Cato's Journey

Long ago, there lived a young woman named Cato. Her name meant “all-knowing” but she did not feel like she knew very much. She spent her days watching shadows dance across the cave walls; at night she dreamed of something more.

What lies beyond this smothering stone?

Reality is created by the mind. We can change our reality by changing our mind.

On an otherwise ordinary day, an extraordinary thing happened. From the shadows emerged a man dressed all in white. He promised her the knowledge she so desperately wanted.

With her guide, Cato stepped bravely into the light
and . . .

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Fell down a wormhole.

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Down,
down,
down,
she fell,
until...

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But there was no time to dawdle...

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Your first lesson, Cato, is what these random items have in common.
From agriculture to altered reality, these things represent technology; humankind's desire to apply knowledge for practical purposes.

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What is this?

Behaviourism

train

Measure

stimulus/response

condition

Cognitivism

Process

internal

Memory

Acquire

Constructivism

Meaningful

Collaboration

Engaged

Active

interaction

Ethical

Rational

Moral

Self-determination

Humanism

Connectivism

Self actualization

media

digital

network

technology

connect

And what are these?

Your second lesson, learning theories.

Let us see how humankind has applied these theories...

With a blink, the images before Cato dissolved. A dark infinity stretched before her.

"Where are we?"

"The correct question is when," replied her guide.

Promotes the cognitive, effective and psycho-motor aspects of the teachers and students.

The new scene set before Cato overwhelmed her senses.

"Using sight and sound, learners can engage with new knowledge previously unimagined."

"That's amazing!" Cato exclaimed. The images before her were beyond anything her imagination had cast against a stone backdrop.

"Be careful not to adopt technology too quickly, Cato," her guide warned. "There is always a cost."

"What do you mean?"

"There are some things you must know, Cato, if you are to temper your enthusiasm for educational technology. You may gain ease and amusement but lose your focus and imagination."

Cato understood the third lesson. Technology must be used mindfully to ensure learning.

Any advantage a new technology offers produces a corresponding disadvantage.

New technology benefits some and harms others.

Every technology contains its own philosophy, and within that philosophy exist diverse biases and prejudices.

Technology contains its own ecology; therefore, it adds to nothing and changes everything.

Technology can take on mythic proportions, leading others to mistakenly accept it as an absolute.

Paraphrased from Neil Postman

They journeyed on, the scene shifting once more.

"Let's try another. What is gained and what is lost?"

Cato thought for a moment, "Learners discover how to collaborate and create using technology. They learn how to manage their time effectively and multitask..."

"But..." her guide interjected.

"But focus divided is no focus at all."

She noted that the small screens full of knowledge were certainly distracting. It would again take mindfulness to navigate such power.

Intrinsic stimulation provided by
the combination of the visual, kinaesthetic and auditory paths to learning; sustained focus maintained throughout the lesson by the teacher’s management and
‘orchestration’ skills; stepped learning through constant challenges with frequent assessment of achievement as a stimulant to further involvement.