The Role of Technologies in Meaningful Learning

1. 6th Malaysia Online Learning Conference The Role of Technologies in Meaningful Learning Dr. Lee Chwee Beng Learning Sciences & Technologies Academic Group National Institute of Education Nanyang Technological University chweebeng.lee@nie.edu.sg

2. Meaningful Learning What is MEANINGFUL learning?

3. Meaningful Learning Is thus what your students do in class?

4. Meaningful Learning Why is MEANINGFUL learning important?

5. Meaningful Learning What is the role of TECHNOLOGIES in meaningful learning?

6. Active Manipulative/Observant Constructive Articulative/Reflective Intentional Goal directed/Regulatory Authentic Complex/Contextualized Cooperative Collaborative/Conversational Meaningful Learning Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

7. Active Manipulative/Observant Constructive Articulative/Reflective Intentional Goal directed/Regulatory Authentic Complex/Contextualized Cooperative Collaborative/Conversational Meaningful Learning • Developing meaningful conceptual understanding requires learners to represent what they know in multiple ways. For learners to learn meaningfully, they must be willing to engage in a meaningful task. For meaningful learning to occur, the task that learners pursue should engage:

8. Meaningful Learning with Technology • Learning with technologies is unlike learning from or learning about technologies. When learning with technologies, technologies support productive thinking, and meaning making by students. • Learning results from thinking • Technologies in this sense are more than hardware, they are intellectual partners, where the cognitive responsibility for performance is distributed by the part of the partnership that performs it better.

9. Meaningful Learning with Technology • Technologies consists of the design and the environment that engage learners (so, having knowledge of instructional design is still applicable) • Technologies also consists of learning strategies and critical thinking skills (do not see IT as an isolated component of learning) • Technologies don’t just convey messages, nor should they prescribe or control learner interactions (gone are the days when IT was used as conveyors)

10. Meaningful Learning with Technology • Technologies support meaningful learning (remember the diamond figure?) • Technologies support productive thinking, and meaning making by students (everything is about meaning making) • Technologies are intellectual partners, where the cognitive responsibility for performance is distributed by the part of the partnership that performs it better (always consider the affordances of IT)

11. Meaningful Learning with Technology More than • Technology is hardware. It consists of designs, environments, strategies, thinking skills etc. • Technologies engage learners in learning (active, intentional, authentic, cooperative, constructive) meaningful

12. Meaningful Learning with Technology do not • Technologies simply convey message/meaning, they don’t control all learners’ interactions • Technologies enable learners to build representations of the world • Technologies and learners are intellectual partners. Cognitive responsibility for performance is distributed by the part of the partnership that performs it better. meaningful

13. Meaningful Learning with Technology • Technologies used to foster learning: • As Knowledge construction • (e.g. building of a concept map on cells) • As information vehicle for Exploration • (e.g. using internet resources to compare different world views on globalization) • As authentic context • (e.g. solving a water problem) • As a social medium • (e.g. online communities, discussion forums) • As intellectual partner (supporting reflection)

14. Meaningful Learning with Technology How technologies foster learning? Through requiring learners to think and reason

15. When technologies is used for meaningful learning, several kinds of thinking are fostered

16. ICT can foster various thinking Causal Reasoning Causal reasoning is one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher order thinking activities, such as problem solving. Causal thinking is complex and requires learners to understand and apply causal relationships, quantify attributes of causal relationships as well as be able to explain the underlying mechanisms describing the relationships. Example: when building dynamic system models, learners need to hypothesize, identify the variables involved and understand the relationships of such variables.

17. Iterative process in reconciling understanding • Articulate learning gaps • Formulate questions and generate own inquiries • Quantifying attributes of casual relationships and • explaining the underlying mechanism

19. ICT can foster various thinking Expressive Using technologies as tools to learn with entails learners representing what they know. To do so, learners must express what they know. Using different technologies requires learners to express that they know in different ways. Example: using Expert system for logical reasoning

20. Iterative process in reconciling understanding • Articulate learning gaps • Formulate questions and generate own inquiries

21. Explore alternatives and make sound decisions Rule2 Why 'Person with medical problems but no changes in memory status, behaviour, mood or personality is unlikely to be suffering from Dementia, but advice will need to be given to treat underlying illnesses.' IF (q1a1 or q1a2 or q1a3 or q1a4 or q1a5) and (q2a1 or q2a2 or q2a3 or q2a4) and (q3a1 or q3a2 or q3a3 or q3a4) and (q5a1 or q5a2 or q5a3 or q5a4 or q5a5) and (q6a5 or q6a6) and q7a6 and q8a5 and q9a6 and q10a6 and q11a6 and q12a6 and q14a6 THEN D2

22. ICT can foster various thinking Experiential Experiences result in the most meaningful and resistant memories. The primary medium for expressing experiences is the story. Learning with technologies engages stories in a couple ways. First, the experiences that learners have while using technologies to represent their understanding are meaningful and memorable. Second, learners may seek out stories and use technologies to convey them. Example: using video to represent understanding

23. Apply learning in new contexts

24. http://Nie4speed.pbwiki.com http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/more_stuff/Applets/ProjectileMotion/jarapplet.html

25. ICT can foster various thinking Problem solving Using technologies to express and convey learners’ knowledge entails different kinds of problem solving. Learning with technologies requires learners to make myriad decisions while constructing their representations. Example: using concept mapping tool to understand a concept

28. Jonassen, D.H., Beissner, K., and Yacci, M. (1993). Structural knowledge: techniques for representing, conveying, and acquiring structural knowledge. Hillsdale:NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. • Mayer, R. E. (2002). Understanding conceptual change: A commentary. In Limon, M., & Mason, L. (Eds.), Reconsidering conceptual change: Issues in theory and practice (pp. 101-114). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.