The Vietnam Conflict Began In The Late Nineteenth Century. The Essay Example For Students

The Vietnam Conflict Began In The Late Nineteenth Century. The Essay French conquered Vietnam and made it a protectorate. For nearly fortyyears, Vietnam had not experienced settled peace. The League for theIndependence of Vietnam ( Viet Minh ) was formed in 1941, seekingindependence from the French. On September 2nd,1945, Ho Chi Minhproclaimed it independent of France. The French opposed theirindependence from 1945 to 1954. The first representatives of deGualles government landed by parachute in Saigon and Hanoi on August23rd, 1945. The French wanted to reestablish their rule in Vietnam butwere beaten at the battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7th, 1954. TheFrench Expeditionary Force tried to prevent the Viet Minh fromentering Laos and Dien Bien Phu was the place chosen to do so. TheFrench were not very careful and this allowed the Viet Minh to cut offtheir airway to Hanoi. After a siege that had lasted for fifty fivedays, the French surrendered. Ho Chi Minh led the war against Franceand won. We will write a custom essay on The Vietnam Conflict Began In The Late Nineteenth Century. The specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now After the war there was a conference in Geneva where Vietnam wasdivided into two parts along the seventeenth parallel. North Vietnamwas mainly Communist and supported Ho Chi Minh, while the south wassupported by the United States and the French were based there. Therewas still some Communist rebels within South Vietnam. These were theViet Cong. The South Vietnam ruler was Ngo Dinh Diem who was anti Communist. At the conference, Laos and Cambodia became independentstates. North Vietnam wished to unify North and South Vietnam throughmilitary force. Since the United States feared the spread of communismin Asia, John F. Kennedy provided economic and military aid to SouthVietman to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam. At this time, thiswas still a civil war. The United States were not yet officiallyinvolved. The North Vietnamese resented the little intervention by theUnited Sates and so, three Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on theU.S. destroyer, Maddox on August 2nd, 1964. The Maddox hadbeen in the Gulf of Tonkin ( international waters ), thirty miles offthe coast of Vietnam. On August 3rd, 1964, Johnson gave the right toattack with the objective of destroying attacking forces ( Pimlott1982, 36 ). Retaliation air attacks began on August 3rd. Their aim wasto destroy North Vietnams gunboat capability. As two more UnitedStates destroyers were supposedly sunk, more air and sea forces weresent ( Wicker August 5, 1964, 1 ). Up until now, the U.S. hadrefrained from direct combat. This is when the United States formallyentered the Vietman War. The U.S. did this for two reasons. We wishedto maintain the independence of South Vietnam and we had to prove toallied nations that we would help them resist Communist overtaking. AsCongress was about to vote whether or not to allow the combat to mov einto North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese attacked a major U.S. airbaseat Bein Hoa. On February 7th, 1965, Johnson ordered retaliationbombing on North Vietnam. Rolling Thunder was the name of thisoperation. Its purpose was to put pressure on Hanoi and convince themthat Communism could not and would not win. At the end of 1965, one hundred and eighty thousand Americanswere in South Vietnam under General William S. Westmoreland(Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). The U.S. mainly depended onsuperior firepower and helicopters. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamesedepended on surprise attack and concealment. The United States soldiers realized that the war would last formany more years and wondered if the U.S. war effort could succeed. Atthe end of 1968, The number of American troops in South Vietnamreached its peak of 542, 000 men ( Pimlott 1982, 53 ). The Viet Congand North Vietnamese launched a major invasion against the UnitedStates called the Tet offensive from January 30th to February 25th,1968. At the Khe Sanh U.S. firebase, there was a major ground battle. .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .postImageUrl , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:hover , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:visited , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:active { border:0!important; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:active , .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5 .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u38586ef28acd61cfb6f444c93da3a8a5:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Night 2 EssayThere was a siege from January 21st to April 14th. It was thought tobe the American Dien Bien Phu . The United States turned it aroundhowever, with their victory at Hue. By 1969, combat decreased rapidlyand American troops began to return home. The role of Communism was extremely important in this conflict. Communism was one of the main reasons of why the United States enteredthe war in the first place. The U.S. had to enter the war to stopthe spread of Communism in Asia since North Vietnam was Communist. IfNorth Vietnam were to succeed in converting Vietnam into a Communistcountry, it could become very powerful and go on to pursuade othercountries to become Communist. The U.S. believed that Vietnam couldbecome powerful. They were amazed that France, an Allied power, hadbeen beaten by the Vietnamese. North Vietnam was a Communist country. The man who hadproclaimed Vietnam independent, Ho Chi Minh, was a Communist. He was aMarxist and believed in national Communism ( EncyclopediaBritannica, 5, 955). During the war with the French, Ho Chi Minh tookrefuge in northern Vietnam and settled there with his followers. Hefounded the Indochina Communist Party and the Viet Minh. The Viet Minhdid not become Communist until the 1950s. He became the president ofNorth Vietnam from 1945 to 1969. North Vietnam was a poor area and wascut off from the agricultural benefit of South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minhwas forced to ask assistance from major Communist allies the SovietUnion and China. Both aided North Vietnam before and during the war. The North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam. They wanted to usemilitary tactics to force unification. The United States didnot allow their unification. The U.S. knew that the Viet Cong andNorthVietnamese wished to establish one ruling government,the Communist Party. This led to the Vietnam War and U.S. intervention. On January 27th, 1973, South Vietnam Communist forces ( VietCong ), North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States agreed onmany things during peace talks that were held in Paris. The talks hadlasted for over two years before any agreements were made that suitedall of them. The forces involved agreed that U.S. troops wouldgradually withdraw from Vietnam and all prisoners of war would bereleased. They also agreed that South Vietnam had the right to choosetheir own future, whether or not to unite with North Vietnam. NorthVietnamese troops were given the right to remain in South Vietnambut they could not be reinforced. Nixon was the U.S. president whofinalized the accepted treaty and began to remove United Statestroops. Even after the peace talks, fighting continued between the Northand South Vietnamese. After the majority of American soldiers hadleft, North Vietnam went against all that was enforced at the peacetalks. North Vietnam planned a major invasion on the south in 1975 or1976. By April 30th, 1976, North Vietnamese tanks had occupied Saigon,the capital of South Vietnam, with no trouble. On July 2nd, 1976, the country was united as the SocialistRepublic of Vietnam. The capital became Hanoi and it was underCommunist rule. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after theinstigator of Communism. The North Vietnamese had won. Forty seventhousand Americans were killed in action and three hundred andthirteen soldiers were wounded, physically as well as mentally. Thewar had cost the United States an estimated two hundred billiondollars ( Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). There were two thousand,two hundred and sixty one United States servicemen listed as missingin action ( Time, February 15, 1993, 44 ). The tally is stillincomplete. Some say that this war was fought for nothing. There wereonly losses and nothing was gained. .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .postImageUrl , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:hover , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:visited , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:active { border:0!important; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:active , .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4f1c078e290027a478a215471875280f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Five Universe Creation Myths EssayAfter the war, southern Vietnams agriculture, business andindustry were devestated. The newly Communist Vietnam, Laos andCambodia became an important South Asian power. Today, Vietnamremains under Communist rule. The Vietnamese Communist Party is themajor political party. The State Council Chairman is Vo Chi Chong. ThePrime Minister is Do Muoi. After the Vietnam war, United States Presidents tried to punishVietnam for the losses suffered by their country. They cut off alltrade to Vietnam. Vietnams economy was severely damaged. This cameabout by the U.S. decision to stop trade and the new efforts toinstall a Soviet style system in the unified country. By 1985, tenyears after its liberation , Vietnam had to beg for help from theSoviet Union ( Time, February 15, 1993, 43 ). In 1986, the government leaders began an economic plan, doi moito get Vietnam back on its feet. When aid from the Soviet Unionstopped, the country was able to stand on its own. The Vietnameseveterans dont regard the Americans as enemies but the governmentleaders do. The government fears that if contact with the UnitedStates increases, it might result in a revolution that would destroytheir authority. Meanwhile, even without United States help, Vietnamis seen to be an important exporter in the future. Japan has alreadyexported goods to Vietnam and the United States is afraid that theywill soon gain economic control over the entire region.

Missing Person Christina Morris

Missing Person Christina Morris On August 30, 2014, Christina Morris of Fort Worth, Texas, disappeared from a mall parking garage after spending an evening visiting with friends in Plano. It was several days before anyone realized that she was missing. Here are the most recent developments in the Christina Morris case. Remains Found in Wooded Area March 2018- Found by construction workers, the Collin County Medical Examiner identified remains found in a wooded area of Anna, Texas as those of Christina Morris. Hair Samples Delay Arochi Trial Oct. 28, 2015 - The trial of a man accused of kidnapping a missing Fort Worth woman from a Plano, Texas shopping center in August 2014 has been delayed so that investigators can run DNA tests on hair samples. Enrique Arochi had been scheduled to go on trial November 30 for the kidnapping of Christina Morris, but a judge has delayed the trial until possibly June 2016 to give Texas Department of Safety investigators time to conduct tests on hairs retrieved from a vacuum cleaner where Arochi worked. Police believe Arochi used the vacuum to clean out his 2010 Chevy Camaro shortly after he was seen walking with Morris into a parking garage at The Shops at Legacy in Plano. Other hair from Morris was found in the Camaros trunk opening and on a mat inside the trunk, authorities said. Investigators discovered more hairs inside the vacuum cleaner at a Sprint store where Arochi was a manager and where he showed up for work hours after Morris disappeared. Officials expect DNA testing on the hair to take up to 12 weeks. Morris, 24, has been charged with only aggravated kidnapping in the case. He has been in jail without bond waiting for trial since December 2014. Mom Still Searching for Christina Morris Aug. 30, 2015 - A year after a 23-year-old Texas woman disappeared after walking into a mall parking garage after visiting friends in Plano, her mother hasnt stopped searching. Jonni McElroy, the mother of Christina Morris, plans to continue until her daughter is found. McElroy told reporters a year after the incident that she hopes the man accused of abducting her daughter will someday reveal her whereabouts. Im not going to stop searching, McElroy said. Why would I? Theres no reason. The only reason is when I find her or have an answer. She said that she believes Enrique Arochi, a former classmate of Morris and the man accused of her kidnapping, knows where her daughter is. It is my hope that he will finally say something, McElroy said. According to court records, investigators believe that Arochi left the parking garage at The Shops at Legacy in Plano with Morris in the trunk of his vehicle. Her blood and saliva were found on the edge of the cars trunk. Her cell phone was pinging various cell towers while she was inside the trunk of his vehicle, police said. They believe he returned to the parking garage with Morris still in the trunk and then returned to his home 40 minutes later. Authorities believe Arochi planned to sexually assault Morris and became angry when she rejected his advances. Arochi has maintained his innocence, and his attorney said the police account of events is based largely on conjecture and speculation, and leave many questions unanswered. The next hearing in the case is scheduled November 30. Grand Jury Indicts Arochi Mar. 10, 2015 - The suspect in the disappearance of a Forth Worth woman has been indicted by a Collin County grand jury on charges in two separate cases. Enrique Arochi, 24, has been indicted for aggravated kidnapping in the case of Christina Morris, who vanished August 30. Arochi was also indicted on sexual assault charges stemming from a sexual relationship he had with a 16-year-old girl between Oct. 22, 2012, and Feb. 22, 2013. According to court papers, Arochi told the girl that he was 19 years old when he was 22. He is being held on $100,000 bond on the child sex charge. Arochi is also under $1 million bond for the aggravated kidnapping charge. Man Arrested in Christina Morris Case Dec. 13, 2014 - The man last seen on surveillance video entering a parking garage with a missing Texas woman has been arrested in connection with the case. Authorities said inconsistent statements and DNA collected during the investigation led to the arrest of Enrique Gutierrez Arochi in the disappearance of Christina Morris. Arochi, 24, who was a high school friend of Morris, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony. Morris and Arochi had been partying with other friends in Plano, Texas on the night she vanished. They left the party at 3:45 on August 30 and were captured on video entering a parking garage together at 3:55 a.m. Although investigators showed Arochi a still photograph of he and Morris in the garage, he denied that they were in the parking facility together. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, DNA evidence indicates that Morris left the parking garage in the trunk of Arochis vehicle. Data from her cell phone also shows that she was in his vehicle, although he told police she was never in the car. There were other inconsistencies in his statements to police: Arochi said Morris was arguing with her boyfriend on the phone as they entered the garage, but his cell phone was used to text her boyfriend at 3:50, 3:53 and 3:55 a.m.Arochi said he must have loaned Morris is phone because hers was not working, contradicting himself, according to court papersHe said he drove straight home from the garage, but Toll records show that he took a different route to this Allen, Texas home.He told detectives that Morris had never been in his car. DNA collected during the investigation may have contradicted that statement.He lied to police about how the front end of his Chevy Camaro was damaged, according to auto body repair experts. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Arochi walked with a limp when he showed up for work following the weekend and told an employee that his ribs hurt. The employee saw a bite mark on Arochis arm that he blamed on a fight the night before. Arochi is being held in the Collins County Jail on a $1 million bond. Where he is also on a federal immigration hold, officials said. Missing Womans Boyfriend Busted for Drugs Dec. 10, 2014 - The boyfriend of a 23-year-old Texas woman, who vanished under suspicious circumstances in August, has been indicted on drug charges which authorities said are unrelated to the disappearance of Christina Morris. Hunter Foster, who police said has an alibi for the night that Christina disappeared in Plano, has been indicted along with 14 other people on drug conspiracy charges. The charges are related to a drug trafficking operation. Foster was arrested at a northwest Dallas strip club where an after-hours operation takes place, according to police. Family members told authorities that Christina had been upset with Fosters drug activities and had threatened, shortly before she vanished, to leave him because of it. Meanwhile, investigators have been looking into the high school friend of Christinas who was seen walking into the Plano parking garage with her the night she disappeared on August 30. Enrique Arochi said the two went their separate ways after entering the garage, but Christinas car was found unmoved in the garage. Police believe the only way that Christina could have left the garage undetected by surveillance cameras was in Arochis vehicle. In September, they requested a search warrant for Arochis car, claiming in the warrant that he intentionally made false statements that hindered investigators in locating Morris. Also in the warrant, detectives said Arochis vehicle had sustained damage and had recently been detailed. Fort Worth Woman Reported Missing Sept. 6, 2014 - Plano, Texas police have asked the publics help in searching for a Fort Worth woman who vanished after walking into a parking garage with a friend near a shopping mall on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. Christina Marie Morris, 23, who was visiting friends in Plano, was last seen near The Shops At Legacy and walking with a friend into the parking garage at 5717 Legacy Drive early Saturday morning. She and her friend parked on opposite sides of the garage and walked separate ways shortly after entering the garage; the friend told police. Police Release Surveillance Video Plano police have released the surveillance video of the two walking into the parking garage just before 4 a.m. The guy (in the video) is a friend of hers from high school. They had been at a friends apartment hanging out and walked back together, Plano police spokesman David Tilley told reporters. Reported Missing Tuesday, Sept. 2 Although she was last seen around 4 a.m. Aug. 30, it took a couple of days for friends and family members to realize that she wasnt returning anyones calls and no one had been in contact with her. Consequently, her parents did not file a missing person report on Morris until Tuesday, September 2. Police quickly located Morris vehicle still in the parking garage. They say her cell phone is either turned off or her battery is dead. Her cell phones last usage was traced to The Shops At Legacy mall. Canvassing the Shopping Mall This week Morris mother, Jonni McElroy, went to the shopping mall and canvassed the merchants in hopes of finding anyone who was in contact with Morris before she disappeared. Im not leaving. I will not leave here until I find clues to find my daughter, she told reporters. Morris boyfriend also got involved in search this week, turning to social media to seek help in finding her. Using Social Media Im worried sick and will do anything to get any information on the last time anyone has seen or talked to her please help and pray that she is ok, he said on Facebook. Police are involved, and we are going to find her and whoever has taken her or whoever she is with. His efforts apparently helped when more than 60 volunteers turned up Saturday, Sept. 6, to search the area around The Shops At Legacy mall. Volunteers Search Mall Area Working with the Plano police, the volunteers - described as family, friends, and friends of friends - were organized into groups of four to search the fields, bushes and storm drain around the mall and garage area. They were looking for any sign of Morris or any of her belongings. Each group of four volunteers included a Plano police officer, Tilley said. August 30 Photo Shown In the composite photograph of Morris above, a photo from her Facebook page appears on the left, while the picture on the right is one that police say was made the night she disappeared, showing how she looked and what she was wearing. Morris is described as 5-4 and 100 pounds. She has brown eyes and blonde hair. Anyone who has information about the case is asked to call the Plano Police at 972-424-5678.

15 Tactics To Boost Twitter Engagement Backed By Research

15 Tactics To Boost Twitter Engagement Backed By Research Imagine standing in a room full of people while presenting a speech. Now keep in mind, this is one of the best speeches you’ve ever given. It’s filled with creative ideas and useful information you know your audience will love. The only problem isnobody in the room is listening to you. Now imagine you are publishing content on Twitter. This is the best content you’ve ever produced. Except this time, no one is clicking on the link you provided or even bothering to look at the graphic you’ve designed for it. This is what the content marketing world likes to call engagement. When it comes to using Twitter, your job is to maximize engagement on every piece of content you send out. But how? By the end of this post, you will become a Twitter engagement mastermind. 15 Tactics To Boost Twitter Engagement Backed By Research1. Use Images To Increase Retweets By 150% In order for your audience to engage with your posts and click on your content, they need to actually see what you’re posting. One of the best ways to make your content stand out is by adding an image. Buffer found that sharing images on Twitter increases retweets by 150%. Including a large image with a short summary of text on Twitter is more visually appealing than a text-only post. In fact, research shows that users engaged at a rate 5X higher  when an image was included. Go forth engage your audience with these tactics https://t.co/CwTHAbcrsa pic.twitter.com/mhMfzzGjyp (@) August 14, 2016 Include an image in every post for 35% more retweets. Images can be anything from pictures and screenshots to mini infographics and charts. Make sure your visual is directly related to the content it’s tied with. Recommended Reading: How To Make The Best Social Media Images The Easy Way (+84 Free Images) 2. Use Memes and GIFs To Show Personality Aside from adding an image to your tweet, you can use memes and GIFs when publishing your content on Twitter. This adds a fun spin to your plain post and will be too irresistible for your audience to scroll past. â€Å"GIFs are a great way to showcase your brand's personality, stay trendy, and have fun† -HeyOrca. Twitter has made it easy to add GIFs by doing all the work for you within the tweet box. All you have to do is choose an appropriate GIF from the drop-down menu or search for a specific genre in the search box. Memes and GIFs are becoming extremely popular among top companies.  At , we’ve recently started using memes and GIFs on Twitter and have found that they receive far more likes and retweets than regular images. You had a hard week! Relax today...it can wait till Monday! pic.twitter.com/I7NyU9ON2A - (@) August 12, 2016 Use real-life pictures of employees to show a true look inside the company, versus internet memes, gives a personal feel and helps build the  story behind your brand. GIFs are a great way to promote special offers and events. Memes and GIFs help you connect with your fans and followers in a new way because they sometimes convey emotions much better than text or photos or even videos. Use the correct  sizing  for GIFs and memes and don't forget to add a witty caption. 3. Create Twitter Polls To Engage With Followers People are often willing to provide you their opinion- and this is especially true on social media networks. Twitter polls are  a great way to engage  your followers and obtain valuable information about your customer base.  It also shows your followers that you care about their opinions, which in turn helps to build trust and loyalty, further strengthening your brand identity and reputation. To create a Twitter Poll: Open your Twitter page on a web or mobile device, click the Tweet button in the top navigation bar. Click the Add poll icon located in the bottom left corner. Type your poll question into the main compose box. Insert your first poll option into the Choice 1 box, followed by your second poll option into the Choice 2 box. Click  + Add a choice  to add additional options to your poll. You can  have up to four options per poll. A poll automatically defaults to run for 1 day. You can change the duration of your poll by clicking 1 day and adjusting the days, hours, and minutes.  The minimum amount of time for a poll is 5 minutes, and the maximum is 7 days. Click Tweet to post the poll. We recently ran a poll  asking our followers the burning question of how to pronounce the word "GIF." To our surprise, we received an overwhelming amount of responses. We have to ask! How is the word "Gif" pronounced? - (@) June 16, 2016 Keep your poll questions short and sweet. Your audience is more likely to respond when you keep your poll simple. Ask questions about your services, products, and brand in general. Be sure to mix in a fun Twitter poll every now and then about an office debate or what color to use for you next blog post. Store a list of potential Twitter poll questions and post a new poll every week for consistency. 4. Participate In Twitter Chats To Promote Your Brand A great way to build engagement for your brand is to communicate with people who are interested in similar products or topics. Instead of posting Tweets or sending direct messages, you can have conversations using Twitter chats. What is a Twitter chat?  It's a conversation around one unique hashtag. This hashtag allows you to follow the discussion and participate in it. Twitter chats are usually recurring and on specific topics to regularly connect people with these interests. Participating in Twitter chats allows you to have real-time conversations with hundreds of different users while promoting your expertise and building your authority  on a topic. Be on the lookout for different hashtags to find Twitter chats relevant to your brand. From there, all you need to do is join in on the conversation happening and include the hashtag. A6 Being present! Make sure you're involved with your twitter account everyday sharing content that's worth looking at #ContentWritingChat - (@) August 2, 2016 The goal of joining Twitter chats is to gain  interest in your brand from Twitter users who aren’t part of your follower base yet. 67% of Twitter users are far more likely to buy from the brands they follow  on Twitter. Choose a Twitter chat that is relevant and beneficial to participate in. Look to leading brands  in your industry and reach out to them to co-host with you to expand your network. 5. Host Twitter Chats To Reach A Larger Audience Once you get the hang of participating in Twitter chats, you can choose to host your own. Here are a few key points from Buffer  to keep in mind before jumping into your own Twitter chat: Decide on a clear and brief hashtag that represents your brand. Choose a day and time that you can consistently hold Twitter chats. Come up with an appropriate topic and questions. Plan and promote your chat via Twitter. Make sure you choose a topic that is relevant to your audience. If you are a content marketer, choose a topic relating to social media, SEO, marketing, or something similar. Before beginning your chat, asks everyone to introduce themselves and where they are tweeting from. Engaging with your participants is the most important part of hosting a Twitter chat. After asking each question, reply to a few responses to remain in the loop. Recommended Reading: How To Use A Twitter Chat To Grow Your Audience And Gain Trust 6. Pin Tweets To Boost Your Best Content Do you have an awesome Tweet you want all of your followers to see? You can pin tweets to your profile that will remain on the top of your page until you removed the pin. It’s a simple tactic with big results to boost engagement. Just select the tweet you want pinned, click the â€Å"...† icon, and then click Pin to your profile page. Pin a Tweet that has an eye catching image to boost retweets by 35%. A pinned tweet is similar to an ad, except you don’t have to pay for it. Take advantage of this free advertisement by having a strong call to action. Include a URL in your pinned tweet to receive 86% more engagement. Pin tweets to boost your best content.7. Use Standalone Graphics To Share Information By now, we all know that using images in tweets will increase engagement, but what about adding an image without any links? We tested this theory out on our Twitter page and found that in fact, it does have a positive affect! Not just any random image, but a standalone graphic. Don't forget to take care of the little guy pic.twitter.com/x8YQ4Loq4q - (@) August 22, 2016 A standalone graphic is an image that gives useful information on its own without needing a link back to something. For our standalone graphics, we give tidbits of information and quotes from well-known marketers. Research shows that posting a standalone graphic with a quote increases retweets by 19%.   Use a graphic with text that gives quick information to your followers. Grab small pieces of information from your blog posts to put in your standalone graphic. Use tools like Canva to create a standalone graphic. Recommended Reading: How To Design The Best Blog Graphics With Free Tools And Design Theory 8. Social Listening Helps Build Loyalty â€Å"Research shows that customer emotions become permanent with time. It’s best for an effective intervention to take place as close to the experience as possible,† says Baba Shiv, Stanford Professor of Marketing at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. When users respond to your posts on Twitter or mention your business name, respond quickly. If you don’t, then it’s going to seem like you’re not very active on your own Twitter page- or you simply don’t care. It’s been found that 72% of people who complain on Twitter expect a response within an hour  so it’s your priority to respond as fast as possible. Our team uses the Mention app to respond to our followers quickly and efficiently.  Mention is monitored several times throughout the day by our team to ensure each and every person is responded to promptly. Many of our followers have questions that need urgent answers, so it’s important to reach out to them to resolve the issue. Or to simply thank your followers for sharing your content. Your followers will be much more likely to post comments if they know that you are reading them and that you will respond to them in a helpful manner. Use first names when you are responding. Addressing your followers in this way makes them feel more appreciated- not to mention that people love to be acknowledged. Small gestures like these help to build loyalty. If you respond right away, there’s a chance that the conversation will continue since they may still be on your page. 9. Curate Content To Increase Traffic Are you only tweeting your own content? Sharing the content of others is one of the best ways to show that you’re not all about you, and that you value the work of others enough to share it on your own Twitter feed. One report found that 82% of marketers curate content. At , we curate our content with our Chrome extension tool  for fast curation that can be schedule ahead of time. Curating content is a widely known tactic for a reason because it works. Over 50% of marketers that curate content indicate that it has increased their brand visibility, thought leadership, SEO, web traffic and buyer engagement.  Next time you post on Twitter, mix in a few curated pieces along with your usual content to increase engagement among your followers to expand their experience. Find the best content, the content you enjoyed, the content your audience members are sharing and talking about, the content that is actually helpful. Connect with influencers. You’re going to be sharing content by the leaders in your industry, opening the doors to communicating with them. Plan your curated content ahead of time for consistency. 10. Use Hashtags To Double Engagement Twitter didn’t invent the hashtag (#), but it certainly popularized it with the masses. Hashtags are proven to double your engagement rate and help users to easily search for a topic or trend on Twitter. They are a great way to join in a conversation already happening or organize a conversation, like a Twitter chat. Hashtags identify the subject of your content, making it easier for Twitter users to stumble across your page when searching for similar subjects. Because of this, using hashtags is an incredible way to boost social media engagement among both followers and non-followers since you’re making your content more visible. A good hashtag is memorable, unique, and relevant to your content. Try not to use more than two hashtags per post to avoid being annoying. Always use a hashtag when participating in or hosting a Twitter chat. Recommended Reading: How To Use Hashtags Effectively Without Being Annoying 11. Use Video in Tweets For A 28% Boost While images perform better than text, Twitter users love videos. 82% of users watch video content on Twitterthat’s a big number!  Simon Rodgers found that adding a video to your tweet will give you a 28% boost in engagement. You have 10 seconds to win over your followers. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer. Promote and educate your followers about your brand using video. Adding in a weekly tip to your page is a sure way to engage with new followers. Include people around your office in Twitter videos to give a personal touch to your followers. Use video in tweets for a 28% engagement boost.12. Use Twitter Ads For Higher Click-Through Rates If you’re looking for a fast and guaranteed way to boost Twitter engagement, than Twitter Ads are something to look into, especially if you don’t have a lot of followers to engage with. To set up Twitter Ads: Choose between promoted tweets and promoted accounts. According to Hubspot, promoting tweets will allow your tweets to appear in users’ Twitter streams or in Twitter search results, whereas promoting your account will display your username under the â€Å"Who to Follow† section in users’ homepages. Choose your target audience.  You can target a specific audience based on demographics and psychographics. Targeting the right audience will ensure that your ads are seen by the right people who would benefit from your brand. Create your tweets.  Now that you've chosen what type of ads you want and the type of audience to target, you can begin creating your tweets.  You can either select from existing tweets in your account, or create new ones from scratch. Be sure to assign your Twitter ad campaign a daily budget and maximum spend limit before setting it live. Low Twitter follower count? Try running Twitter ads.Recent studies have found that Twitter ads consistently deliver higher click-through rates  (even higher than Facebook ads). Plan ahead by choosing a Twitter ad campaign that fits your brand's goals. Use interest targeting and keywords to target the right audience for the best results. Create visually appealing images for your Twitter ads to reach more people and boost engagement. 13. Tweet At The Best Times The number of people you engage with is directly related to followers viewing your tweets. In order to maximize engagement, you must post at the best possible times. After doing some research on 10 different studies about the best times to post on social media, studies show a few ways to make every tweet get a little more engagement: Wednesdays at 12 p.m. and 5-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays at 12-3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Any day of the week from 2-3 a.m., 6-7 a.m., and 9-10 p.m. Use these times as a guideline. Test out different times and find out when your audience is the most active on Twitter. You can also check out Twitter Analytics to see when your specific audience is most active. 14. Use Twitter Cards To Drive Traffic To Your Website You may be asking, "What are Twitter Cards?" Twitter Cards allow you to go beyond the  140-character limit and attach different forms of media. According to Forbes, they add visual interest through images, product info, videos, and other expanded content. All you have to do to get started with using the feature is add a couple lines of code to your site. Refer to our post on Social Media Optimization to get set up. There are seven distinct Twitter Cards to choose from: Gallery cards featuring a number of images Single photo cards Summary cards which let you post a link with further information Summary cards with images App cards Player cards which showcase videos Product cards Below is an example of a Summary Card which includes a title, description, thumbnail image, Twitter account attribution and a direct link to the content. Test different types of cards.  Every site is different, and Twitter Card analytics will help you measure which cards yield the most engagement with your content. Engage with Influencers.  Twitter Card analytics make it possible determine who is sharing your content with the most velocity - make sure to engage with these accounts to promote further interaction! Add a few lines of HTML to your webpage. Users who Tweet links to your content will have a â€Å"Card† added to the Tweet that’s visible to all of their followers. How can Twitter Cards improve your engagement?15. Use Emoticons To Increase Favorites By 57% Instead of having a plain block of text, consider breaking up the text with an emoticon. Emoticons show a certain element of playfulness that provides your brand with a bit of personality. In fact, statistics show that the using emoticons  will boost the share and comment rate of your posts, and can help increase favorites by as much as 57%.   Choose one or two emoticons per tweet. â€Å"Think of emojis as the ultimate elevator pitch for your business: you have one or two symbols to let people know exactly what value you’re bringing them with every Tweet.† Use emoticons when responding to your followers to add a personal touch and show appreciation. Emphasize specific parts of your tweet with a correlating emoticon to intensify engagement. What Twitter Engagement Tactics Work For You? Analyzing engagement rates allows you to see how much of an impression your brand is leaving on your audience. Look at engagement as a stepping stone that leads followers to view your website, subscribe to your newsletters, and purchase your product. Without engagement you will be tweeting to a black abyss. Building a strong relationship with your Twitter followers will bring forth high engagement. Implement these tactics the next time you post on Twitter and watch your engagement rate skyrocket.

Qusetions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Qusetions - Essay Example With identifying factors such as lack of delegation, stringent control and allowing little involvement in the decision making processes. It was also evident that the majority of the communication taking place was one way and that Max Blue’s focus was on directing employee’s in order to achieve objectives rather them taking into account their opinions and feedback. That being said it also enabled Blue Sky to benefit in terms of efficiently, productivity and their increased profitability under Max’s leadership. However it is important to note here that this led to an organization culture which was deeply reliant on the management skills of Max. It also proved to be a barrier to communication, creativity and an overall weak culture for the organization as it centered on the personality of Max Blue. Culture as a unifying factor under his leadership failed to be one of Blue Sky’s operational strengths. With Jim Willis taking charge of Blue Sky his approach to l eadership can be considered more democratic. Although this switch posed to be a management challenge for Willis but his approach to management incorporated a broader involvement in the decision making process. This can be seen in the way he held a meeting with all the VP’s to discuss the issues faced by the company instead of simply handing out instructions based on his personal decision-making. We can also observe an increase in the participation and initiative of the VP’s as they contribute to finding a suitable solution. His willingness to delegate is also observable in the way he takes into consideration moving the regional heads under Susan’s authority. However there are also observable factors that serve as barriers to the development of Willis’s democratic style. Office politics is one concern as Garrison and Robert’s carefully avoid any kind of intervention in the decision making. An increase in the decision making process can also be obser ved which rightly categorizes Willis’s approach to management as democratic (Simon Oates, Leadership expert). Usually lower levels of motivation are observed when an autocratic leadership prevails. This is largely due to the minimal participation of the employees around the central aspects of the decision making process. The drive and the job-relevant knowledge of Max Blue although an asset completely dominated and left very little room for any initiatives that the employees might have wanted to voice. Furthermore it tips the balance into the promotion of a perception that Max Blue might’ve categorized the employees into the theory X component of McGregor’s theory X and Theory Y of motivation (Robbins & Coulter-a, Management). Another critical aspect that might’ve contributed to the nominal motivation was due to the fact that Max Blue promoted and showed an obvious preference towards the hiring of individuals of prior association. An example was that of h iring Susby Hubres, who was the daughter of his long time friend. Although she might’ve qualified as a member of the Executive team, the mere act leads to a prevalent assumption of favor-ism in the minds of the other employees. This has a direct impact on their motivation levels. With Willis’s adoption of a democratic leadership style there can be significant viewable changes in the level of motivation. This can be seen in the way that a lot of the regional officers were promoted to higher ranks. Another reason could be because of

Critically examine the European Court of Justice (ECJ)s concept of Essay

Critically examine the European Court of Justice (ECJ)s concept of supremacy of EC Law with the aid of case examples - Essay Example 7). For example, Member States are required to ensure that all of their Treaty commitments are fulfilled and must not â€Å"jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of this Treaty† (TFEU, art. 10). The EC Treaty also confers responsibility on the ECJ to ensure that the Treaty is interpreted and applied for the enforcement of Community law (TFEU, art. 220). The ECJ established the concept of supremacy in Van Gend en Loos v Netherlands (1963) by enunciating two main principles of Community law: direct effect of Community Law in Member States and supremacy of Community law over the national laws of Member States. The ECJ stated that Community law has establishing a new â€Å"legal order† under which Member States have voluntarily surrendered their sovereignty (Van Gend en Loos v Netherlands, 1963, see also Costa, 1964). The UK does not acknowledge the surrender of sovereignty, but instead adheres to a dualist constitutional system. Monalism states automatically incorporate international law into national systems (Schutze, 2012). EC supremacy in the UK is only acknowledged via an Act of Parliament and thus firmly establishes and reinforces Parliamentary sovereignty in the UK. For instance, Lord Denning MR, in anticipation of signing the EC Treaty noted that the UK did not specifically take notice of treaties. It would only take notice of treaties that are embodied in a statute enacted by Parliament (Blackburn v AG 1971). Thus, the UK acknowledges that treaty law is only applied by an act of Parliament not by the direct application of treaty law (Aust, 2008). For example, the European Community Act 1972 (ECA) provides that the EC Treaty will be given â€Å"legal effect† in the UK â€Å"without further enactment† and all national laws must be interpreted in such a way as to give effect to Community law (ECA ss. 2(1) and 2(4)). Even so, when applying Community law, the UK will not apply

Learning Theories Essay Example for Free

Learning Theories Essay This chapter takes a brief look at the two major categories of learning theories (behaviorism and constructivism), the major theorists within those categories, and the implications of those theories for the use of multimedia and communications and information technology for learning purposes. A separate section within the chapter provides a brief overview of learning based upon neuroscience and recent discoveries about the functioning of the brain. A series of links are provided to further resources on learning theory, neuroscience, and the brain. pic] Our Technological Revolution and the Implications for the Way We Learn We have all experienced a learning moment when we were so focussed or engulfed in the learning, that everything else did not matter. Candidly, the raison detre or motivation for our focus may have been that we had a boss or teacher breathing down our neck or an impending exam was to quantify our level of knowledge or intelligence or a particular moment necessitated that a skill be learned very quickly. Regardless of the motivating factors for this moment of focussed learning, the experience is what psychologists Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi and Ellen Langer label in their respective theories, as moments of optimum flow or mindfulness. According to psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, optimum flow occurs when: Alientation gives way to involvement, enjoyment replaces boredom, helplessness turns into a feeling of control, and psychic energy works to reinforce the sense of self, instead of being lost in the service of external goals. (Czikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 9) Replicating such moments of optimum flow is the job of educators regardless of the domain, whether it be school, the workplace in job training, or the military, etc. Moreover, certain learning theorists are advocating the greater use of technology, namely computers, in learning situations because they see enormous potential of computer technology to replicate these optimum moments of flow. Learning is a personal act. We each plac e our own personal stamp on how we learn, what we learn and when we learn. We in effect have our own learning style. Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences which acknowledges learning as an holistic experience is, at present, one of the most well known descriptors of human cognitive profiles. The act of learning is paradoxical in nature. It can at times appear to be a very simple act. So simple, that we do not question its presence in how we go about our daily activities, for it is natural to our existence as learning organisms. Yet, when we encounter difficulties in learning something, we no longer take the learning process for granted. It is only then that our metacognition or awareness of how we learn is heightened. Learning is taken for granted as a natural process. As simple a process it may seem, the root of understanding how we learn is not as straight forward. The existence of numerous definitions and theories of learning attest to the complexity of this process. A random sampling of any educational psychology text will illustrate the variance in views to what exactly is learning and how we do learn. In Educational Psychology: An Introduction, for example, the authors write, Learning implies a change in the individual as a result of some intervention. It may be viewed as an outcome or as a process. (Belkin and Gray, 1977, p. 211) While this definition reflects a behaviorist view of learning, for it equates learning as an outcome, it is a starting point for the authors to expand their description of learning into many other realms, namely the different theories of learning. They in effect, devote a whole chapter of their text just to describe the many ways of defining learning. While it may seem somewhat premature to evaluate the aforementioned definition of learning and to equate it with a specific theory, it is important to recognize that intervention in the learning process can imply many different things. The degree of intervention, by who or what and how, are the defining factors of a learning theory. These factors help distinguish the many different theories. As you will see these theories are not stagnant. They are evolving and changing as we discover new ways of viewing human cognition. The mechanistic model of the mind of the behavior era has given way to the logical-computational model favored by artificial intelligence and cognitive science theorists (McLellan, 1996, p. 6). Don Tapscott, in his book Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, argues that we are now in a digital era of learning. According to Tapscott, a transformation in learning is taking place from what he labels broadcast learning to interactive learning. No longer are todays generation of learners satisfied in being the passive recipients of the traditional teaching process, rather, they want to discover it for themselves by becoming interactive with the learning. The net generation children using GlobaLearn [a web site], are beginning to process information and learn differently than the boomers before them. New media tools offer great promise for a new model of learning one based on discovery and participation. (Tapscott, 1998, p. 127) Tapscotts thesis that the technological revolution is permeating every aspect of our lives forces us to examine the use of computer technology as learning devices. Such rapid social, economic and general lifestyle change, due in essence to the technological revolution, begs the question based on learning theory, why does the use of computers as a learning tool make sense? This chapter will answer this question by profiling the many learning theories. [pic] The Spectrum of Learning Theories As a review of the literature of learning theories will illustrate there are many labels being used to describe the many theories. Moreover, there are many theorists associated with each approach. A categorization of these labels and theorists will help in understanding these fundamental theories. The spectrum of learning theories consists of many approaches or ways of explaining how humans learn. A description of each of these theories will suffice in providing you with enough knowledge to critically examine the use of computer technology as a learning device. The resume of each theory will consist of: †¢ the associated names of the theory †¢ a description of the theory †¢ theorists associated with the theory †¢ hyperlinks on the World Wide Web Diagram #1: The two extremes Behaviorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivism The extremes of this learning theory spectrum are represented by respectively, the Behaviorist and Constructivist theories of learning. As theories trying to explain the same thing, they are bipolar based on their respective views of how knowledge is acquired and the intervention of tools of learning (teachers or instructors). As a context to better understand all of the theories of learning presented in this chapter, examine these two extremes first and then place the remaining theories onto the spectrum. [pic] Behaviorism The Associated Names of this Theory: Behaviorism labelled as a teaching approach is often referred to as directed instruction. As you compare this theory with the Constructivist view of learning, this label will become self-evident. Also in contrast to Constructivism, it has been labelled an objectivist theory of learning. Theorists associated with Behaviorism: J. B Watson E. L Thorndike B. F Skinner A Description of Behaviorism: The concern or emphasis of Behaviorism is observable indicators that learning is taking place. Contrasting this view of learning is the emphasis of cognitive psychologists who equate learning with the mental processes of the mind. Behaviorists do not deny the existence of these mental processes. In fact, they acknowledge their existence as an unobservable indication of learning. The focus of Behaviorism is on the conditioning of observable human behavior. J. B Watson, the father of Behaviorism, defined learning as a sequence of stimulus and response actions in observable cause and effect relationships. The behaviorists example of classical conditioning demonstrates the process whereby a human learns to respond to a neutral stimulus in such a manner that would normally be associated with an unconditioned stimulus. The supporting example often cited with classical conditioning is the case of Pavlovs dog. The focus of Pavlovs experiment was the digestive process in animals. In conducting the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dog would salivate (response), upon hearing the ringing of a bell. This occurred because the dog had learned to associate its unconditional stimuli (normally feeding), with the neutral stimuli of the bell ringing simultaneously with the feeding process. Watson, believed that the stimuli that humans receive may be generated internally (for example hunger), or externally (for example, a loud noise). B. F. Skinner expanded on the foundation of Behaviorism, established by Watson, and on the work of Edward Thorndike, by focussing on operant conditioning. According to Skinner, voluntary or automatic behavior is either strengthened or weakened by the immediate presence of a reward or a punishment. The learning principle behind operant conditioning is that new learning occurs as a result of positive reinforcement, and old patterns are abandoned as a result of negative reinforcement. (Belkin and Gray, 1977, p. 9) In his book entitled, The Technology of Teaching, Skinner wrote: The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the appearance of behavior which otherwise never occur. (Skinner, 1968, p. 4) Skinner believed that more complex learning could be achieved by this process of contingencies and reinforcement through successive stages in the shaping process, the contingencies of reinforcement being changed progressively in the direction of the required behavior. (Skinner, 1968, p. 10) Applying the theoretical principles of Behaviorism to learning environments, it is easy to recognize that we have many behaviorist artifacts in our learning world. A dissection of the traditional teaching approaches used for years would reveal the powerful influence that Behaviorists have had on learning. The concept of directed instruction, whereby a teacher is providing the knowledge to the students either directly or through the set up of contingencies, is an excellent example of the Behaviorist model of learning. The use of exams to measure observable behavior of learning, the use of rewards and punishments in our school systems, and the breaking down of the instruction process into conditions of learning (as developed by Robert Gagne), are all further examples of the Behaviorist influence. With the advent of the computer in school, C. A. I. , or computer-assisted instruction has become a prominent tool for teaching, because from a Behaviorist perspective, it is an effective way of learning. CAI uses the drill and practice approach to learning new concepts or skills. The question acting as the stimulus, elicits a response from the user. Based on the response a reward may be provided. The contingencies of learning are translated into different levels of the program. Rewarding the user to a different level for correct responses follows exactly the approach of operant conditioning. Educators have espoused CAI as an effective teaching approach because it allows for self-paced instruction and it liberates them from the direct instruction of all their students so as to focus on those students with particular needs. Hyperlinks to Behaviorist Web Pages: http://www. coe. uh. edu/~srmehall/theory/theory. html http://tecfa. unige. ch/edu-comp/edu-s94/contrib/schneider/learn. fm. html#REF13085 http://www. sil. org/lingualinks/library/literacy/fre371/vao443/TKS2569/tks347/tks734/ http://mse. byu. edu/ipt301/jordan/learnterm_b. html [pic] Constructivism: The Associated Names of this Theory: Constructivsm is recognized as a unique learning theory in itself. It however, may be associated with cognitive psychology because as a theory of learning it focuses on a learners ability to mentally construct meaning of their own environment and to create their own learning. As a teaching practice it is associated with different degrees of non-directed learning. The term constructivsm is linked to Cognitive and Social Constructivsm. Theorists associated with Constuctivism: John Dewey Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner Seymour Papert Mitchell Resnick A Description of Constructivism: The merits of Behaviorist learning theory and of their teaching practices are well documented. They have served well in teaching a growing North American population over the past six decades. Behavioral learning theory manifested itself in creating a systematic approach to teaching. Robert Gagne and Leslie Briggs, in their book, Principles of Instructional Design, combined Behaviorist principles of learning with a cognitive theory of learning named Information-Processing. The focus of the latter theory in this combination was of the internal processing that occurred during a learning moment. The design of instruction must be undertaken with suitable attention to the conditions under which learning occurs. With reference to the learner, learning conditions are both external and internal. These conditions are in turn dependent upon what is being learned. How can these basic ideas be used to design instruction ? How can they be applied to the design of single lessons, of courses, and of entire systems of instructions ? (Gagne and Briggs, 1974, p. 14) Gagne and Briggs principles of instructional design broke down the teaching process into a systematic process of nine steps. It is in effect, this type of systematic approach to teaching that acted as the catalyst for the creation of another view of the way humans learn. Behaviorist learning theory had served its purpose and its approach and goals were becoming outdated according to Constructivists like Seymour Papert. Constructivist learning theory sought to improve on what Behaviorist learning theory had already established by focussing on the motivation and ability for humans to construct learning for themselves. It viewed Behaviorism as being too teacher centered and directed. Constructivists regarded the educational system as a process of matching skill objectives with test items. It was void of meaningful learning. They also saw the teaching process focus too much on individual work rather than on group work. The final critique of Behaviorist learning theory from the Constructivist perspective helped define the core of Constructivism. To imply that knowledge is separate to the human mind and that it must be transferred to the learner in a teacher centered approach fundamentally was counter to the Constructivist theory of learning. Constructivists believe that all humans have the ability to construct knowledge in their own minds through a process of discovery and problem-solving. The extent to which this process can take place naturally, without structure and teaching is the defining factor amongst those who advocate this learning theory. Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, observed human development as progressive stages of cognitive development. His four stages, which commence at infancy and progress into adulthood, characterize the cognitive abilities necessary at each stage to construct meaning of ones environment. Seymour Papert, psychologist and contemporary critique of Behaviorist teaching methods, writes in his book, The Childrens Machine: Thus, constructionism, my personal reconstruction of constructivism has as its main feature the fact that it looks more closely than other educational -isms at the idea of mental construction. It attaches special importance to the role of constructions in the world as a support for those in the head, thereby becoming less of a purely mentalist doctrine. (Papert, 1993, p. 42) As the inventor of LOGO, the programming tool for children, Papert too believed that children as learners have a natural curiosity to construct meaning of their world. The educational system as Papert saw it was too structured and it stifled this natural curiosity. The means by which children were being taught relegated them to a role of passive recipients of the teaching hence, they were not motivated to construct any learning for themselves. Learning according to Constructivists is a question of motivating an individual to attach new meaning to past cognitive experiences. According to Papert: It [constuctivsm] does not call in question the value of instruction as such. That would be silly: Even the statement (endorsed if not originated by Piaget) that every act of teaching deprives the child of an opportunity for discovery is not a categorical imperative against teaching, but a paradoxically expressed reminder to keep it in check. The constructionist attitude to teaching is not at all dismissive because it is minimalist the goal is to teach in such a way as to produce the most learning for the least teaching. Of course, this cannot be achieved simply by reducing the quantity of teaching while leaving everything unchanged. The principle other necessary change parallels an African proverb: If a man is hungry you can give him a fish, but it is better to give him a line and teach him to catch fish himself. (Papert, 1993, p. 139) Paperts desire to have children become motivated learners, critical thinkers, problem-solvers and metacognitionists is to be achieved through educational reform that provides the learner with the necessary tools to participate and to take ownership of the learning process. According to Papert, the computer is the appropriate tool to achieve such desired educational reform. These desired objectives of Papert and others who share the Constructivist view of learning are coming closer to reality as more people discover the power of computer technology. From Donald Tapscotts perspective, Paperts desired reality is happening now, as a paradigm shift to more interactive learning due to the exploitation of the digital media is taking place in our learning institutions. Tapscott cites eight shifts in learning today: †¢ From linear to hypermedia. †¢ From instruction to construction and discovery. †¢ From teacher-centered to learner-centered education. †¢ From absorbing material to learning how to navigate and how to learn. †¢ From school to lifelong learning. †¢ From one-size-fits-all to customized learning. †¢ From learning as torture as learning as fun. †¢ From the teacher as transmitter to the teacher as facilitator. Hyperlinks to Constructivist Web Pages: http://www. tcimet. net/mmclass/summer/CHPTales. tm http://www. coe. uh. edu/~srmehall/theory/construct. html http://www. gwu. edu/~tip/bruner. html http://www. mamamedia. com/areas/grownups/people/seymour. html http://www. mamamedia. com/areas/grownups/home_alt. html http://lynx. dac. neu. edu/home/httpd/t/tjohnson/papert%20history. htm [pic] Fitting the other Theories onto the Spectrum The two extremes of the spectrum have been outlined (refer to diagram #2). Inherent within each of these two extremes are related theories. Diagram #2: (Spectrum Summary) Behaviorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivism   Directed Instruction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non-directed Instruction Objectivist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constructivist Teacher-centered   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learner-centered Behavioral observations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cognitive operations Focus on the individual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Group work is emphasized More focussed on one approach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More holistic in approach Fundamentally, Constructivism is a cognitive learning theory because of its focus on the mental processes that construct meaning. Other learning theories equated with cognitive psychology are: Information-Processing theory, Scaffolding theory (associated with the Russian philosopher Lev Vygotsky) and Brain-based learning theory (associated with neuroscientists such as Marian Diamond and Robert Sylwester and educator Susan Kovalik). Information-Processing theory regards human learning as being analogous to a computer and its ability to store memory. As humans we process information initially with our senses. This information is either processed into our short term memory or it is lost. If this information is used and practised it is only then put into long term memory. Lev Vygotsky thought that our cognitive development was directly related to our social development. The culture we live in influences our social and cognitive development according to Vygotsky. He further recognized the differences of how the world is seen by children and by adults. Vygotsky labelled this difference in cognitive ability as the zone of proximal development. The job of educators was to identify this zone and to find out where the child was situated in this zone and build upon their specific level through a scaffolding process. Building from what the learner knows is in essence, anchoring the learning on past experience. Such anchoring is fundamental to Constructivist theory of learning. Computer technology is viewed by Seymour Papert as an excellent means to anchoring learning to meaningful experiences. The complexity of understanding how humans learn is reflective of our complexity as biological, social and cognitive animals. Many theories exist, all focussing on different aspects of our make-up as humans. Each theory is an attempt to explain how we learn, act and behave: Sigmund Freud focussed on our sub-conscious, Skinner on our observable behavior, cognitive psychologists on our mental processes, humanistic psychology on our social and interpersonal development. Howard Gardner took a more holistic approach in describing our cognitive profiles. His classification of human intellectual ability into seven intelligences incorporates many aspects of psychology to define the cognitive behavior of humans. Before moving on to Multiple Intelligences , refer to the following hyperlinks for information on other learning theories. http://mse. byu. edu/ipt301/jordan/learning. html [pic] Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Human intelligence should not be equated solely with linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligence alone, according to Howard Gardner. As the author of a new way of looking at human intelligences, Gardner, a Harvard professor, identified a total of seven different intelligences that humans may possess. His list includes: †¢ Linguistic intelligence †¢ Logical-mathematical intelligence †¢ Spatial intelligence †¢ Musical intelligence †¢ Bodily-kinesthetic †¢ Interpersonal intelligence †¢ Intrapersonal intelligence Gardner is working on more intelligences that qualify as cognitive processes: Multiple intelligences theory, on the other hand, pluralizes the traditional concept(Gardner, 1993, p. 15) Gardners fascination with human intelligence and how the brain works was started with an investigation of people who had experienced brain damage of some sort. He recognized that not all abilities, whether cognitive or motor-sensory, were eliminated from the individuals repertoire despite having endured some form of brain damage. Gardner hypothesized that we possess more than one form of intelligence. The theory of multiple intelligences provides a more holistic view of the intelligence of humans. Gardner advocates that we may all attempt to develop each of these intelligences to our optimum level. However, we may be more adept in only certain of these intelligences. We may however, aspire through practice and development to improve in the remaining intelligences. The use of technology appeals to this view of intelligence in that Gardners theory acknowledges that cognition is not a linear process. The computer as a learning tool has enormous potential in developing the different forms of intelligences of Gardners theory. Hyperlinks to Multiple Intelligences Web Pages: http://www. athena. ivv. nasa. gov/curric/weather/adptcty/multint. html [pic] Learning Theories and the Brain What is Learning? Learning is the process by which we receive and process sensory data, encode such data as memories within the neural structures of our brain, and retrieve those memories for subsequent use. The variety of information stored within such memories is enormous, including such items as: how to control your sphincter muscle until a socially appropriate occasion, how to identify mommy in a crowd, how to ride a bicycle, what is the shortest path to grandmother’s house without going near the lair of the wolf, what is the tune for Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and what a philosopher means when she says The cat is on the mat. All learning takes place within the brain, and as our understanding of the underlying structures and processes of the brain increases we can begin to apply that knowledge to improve our construction of learning environments. Our ability to describe and understand the basic processes by which our brain learns has bee n enhanced by recent technological developments and by the accumulation of long-term studies in human and animal populations. Of particular benefit has been the development of brain-imaging techniques that allow us to observe the operation of normal human brains during the performance of a variety of tasks. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and similar technologies have allowed researchers to map neural activity during sensory data processing and monitor the transfer of information into long-term memory. Researchers have also made great strides in determining the basic mechanisms that underlie the transmission of information within the brain. Such research on brain structure, neural transmitters, and the process by which memories are stored and retrieved have allowed the development of neuro-physiological models of learning. Although neuroscience has provided us with an increasingly rich and accurate descriptive theory of learning within the brain, we still need prescriptive theories of how to maximize the efficiency and capacity of human learning. To some extent all learning theories are prescriptive and seek to minimize the time required to transfer information into memory and maximize the efficiency of retrieving that information. Our current knowledge of the brain, and our speculations regarding the evolutionary function of learning, should assist such prescriptive theories in designing learning environments that provide for maximum learning efficiency. In particular, prescriptive theories informed by our current knowledge of neuroscience should allow us to evaluate the role of multimedia in learning environments. We should also be able to maximize the impact of multimedia in such environments through application of learning theories and our knowledge of the human brain. Learning environments should not be construed simply as the traditional formal classroom within the context of institutionalized public education. Such environments occur within the workplace, the home, and other social institutions as communication and information technology continues to penetrate Western society. We should also be aware that the use of multimedia will have an impact upon the development of the human brain, particularly when such techniques are used with children and adolescents whose brains are still developing and maturing. [pic] The Brain The three-pound universe that is our brain consists of more than 100 billion neurons and the associated structures that organize, nourish, and protect their functioning. Each neuron may have between 5,000 and 50,000 connections to other neurons, forming a dense connective mat that allows the storage of enormous amounts of information. It is important to remember that structures within the brain continue to develop until late adolescence and that neurons will continue to grow connections to other neurons throughout adult life. [pic] Brain Structures The diagram above shows four basic structures in the brain that are important for bodily functions and for learning and memory. The brain stem is primarily concerned with basic survival functions and the regulation of body systems. The cerebellum is involved in the performance of automatic movement patterns (walking, running, touch-typing, and other physical skills that can become part of automatic procedural memory). The limbic system is responsible for the processing of short-term memory into long-term memory as well as the generation and regulation of emotions. The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain in which sensory data is received and analyzed, decisions are made, and behavioral responses are activated. Information is received from the major sensory organs of the body: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin; and is held briefly in sensory memory. The further processing of that information appears to be dependent upon the state of emotional arousal of the brain and the utility of such information for potential survival. Long-term memories are generated through the growth and spread of neural connections between those modular structures that contain the memory (Sylwester, 1995, pp. 89-90). The more often such structures are activated and the stronger the connections become to associated structures, the more easily such memories are retrieved and used by the brain in decision making and conscious thought. To some extent the driving forces behind the way our brain processes sensory input and makes decisions are the survival imperatives that accompanied human physical and cultural evolution. Our brains reflect the importance that survival places upon evaluating potential threat situations, making a quick response, and focusing all body resources on support of those functions that may lead to continued survival. In high-threat situations the focus of the brain will be almost exclusively upon what is identified as the potential threat while the body shuts down relatively unimportant systems to concentrate on those involved in the fight-or-flight response. Low-threat situations allow the brain to sample and evaluate a broader spectrum of sensory input and to analyze such input for future use. Thus a large looming shadow in the cave mouth tends to generate fear, prompting the body to shut down digestion, pump more adrenaline, and prepare the cerebellum to handle the process of running while the cerebral cortex looks for places to hide or make a stand. Strong negative emotion tends to evoke the fight-or-flight physiological and mental responses that shut down high-level cognition. A premium should therefor be placed upon the reduction of those factors within a learning environment that give rise to negative emotions. At the same time, sensory input that does not receive attention is not available for processing through short-term into long-term memory. Clearly a balance must be struck between too much and too little stimulation in learning situations. Some stimulation and motivation is necessary for the learner to pay attention to the data that they are required to learn; on the other hand too much stimulation (particularly in a negative context) is liable to create anger or fear as an emotional response, either of which can serve to reduce the amount of learning carried out within the environment. It appears that the limbic system plays an important part in the process of storing information as long-term memories. Those activities that provide an emotionally supportive environment may well have a positive effect upon the processing of information into long-term storage and subsequent retrieval of those memories. Group activities, co-operative learning, role-playing, and simulations tend to provide emotional support and emotional context for learning. Retrieval of long-term memories is enhanced when a large number of connections have been established between the neural modules that store such memories. To some extent our growing knowledge about the organization of the brain tends to support those theories of learning that can generally be labeled as constructivist. That is, situated knowledge that is connected to a large number of other memories is more apt to be recalled than is unconnected knowledge that has been learned by rote. Because the process of creating connections between ideas and memories is essentially carried out through a process of rehearsal and review, learners should be encouraged to review knowledge that is being learned and attempt to build connections to that knowledge that is already easily retrieved from long-term memory. Such cognitive tools as narration, story-telling, constructing metaphors, and making comparisons are strategies that help to build and maintain connections. The construction of knowledge is essentially the growing of connections between the neural modules that contain individual memories. [pic] Implications for Learning Theory If the apparent symmetry between contemporary brain-based learning theories and constructivism is accurate, then basic guiding principles of constructivism should be used in designing learning environments. These principles include: 1. Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning. 2. Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. Parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Therefore the learning process focuses on primary concepts, not isolated facts. 3. In order to teach well, we must understand the mental models that students use to understand the world, and the assumptions that support those models. 4. The purpose of learning is to construct ones own meaning, not to have the right answers by repeating someone elses meaning. Learning is inherently inter-disciplinary, and the only valuable assessment of learning is assessment that is part of the learning process and that provides students with information on the quality of their learning. (On Purpose Associates, 1998b) Such learning environments should also be designed around the ideas that come forward from brain-based learning. That is, they should employ the three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning: orchestrated immersion, where learning environments are created that fully immerse students in a learning experience; relaxed alertness, where an effort is made to eliminate fear while maintaining a highly challenging environment; and active processing, where the learner consolidates and internalizes information by actively processing it (On Purpose Associates, 1998a). Learning environments constructed with these principles in mind will tend to be organized around thematic units featuring knowledge in depth and the exploration of projects that have real meaning for the participating learners. [pic] Implications for Multimedia How should we then use multimedia presentations of information to effectively learn in the context of current brain-based learning theory? The communications and information technology that constitutes contemporary multimedia platforms has some significant advantages in creating a learning environment, but there are some pitfalls that must be accounted for as part of the learning process. Multimedia, at its best, allows us to bring the real world to the learner through the use of sound and video. Such connection to the real world should serve as a factor in motivating students, and as a factor in providing them with additional connections to other knowledge structures. At the same time, multimedia allows students to experience information through multiple modes of presentation. Such multi-modal learning should help to build connections within the learner’s brain if only because multiple modes of reception will engage different areas of the learner’s brain. Contemporary multimedia platforms allow a greater degree of learner control and more freedom for the learner to undertake self-directed exploration of the material. Such self-directed learning is likely to be more meaningful and more connected to existing knowledge structures within the learner’s brain. Therefore, we should see advantages for learning programs that include multimedia presentations. Learners should also gain from the possibility of self-paced instruction based upon contemporary multimedia learning technology. Whenever possible, immediate feedback should be built into a multimedia program to assist students in forming correct connections prior to reinforcing connections between new and old information incorporated within existing knowledge structures. Designers of multimedia instructional packages should take comfort in the strengths of multimedia, but they should also be aware of potential problems in using multimedia with learners. Although current multimedia technology allows excellent presentation in both video and audio modes, and provides some tactile feedback through the use of keyboards, there is little to offer students who need tactile experience ? multimedia is essentially a bimodal presentation strategy unless additional work is done to prepare material for students. Even the best multimedia programs cannot provide the total stimulation that natural environments provide? we have yet to incorporate smell or taste into such presentations, and tactile sensations are still limited. More importantly, there is a clear danger that multimedia programs may be used to substitute for interaction with other learners. We should not be seduced by technical virtuosity or cutting-edge visual and aural effects, there is still a need for human interaction and emotional support. Above all else, we should beware of the tendency to substitute passive learning for active learning. Multimedia provides significant advantages in presenting information to learners, particularly if sufficient resources have been invested to create presentations that make full use of current technology. Presentation of information, no matter how technically sophisticated, is not enough; learners must interact with content to construct their own meanings and integrate new knowledge into the dense web of neural connections that is mind and memory. [pic]

Scuba Trip :: essays research papers

On May 22, 1994 it was my ninth birthday. My mom and dad decided to go on a cruise to the Bahamas. We went on one of the Carnival cruise ships. This boat was the biggest boats I ever saw. When we rushed to get on the cruise ship I saw that there were so many rooms and shops. My favorite room was the Game room, when I entered the game room there were so many games and seemed like there were hundreds and hundreds of them. I started to get bored so I left. When I went to back to our room my dad was thinking about going scuba diving. The following morning my dad planned to go scuba diving when all the tourist went to go sight seeing on the island. We went to the scuba shop and rented all the gear. When the boat came I put on all the gear. For example, the air tanks, goggles, and the regulator. When we got on the boat we had to sit on the edge, so we could flip over the side. Finally, the boat stopped and I could barely see the islands. The captain said not to go past the big cones. I was pretty scared because the water was so deep, but I finally jumped off. Scuba diving was scary so all I did was follow my dad. I finally stop being afraid and looked at all the colors that were weird and unusual. The colors were hot orange and dark red. My favorite coral was the one with the hair on it. It was pretty cool because fish would enter, but would not leave because the coral would eat them! The fish I saw was cool and the only fish I knew was the Angel fish. I knew this fish because of all the colors it had. The other fish were big and had the biggest teeth I ever saw, but I didn't know what they were called.

Genetically Modified Foods and the Labeling Debate Essay

There has been an ongoing debate between consumers and the government regarding the use of Genetically Modified Foods in the market today. â€Å"Since the introduction of the â€Å"Flavr Savr† tomato, biotechnology companies continue to introduce genetically engineered agricultural products to consumers† (Whittaker). The â€Å"Flavr Savor† tomato was the first food available to consumers that was produced using technology involving the recombinant DNA techniques in 1993. This was the dawn of a new generation in food production, and thus a whole new world of genetically engineered foods. At the present time the government, more specifically, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not regulated labeling products that contain genetically engineered foods. Currently the policy for labeling all consumer products must meet the standards of the safety and nutritional assessment. The evaluations of genetically engineered foods by legal authority require that bioengineered foods must meet the same standards set forth for all imported and exported foods marked for human and animal consumption and according to the US FDA genetically modified (GM) foods meet these guidelines. Since the early 1990’s scientists has been researching new and improved techniques to bring plumper, juicer and insecticide resistant agricultural products to all consumers. But research such as this is nothing new to the scientific community and for over 50 years techniques have been used to create strains of wheat, rice, pears and many more crop species to create high yielding products that are capable of growing anywhere and anytime of the year. Currently, only one tenth of the world actually uses GM plants with the countries of Canada, US, Brazil and Argentina growing 90 percent of the GM crops (Freedman). With the majority of these crops being produced in North America, the US is seeing GM foods everywhere and this is drawing attention to different agencies and groups pushing to educate the public by labeling any products that contain genetically engineered foods. The US Food and Drug Administration has been dealing with the battle against labeling products with genetically modified organisms (GMO) for years, but regardless of the consistent scrutiny the FDA sticks firmly to the current regulations that govern the labeling of all foods for human and animal consumption. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, which drives the FDA’s safety regulations for food and food ingredients, â€Å"unless a significant safety risk exists or there is a sincere need for consumers to distinguish between food products before purchase, the FDA hesitates to mandate labeling of food products† (Leggio). Joseph A. Levitt, Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition with the US Food and Drug Administration states in his â€Å"Should the FDA Adopt a Stricter Policy on Genetically Engineered Foods? † testimony that â€Å"bioengineered foods and food ingredients must adhere to the same standards of safety under the FD&C act that apply to their conventionally bred counterparts† (Levitt, 81). With the strict laws set forth, the FDA remains consistent with its decision to maintain their current labeling program as it adheres to all safety standards of any food for consumption. The US FDA also assures the public that they have done significant research for decades on biotechnology foods to ensure it is safe for consumers, and additional testing is conducted years prior to the release of a GM product to the shelves. Scientists address all of the potential concerns to include the potential to adding new allergy causing proteins, removing vital nutrients and the possibility of introducing toxins, in these studies to ensure that unexpected results do not occur, â€Å"this testing provides a way to detect such changes at the development stage† (Levitt, 79) and it will also delay any release of products until they are able to find a solution. The FDA takes such precautions and studying all aspects of this technology to be confident that the risks are non-existent. Although the government has provided the public with research, publications, testimonies and scientific proof that the current law governing the labeling of food and animal products is appropriate and doesn’t require change, there is still much concern of the risks that the technology poses to humans. Barbara Boxer, a US Senator from California, introduced the Genetically Engineered Food Right-To-Know Act in 2001 in her testimony in â€Å"Should the FDA Adopt a Stricter Policy on Genetically Engineered Foods? † which states â€Å"all foods containing or produced with genetically engineered material bear a neutral label† (Boxer, 76). This act was created based on the lack of data and concerns that GM products are introducing risks of exposure to many health issues to include food allergens, lack of nutrition and toxic ailments. These claims are legitimate, however, the US FDA does take precautions as stated by Joseph A. Levitt, specifically with these risks while conducting trials during the developing stages of the product. In 2011 there was a petition filed against the FDA which warranted the need for labeling of GM products. According to this petition â€Å"consumers are misled when food labels do not differentiate foods with known health properties from novel foods with unknown health consequences† (Burgaard). An example of such health concerns come from a study performed in Scotland at the Rowett Institute in 1998. A plant biochemist named Arpad Pusztai conducted an experiment on rats who consumed a genetically engineered potato and his experiment concluded that the rats that were fed the modified potato â€Å"suffered growth and immune system-related changes† (Freedman). Ironically, the genetically modified potato used in this study â€Å"was not intended for human consumption — it was, in fact, designed to be toxic for research purposes,† (Freedman) discrediting the research altogether. Additionally, â€Å"American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the World Health Organization, and more than twenty-five Nobel Prize-winning scientists have concluded that there is no scientific evidence that GM food carries any risk to human health and that genetically engineered crops are safe,† (Burgaard) which ties into the overall nutrition and safety assessment that genetically engineered foods meet the same standards that imported and exported foods at held too. In the end, the US Food and Drug Administration stands by the current law governing the policy on labeling genetically modified foods. They maintain their standing on mandated labeling even under the microscope of doubters, but most importantly the â€Å"FDA’s process for evaluating bioengineered foods is one in which the public can have confidence that food biotechnology products must meet the law’s safety standards† (Maryanski). The FDA cares deeply of the health and wellbeing of the consumers in America and strive to meet the needs of the public in both food and nutrition education. Until the studies show significant risks or changes in the GM products warranting the need to readdress the process, the government and the US Food and Drug Administration believe their approach is relevant and remain firm to the present policies. Annotated Bibliography Whittaker, Michael A. â€Å"Reevaluating The Food And Drug Administration’s Stand On Labeling Genetically Engineered Foods. † San Diego Law Review 35. 4 (1998): 1215. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. This journal review argues that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must reconsider its position on the labeling of genetically engineered food as well as consumer perceptions of the threat posed by genetically engineered foods. Freedman, David H. â€Å"Are Engineered Foods Evil?. † Scientific American 309. 3 (2013): 80-85. Environment Complete. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. This article discusses the debate over the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops. It covers comments from agricultural and environmental economist at the University of California, Berkeley, David Zilberman, on the benefits of GM foods compared to their health risks, a ban on GM crops by the European Union (EU), and the difference between selective plant breeding and mutagenic techniques. Leggio, Kelly A. â€Å"Limitations On The Consumer’s Right To Know: Settling The Debate Over Labeling Of Genetically Modified Foods In The United States. † San Diego Law Review 38. 3 (2001): 893. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Jan. 2014. This journal review supports the decision of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reject mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods as a solution to accommodate consumer fears. There is a description of an approach designed to evaluate whether mandatory initiatives are appropriate to protect consumer’s right to know and the importance for states to follow guidelines established by the FDA. â€Å"Should The FDA Adopt A Stricter Policy On Genetically Engineered Foods? PRO/CON. † Congressional Digest 80. 3 (2001): Pages 76-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. This is a two part article that discusses genetically engineered foods and the potential need to adopt a more strict policy. The articles provided information from the perspective of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Joseph A. Levitt, the director of the Center of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and US Senator, Barbara Boxer who speaks on behalf of the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act and additional interviews that were conducted to give the audience an overall understanding of both sides of the debate. Burgaard, Sudhir. â€Å"The Labeling Of Genetically Modified Foods Debate. † Natural Resources & Environment 28. 1 (2013): 55-57. Environment Complete. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. This article focuses on the debate on labeling of genetically modified (GM) food which reflects food safety concerns in the U. S. It highlights various legal issues related to use of GM foods which includes increased risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria, increased use of pesticides, and environmental effects. It briefs the audience about the Center for Food Safety filing a legal petition with the U. S. Food and Drug Administration regarding labeling of genetically engineered food. Maryanski, . James H. , Ph D. â€Å"News & Events. † Genetically Engineered Foods. US Food and Drug Administration, 19 Oct. 1999. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. This testimony is from the perspective of the Biotechnology Coordinator with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that discusses the current regulations governing genetically engineered foods and the process that dictates what and how determines what a DNA derived food is labeled. It includes a variety of examples that justifies the current labeling regulations and why GM Foods may not require additional information for the consumers.