Paradigms en place

Constructivism

• I was excited to learn about constructivism because it fully explained to me why a professor I had as an undergrad student was so effective in constructing new insight within his students. Terry Harpold is a phenomenal instructor who teaches absolutely mind-bending courses like the one I took from him, Eccentric Spaces and Spatialities. In the course, Professor Harpold chose texts ranging from short fiction (JG Ballard), to literary theory (Gaston Bachelard), to novels (Phillip K. Dick), and on to Freud's personal journals. He coupled (sometimes tripled) our readings with visual demonstrations of computer animations, video game interfaces, and movie trailers.
  

As a student in the course I had to step outside during our breaks and take deep breaths, then spend the rest of the evening after class trying to untie my mind. His lectures and demonstrations forced the class to think in completely new ways because we had to try so hard to recognize the connections Professor Harpold made between so many different forms of media. His brand of constructivist instruction encourages his students to deconstruct even the most seemingly simplistic forms of media. And, subsequently, discover a wealth of complexity.

• Pandora.com is website dedicated to educating users in the existence -- and maybe appreciation -- of a wealth of lesser-known musical acts. Pandora creators sought to develop an engine to respond to the question "can you introduce me to new music?". I think Pandora does an excellent job of answering this question by allowing users to impart their own tastes into the process of creating an internet radio station.
  

Objectivism

• This training module is used by the UF Health Science Center Privacy office to demonstrate compliance with HIPAA training requirements. It utilizes a PowePoint presentation modified for web delivery. The slides focus on the behavioral practices involved in handling various types of confidential information. The quiz sections ask the user to recall specific information delivered in the preceeding slides.
  

• This game lets users play the role of Dick Cheney, Sharpshooter, in a drill and kill (literally) first person shooter. The user hones their timing in clicking the mouse to expel the opponents.
  

Schema Theory

• This experiment is an interesting investigation in schema theory as it applies to memory in real and virtual environments. In the study participants were given the opportunity to explore a real office environment or an identical virtual one (via a simulator). The participants were then tested on the appearance of certain objects within the environment.
  

• This study looks at cognitive load theory as a valuable concept in the design and implementation of instructional systems. It examines existing instructional systems in context of the varying capacities of short and longterm memory.