Module 1 Blog:

What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?

People learn best when they make connections to prior knowledge, are given adequate time to process and reflect, allowed the opportunity to ask questions of inquiry in a non-threatening environment, provided time to apply and practice their learning and given positive reinforcement for achieving success. In our education world of high stakes testing today, teachers are forced to move ahead to cover all the content that will be tested, without taking the time desired to always respond to all students’ individual needs or allow them the needed practice time to achieve mastery of their new learning. According to Glenzer, in reflecting how behavioral change is the evidence of learning, practice does make perfect in order to achieve the desired learned behavior. (Glenzer, 2005, p. 101)

The purpose of learning theory in educational technology provides the needed background knowledge and historical perspectives about how people have used, and continue to use technologies as a teaching and learning tool. Historically, behaviorism has influenced educational technology in six areas: the behavioral objectives movement; the teaching machine phase; the programmed instruction movement; individualized instructional approaches; computer-assisted instruction (CAI); and the systems approach to instruction. (Saettler, 2004, p. 286) The ability to assimilate and understand learning theories provides teachers the foundation needed to produce well-planned lessons that include observable and measurable content and language based objectives. Teachers must also have a thorough knowledge of all students’ abilities, and be able to demonstrate a high level of competence in applying educational technologies to maximize their students’ learning. (Semple, 2000, p. 27)

Here is a list of education blogs from Online Education Database with 22 of them specific to educational technology:
http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

Resources:

Glenzer, H. (2005). Living learning theory through My Fair Lady. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(1), 101−105. Retrieved May 28, 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.

Saettler, P. (2004). The evolution of American educational technology. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Semple, A. (2000). Learning theories and their influence on the development and use of educational technologies. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 46(3), 21-28. Retrieved May 29, 2009 from ProQuest Central database.