The author mentions that UDL is meant to “level the playing field” for learners with all kinds of disabilities and I think that it has the potential to enhance the learning experience for all types of learners.

We know the educational system has to change and be more effective, however if you are teaching a biology class of 40 students, and you are intorducing text books, smart boards, lab experiments and field trips, what more can you do?

It would seem impossible to taylor the curriculum to each student.  As relative to this article, it makes the point that learning can come in a variety of packages depending on the individual, and this is true.  However,  I see it also as a difficult road to capitalize on these ideas when you have too many students, not enough time and not enough money.

It just brings me to another question, are the digital natives and their knack for being able to multi-task multiple technological devices at the same time really smarter than the rest of us because of it?  Or are they unknowingly being overwhelmed with too many distractions?

This is emphatically wrong. Hawkins needs to consult with neuro-psychologist in the field of brain trauma to become enlightened.

I am also still struggling with thinking of certain technologies that can be used to help us recognize patterns. I think that many tools are available that do aid the process, but is there a possibility for something to be developed that exclusively applied to this idea. Something that can be used just for the purpose of recognizing and organizing these patterns and experiences. I wonder if we could better track how we remember things, the connections we make in our brains, or how we mentally store information, if that would make us more aware of what we learn, how we learn, and how we can learn better. I know this seems like a slightly crazy though, but I like to dream.

I truly enjoyed reading "On Intelligence" these past couple of weeks and even filled out the survey. I think it's a something that has more unique ideas than just theories/theorists, tools, technology, etc. I can see myself continuing reading this book outside of class because it really is interesting and is written in a way that's easily understandable. I'm happy that we got the opportunity to read this and take a break from all of the articles. :P

I know that we've talked about UDL all throughout LRND courses, but I feel as if this is an important and relevant topic that could almost be it's own course. Learning how to properly evaluate needs of students, selecting proper tools, and creating a UDL friendly module would be a great experience for LRND students.

To be honest, most of the time what I hear from teachers I automatically assumed to be true and would rarely question any of the material presented to me, until my most recent last several years of college….and quite frankly even now I often presume what I am being ‘told’ or ‘taught’ is true.

Even if the facilitator has effectively included motivation in their design, they will still need to successfully deliver this material.  If the delivery falls flat, then the design may not be reached as intended.

For some reason it is bothersome to me to read lengthy material on the web.  Maybe I have just taught myself this, but I do think there is some validity to the lack of actual reading that is taking place on the web.

With learning design we need to make sure we incorporate as much experience and variety as we can.

People are distracted by the Internet because there are tons of things that can be done instead of homework. But to the benefit of Internet, I remember doing all sorts of things (as a elementary/high school student) instead of homework and they weren’t Internet related. We will always try to find ways to do something else when we do not want to do something.

When my daughter was born with Spina Bifida, I looked at every site that was available about the subject. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the prognosis of my child. Also, the Internet has connected other families together that have children with Spina Bifida. The Internet has proven to be a great resource to those people.

Yes, we can use fear as a motivator. It’s been used by petty dictators over the centuries and it’s always failed in the long run.

It’s the job of the teacher to create this environment where learning is fostered and goals are clearly marked out.

We need to set the bar higher than we think they can reach, so when they fail we’re happy with the results.

Same thought could be said with a more mature learner with similar technology like ipads.

If you examine this backwards, it would appear that the only way to change behaviors in an individual is to first alter the perceptions/predictions which are coming from the brain.

Thus, if we couple expectations with predictions and perceptions, I believe that we can go a long way in changing behavior over time.  If a person is going to behave based on what the brain see’s as most logical, then behavior can be changed by changing the logic.  I am a true believer in congnitive therapy, for instance.  I believe that cognitive therapy is rather strong proof that the patterns of ones behaviors can be changed by retraining the brain to set up the resultant behaviors to the desired outcome.

There needs to be more emphasis on “what” behaviors are resulting from technology.  If we can tangilby measure the behaviors resulting from technological innovation, would that not help us to understand what parts of technology are effective and what parts are ineffective?

The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on. For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing.

But individual learning is another matter, and psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong. For instance, many study skills courses insist that students find a specific place, a study room or a quiet corner of the library, to take their work. The research finds just the opposite. In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room. Later studies have confirmed the finding, for a variety of topics.

The brain makes subtle associations between what it is studying and the background sensations it has at the time, the authors say, regardless of whether those perceptions are conscious. It colors the terms of the Versailles Treaty with the wasted fluorescent glow of the dorm study room, say; or the elements of the Marshall Plan with the jade-curtain shade of the willow tree in the backyard. Forcing the brain to make multiple associations with the same material may, in effect, give that information more neural scaffolding. “What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting,” said Dr. Bjork, the senior author of the two-room experiment.

. Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social LearningAlec Couros

9. Personal Learning Environments Trey Martindale & Michael Dowdy

POINT 1. The PLE differs from the general usage of the LMS in that it is not course focused, but rather focuses on the learning the student is doing over the length of their learning journey. By extension it tends to allow for the student to control the way their own work is organized.

POINT 2 – PLEs are (to me at least) the ecologies within which PLNs operate

I think that this work done by Jim Groom is the most rarefied version of the PLE in Higher Education. Students are instructed to choose their own domain, find a hosting service and create their own blog space.

Learning analytics is the use of intelligent data, learner-produced data, and analysis models to discover information and social connections, and to predict and advise on learning

I’m interested in how learning analytics can restructure the process of teaching, learning, and administration.

LA relies on some of the concepts employed in web analysis, through tools like Google Analytics, as well as those involved in data mining (see educational data mining).