Module 2

Bill Kerr (2007) and Stephen Downes (2007) have conflicting opinions on the behaviorist theory. Kerr believes to a certain extent that we are all behaviorists while Downes feels that the behaviorist theory is an ancient theory and that instructional design is for one reason or another still based on this ancient theory (Kerr, 2007). I agree with Kerr(2007). Skinner's theory of behaviorism is based on reinforcement, which is something that is very evident in today's society. We do well at our jobs, we get a raise or promotion. We go to the gym and work out every night, we begin to see results and we keep going. Behaviorism is a cycle of a behavior, followed by reinforcement and the behavior often being repeated due to the reinforcement. This theory is very much evident in today's society as well as instructional design. Instructional design also functions off of reinforcement. A teacher implements a new strategy in a classroom, the students grasp the concept being taught easily (our reinforcement) and we use this strategy again.

Kerr (2007) also discusses in his blog post that the "-isms" are necessary to explain changes and that each -ism has a useful piece to it. "It seems to me that each _ism is offering something useful without any of them being complete or stand alone in their own right" (Kerr, 2007). I agree with this statement, if we could take the useful pieces from each theory and develop one effective theory that explained how we learn and how we process information these theories would be much more effective.


Karl Kapp (2007), discusses this same idea in his blog post "Out and About." He states that not one of theories one hundred percent explains how humans process information. 


References

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/

Module 1 Responses

I posted to Ena Smith's blog at http://ena-spoonfulofsugar.blogspot.com/. I also posted to Linda Hitcheson's blog at http://hutchisonedt550.blogspot.com/. These are my responses to the blogs for Module 1.

Rachel Bell

Module 1

What are your beliefs about how people learn best?
I believe people learn best when the information is presented to them in a variety of ways. There are three differnt learning styles. There are auditory learners, visual learners and kinesthetic or hands-on learners. In my opinion if teachers taught the same information in each of these three ways the students would benefit the most. They would benefit the most because the information is not only presented to them in different methods but it is also presented to them repeatedly.Repetition is another key factor in learning. Even as adults we need to hear, see, or do something over and over again in order to truly retain the information.

What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?
The purpose of learning theory in educational technology is very similiar to the purpose of learning theory in general education. Learning theory is an attempt to describe how people learn (Hill, 2002). Educational technology was created to supplement general education. It supplements education by presenting the same information that students are being taught in the classroom but in a different manner. Educational technology needs to be able to support students learning, therefore there needs to learning theory studies to create effective educational technology. Recently, educational technology has advanced to not only being a supplement but also serving as the main source of education, distance education programs. Distance education programs provide a great deal of challenges to the instructors because they still have to meet the needs of their learners but without being in the room with them. Learning theory is a very critical study when it comes to distance education because instructors need to be able to meet their students needs virtually.