BuchananWWOct6

Think of something you learned as a result of using a computer. Describe what you learned, how you learned it, and what role the technology played.

Touch typing is a simple yet important skill in using a computer. I maintain and improve my typing skills by playing typing games. One of my favorites is The Typing of the Dead. This game started as a light gun game, in which the player used a toy gun to shoot zombies on the screen. It was converted to a typing game by pasting words on the zombies. I defeat zombies by typing these words. The game is more fun than conventional typing tutorials, while still providing immediate, corrective feedback.

I've also developed a sophisticated understanding of human memory recall as a result of learning to use relational databases. In such a database, data is retrieved using a structured query language, which can perform complex searches. Whereas simple tables only afford simple metaphors for recall (e.g. skimming, finding a specific datum by row or column), relational databases afford much more sophisticated metaphors for storage and recall.

Analyze the learning-with-technology experience you described, using Salomon et al.'s constructs of (a) effects with technology, (b) effects of technology, and (c) cognitive residue.

If I apply Salomon et al.'s constructs to The Typing of the Dead, I see strong effects with technology, strong effects of technology, and little cognitive residue. The game elements make me a progressively better typist, especially the corrective feedback and my strong motivation to continue learning/playing. These typing skills transfer well outside the game to other typing situations. There is little cognitive residue, because typing isn't a cognitively demanding task, and the game doesn't demand much cognition.

If I apply the same constructs to relational databases, there are very strong effects with technology, weak effects of technology, and strong cognitive residue. Relational databases allow me to organize and synthesize information with much greater efficiency. There are minor effects of technology, such as being meticulous and methodical in any data management task. Finally, there is a strong cognitive residue. I think about any information in a more categorical way, and I find the database metaphor very useful as a conceptual model in my work as an educational psychologist.

Salomon et al. discuss the importance of mindfulness in intellectual partnerships between learners and computers. How does this idea of mindfulness relate/compare to Stein et al.'s focus on cognitively demanding tasks?

Stein et al. emphasize the importance of cognitively demanding tasks for nurturing broad cognitive processing. Such broad processing is called the "executive layer" by some psychologists, and includes strategies like creating a mental problem space and selecting from multiple problem-solving approaches. Routine tasks don't require the intervention of an executive layer because they're not cognitively demanding; there is no need for or advantage in broad thinking. Salomon et al. emphasize the importance of mindfulness in using computers, because there is a danger of atrophy of the executive layer. In other words, if users become too reliant on or trusting of computers, they may diminish their own broad cognitive processing ability. Consider an "intelligent" tool like an advanced word processor. I am a better writer if I have a broad vocabulary and I can choose the best word for a specific intent. The word processor's thesaurus may bolster my ability to make this choice. But if I become over-reliant on the word processor, I will be less able to make this choice without it (e.g. in everyday conversation). So while I'm using the word processor's thesaurus, I should be mindful of how the program recommends synonyms, in order to maintain or improve my own "internal" thesaurus. The program recommendations may even be faulty or incomplete, and I need exercise "executive" oversight.