Online Journal Article Reviews

Technology Confidence, Competence and Problem Solving Strategies: Differences within Online and Face-to-Face Formats
By: Sharon L. Peterson and Louann Bierlein Palmer

http://www.jofde.ca.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/index.php/jde/article/view/733/1267

This article is about a five year study about the use of technology and problem solving skills among 1,500 undergraduate education majors. The studied attempts to see if there is a correlation between the lack of confidence among students who take a conventional technology education classroom in a traditional face to face setting compared to those who took the same course in an online manner. The study is also a useful tool to understand how these students attempt to use problem solving skills with difficult tasks.

The study shows that students who took the online course were more confident in using technology in the classroom compared to students who took the class in a traditional manner. The study also shows that there was differences in students in approaches to solving problems in the class. Traditional students use the teacher as a method for figuring out problems. While the online students use trial and error problem solving methods to figure out problems.

Our textbook explains that in order for a person to comprehend and understand information, one must be use practice and be given feedback, but for a non-traditional student, feedback does not always come immediately (Ormond, 2009). So, one must rely on the trial and error methods until a positive result is reached. This article is a great example of how traditional and non-traditional students learn technology. In many ways, students who take online courses attempt to solve their own problems without relying on assistance of an instructor. The student tends to be more independent and self-motivated in their learning and understanding processes. This article also shows that the online students confidence in using technology in the classroom later in their careers is much greater. This article helps to prove that the newer non-traditional styles of learning in the area of technology is better in giving students more confidence, than found in the older traditional styles of classroom learning.

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants:

Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age

By:  Lynn Helding

http://www.mediafire.com/?mdrdcat1g7jwmhm 

This article evaluates how the increase in technology information is affecting the learning process and how well people are retaining information.  It shows a trend in the amount of information that our short term memory will take into it each day compare to 40 years ago.  It also examines if this is a good or bad thing for the brain.  Short term memory can only hold so much information into it, and with the on rush of new technology and information overload, these items are not being processed into the long term memory.  The article also goes into how the younger generation of today is becoming addicted to technology and new gadgets and how this affects them.  It shows how an adolescent is constantly glued to their smartphone, tablet, or computer.  They are constantly in the "know", and this can have positive and negative effects on a person.

This article is an extremely important article for me.  I too am a technology junkie, and many of my students are the same way.  I enjoy having my iPhone or tablet with me, but there are many times I do not even want to have the items near me.  On the other hand, my students have a difficult time going through an entire class period without trying to sneak out their smartphone to view their latest text message or send a Facebook update.  It is a slippery slope in the education.  Students need to be constantly entertained visually if they are to learn.  Their attention spans are much shorter, and if a task does not entertain them, then they shut down mentally.  As our textbook explains, our short term memory takes can only take in limited amount of information (about seven items) (Ormond, 2009).  It is also noteworthy that students writing and spelling abilities are deteriorating.  They want to write in the short hand version of text messages and do not use proper grammar and spelling.  This article does start an important discussion on the positives and negatives of technology and does help open one's eyes to it.


References:

Helding, L. (2011, Nov ). Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age. Journal of Singing, 68, 199-206.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson. 

Peterson, S. L. & Palmer, L.B. (2011,). Technology Confidence, Competence and Problem Solving Strategies: Differences within Online and Face-to-Face Formats. 25(2), Retrieved Jan 12, 2012, from The Journal of Distance Education