with linking to outside sits such as NOAA for oceanographic information is that the sites are often changed which would make the links inactive and hence limit the function of the text book.

There are some shortcomings associated with electronic text books even if well layered and designed. Some texts rely on internet connectivity to access online resources and in many cases the textbook itself. Some students who either don’t have computers or have computers with dated software may have limited access or become frustrated when the software doesn’t work properly. While these are limiting factors, compared to the possibilities electronic texts are a wonderful addition to any classroom.

Workshop Refection :)

If I was going to construct a Power Point I would take note of a number of things discussed tonights workshop on visual aspects of presentations, web pages etc. How begin sentences, the color contrast on the page, try and limit unwanted distractions, using columns, the size of my text, the font (serif) etc. I think when it comes to the text, less can be more. It is important to get your points across without diluting them with unnecessary information.
If comparing different aged dinosaurs etc. I would’t place more than two pictures on one slide as it might become distracting. I think I would start the presentation with something to capture the class’s attention, a movie clip or animation. Then give some basic information followed by slides where they can just compare features by making observations. Depending on the images a dark background or a light background would be used to help the pictures stand out and emphasis text. These are just a few things that would help make the presentation easy to follow and an effective learning tool.

Constructivism

It is important to give students real-world experience and problem solving skills. In the classroom, real-world problems are often avoided because they can have various outcomes which at times can surface the difficulties of the creative learning process. As a firm believer in hands on learning a field trip would be a great way to attack learning from a constructivist stance. It would be possible to provide students with a free environment that would foster creative learning. They could be placed into groups to optimize differences in experience and culture within the group. Each group would then be given a set of minimum requirements and areas of focus but the problems would be open ended problems based on the features they are to observe. Let’s suppose that students are constructing a photo essay they could use it. An example of this would be to have students take photos of geologic features such as glacial evidence related to Long Island. It would be helpful to provide students with clear objectives for students to focus on. Scaffolding could be used by giving them step by step instructions leading up to their presentation of the ideas and build a bridge to new ideas among other student groups.
Another method to approach the same problem would be to give students real-world locations to photograph and describe without telling them exactly what they are looking for. In conjunction with Vygotsky, this would allow the students to interact with the world and construct the meaning of what they are looking at. They could then relate this to the history of the area and how it has been changed. To help the learners interact with the world around them to construct their own meaning of the world. Different students could compose questions based on photos or virtual field trips, which could be posed to other students. This would insert new questioning into the class and dictate new direction.

Reflections

I hope to learn new approaches to using technology in the classroom. I believe by taking this approach it will not only help to better reach students but also motivate and students. With the availability of new technology such as Smart Boards and easy computer access for students both in and out of school, this will be more helpful now than ever before! In the end it would be ideal to have learned new technologies, skills and develop professional relationships that will aid both my teaching career as well as my student’s education.