Notes for Week #3: Learning and Technology I

Searching the Edutech Literature
Svinicki 1999
A Look at Three Computer Programs
Schank and Cleary 1995
After the break

Searching the Edutech Literature

We'll meet at the Rockefeller Reference Room on Tuesday in order to learn how to locate research articles in the areas of educational technology, educational software and the use of computers at school. Although the Web is a common, and seemingly productive, source of finding out about educational technology projects, especially in higher education, the intellectual value of the Web material is often compromised by a formidable hype/evidence ratio. We look to articles found through searches of databases like ERIC and The Web of Science to find peer-reviewed descriptions and evaluations of the use of computers in education.

"New Directions in Learning and Motivation," by Marilla D. Svinicki (1999)

In previous years the subject of learning theory has been introduced through the combinations of readings from Gardner 1991 and McGilly 1994. This year we begin with a survey article about the varieties of learning theories to give all the teams a better sense of the field of cognitive learning theory as well as richer vocabulary for talking about learning. The idea is not that each team will find a theory they like best and choose to implement in software, but rather that each team will incorporate concepts and distinctions made by learning theorists in their designs and goals for their software.

We'll base the class discussion on Ben's questions concerning Svinicki's article.

Three Computer Programs

Let's look at three pieces of educational software that have American history as their content domain, and consider the goals of each from a pedagogical and experiential point of view. Can you identify learning theories implicit in the structures of the programs?

• The Oregon Trail (MECC, 1993)
• Discovery American History on CD-ROM (Prentice Hall, 1997)
• Port of Entry (National Digital Library Project, 1997)

Engines for Education by Roger C. Schank and Chip Cleary

We'll spend most of the time discussing chapters 1 and 4-7, based on Gary's questions. As we'll likely come back to the back later in the semester, here are some further questions that you might consider as well:

• Are there any important aspects of education and learning that are left out of an individual "learning by doing" ideal?
• Brown's undergraduate environment might be seen as a response to Mistake #3: Schools believe they have an obligation to create standard curricula. Reflecting on your experiences at Brown, do you think this individual choice model could work in secondary school? in elementary school?
• Do you agree with the claim accompanying Mistake #4 that "there isn't all that much that is important to know. There is a lot that is important to know how to do, however"? If so, is there anything that is important to know? If not, what could distinguish programming a computer from educating a person?
• How does the role of teachers in the Engines for Education vision of education differ from Russell's view and from your own?

After the Break:

• There is no reading assignment for next Thursday, when we'll meet in the Multimedia Lab and discuss the tools available to you this semester; but please try to read ahead in the syllabus, as the project work will begin to take more time in the weeks ahead. Similarly, your revised project descriptions are due by the end of the day this Friday, and the first version of your project page (for the Web) should be up by the end of next week.