Learning Objects

I like the idea of having online resources as an anchor to theory principles. There are a number of advantages to learning objects that can benefit everyone that is involved in the learning process. Content is recycled and flexibility is increased. These are important in education because teachers often are teaching to standards. These standards prevent some group-based theories to thrive in a classroom. Using resources that are developed and shared on the internet expands the potential learning field for students. It takes time to develop lessons and with the help of online resources, teachers can give more time to the students. There are some disadvantages that should be addressed. If the standards are complex, creating and using the correct resources will be difficult. Also, the economy types make it difficult for access to important information.

As a student in the 21st century, using learning objects is essential to education. As a teacher, using online resources will help students with understanding topics. I would suggest that teachers obtain access to all of the sites that they need.

CFT

Cognitive Flexibility Theory= Flexible Instruction. There are obvious similarities between CFT and Case-Base Models but CFT requires that the information from different contexts can be represented in many different ways. While reading the Fitzgerald article, it was obvious to see that CFT promotes learners constructing meaning through self managed learning. I am a fan of the theory, but of course I have my suggestions for improvement. The best advantage of CFT is that it simulates thoughts and responses. A major barrier of CFT is that it assumes knowledge is already known. Students are not the same and come from an array of backgrounds/experiences. With that being said, in the 21st century, students have many tools that can help them obtain knowledgeable information. Barriers can be overcome if, and only if topics are relevant. I would suggest giving a pretest before the actual representations are designed. Students, as well as instructors will benefit from overcoming these barriers by generating interesting ideas and having meaningful discussions about a given topic.

This theory is good to use when certain topics need more discussion in order for students to understand. Basically, challenging topics can be tackled by introducing students to the information in different formats (media).

Tools that could assist students with CFT:

• Blogs
• Wikis
• Powerpoint
• Youtube

As long as the tool includes a group feedback section, instructors can post questions and scenarios to generate meaningful discussions.

CBL & CBR Model

In my opinion, stories are essential to human communication. In any form or communication (written, spoken, ect.) we have experienced life through the use of stories. Religion, Education, and Language have survived mostly because of stories. The Jonassen article highlighted that stories can support a broader range of problem-solving issues in the form of case-studies. My initial response to CBL & CBR was mixed. Of course the pros outweighed the cons, but I was skeptical about these models because of the time needed to design the assignments and the idea that prior experiences will help solve problems. Presently, instructors are facing many problems and time is not on their side. CBL promotes natural debates, which is a good thing. But on the other hand, CBL is used less in K-12 settings. CBR promotes quick solution to problems, but uses old experiences without validating in a new situation. Possible barriers for both models include, difficult concepts to understand and development time. If these barriers are challenged, instructors and learners will benefit by learning how to solve a problem and have an effective discussion.

Using stories and case-studies to teach are great ways for students to attach their courses to real-world situations. I would be glad to use these models in a class. Minor changes to these models will include, more instructor influence and student input on topic choice. Whether the students are reading a pdf or watching a video, they will be familiar with the information and the instructor will be able to help students prior to solving the problem.

YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, and other internet video sites are great tools that can be used to implement these models. Wordpress and other blog sites can be used for discussions. Most of the video sites provide a link so that the video can be embedded into blogs.