Holly's+Technology+to+Support+Higher+Order+Thinking

Technology can be used to support higher-order thinking in many different ways. Before, students were only given a text book to use to understand the course material, and possibly even a movie from time to time if they were lucky. Now, there are many different types of technology that can actually engage the student in the information, so that students can go about learning in many different ways. This is very beneficial due to the complexity and diversity of learning styles of students. Many students have issues with simply just reading the information and trying to analyze and comprehend what they just read. With the use of technology, students can learn along with simulations, games, etc., and get an extra experience and verification that they would not have received with a mere textbook.

An example of a technology that does this is Making History. This is a software that consists of a game that students can play to reenact, simulate, and strategize what happened in World War II. Of course, before using this technology, the teacher would need to instruct the students that they cannot simply go around and just bomb anyone that they please. Instead, the students need to think how the different countries did during the war and try to comprehend why these countries did what they did, and all the different concepts that go along with war. This is far more beneficial for students than simply memorizing information that they retained from a book, because this technology gives them actual experience concerning the material and verifies, and expands, their knowledge.