Reading reflection 1 | W6 Q1 | Discussion

Educational psychology and educational technology form a reciprocal relationship that mainly impacts the individuals’ cognition and communication. The idea of constructivism sheds light on how humans think and understand while encountering a new situation. Mindful engagement can “ comprehend and active construct a network of connections between nodes of knowledge”(Salomon & Almog, 1988, p. 4). Applying this idea of “cognitive map”, there is some software that can create a mindmap or concept map to help us understand and manipulate the information we have gained. It becomes an opportunity to incorporate technology and to facilitate higher-order thinking about the logic behind a piece of information, based on the theories of psychology. Moreover, technology extends the way we communicate and we apply psychology into communication. Nickson (2005, p. 10-11) indicates that people now can submit their research papers online, instead of bringing printed copies. Technology fastens the way we receive and provide information to the world, as well as, obtaining help from others. Online education can be a good example to demonstrate this reciprocal relationship, especially during the pandemic. Educational psychologists suggested that interactive learning may be more effective than teacher-led instruction. Thus, we have AR and VR for students to different subjects (e.g. students learn bone structure with AR to manipulate the objects).