Week 1

Learning Styles

WOW, a new skill learnt, inserting an image into my blog.

I have just taken a learning style quiz and the results are quite interesting. It has revealed that the best way I learn is Intrapersonal (by myself) I would disagree with this, as I feel I learn more during a lecture or a group study session and certainly not by myself. Although I do need some time by myself to digest what I have heard and read. The next learning style on my chart is logical (number smart), hmmm well I wouldn't consider myself number smart, but I do like things to be in a logical order and organised, so this fits well. This is followed closely by linguistic (word smart), once again I wouldn't consider myself word smart, although upon reflection I agree that you do need strong word knowledge in order to write university assignments. I do enjoy writing and in the past have enjoyed constructing short stories. I have realised through this activity that I do not recognise my strengths enough.

My thoughts
Learning styles within a classrom could contain both advantages and disadvantages depending how they are used and catered for by the learning manager.
An advantage would be that you can connect with the learner and ensure that the content you are teaching reaches the students long term memory by delivering it in their preferred learning style.
A disadvantage is that if the learning manager is focussing their on teaching methods one or two specific learning styles then the other learning styles are neglected. If content is only delivered in a student's preferred learning style then the student misses opportunities to develop the other learning styles.

Mind Maps
We were also asked to look at mind maps and to create a mind map and reflect on it. I have created a mind map about myself. I have learnt how to create the mind map and to save it as a JPG image. Now to learn how to embed it into here.....
(OK so first I have to find where it saved on my computer??)

Bubbl.us:
I found this site very useful and interesting, it is simple to use, so would be a great tool in the classroom for students to create their own mind maps about their projects, thoughts or to reflect on their learning. It allows the user to create colourful mind maps with single or multiple words in each bubble. The mind map can be moved around and edited easily.
I did find it limiting after listening to Tony Buzan discuss mind maps. Bubbl.us did not allow me to put in curved lines to link ideas (well I was unable to accomplish this, I am willing to be proven wrong if anyone would like to show me how). The key words also were in bubbles as opposed to being written on the branches as Buzan suggests.

My thoughts:

Buzan believes that mind maps are an effective and efficient tool for learning and storing knowledge. Mind maps should be colourful, as the brain loves colour and this makes the information easier to remember, have curved lines as opposed to straight lines, as the brain is more intrigued with curved lines and becomes easily bored with straight lines and does not take in the information. Each branch of the mind map should only contain one key word, this gives the creator more freedom when adding sub lines off the main lines and headings, a single word leaves more room to add information. Buzan states that mind maps allow links to be made between information and ideas this is a very effective way to store information in the long term memory of the brain, as the brain thinks by imagination and association.