Wahono
Calculate in your head.
648
648
X 12
Calculate with paper and
pencil.
586
x 21
586
x 21
What is the answer?
833
x 17
833
x
17
14161
Calculate with the calculator.
792
x 14
• What are “tools”
• Physical tools • Cognitive tools • What does it
mean to “know” • Where do you
What Are “Tools”
What Are “
Tools
”
• Webster defines as – something used in
performing an operation or
necessary in the
practice of a vocation or profession
– ex: a carpenter’s
hammer, level, saw, etc. are his tools
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Examples
– hammer – lever
– crutches
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Amplify man’s physical
capabilities
• Allow tasks to be completed
– faster
– more uniformly – in SOME cases
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Allow man to do some physical
tasks that were nearly, if not
totally, impossible in earlier
times
• Transform how man produces &
moves goods & services
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• New powerful physical tools
– make some
earlier physical tools obsolete – provide another
alternative to complete
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Horse drawn carriages
– all but
disappeared – replaced by
automobiles,
trucks, trains, & planes
• Hammer – still used
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Each has its place
• Each has its appropriate use
• Automobiles, trucks, trains, &
planes
– don’t necessarily transport people & goods better
– do provide faster delivery
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• When used appropriately and mindfully*
– newer modes of transportation provide better delivery
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Power nailer
– doesn’t necessarily make the product of a carpenter better
– allows carpenter to be more efficient
• When used
appropriately and mindfully
Physical Tools
Physical To
o
ls
• Historical perspective
– auto viewed as substitute for horse-drawn carriages
– actually became an agent of change
• revolutionized cityscapes • altered culture
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Examples
– book – paper
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Amplify man’s mental
capabilities
• Allow cognitive tasks to be
completed
– faster
– more efficiently
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Take on some low level tasks
– Bloom’s taxonomy
• knowledge, recall
– calculator does rote arithmetic calculations
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Support thinking and learning
• Contain knowledge
• Allow man to do higher level
mental tasks that were nearly,
if not totally, impossible in
earlier times
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Transform how
man
– collects – stores
– retrieves
– communicates – analyzes
– synthesizes
New Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Brought on the Information
Revolution
• Make some earlier cognitive
tools obsolete
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Slide rules
– all but
disappeared – replaced by
electronic calculators
• Pen & paper
– still used
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Each has its place
• Each has its appropriate use
• More powerful electronic
calculator
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• When used appropriately and
mindfully
– calculator offers ability to produce a different result, a mathematical task that would be nearly
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• More powerful word
processing
– doesn’t necessarily produce better
writing
– allows writer to easily edit
– provides numerous options to writer
A+ Great work. A+ Great work.
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• When used appropriately
and mindfully
– word processor provides the opportunity to produce a
better product
• correct spelling • better grammar • higher quality of
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Historical perspective
– oral tradition replaced by writing
• ... This discovery of yours will
create forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it...You offer your students the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom. They will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing...they will appear to be omniscient and will
generally know nothing...”
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• When printing emerged
– “
...The world has got alongperfectly well for six thousand years with out printing, and has no need to change now.”
Filippo di Strata
– Printed books will never be the equivalent of handwritten
codices...The simple reason is that copying by hand involves more
diligence and industry.”
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Development of
– language – writing
– printing press leading to
widespread
access to books – computer
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• Each major development of
cognitive tools has had, and
will continue to have, deep
impacts on our culture,
transforming what it means to
“know”
Eye Glas
s
es
Cognit
i
ve Tools
• A crutch?
– Are eye glasses a crutch?
– What’s wrong with a crutch?
• if you have a broken leg, a crutch is
Spelling 1. cat 2. bird 3. dog 4. pig Spelling 1. cat 2. bird 3. dog 4. pig
• If we say “Ben is a good
speller.” what does that
tell us about Ben and
what he “knows”?
– good at memorization – understands rules of
spelling
– writes using correct spelling
– passes the spelling test
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Where does Ika’s spelling knowledge reside?
– in his head?
– in cognitive tools?
• dictionary • paper
• spell checker program
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• How do cognitive tools
change a mental task like
spelling?
– just in head
•test orally
•must be memorized
– paper & pencil
•changes task & what one needs to “know”
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Multiple choice spelling test
– recognition vs generation
– spelling knowledge can be different
• Writing
– use dictionary or other written materials – ask another person (a cognitive tool?)
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Knowledge resides in all
• User needs different skills &
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• School work
– most cognitive tools are allowed for
“learning”
• use of dictionary when writing
• use of books for data • use of human partners • use of spell checker
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• School work
– most cognitive tools are NOT
allowed to test knowledge
(“learning”)
• only paper & pencil
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Non-school work
– all tools allowed to complete job – never take tools away from worker
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Would you teach an accountant
how to use a spreadsheet to
amortize a mortgage, and then
expect him (now that he has
learned how to do it) take away
the spreadsheet and expect
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Knowledge workers
– use cognitive tools
• Change is occurring
– qualifying exam for S3. – only paper & pencil
– not how “real” academics work – take home exam
• allows for use of cognitive tools
What Does It Mean
to
“Know”
• Implications for schools
– authentic tasks utilizing cognitive tools
• open book, notes testing
– calculators & computers
• teach students how to use mindfully
Cognitive To
o
ls
• Business, industry, & government
– embraced & adopted new cognitive tools
• support work of employees
– demanding candidates for new positions
Summa
r
y
• Amount of knowledge
– continues to grow
– much they will need to know is not currently ‘known’
– no longer expect students to learn it all
– teach them how to use
Summa
r
y
• Newer cognitive tools will transform our culture in ways we can’t yet
imagine.
– as automobiles spawned new ways of living and working
• Currently still essentially using as replacements for older technologies
Summa
r
y
• If we must ‘test’
students knowledge, let it be a test of their
knowledge and skills in utilizing cognitive tools to
– collect – store – retrieve
– communicate – analyze &
– synthesize
Where Do You Stand?
• Should students be allowed
to utilize cognitive tools for
all tasks in school, including
test situations?
Credits
• All clipart courtesy of MS Office
• Jinkerson, L.A. (1994). Computer Spell Checkers and Collaborative Peers:
Intellectual Partners, published
