Learning Resources: Do you prefer technology or tradition?

When it comes to learning, today's technology keeps providing us with the latest and the greatest gadgets. We can access knowledge online, we can experience new skills in simulated environments, we can use our eyes, our ears, and our hands.

Whether you embrace technology or prefer the tried-and-tested resources will depend, in part, on your Learning Style. But here's an interesting argument from IKEA (with our apologies to Apple). Have a look. 

Fun Education Apps

For all those students out there whose Learning Style is visual, tactile and stationary, here are a few iPad apps to try out at school or at home.

1. StoryKit - an awesome app that allows users to create an electronic storybook via illustrations by drawing on the screen, using pictures and text, and recording audio to attach to stories. 
2. Video Science - A growing library of hands-on science lessons. These short videos demonstrate inexpensive and easy to recreate experiments that are designed to inspire and excite kids of all ages. 
3. Google Earth - Explore the planet: search for cities, places, and businesses. Browse layers including roads, borders, places, photos and more. Visit the Earth Gallery to find exciting maps such as real-time earthquakes, planes in flight, hiking trails, city tours, and more. 
4. Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries - Soar through the universe with the Hubble Space Telescope, exploring dark energy and colliding galaxies. 
5. Solve the Outbreak - Get clues, analyze data, solve the case, and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be the Disease Detective. Do you quarantine the village? Talk to people who are sick? Ask for more lab results? The better your answers, the higher your score – and the more quickly you’ll save lives. You’ll start out as a Trainee and can earn badges by solving cases, with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective.

 Is e-learning a good option for your child? Find out.

How sequential and simultaneous thinkers use computers to learn

Schools all over the world are doing it: making tablet computers compulsory for students, ordering smart boards, redesigning classrooms into e-learning centres. It’s cool. It’s trendy. It simulates the future workplace. But is it for everybody?  

When it comes to internal information processing, learners will always use either sequential/analytic or impulsive/holistic brain processing and will either need to reflect or think simultaneously about the learning content. Therefore, online-learning situations and course organisation need to take these style differences into account. 

Generally speaking, people with a sequential/analytic dominance are linear thinkers who like facts, details and logic. They want their learning materials neat and organised, and they will read them from the beginning to the end, without skipping around. They learn step-by-step, prefer logical and analytic arguments and focus on details and facts. To cater to their needs, the online-learning package should:

1. Make frequent use of keywords. 
2.  Make use of lists and bullet points. 
3.  Explain all procedures to be used. 
4.  Detail all the assignments and objectives. 
5. Underline important facts and arrange them in sequence. 
6. Proceed step-by-step through detailed information. 
7. Have a facility to assess the student’s progress frequently. 
8.  Provide instant and regular feedback on the student’s progress.

Impulsive/holistic processors, in contrast, aren’t interested in details. Instead, they need to know the overall picture and the reasons behind a project. They tend to use their intuition or feelings rather than rationalise about a problem. Their computer-based learning should:

1. Relate the lesson to the students’ experience. 
2. Use practical examples. 
3. Provide an overview of the concepts. 
4.  Make use of mind-maps. 
5.  Make use of summaries. 
6. Allow the students to discover the facts by themselves. 
7. Allow the students to map, graph or illustrate the material. 
8. Give positive feedback, even for small achievements.

What is your child's preferred way of learning? Find out.

Technology At School - Good or Should We Think Again?

Schools all over New Zealand, Australia, Europe and USA are doing it: making tablet computers compulsory for students, ordering smart boards, redesigning classrooms into e-learning centres. It’s cool. It’s trendy. It simulates the future workplace.

But is it for everybody?

By its very nature, e-learning is best suited to highly visual people, because of the wealth of imagery offered by the computer: text, pictures and diagrams, graphs, photos, videos. Please note that we distinguish the following types of visual learners: visual (pictures), visual (reading), visual (internal). While the former two styles are well suited to online learning, the latter one, which relies on forming images in one’s mind, is neutrally suited to online learning (i.e., it is neither enhanced nor limited by the use of computers).

Auditory (listening) learners can be accommodated if the online-learning course uses recorded speech and sound-effects (such as pings). Externally auditory learners who need to discuss the learnt material can be accommodated by using voice chat facilities.

Tactile learners are disadvantaged, although their need can be partially satisfied by touch-pads, mice and/or touch-screens. For the tactile learners, online-learning can be further enhanced by having to match pieces of a puzzle on the screen or match questions and answers using the drag-and-drop technique. Such students can also be encouraged to make their own memory aids offline, such as sculptures of molecules or board games depicting new topics.

The real challenge, however, comes with externally kinesthetic learners who need to move around and learn with their whole bodies. Because they rely on real experiences as the most effective way of assimilating information, online-learning is not ideally suited to this type of learner. To enhance their retention and enjoyment of information intake, the online-learning course should offer off-line projects to enhance the online sessions. These learners need to get away from the computer, move their body and DO something with the information they have just received via the screen. Learning sessions for these students will only be successful (and hopefully lead to understanding, skills, competencies, and knowledge) when they have physically experienced and/or actively ‘done’ something during the learning process.

Is your child visual, auditory, tactile or kinesthetic? Find out today.

The Khan Academy and Learning Styles

Khan Academy is an educational website. Its tagline promises to help you “learn almost anything—for free.” You can choose from over 2,400 videos explaining the principles of maths, science, and economics. Between 7 and 14 minutes long, the videos consist of a voice-over by the website's creator, Salman Khan. All you see is hand-scribbled formulas and diagrams as they appear on your screen. There are no fancy graphics and the videos are not interactive.

And yet, many teachers and homeschooling parents turn to the Khan Academy videos to aid with homework and exam preparation. The advantages, they say, are that the students can move at their own pace and rewind the bits they get stuck on.

The disadvantages lie in the students' learning styles.

Not everybody is suited to learning optimally through an online course. Kinesthetic learners who enjoy working in a group are better off in a face-to-face interactive workshop.

However, if you have a preference in 4 or more of the following, e-learning is for you:

• visual (reading)
• visual (watching)
• tactile
• learning alone
• stationary
• internal motivation.

Are you a good candidate for E-Learning? Find out.

E-Course: Last Chance to Register

Here, at Creative Learning, we are dedicated to the subject of learning. This means learning in all its forms and in every environment; from formal settings to home study to the workplace. Our speciality is HOW we learn, before WHAT we learn. If you'd like to learn more about Style Analysis (the HOW of learning), here's an opportunity for you: we are offering an online course during the first ten days of November 2011. Please email info@clc.co.nz to register. Teachers, parents, students - all welcome.

Reminder: Our Learning Style E-Course in November

Have you ever wondered what it implies for a child’s learning when they are highly holistic or internally motivated? Or looked at a group profile of your class and compared it to your own Teaching Style Analysis report?


Now is the time to dig deeper into the concept of Learning Styles.

When: 1 - 10 November 2011

Where: online

How much: USD149.00

Click here for more information.

The Secret of Personal Learning Style Differences

Our popular online course (Introduction to LSA) is back!

When: 1 - 10 November 2011

Where: online

How much: USD149.00

We don’t have set times when you have to be in front of the computer - do it at your own leisure. Nor do we have Real Time participation, though email participation is encouraged. 

Classes will be held on a designated Yahoo Group. The way it'll work will be fairly structured yet informal, to accommodate all learning styles and most schedules:

• the tutor will post a lesson on the forum (this will be available on the yahoo group's website and as an email sent to your address), usually with homework assignments
• the participants will ask questions, post feedback and share homework - all by means of an email/post to the yahoo group
• although the lessons will be posted on designated dates, the participants will be free to do them whenever it's convenient, bearing in mind that it's always best to do it when most of the class is doing it, of course....

Click here for more information.

Learning Styles and Using Google

There's a joke making its rounds on email lately, "Living without a Cell Phone". It's all about how hard our childhood's been compared to that of our children. One of the points it makes is the ease with which today's school children can access information online, whereas anybody over 30 still remembers having to go to the library and look it up in the card catalogue, request the book, wait two weeks, fetch the book....

It sounds like Generation Y and Z is living in Utopia and they "don't know how good they've got it". However, a recent study by Otago University (New Zealand) reveals a somewhat different picture. Although school children in developed countries today have easy access to the Internet and they know how to load up Google, what they don't know is how to squeeze information out of it.

Their failure to conduct online research (even when the topic was well-defined, such as, find out how the kiwi bird got its name) is attributed to a number of reasons:

• mistyping
• inability to phrase the search properly
• inability to filter out relevant hits
• incomprehension of what they're reading.

All valid theories, of course. Nevertheless, Creative Learning would like to add another hypothesis to the mix: that of the children's learning style.

To use a computer effectively, a child should have certain learning style strengths, such as visual (words), visual (external), tactile, working well alone. In addition, to perform a meaningful Google search, a child needs a balance of analytic and holistic processing skills, the ability to sit still and the ability to work in an unstructured way.

Can your child cope with finding relevant information online? To determine your child's learning style, start here.

Learning Styles and E-courses

(To book our Introduction to Learning Styles E-Course, please click on the button below:)

Not everybody is suited to learning optimally through an online course. Kinesthetic learners who enjoy working in a group are better off in a face-to-face interactive workshop.

However, if you have a preference in 4 or more of the following, e-learning is for you:

• 
  
  visual (reading)
  
  


• 
  
  visual (watching)
  
  


• 
  
  tactile
  
  


• 
  
  learning alone
  
  


• 
  
  stationary
  
  


• 
  
  internal motivation.
  
  

(To book our Introduction to Learning Styles E-Course, please click on the button below:)

What does it all mean?

(To book the e-course now, please use this button)

Your school has purchased LSA profiles for all the children in your class. It's time to rejoice! Finally you will be able to find out the Learning Style of all your star (and not so star!) pupils!

You let them all fill in the questionnaire, you print out the reports...

.... Ouch! So much information! It's all precious, of course, but how can you take it all in at a glance?

If pictures like the ones below give you a headache...

and

... you might want to take our online course which discusses the learning style concepts in more detail.

To book the e-course now, please use the button below:

1st on-line Learning Style Certification Program

LEARNING STYLES IN ACTION

A new Approach to

Personalized Learning and Micro-Teaching

Recommended for teaching principals, tutors, active classroom teachers and educators

who already have some experience with Learning Styles and want to gain better understanding of practical applications of style diversity in the classroom

When: 1 - 31 March 2010

Where: online

How much: EUR150

• Click here to read more
• Click here to book

E-learning and Learning Styles

To E-Learn or not to E-Learn - It’s a Matter of Style

 

E-Learning has many advocates and many obvious advantages. Nevertheless, a recent article attempted to argue that nothing could beat face-to-face learning with a real teacher. So, let us examine the issue more closely.

 

Teacher Contact

 

• The article claims that: “the more contact we have with our teachers the better we learn”. True... for many people, particularly those who accept teacher authority. But what about those who don’t?
• Research of Learning Styles has shown that students who have no respect for teacher figures would benefit from the non-challenging non-authoritative environment of E-Learning.

 

 

Verbal and Visual Clues

 

·        What about the fact that “humans are designed to learn from one another using both verbal and visual clues”? Also true. Except that many people’s Learning Style Analysis (LSA) profiles indicate a non-preference for verbal and visual input.

·        Students whose strength lies in tactile learning (particularly that combined with learning through words) will benefit from E-Learning more than they would by only attending class.

 

 

Social Groups

 

·        “Learning in groups is not just socially more enjoyable, it is a proven source of motivation.” Again, yes for some, no for others.

·        If you look at the Learning Style Pyramid, you will observe that some people prefer learning alone, others with just one friend, others yet in a group or a team. Those who like learning by themselves will flourish under the E-Learning Model.

·        Oh, and speaking of motivation... check out the Motivation Element, too. Not everybody is motivated by the same source.

 

 

What’s your Style?

 

• Are you a good candidate for E-Learning? Find out.