Instructional applications of advanced communications technologies, particularly computer and web-based tools, have proliferated in the last three years. Many are developed as supplemental aids to regular classroom-based instruction. When well done, they are designed so that groups can collaborate, which enhances the potential for rich discovery of new ideas. This presentation will describe how a simple, low-cost, computerized neural network can provide opportunities for learners to organize complex ideas and then experiment with relationships in their ideas to discover new meanings. This will be accomplished by describing and demonstrating how a particular neural net application called The Brain was used in an undergraduate course at the university level. In a Child and Adolescent Health course, the class was divided into 16 groups, each to construct a “web of causation” for an issue relevant to the course material. These groups included traditional issues--suicide, depression, substance abuse, and unplanned pregnancy—and topics such as academic underachievement, delinquency, and participation in gang behavior. While lecturing and reading could communicate to students that these issues had some common social and behavioral determinants, we felt that greater insight would be gained by having the students “discover” these underlying determinants. The processes used to ensure discovery learning through exploration of neural nets will be demonstrated. Recommendations about how these tools can be adapted for other applications in instructional settings will be provided. Finally, the implications of using such instructional support tools to facilitate health education will be addressed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: · Describe what advanced communications technology tools are available to health educators and how they can facilitate instruction. · Evaluate the potential for use of such applications in a broader instructional context for discovery learning.
Keywords: Information Technology, Adolescent Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Brain
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.