ITEC 800 Week 5 September 27, 2007

ITEC 800 Notes

Taylor completed a wonderful presentation about the "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) project after attending a workshop about it. Feel free to contact Sameer Verma if you can help (language, skills, etc.) in any way. This laptop is a great example of use of Constructivism and the model is geared toward providing laptops to children in third-world countries. It uses little power (12 volt power supply) and last for about 48 hours on a single charge. Other potential alternate power sources are solar power and a hand crank. It is fully recyclable, uses about 1 watt, and has a five year life span. It’s designed to be very durable and utilizes a wireless mesh network technology. Taylor also talked about the interface which is called “Sugar”. More information can be found at http://laptop.org/ or http://opensource.sfsu.edu/ if you wish to know more or contribute.

It was interesting to hear about how resourceful and recyclable companies can make laptops when there is little profit involved--something to think about.

Dr. Foreman mentioned that Seymour Papert actually introduced a similar concept over in the 1960’s. He, along with Wally Feurzeig created the “Logo” computer language which has roots in artificial intelligence. He took 50 computers to Nigeria but didn’t take the environment into account.

We explored Cognitive Theory and the Information Processing (CIP) model. We completed a fun exercise trying to remember 20 objects and some individuals did very well (not me). The class was split up into two groups. While the group A stayed in the classroom and looked over the objects, the group B went into the hallway. Dr. Foreman informed only group B that the items were taken from four separate places, her desk drawer, junk drawer, kitchen, and bathroom. The results did not show that group B had a distinct advantage with the added information as the three top scores came from group A. However, it appeared that group B had a higher average score than group A. Theoretically, grouping/categorizing should be more helpful.

Video (Remembering and Forgetting): Ebbinghaus studied and tested memory but ignored meaning and using associations to further memory. The computer changed the way we studied memory and it was associated with and information processor. Memory can be broken down into stages. Input must be encoded, then stored and retained, the retrieved on demand when needed. Peg word mnemonic where the individual associates items and can better remember. Freud was the first to recognize that what we remember and forget can affect our self-esteem and sense of well-being. How and what you remember is determined by who you are and what you already know. Schemas are our frameworks for ideas and processing information.