Learning Theories • The Technological Revolution • The Spectrum of Learning Theories • Behaviorism • Constructivism • Fitting the Other Theories into the Spectrum • Theory of Multiple Intelligence • Learning Theories and the Brain • Brain Structures • Implications for Learning Theory • Implications for Multimedia • References

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 d'être 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