Educational Technology

EDU-203
Fall 2020-2021
Dr. Fouad Yehya
fyehya@aust.edu.lb

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Fundamentals of Educational
Technology
• Big Goals
Identify different learning theories
Identify principles of effective instruction to
meet the needs of the 21st century learners?

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 Learning Theories

Warm-up activity:
• Why are learning theories important in
technology and media implementation?
 Learning Theories
• How teachers view the role of technology and
media depends on their beliefs about how
students learn.
• There have been several main theories of
learning.

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Learning Theories: Behaviorist
• Can behaviors change in response to
consequences?
• Why is it that humans react to stimuli with
certain behaviors?
Learning Theories: Behaviorist
Learning Theories: Behaviorist
Activity 1: Reflection on the video (10min)
• What is interesting and useful in this video?
• What is not, if any?
Can this content help you to grow professionally
in implementing education technology in your
practices? explain
Learning Theories: Behaviorist
- Behaviorism conducted scientific studies of
observable behavior. Skinner demonstrated that
reinforcing or rewarding desired responses
could shape the behavior patterns of learners.
- Behaviorism state that practice strengthens
the response to stimulus.
- It is the base of computer-assisted instruction.
- Behaviorists rely on observable behaviors. It
has limited applications in teaching high level
skills. 9
Cognitivism
 Learning Theories: Cognitivist (1/2)

• Cognitivists made new contributions to learning

theories by creating models of how learners receive,
process and manipulate information.
• Cognitivism focuses on the processes involved
in learning rather than on the observed behavior
• Cognitivism explores the mental processes individuals
use in responding to their environment that is, how
people think, solve problems and make decision.

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 Learning Theories: Cognitivist (2/2)

• New information is stored in short memory where it is

rehearsed until ready to be stored in long term memory.
• Learners then use the information and skills to develop
cognitive strategies and skills for dealing with complex
task
• Cognitivism create mental model of short and long
term memory.

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 Cognitive Model

Behavior
Mental Events
Environment

input Mediational Out put

process
Constructivism
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
 Piaget's theory of cognitive development

• Activity 1: Reflection on the video

• What did I learn?
• What is interesting and useful?
• What is not, if any?
How the content will help you to grow
professionally in implementing education
technology in your practices?
Piaget's theory of cognitive development

Old
experience

constructivism Observation
Testing and reflection

Creating
abstract
concepts
Learning Theories: Constructivist
• Constructivism considering the engagement of
students in meaningful experiences as the core
of experiential learning.
• Constructivist believe that learning occurs
most effectively when students are engaged in
true tasks that relate meaningful context
(learning by doing).

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 Piaget's theory of cognitive development

• The three Basic Components to Piaget's

Cognitive Theory are:
 Schemas (building blocks of knowledge).
 Adaptation processes that enable the transition
from one stage to another (equilibrium,
assimilation, and accommodation).
 Stages of Cognitive Development:
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational, formal operational.
 Principles of Constructivist
theory (1/2)
• Six principles to constructivist learning theory:
- Learners bring unique prior knowledge,
experience, and beliefs to a learning situation.
- Knowledge is constructed uniquely and
individually, in multiple ways, through a
variety of authentic tools, resources,
experiences, and contexts.
- Learning is both an active and reflective
process.
 Principles of Constructivist
theory (2/2)
• Six principles to constructivist learning theory:
- Learning is a developmental process of
accommodation, assimilation, or rejection to
construct new conceptual structures, meaningful
representations, or new mental models.
- Social interaction introduces multiple
perspectives through reflection, collaboration,
negotiation, and shared meaning.
- Learning is internally controlled and mediated
by the learner.
 Characteristics of
constructivist learning
• fosters critical thinking
• creates motivated and independent learners
• has lessons that include guided discovery,
whereby the teachers acts as a guide to the
learner, helping to point out inconsistencies in
students’ thinking. Students build their
understanding by resolving these conflicts.
• includes a minimal amount of direct
instruction
Social Constructivism:
Vygotsky’s Theory
 2. Lev Vygotsky's Social
constructivism
• Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental
role of social interaction in the development
of cognition.
• Vygotsky differed with Piaget in that he
believed that a person has not only a set of
abilities but also a set of potential abilities
that can be realized if given the proper
guidance from others
 2. Lev Vygotsky's Social
constructivism
• Vygotsky define the ZPD as the distance
between the actual developmental level as
determined by independent problem solving
and the level of potential development as
determined through problem solving under
adult guidance, or in collaboration with more
capable peers .
 How Vygotsky Impacts Learning (1/2)
• Curriculum: Since children learn much through
interaction, curricula should be designed to
emphasize interaction between learners and learning
tasks.
• Instruction:
- With appropriate adult help, children can often
perform tasks that they are incapable of
completing on their own.
- Scaffolding is an effective form of teaching.
- Scaffolding not only produces immediate results,
but also instills the skills necessary for
independent problem solving in the future.
 How Vygotsky Impacts
Learning (2/2)
• Assessment:
- Assessment methods must take into account
the zone of proximal development. What
children can do on their own is their level of
actual development and what they can do with
help is their level of potential development
- Assessment methods must target both the level
of actual development and the level of
potential development
 What do teachers need in
designing their instructions to
meet the needs of the 21st
century learners?
 Teachers need to:
• understand the characteristics of their learners
in order to prepare quality learning experience
for them
• be aware of multiple types of student
intelligences when planning lessons.
• Find differences in the ways that their students
learn or process information (mind styles).
• Depend on learning theories.
• Identify factors related to gender differences
and environmental conditions that influence
meaningful learning.
What are the characteristics
st
of 21 century learners?
 21st century learners
have exposure to multicultural influences.
have greater fluency with technology and
media
Understand how computers can be used for
learning and for communicating.
Net- online learner since cell phone has
become the great equalizer for all learners
regardless of their social backgrounds
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 Characteristics of 21 st

Century Learners (1/5)

• Learners enter classrooms with preconceived
(rigid) notions of how the world works.
• Learners do not necessarily connect classroom
knowledge with their ideas, but when engaged
in active learning experiences will draw on
their ideas to explore and test them to advance
their knowledge.

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 Characteristics of 21 st

Century Learners (2/5)

• Learners expect to be engaged in active, hand
on learning experiences.
• Learners wish to be empowered to explore
their ideas in their own ways expecting teacher
to serve as facilitator not transporting the
information.
• Learners need to develop their own
competency in inquiry. (Knowledge grows at
exponential rate)
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 Characteristics of 21 st

Century Learners (3/5)

• Learners do not learn content in isolation, they
engaged in multitasking and view information
in networked format.
• Learners expect to work in interdisciplinary
projects that challenge their inquiry skills
• Each learner enters the learning experience
with the understanding that there are specific
outcomes and expectations, but the avenue to
reach those expectations may be different for
each individual. 35
 Characteristics of 21 st

Century Learners (4/5)

• Learners prove a desire to learn from multi
format beyond books, using multi sources
gathered via technology. They share that
information through non structured means
such as blogs.
• Learners may also rely on their social media
tools to enhance their learning

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 Characteristics of 21 st

Century Learners (5/5)

• Integrating social media tools such as texting
or Facebook into learning experiences move
the teachers and learners closer together in the
21st century community.

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