The psychology of e-learning

New website guides you through the homeless experience — from Mashable by Zachary Sniderman

Also see:

Website guides you through the homeless experience

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playspent.org

Can students learn to learn? — from InsideHigherEd.com by Scott Jaschik

SAN FRANCISCO — Why do some students in a course perform better than others of roughly equal ability?

The answers, of course, are as varied as are students. Some spend more time studying, or study more efficiently; some have other priorities; some don’t connect with the instructor. Some of these factors relate to metacognition, defined variously as knowing about knowing or being able to understand why we learn the way we do. A student with metacognition may realize after a disappointing test that she didn’t study hard enough, and needs to devote more time to academics. The student operating without metacognition may respond to the same setback by trashing his instructor on RateMyProfessors.com.

By forcing students to stop for a few minutes and associate their study habits with their exam performance, and to think about why they don’t know an answer, the academics hope to change students’ habits — to encourage them to figure out what they don’t know and to study in more effective ways (and more). “We want those who are not doing well to think about it,” Bonnie said.

15 techno-cultural trends for 2011

15 techno-cultural trends for 2011 — from Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Center

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The human body and mind is amazingly complex.

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From DSC:
Again, my thanks to Mr. Joseph Byerwalter for this amazing item.

How can words describe this? I’m not sure they can…but the words/feeble attempts that come to my mind are:

  • Perseverance
  • Patience
  • Hope
  • Love
  • Success
  • Pain can reach to the heavy depths of human existence
  • Joy can rise up to the highest heavens
  • Look for the invisible, not the visible
  • The human body and mind is amazingly complex
  • The love of a father and mother can be enormously strong and powerful
  • “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

I stand in awe of families and people like this; they humble me, yet again.

The article behind the above video can be found at:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/MindMoodNews/story?id=8258204&page=1

Education-related quotes from:
Poverty: ending the cycle
A 36-year study by Concordia University looks at the cycle of poverty through three generations of Montrealers

The third generation, growing up right now in this technological society, has no bright future without high school, Serbin says.

“Lack of education causes huge barriers, and these kids have a lot farther to go than others,” she says, “because they come from backgrounds with little education and stimulation.”

So is it any wonder that the dropout rate isn’t budging? Serbin asks.

“(Premier Jean) Charest talks about parents providing support, which is great. But how do you enable parents to do that?”

We need to teach parents the skills and offer them programs and support, so they in turn can support their children academically, she says. If poverty places parents in acute stress, how is it possible for them to help their children without outside support?

From DSC:
To me, this begins to get at the heart of the matter of education reform — helping develop stable, solid families with parents that actively support the education of their children.

It’s tough — if one was never taught the importance of education, how does one acquire that perspective? We need to help parents build a respect for education. But I realize that when a person is out there just trying to get by at all, it’s hard to worry about education. That’s why next year, I hope to begin offering a program on developing digital literacy to those children who come out of a background of significant need. I want to help them identify, develop and use their passions.

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Surviving the future is an unsettling glimpse into the human psyche right now, as our culture staggers between a fervent belief in futuristic utopian technologies on the one hand, and dreams of apocalyptic planetary payback on the other. Thought provoking and visually stunning, Surviving the Future looks at the stark and extreme choices facing our species as we prepare ourselves for the most challenging and consequential period in our history.”

— from http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2010/survivingthefuture/

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As seen as CBC-TV on Thursday Oct-21-2010

Surviving the Future -- as seen on CBS on 10/21/10

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Surviving the future

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— originally from http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2010/11/surviving-future.html

From DSC:
Although I don’t agree with many things in this piece, it’s important to reflect upon some of the sometimes exciting and sometimes disturbing things in this piece. Looking at some of the enormous challenges and potential directions ahead of us this century, it’s all the more important that our hearts are hearts of flesh, not hearts of stone!

The importance of art in a child’s development — from MaryAnn F. Kohl, art author and educator

Powerful clip.

From DSC:
First of all, I got this item from:

One Facet of the Future of Educational Publishing — by Jeff Frank

I really enjoyed watching the Strage Prize video, and it led me to think more about the relationship between online video and the publication of educational research. In my role as Managing Editor of the Teachers College Record, I read a very large number of qualitative and ethnographic studies. While the best of these papers give the reader a strong sense of the subjects and the study location (and the author/researcher), after watching the 2010 Strage Prize video, I was fascinating by how much this video added to my understanding and appreciation of Lalitha’s paper.

I think having the two together–the written work and the video/podcast–adds something of unique value. I hope more educational researchers and publishers experiment with these kinds of paired works, because I think they offer readers a wonderful educative experience.

Side note from DSC:
Think interactive, multimedia on an iPad sort of device.

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Which led me to:

Strage Prize 2010 — by Gary Natriello | October 8, 2010

This video features the work of Lalitha Vasudevan and her paper, “Performing New Geographies of Literacy Teaching and Learning.” The paper focuses on the literacies and digitally mediated lives of youth, and was published in the July 2009 issue of English Education.

The video’s production and publication is supported by the Strage Junior Faculty Prize. The Prize was established in 2009 by Teachers College alumna Alberta Strage and her husband Henry to recognize junior faculty achievement. Alberta also serves on both the President’s Advisory Council and the International Advisory Council for Teachers College. We appreciate both their generosity to Teachers College and support for the work of our junior faculty.

The Prize supports the production of a web video to highlight original and innovative work of a junior faculty member at Teachers College. All currently untenured members of the faculty in tenure-line appointments are eligible to compete for the prize by submitting an article, book chapter, paper, or other original product appearing during the previous year.

Congratulations Professor Vasudevan!


Report: Tough times ahead for children of the Great Recession — from edweek.com by Sarah Garland |  The Hechinger Report

More children will live in poverty this year. More will have two parents who are unemployed. Fewer children will enroll in prekindergarten programs, and fewer teenagers will find jobs. More children are likely to commit suicide, be overweight, and be victimized by crime.

This is all according to a reportRequires Adobe  Acrobat Reader released Tuesday by the Foundation for Child Development that measures the impact of the recession on the current generation.

These are the children of the Great Recession, a cohort that will experience a decline in fortunes that erases 30 years of social progress, the report contends. Known as the Child and Youth Well-Being Index, the report predicts that in the next few years, the economy may recover and the unemployment rate may drop, but the generation growing up now could feel the harsh impact of the recession for years to come.

“These are the lasting impacts of extreme recessions,” said Kenneth Land, a professor of sociology and demography at Duke University and the author of the report.

College Students Addicted To Social Media — from CTI Career Search

From DSC:
If this is true, does it change our pedagogy? How can we harness this hunger for social networking? Or should we take other steps to fight/try to prevent the addictions?

Teens with ADHD benefiting from online education — from PRNewswire.com
Students say flexible schedule and support at Insight Schools help them overcome disorder

PORTLAND, Ore., April 5 /PRNewswire/ — High school students who struggle with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may only be a click away from a helpful alternative option. Insight Schools, a national network of accredited, tuition-free online public high schools, finds many of its students diagnosed with the disorder are thriving in its personalized, flexible learning environment.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 2.4 million children between the ages of 12 and 17 have ADHD, and the diagnosis of the disorder in that age group increased an average of 3 percent per year from 1997 to 2006. In addition, Dr. Russell Barkley reports in the book “Taking Charge of ADHD” that 21 percent of teens with ADHD skip school on a regular basis, 35 percent drop out before finishing high school and 50 percent experience sleep problems.

Students with the disorder enrolled at Insight have found many of these problems are alleviated with online education. Insight students are able to work at their own pace, overcome distractions, receive more one-on-one attention and ultimately get the sleep they need every day.

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Student-provided sites from The Teaching & Learning Digital Studio at Calvin College

Student-provided sites from The Teaching & Learning Digital Studio at Calvin College

Digital Studio Sites is a blog with a large collection links from the Teaching & Learning Digital Studio Staff at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI) that covers a wide range of academic topics and more. The staff scours the Web for the best, most interesting, and useful Web sites for the classroom (and maybe beyond) on the Internet and continually updates the list of links. Professors can quickly find sites related to their field of study by keyword, search, or by subscribing via RSS feed.

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“With this in mind, here are a few sites that feature cognitive psychology podcasts, research, articles and news. I’m even sneaking in a few brain science sites for the true believers.”

“And just in case you’re new to this field, cognitive psychology is the discipline that examines our mental processes, such as attention, perception, memory and learning. Cognitive psychology uses an information-processing model to explain mental operations in computational terms. Your resources are below. Enjoy.”

© 2025 | Daniel Christian