Week 9: Incorporate technology with various learning styles

     The difference that active learning makes it becomes easier to support finding ways to incorporate technology into education. People learn either visually (by seeing), auditory (by hearing), or kinetically (by doing). Allowing students with various learning styles alternate modes to interpret ideas and understand challenging concepts will enhance their success. This includes low performing students, average working students, and high achieving students. With the advancement of technological active learning techniques the teacher becomes more of a facilitator to help students engage themselves in the learning process. This creates the most interactive environment with peers helping one another. The pace, style, and depth of learning can be accommodated for by the student. As Confucius taught us, "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." The increase in active learning directly corresponds to an increase in engagement, retention and achievement.

    Visuals comprising much of today's technology help at least 30% of our students have a better understanding of all disciplines. At least one third of us are visual learners which means we can comprehend information more rapidly when it is presented to us through pictures, images, graphic organizers, mind-maps, concept maps, videos, etc.). Neuroscientists attribute one's visual/spatial abilities to the following facts: (1) the brain having an attentional bias for high contrast and novelty; (2) 90% of the brain's sensory output is from visual sources; and (3) the brain has an immediate and primitive response to symbols, icons and strong, simple images. Technology based art forms have a tremendous appeal to these students, encouraging artistic expression among our diverse student population. These tools provide an outlet, a form of artistic communication for those who have been constrained by the traditional modes of written and verbal communication. For the visual/spatial child, learning with technology increases their motivation and may foster their creative problem-solving skills as they evaluate the many possible ways of expressing ideas.