Time on Task
Lowerison, Gretchen, et al. Are We Using Technology for Learning? Journal of Educational Technology Systems 34 4 (2006): 401-25.
No, this post has nothing to do with me staying on task beyond the fact that it is another blog post reviewing yet another source for the dissertation. This addresses a specific section of Lowerison et al.’s Are We Using Technology for Learning.
Time on Task
Bloom (1957) stated that the amount of time one spent on a task increased the likelihood that the material would be processed at a deeper level. Lowerison, et al. note that the computer technology is a benefit to students since they could spend their energies processing information instead of gathering it, it reduces their workload, it allows for increased organization, and it makes it easier for them to access materials. (405).
While these points are accurate, it does bring to light a potential disadvantage to the OVC. Use of this technology does take time for participants, students in this case, to learn the tools. While this could be said of most computer technologies, there is a certain level of computer literacy that is learned by most individuals now and that carries over to many tasks. Less common, however, is the ability to use webcams and the correlating software and user interfaces that are relevant to the OVC.
Whether the OVC reduces or increases a student’s workload is directly relevant to the student’s comfort and familiarity with the technology. For example, if one were asked whether it is easier to answer a question face-to-face or to respond in an email, most people would say it is easier to just turn to a person and respond. However, if the question were posed comparing writing that email response versus responding in video form, most people would say that it is easier to write the email. This point has to do with the familiarity that the common computer user has reached in using email. Technically, the use of video is much closer to responding face-to-face, since one is speaking into a camera in the way that he or she would speak to an individual in their presence. However, such use of video technology as a communication method is far less ubiquitous than is email. As video use becomes more prevalent and such devices are set to be at-the-ready, familiarity will increase as will the perceived ease with which one can respond to another individual.
Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook 1. In Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Company, Inc.