Technology Learning

“During a learning episode, we remember best that which comes first, second best that which comes last, and least that which comes just past the middle!”

Sousa, D. (2006), How the Brain Learns, Corwin Press.

Simply stated, learning takes place when we are offered information that our brain deems important in the moment to take on. Learning can take place anywhere, for any reason, at any time when the brain is receptive to outside stimulation. Retention is a different issue altogether yet is connected to successful learning episodes to varying degrees as the brain sees fit.

Learning occurs when:

o The learner interacts with the environment and acquires skills and information.

o We find ourselves requiring information to help make sense of a situation we are faced with.

o Meaning is needed in order to make sense of new surroundings experiences or emotions.

It becomes clear that learning is not restricted to a single environment labeled “school”. It also is very apparent that the “school” cannot possibly emulate every circumstance that a person may come across in other environments. We perhaps need to consider the ramifications of conditioning our children to grow up believing that “learning” predominantly happens in schools.

Retention: What is it?

Retention is the process where the long term memory stores information that can be later retrieved accurately for a specific purpose. The process of retention is not an exact science and a little unpredictable in it’s occurrence.

Keys to more successful retention:

o Attaching sense and meaning to a learning experience will improve retention success.

o Giving the learner time to “rehearse” new information . Rehearsal is geared towards having the learner process the information in numerous ways.. Repeating the process in it’s entirety supplies meaning to the experience and enables the brain to make sense of it also.

What retention is NOT:

Retention is NOT learning. Learning can occur yet the information learned in the moment may not be retained. For example you may remember a phone number until you no longer need it. This could be 5 minutes or 5 days. However you are in the position of learning it initially.

Becoming aware of learning as an integral part of being human can bring us all closer to the realization that there are a myriad of answers to the question of “how ” to educate ourselves. Moving away from “conditioning” people to “school based” learning could be a huge step forward. To be open to “learning all the time” will provide more people learning opportunities best suited to their particular style of learning. It has the potential to impact retention in an enormous way.

Technology in the home has the potential to bridge the gap and change the way we condition ourselves in regards to where and when we learn. Should we choose to embrace the radical change technology can bring to education we may begin to see the full potential of the human brain

The fabulous part is we all free to choose!

By: Margit Barreras

As a professional working in a company where computer sharing is practiced, oftentimes, data privacy and security becomes a concern. It is safe to assume that every employee has files that need to be kept or protected. To delete MRU is one way of ensuring that the next user of the computer is not able to access your files. Moreover, operating systems are offering some security measures as well. These are options to formulate passwords for different accounts or users. Internet browsers likewise have clear private data options as security measures.

The so-called MRU list can be a venue where other users could access the files you have recently viewed. Its purpose though is different. The list is supposed to give convenience to the user by granting an easy way of retrieving his or her recently used files. But the fact remains that documents found in this list is very vulnerable when it comes to being viewed by other people. Hence, it is highly encouraged to make clearing your MRU list a habit before leaving the computer you are using.

If you wonder whether there is a possibility to disable the MRU list, then the answer is yes. Your aim here is to stop the creation of documents in this list. The process is to edit the registry of your operating system. Take note that this procedure must be done correctly; doing the wrong thing here will only result to serious problems in your system. Hence, seek the help of experts if you are not sure on how to carry out the procedure.

Meanwhile, you would also need some MRU deletion programs. This is for the files that were created on the MRU list. Tapping an MRU deletion utility guarantees that no entry will go to your MRU list after editing your registry. The said programs are downloadable from the Internet. There are several MRU deletion applications available and you are free to choose which one will best suit your need. These programs vary in size and features. In fact, some are capable of deleting cookies, browse caches, and even browsing histories. Others especially those of small size are only able to delete files in the MRU list. Take note that the use of MRU deletion programs are usually defined within the application or in a file called online help.

In case you find the earlier process tedious, you may also opt to take a simpler method of deleting files in your MRU list. Hence, you should not worry since you could still implement security measures on your documents without having to edit the registry of your operating system. What you can do is to go to your history folder and delete traces there. Do the same to your recent documents. In the task bar, you only need to right click it and remove the contents in the recent documents area.

With this information, there is no reason for you to worry about data privacy and security at all. You have several choices on how to delete MRU, ensuring that the person who will use your computer next would get no information as to what files you have accessed and viewed.

By: Sam Miller

Technology has had a great deal of influence over education. Over 1.6 million college students (specifically community college students) enrolled in at least one online course during the fall of 2002 and over one-third of these same students took all of their courses online. With these numbers in place and the continued growth of student population, technology in education has become the solution for many higher education institutions.

With such an explosion of growth and need, the use of technology has not always been positive. Problems have plagued the use of technology in higher education classes throughout the country. Many people within the system see five major trends that will affect the future of technology/distance learning. The following is a list these current trends in higher education:

o Growing population of students enrolling combined with inadequate infrastructure (faculty, administration, buildings, etc.)
o Changing student needs (lack of time and need for flexibility are foremost)
o Instruction altered to more student centered, non-linear, and self-directed (needed in order to meet the diverse academic needs of students)
o Necessity of lifelong learning classes
o knowledge and competency of students in the use of the Internet

All of these trends can be traced back to distance learning. Higher education institutions need to take action now, in order to enhance their distance education programs.

There are ways in which schools can meet the current trends through distance education. One way is to provide more help through Student Services. By encouraging the use to of help desks at schools, students will have their needs assessed and met. Some campuses have found the creation of a centralized website for the school to be beneficial.

The website has given future and current students access to information quickly. The majority of the states have become a part of statewide coordinating board or consortium of distance education learning programs. These boards/consortiums have provided support, financial sources, evaluation procedures, and the establishment of clear missions for distance learning education courses throughout the states. All of these efforts work toward the goal of implementing valid distance learning programs.

The key to the future of education is online distance learning, but only if continued research and the development of quality programs persist. By examining current trends, campuses will be better equipped to meet the needs of today’s student.

By: Amy Chapman