Tech Tools for Critical Thinking

This week, we learned about several tech tools for critical thinking. We learned about using Delicious for social bookmarking which allows users to bookmark their favorite sites and search for similar sites based off of others preferences and listed tags. My sister is a teacher and I sent some of the education-related sites from our account to her so that she could utilize them in her classroom. We also learned about sites that allow you to create concept maps. I used mywebspiration to create my concept map that included the following Folksonomies: LinkedIn, Youtube, podcasting, GoogleDocs, and Social Bokmarking/Delicious.

We also examined methods for learning and critical thinking:

Behaviorism: Internal processes are seen through behavior
1. Classical Conditioning: create relationship through association over trial
a. Advertising, Sales, and whistle on a sports field
2. Operant:Use of consequences to change form or occurrence of behavior
a. Uses reinforcement (positive or negative), punishment (which causes the behavior to happen less),
extinction (no consequences after an action so the behavior will happen less because of boredom)
3. Information Process Theory
a. Focuses on the internal processes of registering, processing, storing, and retrieving
information; the brain serves as a computer role
b. Retaining information can happen through rehearsal, organization, elaboration, imagery,
and schema
4. Constructivism
a. Humans gain and build knowledge through unique, meaningful activities that create
genuine opportunities for learning.
b. best done through hands-on/project based learning and exploration
c. Not always the best learning style

We also learned about varying learning styles and multiple intelligences. Learning and critical thinking rely on understand the purpose of education, know when and when not to question the process, create alternatives and overcome objectives, and know when to ask for and how to interpret information.

Everyone will use critical thinking skills and that is certainly the case for my journalism career. I will have to discern the best way to present information by deciding what is important and how to share it with others. I will have to understand my style of learning as well as the styles of learning of my colleagues and the majority of my audience. The news needs to be relevant and easy to understand and understanding the learning process will help me in spreading the word.

This is a link to a poll asking if teachers "should teachers always use the latest tech tools, or does that approach result in technology overkill?"
http://www.edutopia.org/poll-required-latest-technology-tools

It is obvious that most of the participants in the comment section are in the education profession. There are several good points made about if technology is always used in the classroom, does it downplay to importance and prevalance of critical thinking. I think technology enhances the educational process but I can see how some in the profession would see its detrimental effects. A positive, nurturing relationship with educators is a strong factor in the effectiveness of education but the introduction of technology into the classroom also helps with how students learn and relate to classroom content.