DIGITAL INTERMEDIATION, INTERNET USAGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE STYLES

Application of information and communication technologies in education has changed not only the forms of organization of educational process but also the way students learn. Studies over the last decade have shown that availability of the internet has changed the way students search, perceive, remember and assimilate new information and knowledge. This paper uses the works of cultural-historical psychology, media studies and cognitive psychology to ground the idea that the use of the media affects the development of cognitive styles. Computer technologies are conceptualized as cultural means, as psychological tools and new forms of intermediation between the consciousness and productive activity. As such, computer technologies and specifically the internet have the potential of influencing the development of higher psychic functions, the forms of cognitive self-control and self-government. The paper discusses the application of Sternberg’s conception of thinking styles to the problems of the influence of computer technologies on the development of styles of cognitive self-control. As empirical evidence the paper uses the materials of five focus group discussions with school and university teachers conducted within the project “The impact of internet usage patterns on the development of youth’s cognitive styles”

The history of technology in education. A comparative study and forecast

Area, launched in 1999 with the Bologna Declaration, has bestowed such a magnitude and unprecedented agility to the transformation process undertaken by European universities. However, the change has been more profound and drastic with regards to the use of new technologies both inside and outside the classroom. This article focuses on the study and analysis of the technology’s history within the university education and its impact on teachers, students and teaching methods. All the elements that have been significant and innovative throughout the history inside the teaching process have been analyzed, from the use of blackboard and chalk during lectures, the use of slide projectors and transparent slides, to the use of electronic whiteboards and Internet nowadays. The study is complemented with two types of surveys that have been performed among teachers and students during the school years 1999 - 2011 in the School of Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The pros and cons of each of the techniques and methodologies used in the learning process over the last decades are described, unfolding how they have affected the teacher, who has evolved from writing on a whiteboard to project onto a screen, the student, who has evolved from taking handwritten notes to download information or search the Internet, and the educational process, that has evolved from the lecture to acollaborative learning and project-based learning. It is unknown how the process of learning will evolve in the future, but we do know the consequences that some of the multimedia technologies are having on teachers, students and the learning process. It is our goal as teachers to keep ourselves up to date, in order to offer the student adequate technical content, while providing proper motivation through the use of new technologies. The study provides a forecast in the evolution of multimedia within the classroom and the renewal of the education process, which in our view, will set the basis for future learning process within the context of this new interactive era

The history of technology in education. A comparative study and forecast

Area, launched in 1999 with the Bologna Declaration, has bestowed such a magnitude and unprecedented agility to the transformation process undertaken by European universities. However, the change has been more profound and drastic with regards to the use of new technologies both inside and outside the classroom. This article focuses on the study and analysis of the technology’s history within the university education and its impact on teachers, students and teaching methods. All the elements that have been significant and innovative throughout the history inside the teaching process have been analyzed, from the use of blackboard and chalk during lectures, the use of slide projectors and transparent slides, to the use of electronic whiteboards and Internet nowadays. The study is complemented with two types of surveys that have been performed among teachers and students during the school years 1999 - 2011 in the School of Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The pros and cons of each of the techniques and methodologies used in the learning process over the last decades are described, unfolding how they have affected the teacher, who has evolved from writing on a whiteboard to project onto a screen, the student, who has evolved from taking handwritten notes to download information or search the Internet, and the educational process, that has evolved from the lecture to acollaborative learning and project-based learning. It is unknown how the process of learning will evolve in the future, but we do know the consequences that some of the multimedia technologies are having on teachers, students and the learning process. It is our goal as teachers to keep ourselves up to date, in order to offer the student adequate technical content, while providing proper motivation through the use of new technologies. The study provides a forecast in the evolution of multimedia within the classroom and the renewal of the education process, which in our view, will set the basis for future learning process within the context of this new interactive era

Methodological scheme in the curricular integration of cit

This paper discusses a methodological scheme in regard to curriculum integration of information and communication technologies. Through a simple case study that uses, on the one hand, as unit of analysis the tenth grade from a high school institution offering primary and secondary levels and, on the other hand, uses as subunits of analysis managers, teachers, students and parents with whom we developed a strategy called “ICT in the classroom.” This scheme aims at diagnosing integration needs, establishing training programs, planning the process (taking into account the interests of teachers and students), implementing information and communication technologies in beginner, basic, intermediate, and expert stages according to the institutional features; and, eventually, the scheme aims at identifying strengths and improvement opportunities. In the institution where this scheme was applied a change in teaching practices and a positive impact in the teaching community could be seen. This was evident in a shift from vertical to horizontal relationships and from teaching a traditional curriculum to an integrated curriculum thanks to the new technologies