Saturday, November 26, 2011

Innovative Ways of Learning

When I read about TIM ( Torrance Incubation Model) I was pleasantly surprised by what it entailed. The three steps that are part of TIM, Heighten Anticipation, Extend Learning, and Deeper Exploration, I find to be a great tools in the entire learning process. Not only can they be used for schooling, but in the workplace environment it would a worthwhile way of keeping employees on top of the ever changing world that we live in. I like the idea of having learners do a personal reflection that also involves setting goals. I think to often, people become styfled and if they were to write down what it is they want out of their learning process, then they would be able to set realistic goals, that for the most part, they would work hard to achieve. The concept of doing pre-learning before class begins is a good idea as long as its the kind of learning that is fun. Learning from others would be beneficial to the entire process, because have different viewpoints helps students to see things from a totally different perspective. To collaborate with others in an online environment is beneficial to keeping the dialogue moving forward. Extending the learning process through videoconference as well as with materials that can be downloaded is also a great way to keep a person on top of what is new and it would also help them to continue the collaborativ effort that they had started from the beginning. I wish that public school districts would incorporate this type of learning, instead of the boring lecture environment that seems to be everywhere. Sorry to say, for me, I can't sit in a classroom and listen to someone preach at me. My attention span is very limited and at least if I was given the opportunity to learn in a different way, I think that I would become more engaged in the process. School is not fun if kids are stuck sitting in a classroom for hours on end having to memorize a multitude of information, only to have to take a test which in essence, is testing our memory, more so than any knowledge that we hope to retain. Because, lets face facts, if something is boring, how many of us will store that information? I don't think that number will be too high. Learning needs to be fun, and it shouldn't be about testing our memory. Testing I feel should not be used as a gauge for one's intelligence, because not everyone learns the same. Each individual student has their own unique way of learning and I think that an environment that incorporates tools like those found in TIM, would be beneficial to so many students, specifically learning impaired students. I am a big believer that schools have a tendency to overlook the learning impaired students, who are extremely creative, and therefore would benefit from a more interactive learning environment. Lectures don't work for learning impaired students, I can attest to that. My memory is not good and having to be tested on what I remember, is pointless. I would much rather allow my creativity to emerge and this would allow me to grow my knowledge in a way that I would not be able to if I was just lectured at. School systems it seems have not changed with the advent of all this new technology. They are still stuck in a time warp and if they looked at educating children in todays world, they would see that what they are doing is not completely beneficial the learning process. Standardized tests have in my opinion are not a way to gauge a child's knowledge. They don't allow for creativity and they create more fear and aniexty amongst kids, especially those who are learning impaired.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Creativity at its finest

I came across this outdoor museum in Japan and the pieces are just beautiful. This place must be something to marvel at in person. It really is creativity at its finest.













Sunday, November 13, 2011

Losing My Way

I have found that over the past few weeks I have lost my way. I have hit a brick wall so to speak and I can't seem to get back on track. As hard as I try, I just keep spinning my wheels. I find the same thing happens when I try to be creative. No matter how much effort I put forth, it never amounts to much. I can only talk myself into so much and after awhile it falls on deaf ears. I envy those people who can keep it all together. Those people who have their life completely laid out in their planner. They know exactly what they have to do at every waking moment. I, on the other hand, can't seem to remember what day of the week it is. I could attribute it to the fact that I just am a disorganized mess, or I could just not make an excuse and just find a solution. Implementing CPS it seems would be the way to go. But where to begin. I think that I just need a day where I'm not running in twenty five different directions. I guess its OK to say no. I just hate disappointing people, especially my mother. I am looking forward to this coming week and the hope that it brings a renewed passion in me. I think alittle down time would rejuvenate my creativity. This time of the year I find to be extremely difficult, not just because we are getting down to the end of the semester, but because the holidays represent so many things to me. I want this holiday season to be a special one and i will do my best to see that it is. I plan on giving back to those less fortunate. I think that is a step in the right direction.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Cognitive Biases

Having looked over the list on cognitive biases, I'm not sure if I actually can relate to 5 or 7 of the biases. I went over the list several times and I came up with two that I know that I have used. The Positivity Effect is when older adults remember relatively more positive than negative things, compared with younger adults. I know that I always try to focus on the positive, especially when I'm surrounded at times by the negative things. In this day and age, its hard to be happy with the way the economy has just about destroyed my husband and myself. But, I always try to look to the positive, and remembering my childhood always helps with that. I personally don't feel that it is a bad bias to have. I really would not look to change it. And the other one that I sometimes find myself doing, is the Hostile Media Bias. This is the tendency to see a media report as being biased due to one's own strong partisan views. I just think that I really need to be more open to other opinions. Granted, it may not be something that I would totally agree with, but I would at least take what's being said and maybe look at it from a different perspective. Maybe by reframing what is being said, maybe it would be more appealing to me.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Flow in the Workplace

After listening to the gentleman talk about flow in the workplace, it reminded me a lot of my past employment. People for the most part I think don't really like what they are doing, and as Mihaly stated, if people are bored with their jobs and they're not happy, they will usually rush to get the work done as fast as possible. He suggests that people should become engaged with their work. People look for a sense of happiness with their jobs. People need to find a challenge with their job in order to make it more rewarding, they also need to perfect their skill level in order to become proficient in what they are doing and lastly, they need to focus on that task at hand, because that would shift their negative feelings towards their job. I recall in my last job that it got to the point that I hated going to work. I worked in a highly creative job, I was a floral designer for almost 10 years. But, I would add, that when you have owners who tend to be negative and who always dwell on negative things and who always dwell on mistakes, then there really is no room to move forward in that job. It can become extremely stifling and often times, it become detrimental to your health. It was actually making me ill. My staff quit because they couldn't take the constant daily negative comments. In order for employees to be happy, they need to feel appreciated and they need to know that they are valued.
Karen

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Survey on Social Networking and learning

I came upon this article that presented info in a survey about how kids between 9 to 17 are using social networking sites. Its a short article but very insightful.

http://socialnetworking.procon.org/sourcefiles/CreateandConnect.pdf

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Disconnected: People who aren't afforded the use of a computer

I came across another article about disconnect, but this one relates to people who are disconnected from computers due to their situation in life. It's a good article that looks at Libraries and how they help these people.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6573334.html

Kids and Social Networking Skills

I felt the need to write about this topic because its something that I have spoken about in the past week.  I came upon an article today in a magazine given to me by my mom. In the August issue of Family Circle, there is an article titled Virtual Reality in which the author, Dan Tynan, talks about kids and the disconnect with them and other family members. He asks a question, "Are we digitally distracted?" I agree with him that yes we are. He speaks about this topic with alot of first hand knowledge because he and his wife are both technology journalists. He states in the article that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans between 8 and 18 consume media nearly 8 hours a day. The article also states that the time families spend together has dropped from 26 hours a week to under 18. He feels that technology is putting a wedge between people, and that what concerns him is the fact that people are consumed by it. There is a passage in the article which I had stated in a blog last week, so its alittle interesting that I would be reading exactly what I was thinking last week. He writes., "Apparently Generation Text spends so much time typing and tapping they may have difficulty understanding body language, resolving conflicts or feeling compassion for their real-life, flesh and blood companions." The internet provides many kids with the ability to act out a role behind the computer. Microsoft Reasercher, Danah Boyd refers to this as "identity performance", in which kids try on a virtual personality in an arena like Facebook where the fear of any social awkwardness vanishes. For introverted children that may be a good thing. But, there still exists a problem amongst teenagers who are all too consumed with FB, or texting, to fully understand that a real world does exist outside of their cell phone and computer. There is a huge problem when kids look at FB as a way of playing a part. They may not necessarily have to be themselves online because there is no one there to critique them. Unfortunately, this makes alot of sense. But ,it gives kids a false sense of security that these FB friends are really their friends, when in reality, these type of friends are not their for the long haul. The biggest problem that I have with social networking and how many kids abuse the priviledge, is the fact that because they'd rather text, verbal communication has now taken a back seat to texting. This is bad on so many levels, because I see alot of kids constantly texting. In fact, two kids were sitting next to each other, texting one another. "Texting and tweeting instead of talking not only leads to conversations filled with dramatic hyperbole, creative spelling and LOL's, it can also create a generation of conversational illiterates who struggle to read body language, resolve conflicts or deal with difficult emotions, warns Van Petten." She is the founder of a teen-driven advice site called Radical Parenting. It also warns that technology may be playing a role with people's capacity to feel grief. In a study conducted by the University of Michigan, it says that 40% of college students today are less empathetic than students 30 years ago. Researchers partially blame social media for this decline, because lets face facts, you can't learn how to be empathetic attached to your computer screen. Educational psychologist Michael Borba, has stated that " technology can rob us of face-to-face interactions." While some will argue that social media in the professional realm is a thing that is ever present and will only continue to grow, it still must be looked at as a reall issue with kids. While texting may not be viewed as a form of verbal communication, it is however a form of communication that is widely used and will be used in the professional world. Technology for all of the negatives, does have many positives. More and more people are able to communicate with people all over the world. Relatives and friends can now stay in touch more. Skype is a great tool for talking to people in far off places. Granted, I  may not like the fact that kids, especially the younger adolescent group, can become all too engrossed in their technology, but I would like to see parents curtail the texting, especially during family time. I just don't want to see kids grow up and one day realize that they don't know how to hold a real conversation for more than 10 minutes. I would also like to see people becoming less disconnected, because it creates an environment where people are self absorbed in technology and less connected with the outside real world. Read the entire article, its really eye opening   .http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/technology/connecting-with-your-kids/

Karen

Works Cited: http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/technology/connecting-with-your-kids/
Dan Tynan.

Monday, October 10, 2011

"The quality of your life is the quality of your communication"

I'm not sure that I would totally agree with that quote. Not everyone can communicate effectively, so would that make their life less worthy? Because in a sense, isn't it saying that you must be a good communicator, or the quality of your life will suffer? Maybe I am misinterpreting what is being said. I think the quality of my life is more than communication, its about the things I do, how I give selflessly of myself to others. The saying " actions speak louder than words" would seem completely opposite of this quote.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Creativity Later in Life

I have racked my brain on many occasions to come up with creative ideas, but some days, I just can't think. I used to think that it was because I was tired, but now I really think that alot of it has to do with age. I used to be a floral designer for almost 10 years and I could whip together a design in minutes, now I find that it takes me a little longer to gather my thoughts. Are my cognitive skills suffering because of my age? I have to say that I know that I want to say somethinng or do something, but I feel that whatever it is, its lost in my brain somewhere. I often times just chalked it up to my ADD, but now I just think its an aging brain. I read in Aging and Creativity where Denney 1990, has stated, "The cognitive processes underlying the exploration stage, involving conceptual shifting, and hypothesis testing, show a similar decline with age." In the article, it states that older adults usually rely on the first idea, because they have a more difficult time coming up with a multitude of creative ideas. But, it does go on to say, that older adults have more original ideas because of their extensive knowledge that they've acquired over the years as opposed to the younger generation. It kind of doesn't make sense, because in one respect its saying that older adults have a more difficult time in coming up with creative ideas, but then it says that they have more knowledge to come up with original ideas. It's alittle confusing to say the least. I know that I have the knowledge, I just feel like I've hit that road block and I don't know what to do to get it going again. I would also add. that I think sometimes when there's too many distractions they can sometimes be a detriment to the creative process. I find diffculty even writing my thoughts down in this blog because I'm thinking about what I have to do tomorrow. I have thought about taking medicine for my ADD, because maybe that would help me to focus a bit more. I know that drugs aren't always the answer, but I'm extremely frustrated by my lack of creative output. I know that I have the ability to do something great, I just don't know what that is.

Karen
DENNEY, N. W. (1990). Adult age differences in traditional and practical problem solving. In E. A. Lovelace

(Ed.),
Aging and cognition: Mental processes, self awareness and interventions (pp. 329-349).

New York: Elsevier Science Publishers B. V. (North-Holland).

Creativity and Innovation

I came across this video while I was watching another video and it really was rather interesting how Edward De Bono used hats for his analogies on creativity and innovation. What he said makes a lot of sense and I also believe that people can sometimes sabotage creativity, especially if you're working in a group and you have someone who always looks at the glass as being half empty. It's hard to be creative when there's negativity, but there are ways to get around that as he has stated.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Social Networking and the Learning Disabled

I like the idea of social networking as a way of learning from others. It's a great way to utilize a format that enables people to reach out to other parts of the globe. With respect to learning, who wouldn't want to have that option to speak with other people in a different part of the world. I wonder how would this type of learning benefit someone with learning disabilities? I want my son to go back to school so badly but he is very insecure about his abilities, mainly because he did poorly in high school. I wonder if a format could be created that would allow these kids the ability to learn given their disability? I'm not sure if one already exists, but I think the idea would be worthwhile. There are so many more adults being diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, that it would probably benefit them if there was a way to learn that was more on their terms. I realize that most students who are classified get accomodations from their respective schools, but there is that percentage of students who aren't classified, but still have difficulty with learning.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Creativity and Learning Disabled Children

I really am interested in trying to find a better way for mainstream learning disabled children, who sit in a mainstream classroom trying to absorb content, to be able to learn about a subject, but more importantly, to be able to retain the information. Being an adult with ADD, I can sympathize with just how boring most classrooms are. I can't necessarily blame the teacher, because lets face it, they are told to follow a script, and they must comply. I on the other hand, look at the entire education system as being flawed, in that it doesn't make learning fun and creative, which I think is why so many children grow to hate school. Imagine, being a child with ADHD, and you must sit at your seat for a prolong period of time. As an adult with ADD, I can only stay seated for short intervals and if I'm not allowed to get up and move, I feel like I need to crawl out of my own skin. With that said, as an adult, I can coax myself into staying put, but a child is more likely to be impulsive and has a much harder time trying to remain seated. There has to be a better way for a classroom to work so that its not only beneficial for the average student population, but it must also work for those students who have a difficult time concentrating on the task at hand. My biggest gripe is the lecture period. Do teachers really understand how boring they can be. In all honesty, could they actually listen to themselves speak and not be bored by it? These children have attention and concentration issues, and to try and listen to a person speak for a prolonged period of time, well those kids have probably only grasped about the first two sentences, the rest has already been forgotten.