Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of the book is an introduction to education technology, as well as an introduction to the factors of education, such as environmental, psychological, and personal factors. It also covers differing perspectives on education, such as behaviorism, cognitive, and constructivist perspectives.

The basic history of perspectives on the use of technology in education is also covered. Basically, this boils down to an initial focus of technology being used for things like audiovisual. Later, as computer technology became cheaper, the shift has focused to urging a more computer-assisted and holistic integrated approach to technology use in the classroom.

The majority of the activities focused on using Windows XP and Mac OSX. I already knew how to do all the things listed for XP. Finding time to get to a computer lab for the Mac portion was slightly difficult, but I did practice for the lab a little. Most of the Mac functions were easy enough to figure out. There was also a section focusing on our own learning styles.

The biggest thing to remember from this chapter will be the multiple learning styles assessment. By keeping in mind my own biases in this regard, I can plan the lesson focusing on my strengths for setting it up, but also be aware of where I need to focus so that students that do not learn as I do can have access to materials and methods that appeal to their strengths.