Prior Answers from students

Discussion Board question 1:

What is your understanding of the 21st Century Learner?

Possible Answer:

1. 9-17 year olds report spending nearly as much time using social networking
as watching television. 2. 96% of students with internet access report using
social networking. 3. 71% say they use social networking sites at least
weekly. 4. 60% of students using social networking talk about education
topics online 5. 50% about specific schoolwork.

2. Today’s students are Digital Natives 1. Grow up with technology 2. Their

entire lives are surrounded by computers, videogames, MPS, video cams, cell
phones, and instant messaging. 3. Today’s average college grads have spent
less than 5,000 hours reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games. 4.
Digital Native students think and process information differently from the
Digital Immigrants. 5. Different learning experiences lead to different brain
structures. Dr. Bruce D. Perry, Baylor college of Medicine stipulates that it is
likely that out students’ brains & thinking patterns have changed. 6. Digital
Natives become the Native Speakers of the digital language.

3. These are patterns of learning for Digital Natives: 1. For example, elementary
students can memorize over 100 Pokémon characters and all their
characteristics. So, why can’t students learn the names, populations, capitals,
of over 100 nations of the world? 2. Tend to drop-out of classes that only
lecture or read from the book. 3. Research supports that most Digital Natives
cannot process data like Digital Immigrants. This is supported by
neurobiology, social psychology, and from various studies based on games
for learning.

Discussion Board question 2:

How will you apply the Principles of Design in your online course?

Possible Answer:

1. You can create balance with the three elements (text block, graphic, vertical
text) here but in the first example they appear to be just random elements
with no unity or balance. In the second "Balance" example the text block and
graphic are resized to bring them closer together and better balance,
uniformity, and contrast with each other.
2. Generally, all the principles of design apply to any piece you may create. How
you apply those principles determines how effective your design is in
conveying the desired message and how attractive it appears. There is
seldom only one correct way to apply each principle.