EIPT 6333 : Week 7 Reflective Notes (Calvinly.com)

Articles/Books Citation
1. Lajorie & Derry (2000). Computers as Cognitive Tools: No More Walls.

Chapter 6 (Jonassen et. Carr)
This chapter discusses the different ways that learners can learn multiple ways of representing knowledge. Allowing learners to view just one representation of a topic provide only a limited set of cognitive skills. Knowing how to do things several ways and seeing several representations of if can provide a better understanding of the topic. The authors suggest that an effective approach for supporting the representation of learner knowledge is to use mindtools. Mindtools are knowledge construction tools that enable learners to represent what they have learned and know using different representations forms. There are five classes of mindtools that are discussed in this chapter: (1) semantic organization tools, (2) dynamic modeling tools, (3) information interpretation tools, (4) knowledge construction tools, and (5) conversation tools.

Semantic organization tools helps learners to represent relationship among ideas. The two most commonly used Semantic organization tools are databases and semantic networking (concept mapping) tools. Databases are computerized filing systems designed to accelerate the storage and retrieval of information. Allowing students to build databases will give them critical thinking skills (ex: evaluating, organization, and connecting information), creative skills (ex: analogical reasoning and planning), and several complex-thinking skills (ex: designing a product, problem solving, and decision making). Using semantic networking as mindtools enable learners to identify important concepts, graphically interrelate those concepts in multidimensional networks, and label the relationship between those concepts. Basically, students have the opportunity to build a concept map (using software such as Inpiration, Mind Mapper, etc.) in which will help them (1) reorganize their knowledge, (2) provide deep processing of knowledge, (3) relate new concepts to existing concepts and ideas, and (4) promote spatial learning.

Dynamic modeling tools help learners to describe dynamic relationships (causal, inferential, probabilistic, and stochastic) among ideas mathematically as well as semantically. There are five dynamic modeling tools:

Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets, which are computerized record-keeping systems, are most commonly used to support business decision-making and accounting operations. Allowing students to use spreadsheet as mindtools will help them use abstract reasoning and enable them to consider implications of conditions or options and speculate and hypothesize about outcomes. Spreadsheets will promote important thinking skills, analyzing skills (ex: recognizing patterns, classifying, identifying assumptions, and finding sequences), connecting skills (ex: comparing and contrasting, logical thinking, deductive reasoning, and identifying causal relationships), and creative and complex thinking skills.
Expert Systems
Expert systems are computer programs that simulates the way human experts solve problems using a production rule (if-then) formalism. Building expert system rule bases engages learners in analytical reasoning, elaboration strategies, and metacognition. Building expert systems rule bases enables learners to represent their knowledge as patterns of causality.
System Modeling Tools
System modeling tools (ex: Stella) allow learners to design and run elaborate models. System modeling tools engages student’s critical thinking skills, creative thinking skills (ex: elaborating, analogical thinking, hypothesizing, planning, and imaging skills such as speculating and visualizing), and nearly every complex thinking skill. Also, it allows learners to test and revise their models.
Microworlds
Microworlds are environments that allow learners to explore and manipulate a rule-governed universe in which serves as a representation of some aspects of the natural world. Adventure games are an example of microworlds. The most important part of microworlds is that it allows for the generating and testing of hypothesis and also provides an environment for active participating and exploration. Microworlds distinguishes from simulations in that it is seldom a tool for constructing knowledge, but they promote more creating thinking skills such as recognizing patterns, hypothesizing, predicting, speculating, and visualizing than many other mindtools.

Information interpretation tools (visualization tools) are very task and domain specific rather than generalized. Visualization tools tend to make abstract concepts more understandable. Using visualization tools engages learners in the use of more creative thinking skills than most mindtools.

Knowledge construction tools are tools that help learners in designing and constructing artifacts. Hypermedia, a type of knowledge construction tool, helps students link information together (whether it may be in the form of text, graphics, sound bites, video clips, or any other chunk of information) to form a network of ideas in the knowledge base. Students who build hypermedia knowledge bases organize knowledge about a subject in a more expert-like fashion. Students actually become designers which helps facilitate higher order thinking.

The final class of mindtools, socially shared cognitive tools (conversational tools), helps learners share information among each other, ask questions, point out things to one another, and argue with and elaborate on each other’s ideas. There are two different types of these tools: computer conferencing and computer-supported collaborative argumentation (CSCA). Computer conferencing include synchronous conversations (MUDs and MOOs) and asynchronous conversations (email, listservs, bulletin boards, and computer conferences in which creates a community of learners and the encouragement of reading and writing. CSCA can help promote the development of argumentative reasoning skills required to negotiate effectively. CSCA is speculated to engage students in critical thinking such as evaluating information (e.g., assessing information, prioritizing, recognizing fallacies, and verifying), creative skills such as elaborating (especially expanding and modifying), and complex skills such as decision- making (identifying issues-generating alternatives, and assessing the consequences).

The author stresses five rationales in explaining why mintools work and why we should use them in classrooms:

Knowledge construction not reproduction – allows learners to construct their own knowledge instead the teacher explain it to them in which forces students to know only what the teachers says instead of learning on their own.
Learners as designers – designers of instructions learn more than learners for whom the materials are intended. Mindtools require learners to think harder, and make sense of the knowledge.
Learning with technology – learners should learn with technology (used technologies to represent and express what learners know) instead of from technology (use technologies to deliver instructional lessons).
Distributing cognitive processing – mindtools can share the cognitive load with the learners.
Cost and effort beneficial – mindtools are relatively cheap.

This chapter was very insightful and covered a broad range of mintools that are available. It was interested to hear that mindtools are construction tools that learners learn with and not from. Most of the learning that occurs is learned from computers (such as instruction modules and lessons). I wonder why not many schools are using these kinds of tools.

Before I read the section on microworld, I wasn’t really sure the difference between microworld and simulations. Basically, I thought the two were the same but they are a little different. Microworlds usually do not involve a lot of constructive activities while simulations do. I was also struck by the part when they talked about knowledge construction tools and how it allows learners to be designers. It occurred to me at the same time they were learning the content, they were also learning instruction design without even knowing it.

Chapter 7 (Erickson and Lehrer)
This chapter focuses on a research dealing with hypermedia composition. The idea of the research is to collaborate with teachers to restructure classrooms so that students design hypermedia documents that peers use to learn about topics in social studies. The goal is for students to acquire research and communication skills and to orchestrate these skills in the pursuit of inquiry about a topic.

The study explored seventh-graders’ conceptions of links as they composed multiple hypermedia documents throughout the school year. Following are some information about the study:

Ten selected students participated
Data was collected five times during the school year
Two teachers (one in reading and one in social studies) initiated a series of student-generated hypermedia projects to promote critical thinking skills.

Students were required to design three hypermedia projects (using Hypercard), with each project increasing in scope and complexity. In the first hypermedia project, students were required to create a personality profile to share with others. This project included a lot of scaffolding such as help on using Hypercard. For the second hypermedia project, students have three weeks to create a psychology unit (such as Freud or Pavolov’s theories, etc.). This project was an entire individual task in which allowed students to go through the entire design process. For the final project, students must work in a collaborative design team over three months to create a hypermedia composition about a culture of the world.

The results showed that as each project is completed, student got a better understanding of links. Also students were negotiating constraints of both content and rhetorical problem spaces. Over the course of the school year, students first perceived of links as local moves that served as decorations but gradually expanded their knowledge of links to make possible substantive communication with an audience.

Chapter 8
This chapter describes research into the use of cognitive tools in the classroom using Exploring the Nardoo, an information landscape to support student-driven investigations. Its purpose is to engage students in long-term studies using the skills of problem solving, measuring, collating, elaborating, and communicating. The information landscape uses spatial and geographic metaphors, a Water Research Centre, and a navigable fictious river environment. The user is presented with a broad range of investigations such as: fish dying from pollution, weeds infesting the river, and communities discussing farming practice.

Students are provided with a lot of resources and data in the Water Research Center, the river environments in situ, and through hot buttons. Students also have a personal digital assistant (PDA) in which is a multimedia notebook for collecting any resources such as video, audio, graphics, and text; a viewer for viewing the video and graphics resources; a set of measuring tools to take measurements on the river; and user support.

Exploring the Nardoo contains certain cognitive tools in which provides more support for the exploration process such as:

A note-taking facility to manage the collection of information and references to the variety of media forms in the package.
A set of nine genre templates to scaffold the elaboration process.
A set of three interactive simulators with a guide for advice and investigation strategies.

The simulations were designed to allow students to observe and study firsthand in a risk-free environment and to provide students with a tool that allowed them to identify, define, and explore cause-and-effect relationships at a deep level by the manipulation of input parameters in an open-ended model.