While reading chapter five of the textbook, there were multiple concepts that stood out and warranted some discussion. These concepts could not only greatly impact teachers but also students. The three most interesting concepts that caught my attention were E-books and readers, electronic note taking, and cognitive load.
The first concept of E-books and E-readers is something that greatly intrigued me. We've all become greatly familiar with the great things these devices are able to accomplish. Depending on which reader is used, there are a variety of different capabilities. Inviting E-books and readers into the classroom is a marvelous idea not only for the students but also for the school. E-books are much less expensive that hard cover and paperback textbooks and would greatly help the schools budget. The initial expense may be hard to overlook, but the long term would be worth the initial investment. Not only that, but carrying an E-reader around is much less difficult than carrying around multiple heavyweight textbooks for seven classes. The portable and lightweight dimensions of the device would also be easily stored and the battery life is tremendous. Not only that, but on school grounds there are ways to restrict certain applications that could distract the students from the lesson so that no longer poses an issue.
Another very important concept is electronic note taking. Taking notes electronically is much more effective than taking notes on paper for a multitude of different reasons. It is much quicker to type than to write down on paper making the notes more detailed and coherent than those taken with pen and paper. The notes also tend to be more organized. For instance, one of the issues with taking notes is it is difficult to save space in certain areas in case of additional information learned later; however, with electronic note taking there is always a way to make additions to the notes. Because of the extra organization and fluidity, students are better able to focus more on the content and meaning of the lesson. There are also multiple applications that would allow students to access notes from multiple devices for both the students and teachers.
Furthermore, another concept a bit different from the first two is cognitive load. Cognitive load occurs when an information rich website distracts learners from the main ideas. This is especially prominent when researching. Students often find information rich websites that have so much information that it is difficult to find the points they actually want and can clutter their research with unnecessary facts. This has become considerably common in the internet age.
Overall, these concepts have the capability to greatly impact technology in the classroom and would really make a difference as far a note taking and research is done. As a future teacher, these are definitely items I would concern myself with.
Works Cited
Maloy W. Robert, Et. Al. (2007). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Pearson.
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