Knowing and Understanding Types of Knowledge: How they effect the choice of an education technology tool?

Knowing and Understanding Types of Knowledge: How they effect the choice of an education technology tool?
Date: 4th March 2020/Wednesday

This blog post is interesting in the sense that it provided an opportunity to connect the ideas in the reading with the tools we use in classrooms. It was an opportunity to analyze the education technology tools we use from different angles. To begin with what are the different types of knowledge that the tool possesses and how does it benefit the user or the learner. How is knowledge represented in the tool. We all know that knowledge is a collection of facts about a particular concept gained through some sort of experience educational, vocational, technical etc. This knowledge can be divided into different types, these include conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, strategic knowledge and situational knowledge. One thing that needs to be understood here is that not every tool will have all types of knowledge and this may vary depending on the purpose of the tool.

So, what is conceptual knowledge. Conceptual knowledge is static knowledge about concepts, facts, principles that are applicable within a specific domain. We learn conceptual knowledge through reading about a topic, discussing it, reflecting on it, viewing a video about the topic, or listening about it in the form of audios and podcasts. One needs to have a thorough understanding of the concepts to solve complex problems. Procedural knowledge on the other hand talks and focuses on the procedure or process of doing things for example knowing how to ride a bicycle, how to drive a car etc. It is also called imperative knowledge and is related to the performance of the task. So once you know how to ride a bicycle or drive a car, it becomes implicit knowledge. Situational knowledge on the other hand is gained from your experiences, from dealing with and handling situations. You see things, learn them and then you begin to recognize the emerging patterns. But its difficult to gain situational knowledge.  A situation could be a house next to a large tree at the end of the street. Another example could be students sitting in the class waiting for the exam to begin or people standing in the street near the bust station waiting for the bus to arrive and so on. This knowledge about the surroundings is important so that you are more aware of whats going around and plan accordingly. Strategic knowledge refers to strategies, that you apply to reach a particular goal. For example, the strategies you come up with to comprehend a text or reading assigned to you.

Similarly, knowledge has some qualities, for example knowledge can be either surface level or deep level knowledge, it can  be general or domain specific, it can be automated or non automated, it can appear in different forms (modality of knowledge), could be a combination of video, images, text etc. Surface level knowledge is associated with rote learning, trial and error and lack of critical judgement. My understanding is it requires low level of element interactivity, thus leading to low cognitive load on the memory. Where as deep level knowledge requires making connections between the elements , requiring high level interactivity between the elements, its more to do with understanding, comprehension , critical analysis and application of the learned knowledge into new situations. Domain specific as apparent from the name is more to do with a specific subject, area of interest, research, study etc and general knowledge that could be applicable to a number of fields. 

This introduction was necessary so that we are in a position to map the concepts to the real life tools we use. To begin with Mathetics its a domain specific app which lets students practice and exp,ore different topics related to Math. Also it provides an opportunity for collaboration with peers around the globe. Similarly Reading Eggs is another online tool/app which lets students aged between 2 to 13 learn basic literacy skills. Its a domain specific app and is persuasive in nature. Students can create their avatars , they get rewards for their exercises and can use this rewards for virtual shopping within the tool. The colors and text are bold and dominating. Its user friendly and has an easy to use interface. Its more interactive and provides a fun learning experiences. It stores student performance data, that can be reviewed. Also, based on an assessment, it assigns each learner/user a separate reading level and not all users/learners get the same level. Mathletics provides you a detailed report at the end of how you have performed in various levels. 

Both Mathletics and Reading Eggs consist conceptual knowledge and situational knowledge to some extent. The level of knowledge is surface and deep both to some extent. Students begin by practicing simple exercises and then move on to some what difficult ones that lets them apply their learned knowledge. For example Egg Word Snap is an app which provides the learners to learn and develop reading skills and learn up to 180 words , it has 9 decks of virtual flash cards, it includes a number of play modes, single , double player etc. Its visually appealing, lets pupils collaborate among each other. So, the learner can imagine the computer as a team player, which encourages them to learn  more. Its more dominating and not submissive. So, basically when educators/teachers are trying to look for apps that could lead to effective teaching and learning in classrooms, they must consider the sort of knowledge these apps would provide. Most apps are simple rote learning apps, requiring remembering, recall and recognition skills, leading to low element interactivity. One must look for apps that enable the learner the engage in high element interactivity. Apps like KhanAcademy provide the high element interactivity element. They begin with explaining the basic concepts just in the case of statistics, explanation with worked examples followed by practice exercises that get challenges and require understanding of the basic concept and situational knowledge. It is domain specific and includes deep level knowledge. It caters to different modalities, these include teaching and learning with video, text and audio. Its more dominating because the tutor explains in a very natural way, he uses a pen, different colors and explains using real life examples. The exercises are animated, the questions appear in different forms , and provides hints and cues to encourage the user to keep trying, even the praise and feedback are varied and encouraging.

In the mid exams we were given a somewhat similar app expii which is domain specific, offers content related to math and biology only. There is a blend of surface and deep level knowledge. It uses a blend of audio, text , videos and comic examples to explain the content. But after every attempt it directs the user to the previously reviewed topic instead of directing towards the main topic. Though I think it could improve over time by introducing a few changes. These could be change to the contribution part where the user or learner can share their knowledge on the topic, in the form of videos, blogs, podcasts etc. The interface is simple. Though it does not provide a detailed account of the performance of the learner on a specific topic. The feedback is not detailed. Though I did see some sequencing and structure in the content. Every topic is subdivided into various sub topics. There is a task hierarchy visible. Its submissive and not dominating. It does not fully fit in the criteria of a cognitive architecture. There are a number of features missing. 

Other than this, there are a few design principles that need to be considered. These include whether the tool or app provides opportunities for tunneling, tailoring, reduction, credibility , provides feedback/praise/rewards and opportunity for personalization. For example the Reading Eggs and Mathletics tools both provide the personalization element, users can create their own avatars, personalize some features leading to more impact of persuasive messages, also they could self monitor their performances and choose their own path, the tool creates detailed performance reports to aid the learner as well as the teacher. I see an element of tailoring visible in the Khan Academy tool, it provides the user to select the topic, assignment, subject that meets their needs and requirements. Every user could begin with a different level. Its a credible resource because it has been developed by the people who are experts in their fields. At the end of every exercise it provides praise and feedback to the user to move on. It keeps track of the users performance and gives you reward points that you could use in the tool to open other courses. I don't though see an element of reduction and tunneling.

So, when looking for educational tools online or offline, apps or websites we could come up with a criteria of which are the most effective tools that would lead to maximum learning and teaching with education technology. A few  pointers to take into account could be as follows:

• the type of knowledge they provide (conceptual/situational/procedural/strategic)
• representation of knolwedge
• element interactivity low or high?
• think of persuasive design principles (tunelling, credibility, tailoring, personaliztaion ,reduction, self monitoring, praise and rewards)
• is it a persuasive tool or no and how?(interface, interactive, feedback, praise/rewards, team players, roles etc)

 So, enjoy reading and I hope this helps :)

Regards and prayers
Sheeba Ajmal